"...Dragon have outdone themselves and raised the bar again..."

<full review here>
- Vinnie Branigan

DR6265: Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. D

1/35 injection plastic kit with multimedia accessories and decals

When Germany invaded Russia, the Ausf D was the most numerous of the short barrelled Panzer IV s, and it had already seen action in France, Balkans, and North Africa. The 232 Ausf D produced from October 1939 to October 1940 were deployed in a range of configurations. This new Dragon kit contains parts and instructions to depict three of the common configurations, namely:

* Typical production Ausf. D, without add-on armour plates.

* Ausf. D, which has additional frontal, hull and side armour.

* “DAK” version, which has the add-on armour and was converted to “tropen” by installing hatches with ventilation slots and an increased fan speed.

By mixing the parts it is also possible to build a ‘DAK” version without the additional armour. Approximately 30 Panzer IV D underwent the “tropen” conversion.

Overview
This Panzer IV Ausf D is Dragon’s third release in their newly tooled Panzer IV range and incorporates the refinements of the “Vorpanzer” version while featuring the flexibility of a ‘3 in 1’ release, with new tooling for the Ausf D features.

Key features of the Ausf D (compared to the Ausf E) are the new turret shell with the cupola extending into the rear plate, option of early style road wheel hubs, different drive sprocket, changed frontal armour and driver’s visor and commander’s cupola.

Like the earlier releases this kit is sophisticated and has in excess of 1,000 parts with considerable attention to detail and optional parts which trade of finesse for ease of assembly, making sure the kit will appeal to a wide range of modellers. The gatefold instructions have 20 steps of line drawings.

Turret
A new sprue contains the Ausf D turret which includes the all new turret shell with the earlier profile for the rear plate and other new turret parts, while the slide-molded commander's cupola is also new tooling. The triangular plates on the lower front of the turret match scale plans and like with the Ausf E considerable interior detail is provided including the turret crew seats, turret floor with anti-skid, clear plastic vision blocks, breech with catcher for spent cases, toothed turret ring and coaxial MG. An optional turret stowage box is included, as are the lifting hooks for the turret rear when the stowage box is not fitted, which is a nice touch.

Most hatches and turret ports can be positioned open or closed including the commander hatch, ventilation hatch cover, side hatches (with interior detail and clear plastic vision blocks) and signal ports.

There is a choice of injection plastic Kwk37 L/24 gun with muzzle rifling or turned metal gun without rifling. Alternative plastic parts give the choice of early (with recessed screws) or late (no screws) style barrels.

Two Hulls with Workable Suspension
The lower hull is very detailed and includes numerous alternative parts including two different hulls, a choice of fenders, workable suspension and the option of the supplementary bolted on armour. Both hulls are one-piece tubs with considerable detail on the underside and reflect all the improvements introduced on the “vorpanzer’ release such as the enhanced final drive housing and the repositioned mounting for the sprocket.

The hull sees a good number of changes from the Ausf E including the driver's vision port which can be modelled open or closed, option of supplementary armour on the front glacis, new brake access hatches on the upper glacis, an early design frame for the smoke candles, new drive sprocket (with choice of super detailed version with separate bolts on the face or easier version with bolts cast on), new rear exhaust muffler, Ausf. D cleaning rod, and an MG 34 with a workable ball-mounting. The Notek light which was added in Febuary 1940 is included.

The earlier style hubcaps, as typically fitted to new production Ausf D, are included (flatter profile), along with the later style (as per the Ausf.E kit) with the recesses for the screws. This allows for a kit to be built with mixed styles as seen in some photos.

Some of the features common with the Ausf E kits include:

* The side fenders have anti-skid pattern on both the upper and lower surfaces. One pair of fenders has holes for the tools in their factory positions and the other has no holes for use with PE clasps etc. The fenders are fairly thin for injection plastic and have the lip (fold) on the outer edge. The front and rear fenders are separate pieces and can be modelled folded up.

* Two sets of on-vehicle tools are provided of which one has the clamps moulded on for easy of assembly (and works with the fenders with the predrilled holes) and the other set has no clamps and is for use with the PE clamps.

* The road-wheels have considerable small detail including separate rubber tyres, which allow for painting of the rubber independent of the rims. The 'Continentau' (you can slice of half the “U”) logo is on the sidewalls.

* Choice of standard (i.e. intended for use in Europe) engine deck or the "tropen" engine deck with ventilation slots. PE parts are provided to add the grills underneath the slots, while other parts depict the fans underneath the deck.

The inclusion of a spare lower hull, along with spare parts for the base of the Ausf E turret (with lower front triangular plates) and the outer housing for the Ausf E’s final drive, provide a great basis for a modeller wishing to spend 15 minutes to refine an early release of kit 6264 (Ausf E late ‘3 in 1’). You will need to trim some overhang on 6264’s turret shell and cut of the area under and between parts B9 and B10 on the old hull to fit it to the new hull.

Tracks
The pre-cut injection plastic magic tracks depict the early 38cm wide Panzer IV track links. They have open guide horns and are "handed" in that separate left and right side tracks are provided with the track pin facing out accordingly. To avoid mix-ups each set has its own plastic bag and is in a different shade of gray. The links snap together for quick assembly and a whole run can be assembled in minutes; before you apply glue to the assembled track run. A small injection mark is on each side of the guide horns and could be removed swiftly with a hobby knife if you wish.

PE and other Accessories

Photo-etch and pre-formed metal are used for much of the fine detail. In many cases where PE parts are included, such as the tool clamps, a simpler plastic only option is available.

The mixed media accessories include:

* Assorted preformed metal for hull detail such as tow cable hooks, metal cables for front and rear lights and spare wheel mounts

* Three jerry cans with PE for the jerry can rack and the cans’ centre welded join. These early style jerry cans have an “X” stamped into their sides (the Ausf E kits have a later style).

* 240mm twisted wire cable with injection plastic eyes for tow cable.

* PE chains for the smoke candle rack and a PE tail-light.

* Two turned metal rounds, which as per early war tank ammunition is brass coloured.

Decals
A medium sized decal sheet by Cartograf containing markings for 11 different vehicles and includes a variety of turret numbers, Balkan crosses (2 styles), unit insignia and tactical markings.

Decals and 3 view outlines are included for four Panzers from the 1940 invasion of France (2, 6, 7 & 10 Panzer Divisions), six from Libya in North Africa 1941 (5 Leichte Panzer Division, 15 & 21 Panzer Division) and one tank each from the 1941 Balkan Campaign and the Barbarossa invasion of the USSR (7 Panzer Division).

Several views exist on the shade of yellow worn on these Panzers in the North African campaign and whether the grey (Dunkelgrau) Panzers of 1940 should have a disruptive secondary colour of dark brown, as indicated by Tom Jentz’s recent research. Either way most of them were soon covered in mud or dust, and a weathere appearance should really add to this kit's appeal.

Recommendation

With the flexibility offered by the 3 in 1 format, this model can be built to depict most of the Panzer IV Ausf D seen in wartime photos. The additional flexibility and value for money offered by the use of multiple medias and optional interior parts, further ensures the broad appeal of this impressive kit. Definitely recommended.

- Neville Lord

"... the model has a wealth of detail ..."

<full review here>
- Cookie Sewell