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Armor/AFV: Axis - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Axis forces during World War II.
Hosted by Darren Baker
REVIEW
[UPDATED] Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. J
staff_Jim
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New Hampshire, United States
Joined: December 15, 2001
KitMaker: 12,571 posts
Armorama: 6,599 posts
Posted: Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 07:31 AM UTC
Mike Land brings us his in-box review of Dragon''s latest Smart Kit, the Panzer III, Ausf J. Mike has added some really nice comparison photos of the prior version as well.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
mark197205
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England - East Midlands, United Kingdom
Joined: November 10, 2003
KitMaker: 1,593 posts
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Posted: Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 08:10 AM UTC
Interesting move on Dragon's part with the turret just sitting into the hull with no retainer tabs.
Thanks for the review guys.
H_Ackermans
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Gelderland, Netherlands
Joined: July 11, 2006
KitMaker: 2,229 posts
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Posted: Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 09:23 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Interesting move on Dragon's part with the turret just sitting into the hull with no retainer tabs.
Thanks for the review guys.


Was already done on the first Smart Kit, the Panther-G.
Canjuaan
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Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Joined: June 08, 2007
KitMaker: 228 posts
Armorama: 223 posts
Posted: Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 09:53 AM UTC
... and the 234/1

Very nice review, indeed. I wonder when new Panzer III variants will be released.
mark197205
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England - East Midlands, United Kingdom
Joined: November 10, 2003
KitMaker: 1,593 posts
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Posted: Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 01:12 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Interesting move on Dragon's part with the turret just sitting into the hull with no retainer tabs.
Thanks for the review guys.


Was already done on the first Smart Kit, the Panther-G.


Thanks for the correction H.
blaster76
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Texas, United States
Joined: September 15, 2002
KitMaker: 8,985 posts
Armorama: 3,034 posts
Posted: Monday, July 30, 2007 - 08:27 AM UTC
I have a mixed reaction to the elimination of turret retainer tabs. Sometimes these things are a major pain, but I also lift some of my models by the turret so I won't break loose some of the tracks or detail on the side.I have a bad habit of handling my models a bit to often as I rearrange them on shelves to match them (Russian with Russian....German with German...Tigers with Tigers....ETC). Oh, almost forgot to comment on the kit. Very nice indeed, looks like we'll see a bunch of the other Panzer III's coming out with updated details.
jvazquez
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New Jersey, United States
Joined: September 26, 2006
KitMaker: 857 posts
Armorama: 811 posts
Posted: Monday, July 30, 2007 - 08:45 AM UTC
I guess its really a matter of opinion and preference because I never really liked the tabs, they almost seemed too toyish. I usually found myself cutting the tabs from the turrent and then filling in the punched out tab section on the tank itself.
But everyone is different, no way is right or wrong.
shado67
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Texas, United States
Joined: October 16, 2003
KitMaker: 220 posts
Armorama: 215 posts
Posted: Monday, July 30, 2007 - 10:49 AM UTC
The "/review" shows the vehicle markings for tobruk 1942 and tunisia 1943, however the decal sheet photo does not show the DAK palm tree insignia. Shouldnt a unit in tobruk in 1942 have the DAK palm tree logo?
nolifoto
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Luzon, Philippines
Joined: September 19, 2006
KitMaker: 146 posts
Armorama: 136 posts
Posted: Monday, July 30, 2007 - 03:21 PM UTC
I have always looked forward to reviews here at the Armorama website and I based my purchase of models on the thorough reviews of new kits that I see here. It has been the deciding factor for me.


Kelley
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Georgia, United States
Joined: November 21, 2002
KitMaker: 1,966 posts
Armorama: 1,635 posts
Posted: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 07:01 AM UTC

Quoted Text

The "/review" shows the vehicle markings for tobruk 1942 and tunisia 1943, however the decal sheet photo does not show the DAK palm tree insignia. Shouldnt a unit in tobruk in 1942 have the DAK palm tree logo?

Mike, this is something I didn't even notice or think about, thanks for pointing it out. My North Africa campaign refs are pretty thin so I posted this question over on the Missing-Lynx Axis forum. Here is the answer I received from Tom Cockle:

Quoted Text

The DAK palm emblem seems to be more common on the Panzer III Ausf.G and H that were used early in the North Africa campaign. We can't see if there was one painted on the front of the hull in the photo used as a reference for the Tobruk vehicle so one may be there, maybe not.

I can't ever recollect seeing the DAK palm used on vehicles from 10.P.D. in Tunisia.


Best,
Mike
Kelley
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Georgia, United States
Joined: November 21, 2002
KitMaker: 1,966 posts
Armorama: 1,635 posts
Posted: Monday, November 19, 2007 - 07:49 AM UTC
Another review of this kit has been posted over on Track-link,this one is a build review. There is a section included, where the author has listed some build tips that should prove to be very helpful. Here is the link:

http://www.track-link.net/reviews/k1879

Cheers,
Mike
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