Bob Woodman presents an in-depth review on the Pz.Kpfw. 38(t) Ausf. S mit Fuel Drum Trailer from Dragon Models. Grab a cold one, get comfortable and enjoy.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

@Panzerbob01 – Bob,

You’ve put quit and effort into this review – top notch!

Reading along and noting your comments has definitely sparked an interest in obtaining a copy of this kit for my stash. I don’t know a thing about these vehicles but with your insight do you think that you could be persuaded into posting a build log for this vehicle? Well how about it?

~ Eddy

Bob, this is a very thoughtful review. Thank you for taking the time to share with us.

What an informative write up!

I had almost forgotten about the little jewel.










~ Jeff

All;

THANKS for taking the read and for your kind words!

I'll clearly "out myself" up-front and allow as I am a serious 38(t) fan, so you can rest assured that I have some bias toward this subject and kit! Reviewing it was a serious pleasure and fun labor of love! That said, it IS a cool kit and the Dragon has certainly done a good extension of their well-done kit mini-series (the 38) - and this version is IMHO well worth getting and building. Even if you somehow skip that cool little trailer...!

@Eddy N.;

Build log / review? I'll definitely consider that! I do plan on doing it and sooner than later. My thoughts are that I might build it pretty much encapsulating the specifics I hit on, along with a couple of other detail things - almost all OOTB. (Of course, if I do that trailer with it - THAT won't go OOTB on account of those fenders...) I could do it for the "Light Tank Campaign" and fill a couple of "goals" at once...

Cheers!

Bob

OK, 38(t) "S" fans:

A little update on the review...

I just learned that I left at least a few little things out which could be helpful for you builders of these Dragon 38(t kits - so here goes!

1) There are two MG - one in the turret, one in the front hull-plate. Both of these guns came in spherical ball-mounts. The ball-mount allowed the gun to freely aim "all over the place" and not just up and down or left and right. The neat thing is that the real gun could actually spin in this mount, so that you see tanks with guns seemingly "leaning" with sights and armor guards tilted off the center up-right.

The KIT parts do not allow this. To fix your gun mounts, simply shave that little peg or nipple off parts F14 (the ball mount). This will allow you to tilt and spin your gun in the mount as desired.

2) Do note that the turret MG in Ausf S, E, F, and G did NOT have any outside splash-ring on the turret-face. I noted this in the Review. I did not mention that the hull MG DID have this ring - so be sure to use the supplied splash-ring (part B1) for the hull-MG!

Part B1 IS a little thick - the real ring had a slightly-raised inner ring around that ball-mount. The part has this too thick. Thin it down to maybe 1/2 for a better look?

3) You will see a small, angular plate mounted on the left (main-gun side) of the turret MG... part C8. This was a sheet-metal "stop" that prevented the turret MG from actually aiming at that main gun barrel end. Verrry important!

The kit part is a little thick and clunky. The simple fix is to thin it to get a more "sheet-metal" look... or if you feel AMS coming on, make a replacement from 0.010 sheet styrene?

Cheers, All!

Bob