Another German Panzer III kit has been announced by Dragon Models in 1/35 scale.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Sweet! Thank you very much Kevin. Dragon is quickly closing the gap on the Pz.Kpfw. III and IV range. I need to get around to asking Bill what models are missing from the III's evolution now.

I know there will be the usual gripes about "oh, not another Panzer", but I love their Pz III's and will no doubt add this one to the collection.

Ok, but please Mr.Dragon: Panzer III Ausf. A through D - pleeeaaase !!

This one's definitely going on my wish list. Love the Pz III family and it's nice to see DML filling in the gaps of the Smart Kit line at a steady pace. Don't know if we'll ever see the early Ausf A-Ds in styrene...but then I thought the same thing about the early IV Ausfs as well and they eventually were produced, so patience is the order of the day I suppose.

sure they will..and then once all the ausfs are covered, then theyll start doing them by month they were produced..

This is great ...I've been waiting for this one for a while ..

Rick

Don't get me wrong, Gents! I DO love Dragon SmartKits, and I've become pretty enthused about the Pz III and D's kits thereof... But maybe (I'll freely air my ignorance! ) I'm a little confused. Didn't the D just fairly recently put out a modern H kit (I think it was labelled as a late-production H)?

So, for those indicating "waiting for this" and / or knowledgeable of the III (almost any amount of knowledge would probably be way more than I have!)... I'll bite: WHAT makes this "early production H" particularly different from the previous late P (version OR kit)?

Bob

Well this is really the last of EARLY Panzer IIIs with the round holes in the drive sprocket and the early idler and shock absorbers but the beginning of the larger gun ..(did start on the G model but you know what I mean) It just has some neat features ..Now all we need is a new G (desertized) and of course the earlier A thru D models and we'll be set!

Rick

Richard, Thank you very much for the gap explanation and doing in a way that I can understand, I appreciate it man. I can't get enough of Dragon! These pzkpfw III and IV kits are just incredible. They contain a lot of parts for a 1:35 kit, have some serious challenges, and most of all, are SO AESTHETICALLY PLEASING..so rewarding. It's my ambition to have the entire evolution line from the I - VI with all variants running the length of my 4 display shelves. I'm 25 so this will be finished..oh..around 2035-2040..maybe by then we will have our Panther A Early and Late with Zimmerit and grenadiers wearing Zeltbahns.

They changed the position of the driver's cigarette lighter...

then they would need new moulds,first milk the current ones, then maybe...

They haven't even touched any of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.O thru Ausf.Z yet!!! Or the Sonderwagen Untersee Fliegenderpanzer (trop.)!!!

Whatever happened to that 1/35 US M3 Lee that DRAGON kept showing in their "Future Releases" up until about a year ago? poof. gone...

That's true depending on which variant you're talking about. The III's evolution from Ausf A-E is more diverse than that of the IV so that's why I think it will still be a while before we see them in styrene. More mileage still to be made out of the E-H line especially given the fact that those particular variants were produced non-linearly and underwent changes/upgrades in both the armor and armament at various points in their service lives.

Sorry for this irrelevant. The title "deja vu" remember me this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2BESV0e-30 :-H

Whatever happened to that 1/35 US M3 Lee that DRAGON kept showing in their "Future Releases" up until about a year ago? poof. gone... [/quote]

Dennis, Seriously man... I don't even build allied and I'm dying to know where that went!! I'll be buying 2 upon release. I talk about visual qualities, well, the M3 Lee (IMO) is one of the most gorgeous vehicles in history and I cant wait to learn all about it during the build if it ever HAPPENS!! I actually only know about it because you've mentioned it..I've never heard any announcement about it and had no idea it was planned!

A new panzer. Have to clear some room in my ever growing stash.

Magic tracks? So all the noise about Dragon not providing them anymore may be for nothing...

Cheers,

Christophe

Dennis, Seriously man... I don't even build allied and I'm dying to know where that went!! I'll be buying 2 upon release. I talk about visual qualities, well, the M3 Lee (IMO) is one of the most gorgeous vehicles in history and I cant wait to learn all about it during the build if it ever HAPPENS!! I actually only know about it because you've mentioned it..I've never heard any announcement about it and had no idea it was planned! [/quote]

:[]-- I don't know if DRAGON ever even considered putting a 1/35 M3 Lee into production. There was NEVER an official announcement by DRAGON of an M3 Lee/Grant, but, they DEFINITELY posted a grainy photo of an "early" M3 in their "FUTURE" releases for quite a while. The pic was positioned below some equally grainy photo of some obscure "initial" Panzerjaeger IV of which the Germans probably only made 2.75 vehicles- THAT ODD-BALL they probably released... Think of all the possibilities for some M3 Lee AND M3 Grant kits!!!

What really sticks in my craw is that DRAGON ALREADY PRODUCES TWO DIFFERENT M7 "Priest" kits- an "Early Production" and a "Mid Production", BUT NO M3 Lee!!! The M7 105mm HMC was based on the Lower Hull, Suspension and Drivetrain of the M3 Medium Tank, so what's the problem with those guys at DRAGON? I'll tell you what their problem is: The M3 is NOT GERMAN, and it's NOT OBSCURE ENOUGH. You'd think that DRAGON would have come out with M3 Lee/Grant kits BEFORE they did the 2 M7 kits

There are CERTAINLY enough real-live Lee/Grant tanks out there, PLUS A WEALTH OF BOOKS, PLANS and CD ROMS available for DRAGON to have engineered model kits of these VERY IMPORTANT US/ALLIED Vehicles... But NOOOOO-OOOO, that single-one-ever-produced Sd.Kfz.6007(S.Fl.) Holtzgas 40cm. Schwerer Automatischer "Scheiss-Wurfer" mit Sonderanhaenger und Geburtstagskertzen auf 38(t) Trop. takes PRIORITY

I've more or less given up on DRAGON producing ACCURATE and well-engineered 1/35 US/ALLIED WWII vehicles... Look how they BOTCHED their US M2/M3-based Half Tracks by casting RAISED RIVETS on the ENTIRE VEHICLE's Body Panels, instead of Counter-sunk Screws. Besides that faux-pas, lot of modellers had nervous breakdowns over those M2/M3 Half Track kits because DRAGON included "Weighted" tires. Supposedly, the tires should be perfectly "ROUND". Not so... I've personally seen and photographed REAL-LIVE M2/M3-series Half Tracks with properly inflated tires, and you know what? The REAL ONES actually DO have tires that are VERY slightly flattened, but you have to look for it because it's barely perceptible.

Another pet-peeve of mine is that DRAGON re-releases "NEW, RETOOLED" German stuff all the time, but they WON'T correct the obvious faults in US/ALLIED Vehicles, such as the terrible Final Drive-to-Lower Hull gaps and other inaccuracies on their M4-series Sherman kits

Please don't get me wrong- Aesthetically speaking, I REALLY LIKE the Pz.Kpfw.III-series tanks- IMO, so much more interesting to look at than your basic Tiger II. I've got probably 6 or 7 Pz.IIIs in both un-built form and on display in one of my "German Vehicles" display cases. I just take issue with the HUGE preponderance of German AFVs and Softskins over the US/ALLIED stuff, AND DRAGON's repetitive releases of the same old kits re-packaged in new boxes, which ALWAYS include a price increase...

I dunno, maybe TASCA/ASUKA will someday do a couple of M3 Lee/Grants- I'm NOT going to hold my breath for DRAGON...

German sells end of story no ifs or buts its sells. Dragon usually do a very good to excellent job where German armour is concerned. Their record where Allied vehicles is concerned on the other hand is very patchy and not normally of the same quality. Now I understand that you want Allied subjects which is fine, I don't even mind if you say I don't want German subjects when the news release is about a German subject, I am however getting a little fed up with your attempts to knock threads off track.

I too would like an M3 ...But I'd rather have one from Tasca than Dragon ..and this might not be the place for the moaning over axis vs Allied ...I'm happy for any new kit !!

Rick

It's a bookend to the Late Production kit, and those of us who love 3s are happy to see it.