Greetings. I have the DML 6434 38t kit, and it comes with an engine, transmission and crew compartment interior. Has anybody built this kit, and if so, what is your opinion of the build and the level of accuracy? Also, I assume the 38t had no turret basket. The kit shows nothing of any turret basket. Does anybody have any decent photos of the 38t interior?
Regards,
Mark Pinson

Moved from Modeling in General / Robin

The tank had no turret basket.

These may help you:
- A pdf I created from the pages of the old 'AFV Interiors' website, sadly no longer in existence. It is of an earlier Ausf, but still covers most of the interior layout:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/01b6v0vaz0upsye/Czech_38t.pdf/file
This link will expire in 14 days.

- http://www.missing-lynx.com/gallery/german/pz38t_sheng.html
- https://www.historynet.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Hardware_1200x480.jpg

No turret basket. You might want to get Panzer Tract #18. It covers the Panzer 38(t) and has some photos of the interior taken from the German manual (the pictures are actually from a Slovakian LT-38 but it was close enough).

Steven Zaloga did an Osprey/Vanguard book in 2014 which confirms no turret basket., and which has a cutaway drawing, among others. Well worth picking up.

Peter - this is excellent! Thank you very much.

There is at least one full-color "Walk-Around" book available on the -38(t). It is Squadron's "Panzer 38(t) / Swiss LTL-H" by Hanz-Heiri Stapfer.

Loaded with photos of historical 38(t) and restored tanks inside and out. It is a great reference. See also the mentioned Zaloga text. There are lots of photos on-line, as well. No lack of info for detailing a 38(t) kit!

As for Dragon's 38(t) kits: Each, like every other model kit, has good and bad points. They are fundamentally accurate in many major and minor aspects. Some details, such as the driver's and radio-op's seats, are simply wrong. But most of the interior is pretty correct as it goes, albeit there is always debate about one or another bit or feature. About every error I've found has been pretty easily rectified, save maybe for the debated hull-side armor details...

The D kits build up nicely, the errors can mostly be fixed if one really wants to, and adding details will yield really great builds of this important early-war tank.

Cheers! Bob

You are welcome