You can tell this from a low-res and small reproduction of proposed box art? Or do you have a link to images of the kit that you haven't posted here..? I think we should put our prejudices against Zvezda behind us and wait until the blinkin' kit arrives before making decisions about it, based on some outdated stereotype of Russian kit manufacturers - yes, they've produced some howlers in the past (which kit manufacturer hasn't..?), but their more recent stuff gets better release on release. Zvezda are to be congratulated for releasing a kit of the subject, not pilloried because another manufacturer didn't count the rivets properly. ... and relax... cheers all acav

Who said I have anything against Zvezda? I own a dozen or more of their kits, I am just saying the rear bed looks like Italeri's....you don't high res to see that.

Maybe so, but perhaps we should wait until we have the kits in our hands before making assumptions about it's parentage..?

It's pretty unlikely that this kit owes anything to Italaeri as the Merc 4500 is a bigger vehicle altogether. The clue is in the load rating, 4.5 tonnes is a significantly larger than 3, like 1.5 times the size! The wooden load bay is a standard design of the period. If you compare the two vehicles carefully, I think that the load bay is a "bay" longer than the 3 tonner, i.e. four panels, not three. I can see this being the basis of some great scratch builds, the 4.5 tonners were frequently used as mobile machine shops. Also there may be a box body version perhaps?

What about the armored Flak truck variants (fitted with a Flak 36, a Flak 41, or a Flakvierling 38) ? They would be cheaper than the available resin kits ? Frenchy

Absolutely. Even if the FINAL model isn't up to the standards of Dragon or Tasca a plastic model costing around 30 bucks is going to be a damn sight easier to improve than a $150 Resin one... Give them credit where credit is due - HOW LONG have we been waiting for these heavier trucks?

I want one of these. Finally a iszeable truck for the Panzer forces. Frenchy, great suggestion for a conversion. I might just steal that idea from you. Thanks for the update, Jim

No problemo Jesper Here's the Flakvierling 38-fitted variant (from Panzernet.net) : Frenchy

I would love to see the halftrack version of this one, with the wooden driverscab! Just love this truck with panzer II tracks. Frank.