Dragon

1/35 Flakpanzer 38(t) "Gepard" Sd.Kfz.140 Auf (Sf) Ausf.L

Kit Number: 6469

Reviewed by  Randy Colvin, IPMS# 31754

MSRP: $50.95 web site: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Construction Construction began with the suspension, of course, and it's all very straight forward and simple to assemble. The suspension springs need a little clean up but nothing major. The idler wheel and drive sprocket has some of the finest detail I have seen on any 1/35 suspension and looks very good when assembled. Next came the interior. This is perhaps the most complicated part of the build but well worth it. Once all the interior parts were cleaned up, (this includes the driver, transmission and engine compartment), everything was test fitted and I found that I had to attach D55, and D37(x2) along with D56 in place on the side walls up front with the drive sprocket instead off attaching them to the drive shafts D46 and trying to fit everything in at once because it is all just too tight. I cut off the locating pin on part D46 (x2) and shaved it slightly shorter and it all fit much better. None of this is seen even with the transmission access panel left open. The engine compartment fits very well but I had to shave off a few millimeters from the edges of piece D47 otherwise the upper hull (G21) will not sit right on top of the lower hull, the lower hull will in fact be wider if this step is not done. The battery looks good but I decided to shave off all the detail and add new terminal posts and new battery cables. Dragon gives you a photo-etch battery cover but I decided to leave mine off so as to show off the battery itself. When the engine compartment is assembled and installed most off it can be seen when the compartment doors are left in the open position so some thought should probably go into how you want to display it. Once I had the interior painted, weathered, and installed I could concentrate on the exterior. All the exterior parts went together without any hitches and you have the choice between having all the armor plate around the gun in the up or down position. I decided to leave half up and half down. The gun assembly is no sweat except for the photo-etch shell catching basket that is provided. This is perhaps the most complicated part of the build. Parts MD1 are supposed to be assembled together but that leaves a seam down the middle that is not supposed to be there, it also interferes with it being attached to the frame work of the basket. I had to cut off the thick edges on the curved part and then attached them together. Part MC1 just wouldn't fit at all so I replaced it with nylon mesh that looks much better. Part MC2 went on just fine. When the basket is complete and attached to the gun it really makes the gun stand out that much more. The tracks were all painted and weathered in pieces and then assembled onto the suspension one piece at a time. This technique may take some time but it is always well worth it. As you can see in the photos I left open what ever could be left in the open position and everything is visible in the interior. Painting I mixed painting certain parts of the interior between using White and Maroon primer as some German interiors looked. I found color photos of three Hetzer engines that had been pulled and I used all three to come up with the colors for my engine. The Orange valve cover is straight from the photos. I opted to paint my Gepard in the colors of the last profile in the instructions; it is from the 12th Pz. Div. "HJ" in France during 1944. The colors consist of Panzer Yellow with Red Brown blotches. Conclusion When this kit is complete there are about a third of the parts supplied that are left over and not used, and although that's great for the spares box I wonder if Dragon could have left them out and lowered the price a bit. This kit has got to be the most detailed and finest molded kits from Dragon that I have ever seen and if this is what the future hold for armor kits then it's going to be a bright future for armor modelers. I would like to sincerely thank IPMS for the opportunity to build this kit and be a member of the Reviewers Corp and especially to Dragon USA for kindly supplying it. Visit them at www.dragonmodelsusa.com

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