Part 1: First Look

MSRP: $10.99 Distributed by MMD/Squadron: www.Squadron.com Roden is well known for their detail and accuracy when it comes to WWI aircraft. Roden also has a line of finely detailed armor kits in 1/72 scale including many German armored cars, Opel trucks, and a Russian IS-3. Box Art Since this is a "first look," I can say that the box art on these Roden kits is unrivaled. When you pass one of these kits in the store, you just want to buy it on the merits of the box art alone. Trust me...I have and I will again. In the Box Upon opening the box, I found 3 gray sprues and 2 black sprues of finely detailed parts (170 parts - all styrene). The kit comes with decals for two different vehicles with similar red-yellow-green paint schemes. The directions are easy to read and are black and white with a brief vehicle history. Kit Parts The gray parts have a large amount of fine flash, but the flash is nothing that a sharp #11 blade and a small file can't handle. After starting the fenders, I didn't find the flash to be too problematic. There was an incomplete molding in the gun breech of my copy, but I'm not so sure that this deficiency will be visible when the kit is built up. The kit has no mention of the prominent fender clearance markers seen on 233s and 234s. I'm not sure if these markers were installed on every 234/4 or only some of them. Some of my online references either show the markers or just the mounts for the markers. After checking my copy of a Roden 233, no clearance markers were in that kit either, but they show up on the box art. The interior has two driver seats, two steering wheels, two sets of controls, and a beautifully detailed Pak 40 75mm cannon. A super detailer may want to add a little more gear to the interior, but for a 1/72 scale model, the interior is probably busy enough. The road wheels have lightening holes on the real vehicle, but in the kit they are molded as depressions. It looks very difficult to drill these out. I'd recommend using a dark colored wash to accentuate these holes. Planned Build I plan on building this sample out-of-box for the most part. I am toying with the idea of using push pins and styrene rod or sprue to make fender clearance markers for the kit. I'll be painting the kit per the directions, and my markings will be from the "Battle for Berlin" as included in the box. I look forward to building this kit. I see lots of fine detail, 9 wheels (8 and a spare), and one big gun. It should look both imposing and unique when finished. I thank and appreciate Roden for providing me with this kit for review, and I thank John Noack and IPMS/USA for giving me this opportunity. Stay tuned for the finished product,

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