Dragon 6387 Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.L Late Production w/Winterketten

 

Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.L Late Production finely reproduced w/great detail

Turret made from 3-directional slide molds

Top plate for manlet spaced armor

Add-on armor tailored to 5cm Kwk.39 L/60 gun manlet

Photo-etched parts provided as option for mantlet add-on armor

Gun barrels are slide molded

Gun shield is newly tooled for Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.L

Rifling inside gun barrel

Gun sleeve has fine detail

Slide-molded engine deck for Pz.Kpfw.III

Slide-molded stowage bin specific to Pz.Kpfw.III

Optional extra armor fighting compartment front plate

Optional brackets for extra hull top armor

Fenders w/pattern detail on both surfaces

Injection-molded tow cable for engine deck

Detailed road wheels and sprockets

Final-drive housing covers are separate parts for maximum detail

Turret side hooks specially designed w/undercut details

One-piece slide-molded lower hull w/exquisite detail

Fully detailed weld seams on hull bottom

Brand new winterketten track w/realistic detail

Ider wheels w/photo-etched parts

Slide-molded hydraulic shock absorbers are well detailed

Detailed suspension swing arms

 

The Panzer III was a medium-class tank that, at the outbreak of WWII, was designed to be the primary platform of the all-conquering panzer divisions. However, with the advent of more heavily armored and up-gunned enemy tanks, the role of the Panzer III became secondary to that of the Panzer IV. Production finally ceased in 1943. One of the later models to be produced was the Panzer III Ausf.L, which featured a longer and more powerful 5cm KwK39 L/60 main gun. It also boasted thicker armor, with an additional 20mm-thick layer on the turret and hull front. A total of 653 Ausf.L tanks were produced from June-December 1942 by German factories.

It's the first 1/35 Panzer III Ausf.L medium tank from Dragon. Moreover it comes with something special. This kit offers modelers the chance to build a Late-Production variant with the long-barreled cannon fighting in the depths of an Eastern Front winter. This is because the tank comes equipped with Winterketten tracks, which are carefully represented by a set of convenient Magic Tracks. These extended track links offered armored vehicles better traction in snowy and muddy terrain. Since the Panzer III is based on an existing kit, this model may not offer any newly tooled parts, but the ones it does employ are accurately produced and well-engineered. On behalf of modelers, this Panzer III Ausf.L Late Production kit is ready to get muddy and snowy down in some wintry diorama!

Subject: Review - DML 1/35 scale Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. L Late Production w/Winterketten

Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited 1/35 Scale ‘39-‘45 Series Kit No. 6387; Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. L Late Production w/Winterketten - Smart Kit; 723 parts (464 in grey styrene, 216 “Magic Link” individual track links, 24 etched brass, 19 clear styrene); estimated price US$49.95

Advantages: builds one specific variant of this tank; “Smart Kit” minimizes the amount of etched brass required

Disadvantages: kit does not come with DS tracks, which will disappoint a few modelers

Rating: Highly Recommended

Recommendation: for all WWII German Eastern Front fans

DML has now released a kit of an Ausf. L with the Winterketten they introduced on an Ausf. N kit in 2010 to expand their line of “Winterized” German tanks. The Winterketten are provided as “Magic Track” single links with the extended blades on the outside of the track, but this kit does not have the ice cleats as well.

Other than specific parts to build the Ausf. L there is little different from previous DML Panzer III kits. As it is a late product L the hull pan has no side hatches. It retains the full torsion bar suspension from the other kit and the detailed suspension components and muffler assembly. As with the StuG all hatches are separate with some interior details and can be positioned as the modeler chooses. All engine deck ventilators are spaced and mounted on separate frames to get the correct appearance and “lift” needed to give an accurate representation of the original.

The kit provides some of the options for spaced armor arrays to include the additonal armor. Options also include blackout or clear headlight lenses and the “kugel” mount for the bow machine gun. All viewports and viewers may be positioned open or closed as well.

Once again this kit includes the rudiments of a turret interior, which is accurate as far as it goes.

As noted this kit offers DML “Magic Link” single link 40 cm tracks with the extended blades molded in place. But unlike the earlier two kits (StuG III G and Panzer III Ausf. N) they have deleted the set of ice cleats.

Technical advice was provided by Tom Cockle and Gary Edmundson.

The kit provides three finishing options: Pz.Rgt. 15, 11th Panzer Division, Kharkov 1943 (grey with whitewash patches, white 32); Unidentified Unit, Kharkov 1943 (grey with whitewash patches, red 221); Unidentified Unit, Kharkov 1943 (grey with faded whitewash coating, red L32). All markings are targeted and from Cartograf.

Overall this kit provides yet another option for the popular Panzer III series from DML.