Dragon 1/35 German Panzergrenadiers, Kharkov 1943 |
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Kit #6305 (Premium
Edition) |
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Reviewed by Dennis Tennant, #41582 |
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| Thanks to Dragon, my spares box has become a wee bit fuller and my diorama figures will be quite a bit better. This kit is another of Dragon’s recent repackaged “Premium Edition” efforts and is worthy of the “premium” moniker. The four figures (three standing, one kneeling) are modeled in winter clothing and come with sprues loaded with weapons and accessories – enough to outfit at least six figures, probably more. | ||||||
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| Originally part of an earlier Dragon panzergrenadier kit (#6059), the core sprue contains the torsos, arms and legs of the earlier kit. The molding of the figures is good but nowhere as good as the molding of the accessories, which is the heart of this new release. While the fit is good and the figures assemble easy enough, they must be assembled in the poses on the box. Since I liked the stock poses anyway, that wasn’t much of an issue with me. The real star of this kit, after all, is the new accessory sprues for the figures. | ||||||
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Dragon really pulled out all the stops to provide sprues filled with highly detailed accessories and weapons to complement their previous panzergrenadier kit. Thanks to their new “slide molding” technique, very few seams are visible and those that are can easily be removed with a swipe or two from a sanding pad. Four new heads molded from Dragon’s DS plastic replace those from the earlier kit. These heads hold detail like resin but can be easily glued with regular styrene cement. To round out this already full box, a sheet of photo etched combat badges, straps, buckles, medals, and epaulettes is included to add the fine details that only photo etch can provide. |
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| The figures come well armed, as you’d expect for participants in the great Eastern Front battle of Kharkov. Besides wonderfully detailed bayonets, ammo belts, canteens, entrenching tools, holsters and helmets, there are several sprues loaded with weapons. Two Kar 98 rifles (with separate bolts allowing modeling in open or closed positions), two MP-40 machine pistols (with separate bolts plus optional folding stock), a MP-44 assault rifle, a Gewehr 41 carbine and a MG-42 machine gun. All weapons have muzzle indentations allowing a quick drill out for an even better look. The machine gun is especially well done. It can be modeled several different ways as it comes with folded and extended bipod, a breech that can be modeled open or closed, two bullet belts that can easily be bent to realistic shapes and both open and closed ammo boxes. | ||||||
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The one thing that impressed me most about this kit was the number of modeling choices provided. You can build to show ammo holders in the open or closed positions. Canteens can be modeled with cups on or off. Bayonets can be shown in our out of their scabbards. The one thing that gave me the most difficulty was figuring out where all this gear should be placed on the figures. While the instructions are nicely drawn and provide painting guidance, I could have used another sheet of instructions to help show where to position the various bits on my figures! I eventually turned to my reference books and the Internet for help. Thankfully, the information wasn’t too difficult to find, making this only a minor irritation. |
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This kit is an exceptional collection of figures and accessories. Dragon’s new Premium Editions are a great value and will make a worthwhile addition to any diorama builder’s bits box. Thanks to Dragon for providing the review copy of this kit.
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