DML DRAGON 1/35 PANZER RIDERS (LORRAINE 1944) KIT NO 6156 MSRP: $8.98 By Ray Mehlberger

This is a bit of a departure from DML's normal packaging of their figure kits. All the previous releases of figure kits have been packaged in end opening type boxes. This new release is in a tray and lid type box, which I much prefer over the old style. End opening boxes are just parts waiting to fall out the flap and get lost.

The box art is again by our old friend Volstad and shows four German infantrymen riding on the rear engine deck of a Panther tank. The side panel of the box has paintings of the figures upper torsos, personal gear, and weapons.

This kit was traded to me from my friend Mitsu in Japan. I want to thank him for it. It has a sticker on the side that says Hasegawa. I assume that Hasegawa must market DML kits in Japan? The box also announces that this is DML's 10th anniversary. Well...congratulations to them. Has it been that many years that they have been around? Gee, how time flies!

Another departure from DML's previous norm in packaging their figures is that the color assembly drawings are on a sheet inside this kit. There is also a sheet with a January 2003 calendar included. It sports a painting of a German soldier armed with an MP40. I assume this is a copy of the box art for one of DML's 1/16th kits?

What's in the box?:

The kit contains one large, one medium, and two small sized trees of light gray parts.

The large tree holds the four figure's parts. They are divided into seperate arms, legs, torsos, and heads. This tree also holds six Kar98 ammo pouches, two MP40 machine pistol ammo pouches, a pair of binoculars, four bayonets in scabbards, six pineapple type grenades, four folded shovels, three steel helmets, one peaked cap, four mess kits, four canteens, and four bread bags. (64 pieces in all).

The medium sized tree holds more personal gear and weapons parts. There are four more steel helmets, four more separate figure heads, four more bread bags, four more mess kits, four more canteens, one map case, four more folded shovels of two different types...with and without their cases, three more bayonets...two with scabbards and one without, one Gewehr 43 rifle with spare ammo clip, one MP43 assault rifle with spare ammo clip, two bipods...one extended and one folded, four gas mask canisters, two MP40 machine pistols with their ammo pouches, one Kar98 rifle with two of is ammo pouches, and a rifle telescope. (54 parts here)

The two small parts trees hold even MORE weapons. They are both re-pops of weapons that were in a couple of DML's earler figure kits.

The first one of these is labeled 6020. This was DML's kit of "German Volsturm (Berlin 1944)" figures. It holds one panzerfaust, one MP40 machine pistol, one Kar98 rifle, one Gewehr43 assult rifle, one folded bipod, and one Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 machine gun. (6 parts total)

The second small tree is labeled 6024. This was DML's kit of "German Sturmpioniers (Kursk 1943" figures. It just holds three more of the Kar98 rifles.

It is now obvious, to you, that you get a lot of EXTRA weapons and personal gear in this kit. More than is needed to fully outfit the four figures in the kit. It is always nice to get some extra parts for the spares box, that can be used on future projects.

These four guys will look great on the back of one of DML's recently released Panther variants (or sitting on other German tanks too for that matter).

Highly recommended.