Dragon 1/35 Pak 43 Waffentrager
By Don Barry
The Kit
This Waffentrager variant from Dragon consists of 14 sprues plus one photoetched fret and one lower hull tub. Complete sprues are included from Dragon kits of the Panzer 38t, Hetzer, Nashorn, and Jagdpanther kits. This means there are several cases of very similar, redundant parts, so great care must be used to be sure the correct part is selected.
More spare parts were garnered from this one kit than this reviewer has ever experienced. This is not to say they will go to waste, it is simply less expensive to include the entire sprue, than to cut new molds for parts that already exist. As an example, sprue B, which is from the Nashorn kit, contributes 5 main gun rounds out of more than 40 parts on the sprue.
By the way, they are misidentified in that step as parts F-20. (Instructions call for 6…) There are several such issues to be dealt with, some I suspect come from a lack of good references on this vehicle. As an example, there is no back plate for the raised driver’s area, and the left wall is incomplete. Not a molding issue, rather a case of no parts included. No travel lock brackets were found, although they are shown installed. If the photoetched gun shield part MA-3 is installed as shown, it would immobilize the main gun’s elevation.
The fit of the tracks to the drive sprockets and idlers is very tight, even before painting. Having dealt with these issues, vexing though they are, the builder is rewarded in the end with a unique, very presentable vehicle. There are handles that can be added, tie-down brackets that were probably never installed, interior stowage to be done according to the restrictions of space available, etc. Given the location of the engine compartment, and the layout of the transmission as illustrated, I would love to know how the drive train was arranged. You’ll see what I mean when you get yours…
Two virtually identical paint schemes are shown, but at this stage of the war, use your imagination. Ambush, urban geometric, red primer/dark grey/dark yellow, perhaps a derivative of an SS camouflage pattern, possibilities abound.
Conclusion
Despite the challenges, I had fun building it, and would do so again. Even though its numbers may have been limited to a couple of prototypes, I thank Dragon USA for producing this unusual kit and providing this review sample, and Internet Modeler for allowing me the chance to build it. Happy modeling.
