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Dragon 1/72 German Heavy Uniform Personnel Vehicle Type 40 w/2cm Flak 38

By Matt Bittner

Introduction

It has been a number of years since I worked on anything armor-related. I just became tired of it all, although working on armor was always therapeutic for me. When I build 1/72 armor I usually don't worry about accuracy (unless it's a glaring error, like the Airfix Mk.I not actually being a true Mk.I, etc.) and don't worry a lot about a perfect build before painting. With armor (and here I'm telling armor builders' dirty little secret) you can usually cover up or hide a modeling flaw with weathering, or what have you. Say there's a gap that you forgot to deal with. The solution? Throw would you would call "mud" on the piece – hiding the gap – and carry on. You really can't do that when building aircraft.

So, when I was asked if I wanted to review some of the latest armor that came into the IM "offices" I was skeptical. Granted, I have an early Dragon 1/72 kit release – their early T-34 – but it has one nasty flaw that isn't easy to deal with, so I never worked on it. However, comparing that first release with this German vehicle release is like comparing early Airfix model aircraft to their latest new-tool releases. It's a difference of night-and-day. I still don't know if this kit is accurate or not – and I still don't care – but to me it looks like the vehicles it represents, and it does so with exceptional molding. One excellent  aspect to this model – the body is one single piece. Totally cool. I'm sure it has to do with Dragon's "slide mold" technology, but that is just awesome, not having to build up the body from separate pieces and worry about alignment.

The Kit

The Dragon 1/72 German Heavy...uhm, okay. Here's where I shorten this up a bit. Technically the vehicle was known as the Kfz.18 Horch 4x4 Type 1a instead of that long title. So, from here on out I'll call the actual vehicle the "Horch". The Dragon 1/72 Horch w/2cm Flak 38 contains 53 pieces of gray, injected plastic for the Horch – and one clear for the windshield – and 35 injected pieces for the 2cm Flak 38. There is also a photoetch fret that contains two pieces of a non-skid surface for the inside of the Horch. Included are decals for two different "unidentified" vehicles from the Eastern Front, 1942. Both are finished overall in Panzer Grey.

Before I start talking about construction, I would actually think about painting parts before starting. Granted, I would put the photoetch skid-plates in the car before hand, but after that I would start painting.

Now construction can commence. First thing in the instructions is adding all the "undercarriage" – suspension, wheels, differential, exhausts, etc. Once that is finished then you flip the truck over and start work on the interior. Separate seats, steering wheel/column, etc. are added next. The last things to add to the car itself is the "folded-up" top and the windshield. Now you have a finished truck.

The next part of the instructions are assembling the 2cm Flak 38. The instructions only show it being assembled for transit, but with the right references you could assemble it differently.

Conclusion

An excellent kit of the Horch and 2cm Flak 38 in 1/72. All pieces are very well molded and having the body as a single piece really helps move construction along. You can assemble this one out-of-the-box, or go all out and add anything to your heart's delight. It's a great kit allowing you to add to it at your leisure. I'm looking forward to finishing a few on my workbench and actually starting this kit.

Huge thanks to Dragon USA for sending this to us to review.