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This is another of the recently acquired TWS kits now available from TigerModels. The kit itself is intended for use in Panzer III and Stug III kits with or without the matching TWS fighting compartments. After examination, it appears to be suitable for any Panzer III chassis from Ausf. H onward, and also includes the different style battery tray and ammo stowage for a Stug III F or G.
The set arrived packaged fairly well in a plastic bag on a cardboard backing, and like the Stug III interior I recently reviewed this one also included old photocopied instructions dating back to the original Ordnance Models release of the kit. However, new instructions should be available shortly which will much improve the build-ability of the kit. Since the new instructions should be available shortly, I will score this as though they were included. However, no painting instructions are given, so make sure to do your research.
All 38 parts arrived unbroken and complete, no bubbles or warping were found on any of the parts though quite a bit of thin loose film was present on the engine block. As with everything cast by TigerModels, the resin quality is very good.
Assembly broke down into three major components. The Engine , cooling system with bulkhead, and the air cleaner assembly. There were also some other parts for the interior such as the battery tray and fuel tank.
The Maybach engine went together well, the only word of caution in that you really need to make sure to remove enough material from the bottom. However, it is difficult to see exactly where to remove as it is not clearly marked. If you leave on too much, everything won't fit under the engine deck. Assembly mainly consisted of attaching various pulleys and the support frame underneath. Parts from the frame are a bit tricky to align, and some were simply not well designed to attach to each other. However, thankfully that portion will be totally hidden once assembled.
The cooling bulkhead also assembled well, but the fan assemblies are rough looking and also tough to figure out where the casting block and actual parts separate. Some putty was needed in a few areas to fill gaps between the fan ducting and radiator, as well as a couple spots where the fan ducting cracked. You will also need to add some styrene rod for the prominent crossover tubes between the radiators.
The air cleaner assembly gives you two choices of either the standard cyclone chamber style, or tropical intakes. The cyclone chambers are not very well detailed on top, as the casting plug is poorly placed and much of the most visible detail is not present. A pattern piece (#15) is provided as an example if you want to carve out the missing detail. It shouldn't take much time and does help the appearance since these things are the most visible part of the compartment.
Final assembly is VERY tight all through the compartment, and you really need to test fit often to get everything to fit, especially if you use the interior kit too. The exhaust connections between the engine and muffler simply don't fit well, and using solder or something else to replace them would be your best bet.
Once finished, everything does come together into a nice looking engine compartment. Against my available references it checked out quite accurate, only missing some minor wiring and tubing. Other than the cyclone chambers, the few fit and detail problems will not be visible once assembled and aren't worth worrying over. Definitely recommended.
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