For a long time I have wondered why model producers don't release dedicated interior kits for their existing tank kits. It seems to me that this would be a great seller. Now Tristar have tried this and released a dedicated "after-market" (I guess that term applies here) kit for their three Panzer 38(t) kits. These are the Pz.38(t) Ausf.E/F, Ausf.G and Ausf.B kits released during the past year. These kits come with a few interior parts including a main gun breech and separate hatches, ready for an interior. There have been a few recent kits from Academy and Dragon that feature full interiors in the base kit and Tristar's recent Marder and Pz.I Ausf.A kits feature full interiors too.

The Kit

Tristar's new kit feature an almost full interior for the basic Pz.38(t) tank, minus the main gun breech which is included in the base kit. An engine and engine bay is included too which can also be used on their Marder. The kit includes three sprues (two are moulded together) and a 0.18mm thick top/bottom etched brass fret. The instructions are printed in black, the description is in Japanese only (this may be because my sample is direct from Tristar, an English instruction sheet may be available later), the captions are in English however. Painting information is given for Tamiya Color and Gunze Mr. Color, although only painting captions are given for the engine.

Photograph key

1. Box top.
2. Sprue "H", front. Fighting compartment details.
3. Sprue "H", back.
4. Sprue "I" & "J", front. 37mm ammunition boxes. Engine compartment
5. Sprue "I" & "J", back.
6. Photo-etched fret, front.
7. Photo-etched fret, back.
8. Assembled transmission and final drives (by Mike Bishop).
9. Assembled transmission and final drives (by Mike Bishop).
10. Assembled seats (by Mike Bishop).

Transmission

Starting at the front with the transmission and brake drums, this assembly consists of a styrene gearbox and details along with a rather complex photo-etched and styrene steering linkage assembly (photo #8 and #9). This assembly may be a challenge to less experienced modellers and all should study the assembly carefully beforehand. Compared to reference photographs it does look good. One thing worth mentioning is what appears to be a leather(?) cover over the gear box in some photographs (ref. #1, page 18-4, and ref. #2 page 42. I suspect that this cover acted as padding to protect the crew from the sharp edges on the gear box. This cover does not appear in museum examples however. The cover is not included in the kit but could be made from lead foil, it should be painted black.

The brake drums are also complex assemblies, the styrene drums are covered in photo-etched panels. These panels must be bent to a circular profile. There are some photo-etched bending tools for this but a wooden dowel of the correct diameter will do.

When assembled the transmission is fixed to the floor plate of the tank kit. A lot of this won't be visible when tank's superstructure is assembled, fortunately the tank's transmission cover on the glacis is separate. There are a few parts that go under the glacis plate that are included too.

Fighting Compartment

Included are a pair of excellent seats for the driver and radio operator/MG gunner. These are made of up styrene and photo-etched parts and can be positioned like the prototypes, (see photo 10). The Pz.38(t) vehicles all seemed to have a "floor mat", I think this was made from wood or some kind of rubber. It was to provide sure footing for the crew. The kit included this as a photo-etched panel. The drive shaft and rear bulkhead are provided in styrene with photo-etched details.

Ammunition boxes are provided in styrene for both the 37mm shells and the MG. Photo-etched storage bins are provided, these must be folded into five-sided boxes. This may be a challenge so a photo-etched folding tool will be necessary. It is beneficial to have the bins and boxes replicated in this manner as the boxes can be omitted to show an empty bin.

The regular Pz.38(t) carried a single Fu.2 set, the platoon leader's tank carried a Fu.5 and the company commander's tank carried both the Fu.2 and Fu.5. Each set consisted of a receiver and a transmitter box, of the same size. Included are two radio set boxes, one a transmitter and the other a receiver I would imagine. The instructions do not show where to place these sets. The regular tank and platoon commander's tank would have the set mounted on top of the drive shaft.. The command tanks lacked the hull MG too, which provided space for the additional set which was suspended from the roof to the right of the radio operator/MG gunner. To replicate the command tank accurately an additional set will have to be added, Aber make excellent radio sets that will do. The kit sets themselves consist of detailed styrene assemblies with photo-etched mounting racks, the various cables and headsets will have to be added from thin wire solder. References for the Fu.2 and Fu.5 can be found readily on the Internet with a simple search for these terms.

A few details are missing. These mostly include the various cables and other "plumbing". Referring to the reference photographs there should be a conduit from the centre of the drive shaft that travels along the top to the transmission. This conduit is attached to a "Schleifringubertrager" (ref. #2) that is then attached to the turret ring via a braced cable. This can be added with some thin solder and scrap styrene. Also a few small cables can be added to the transmission and along the side walls. There's a rather strange looking cable that is attached to the rear of the hull MG and travels to the transmission... why, is anyone's guess! Another omission is the first aid box and its rack, this should be fitted behind the fire extinguisher on the starboard side wall, (ref. #1).

Engine Compartment

A full engine compartment including the engine, fuel tanks, batteries and radiator are included. The engine looks good and consists of 23 parts, the side fuel tanks are separate items. The batteries could do with some cables and there are a few cables that could also be added to the engine and engine bay area. I have had some trouble finding good photographs of the engine area of the Pz.38(t), there are good shots available of the early Marders and other vehicles built on the chassis. The best reference if probably the Speilberger book (ref. #4), but it's an expensive investment just for that.

Turret

There is not much to the turret other than the ammunition boxes and their stowage bins. The tank kit comes with most of the details for the interior already. These include the 37mm gun breech, sights, etc., commander's vision blocks. For more information on these details refer to reviews on the gun tank.

Painting Information

Based on the black & white photographs in Panzer Tracts it's obvious that the floor is painted a dark colour. There are a set of colour photographs in the Praga (ref. #2) book that show this to be an olive green, close to British khaki drab. The side walls and rear bulkhead appear off-white, possibly ivory. The transmission also appears white in the black & white photographs but green in the colour ones! The leather pads on the walls and transmission appear black.

The ammunition boxes are only shown in the black & white photographs but appear green. Some of them have a white stripe running lengthwise, possibly to differentiate between different types of shells. The main gun breech is green as are many smaller fittings. These include the armoured view port mounting hardware, instrument panels, junction boxes, etc. The "floor mat" appears to be a light colour, as I noted above, I suspect this was made of wood. References will have to be studied to determine exact painting details for the small items.

Conclusion

The complex photo-etched folding may make this kit a bit of a challenge to some, so it is probably best to practice on photo-etched bending and assembly techniques before tackling this kit. The missing details can be easily added if good references are available. Placing the radios, now that you know, won't pose much of a problem. All in all I am pretty pleased with the look of this kit. I am sending it to Brian Bocchino to build as a blog, so any assembly problems and advice will be provided by Brian.

Disclaimer: this kit was provided by Tristar/MRC as a review sample.

Other Reviews and Blogs

1. The review of Terry Ashley: http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/tristar/tri35032.html
2. The Blog of Tristar's Marder kit by Mike Bishop: http://www.track-link.net/forum/site_blogs/8145. Contains photographs and advice on the common interior parts.
3. The Blog by Brian Bocchino: To be announced.
4. Roy Chow's review of the Tristar Pz.38(t) Ausf.G http://www.track-link.net/reviews/k1797.

References

1. PANZER TRACTS No.18 Panzerkampfwagen 38(t). By Thomas L. Jentz and Hilary Louis Doyle. Panzer Tracts Pub. 2007. This is the best references available, it contains era photographs of the interior with lables and comments. The text describes the location of the radio equipment. Also included are era diagrams with comments on their accuracy.
2. PRAGA LT vz.38 Pz.Kpfw. 38(t). By Vladimir Francev and Charles K. Kliment. MBI Pub, 2002. Contains the photographs that appear in the Panzer Tracts book above, but are not commented. Also there are some interior photographs for a museum vehicle which has some non-standard modifications however.
3. Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) (TANKS &s; ARMOUR). By Terry J. Gander. Ian Allan Pub. 2006. A fairly decent collection of photographs with some excellent views of the interior.
4. DIE PANZER-KAMPFWAGEN 35(t) UND 38(t). By Walter J. Spielberger. Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart Pub. 1980. This is a German language book that covers the entire Praga development. Many of the photos and drawings are included in other books.

User Contributed Notes