Dragon 1/35 Jagdpanzer IV L/70(V), previewed by Scott Van Aken

KIT #:	6589
PRICE:	$64.00 SRP
DECALS:	Four options
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	August 1944 Production. Dragon Zimmerit

The Jagdpanzer IV (Sd.Kfz.162/1) armed with a 7.5cm PaK42 L/70 gun entered production in August 1944. The (V) added to its name signified a variant manufactured by the company Vomag. Production up till April 1945 eventually reached some 930 Jagdpanzer IV L/70(V) vehicles, making it the most common member of the family. The vehicle was based on the chassis and drive train of the Panzer IV tank, while the 7.5cm gun without a muzzle brake was mounted in a fixed superstructure. The 25.8-tonne vehicle was popular with its crews thanks to its potent armament, good mobility and low profile, especially in the defensive fighting that characterized the latter part of WWII. The Jagdpanzer IV L/70 saw combat on the Western and Eastern Fronts, with the greatest concentration of vehicles occurring in the Ardennes Offensive.

Though this is not the first time the Panzer IV has been kitted by Dragon, it is the first time a zimmerit covered version has been done. As such, many of the sprues will be from previous kits with the newly tooled parts basically covering the external parts of the kit. This is a Smart Kit with individual track links, which account for many of the 650 parts and the recommendation that you be a skilled modeler before tackling this one. Here is a full rundown on the kit's features:

- Newly tooled superstructure molded w/Zimmerit
- Newly tooled fenders w/Zimmerit
- Newly tooled rear plate w/spare tracks and detailed exhaust pipe
- Gun mantlet w/Zimmerit made from 4-directional slide-molded
- Gun barrel w/hollow muzzle
- Travel lock and access hatches reproduced
- Gun sight hand wheels and gun breech w/well-defined detail
- Commander's hatch can be assembled open or closed
- Close-in defense weapon port on superstructure
- Spare-wheel brackets w/spare wheels
- Extendable jack w/separate parts
- Intricate OVM arrangement
- Hatches on engine deck can be assembled open or closed
- Periscope made from clear part
- Sight rail provided as separate parts
- Side-skirt armor produced for scale thickness
- Realistic return-rollers included
- Road wheels and suspension w/multiple components exhibit crisp detail
- Sprockets and idler wheels w/delicate detail
- Accurate detailed idler adjuster mountings
- Convoy light on rear fender made from clear part
- Magic Tracks delicately produced

There are four markings options for this one, all of them based on panzer yellow. As you can see from the profiles above, most are provided with just basic markings or none at all. The brown speckled one is from Pz.Jg.Abt. "Heeresgruppe Mitte" during the Warsaw uprising of 1944. The green and brown one is from 9.Pz.Div. "Hohenstaufen" in Hungary during 1945. The winter camo vehicle is from Pz.Jg.Abt. Pz.Div "Feldherrnhalle" in Budapest during 1945, and the last option is from the very popular unidentified unit.

CONCLUSIONS

This adds another fine kit to their growing zimmerit collection. Having tried to put on zimmerit using conventional methods, I have to say that having it already molded in place is a real time saver!

Thanks to www.dragonmodelsusa.com for the preview kit. You can get yours today at your local hobby shop or ask them to order one for you.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note toContributors.