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Monday, November 28, 2016 - 04:23 AM UTC
Dragon has a brand new Panzer IV Ausf.D tank in 1/72 scale available for modelers wishing to expand their number of variants in this family. And it will be a 100% newly tooled kit.
The Ausf.D was produced from October 1939 through to May 1941, with just 229 units manufactured in total. This type reintroduced a hull machine gun and it used an external mantlet (instead of an internal one). Armour protection was also improved, with 20mm armor now used on the sides. The tank retained the previously used short-barreled and low-velocity 7.5cm KwK.37 L/24 gun as its main armament.

Dragon has previously released 1/72 scale plastic kits of the Panzer IV family, but this is the very first of the Ausf.D. By judiciously combining smart engineering and slide-mold technology, the number of parts to assemble has been reduced to a minimum. For example, the road wheels and track run are made as one piece. Indeed, these parts only need to be plugged into the hull suspension units and glued and they’re finished.
This is a completely new idea from Dragon to ease assembly in every possible way without sacrificing one iota of detail.
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Comments

100% newly-tooled? Really? Wonder how many parts will actually be from previous kits? And they're reducing parts count even further - which is supposed to be some kind of advantage. Maybe we'll eventually see a snap-together model with four parts! Oh, wait...they already did that with their Iron Man figures!
NOV 28, 2016 - 04:56 AM
Welcome my braille friends back to the days of Roco.
NOV 28, 2016 - 05:50 AM
If this kit isn't meant for war-gamers then there is some crafty logic at work here on Dragon's part. Basically, let's reduce the quality of our kits so that small scale builders appreciate what we were providing them with prior! Oh how tempting the old Panthers, Panzer IV and Shermans look now!!!😜 The writing might be on the wall and they'll be doing this next to their 1/35 scale kits! Cheers 🍻🍺🍺🤑
NOV 28, 2016 - 07:58 PM
Well, I can tell you that the 1/35 kit is really an uber-kit. Lotsa in that box, let me tell you! As soon as I finish the "E" I'll start on it too!
NOV 29, 2016 - 04:15 AM
Let me confirm your fears. With total excitement, I've just purchased one of these kits at what I though was a decent price of around $15. It is indeed more of a war gamers kit. ALL the tools are molded into the plastic as well as a spare piece of track that appears to be recessed into the front hull instead of laying on it. No photo-etch. Not a fan of the rubber road wheels molded with the tracks. I do appreciate the sagging of the tracks on the top rollers. The tracks are also totally solid with no holes where the open areas should be. - cheap, cheap, cheap. I mistakenly purchase 4 more in case these all gobbled up. I feel totally burned.
MAR 05, 2017 - 05:37 AM
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