Here is my first vBench project: Trumpeter 1/35 Dicker Max.
...Well, this is not a daily, step-by-step progress report, as I have already completed the assembly stage, and am currently halfway through the painting stage. So, this is rather an “after” report with a few photos I took during the project.
PACKAGE
First, about the package. It is a limited edition package for Japanese market. It includes a bonus metal barrel. I understand Trumpeter has announced an upgrade package which consists of a metal barrel and PE parts. I guess the metal barrel in this limited edition is the same one in the announced upgrade package.
I bought DML’s Dicker Max kit, and I thought I would not buy Trumpeter’s offering. But, when I visited my LHS and saw the Trumpeter kit, I was tempted :-) DML kit has sharper mold and more details than Trumpeter kit. But, Trumpeter kit did not look that bad, and has fewer parts than DML’s. I thought it would be quick and fun build.
The kit has optional two types of muzzle brakes and a gun travel lock, in order to represent the vehicle as built in the factory, or as used in the front line. I decided to build the kit in the “factory-fresh” state, because the kit does not come with radio equipment parts. Photos of Dicker Max on the front line clearly show that it must have had a radio equipment installed somewhere in the vehicle. (DML’s kit has radio parts in the fighting compartment and an antenna base on outside of the RHS wall. I am not sure the DML kit is accurate on this account though, as I have not seen any photo showing the radio equipment in the fighting compartment.)
I do not intend to make a “super-accurate” and “super-detailed” rendition of Dicker Max. There are a number of unknown details about this vehicle. Dicker Max is not like Tiger, Panther, or regular Panzer IV for which we know a great deal, and there is plenty of good reference. I don’t have time and resource to uncover the truth about these unknowns and fix all shortcomings of the kit.
So, here I go. I do whatever way I like to make this kit look. I may add or modify details of the kit. Or I may leave it as it is, even if I know it is not entirely accurate, or is inferior to DML’s kit...
Threaded Mode
