I thought that title might grab your attention. I've never been one to do this kind of thing as I've always stuck to the "real" thing but this one I just couldn't resist. I've been thinking about it for years and I finally just broke down and ordered one. There is just something about the style of this one that grabs me more than than most. Anyway, arrived today and the kit is a bit of a dog and I must say that although they are priced out of this world, it is about what expected. It does come with friul tracks and a machined barrel so I guess that is worth something. The whole thing is done in resin and I am going to have to rework it more than I would have liked. First, here are a few shots of what comes in the box.
The bones are there but most of the smaller parts I think I will find substitutes for or scratch and I may end up scratching the entire rear plate as it is somewhat of a disaster at first glance. The kit is made to represent a prototype vehicle with no tools or anything but I don't think that I really want to build it up this way. Since this was thought to be a replacement for the TII at one point, I think I'm going to pick up a TII kit to rob parts from and get the aber TII PE set. A similar configuration of tools and onboard equipment wouldn't be too far fetched? Even further, I was thinking of using the TII running gear in place of what is provided with the kit. The kit has what appear to be a simplified T1 wheel with rubber tires. As I planned to model this as a 44/45 developed vehicle, it would seem only logical that they would have used the wheels they already had and rubber was on it's way out the door anyway as shown with the panther and e-series tanks so these don't really fit the theme. The only scetches that I've ever seen of this vehicle did not detail enough to show what they may have looked like anyway. It is also interesting to note that the NC box art shows the first running wheel as being an "outer" and not a "mid" mounted wheel which seems contrary to the drawings and anything that I've ever seen on a German afv of the era. I was surfing the web and found this image which kinda gives you an idea of what this might look like with the TII running gear instead of the kit parts.
So, what do you guys think? Leave it bare or dress it up with full combat equipment? About the running gear situation?
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