JeroenPeters

Hahahaha! The text on the razor saw says: MAD IN CZECH REPUBLIC!! How's that for a freudian slip of the blade!

Nice one!!! I just love these HGW sets. They really add life to an already vibrant model.

Mwuahahaha! Great stuff...

Thnx Alan, Lots of sanding to be done on the flaps....

Freakin great! (but i already told u that at Telford ))

Really nice result you've got there! Nice one!

Hi Jim, Here is the pic showing the hinges in the MDC resin wing:

I love it John! Super cool kit and great modeling. As always

Cheers Brian, Ralph, Couldn't resist so decided to cut the flaps out. These need hinges...

I believe I saw your model somewhere. Telford? Lovely....

Great tip!!! Will use this for sure!

Another Superb review!! I'd love to see one of these in Dutch colors. They were built under license by Van Berkel.. Really cool

Thnx Jim, Alan! The fuse is closed and the insert for the bomb carrying device is wedged in between. Spent the afternoon sanding. Almost smooth enough to start describing some lost lines.

Kagero Photosniper 3D #14 (0014) Panzerjäger 38(t) Hetzer & G-13 Vol. 1 Publisher: Kagero Written by: Mariusz Motyka, Hubert Michalski, Mike Koenig, Stafan Draminski Available from Kagero for € 20,65 Introduction I’ve always had a soft spot for the Hetzer tank. Compact and functional in design adorned with a wide variety of pretty cool camo schemes. This subject has been issued in ‘our scale’ by a couple of companies: Tamiya, Dragon and Academy to name a few. It’s not too hard to find good reference material as quite a number of examples survived the war and the fact that Switzerland used their G13 variant after the war. From the top of my head I can name about 3 museums in my vicinity that have one on show: The Army Museum in Brussels, Wings of Liberation Museum in Best (Netherlands) and the National Military History Museum in Diekirch (Luxemburg). Once a year the museum in Overloon (Netherlands) host a military vehicle show where a driving / functional Hetzer can be seen and even be hitched a ride on. So here we have a new reference book by Kagero on this little tankhunter. Taking the above into account, my expectations are high. Let’s go through the chapters and see what we get: History and Development The first few pages deal with the development of the Hetzer and Technical Information. These pages are accompanied with superb line drawings that are clearly made with the 3D model that was made for this book, showing the different Hetzer versions from different angles. This is a drawing style I haven’t seen before. The technical drawings with side and upper profiles are in 1/48 scale (clearly the modeller was in mind here). Walkaround Before we are taken to the 3D rendered images we get a large section with walk around photo’s made by Mike Koenig. The Hetzer we see here is a restored G13, but with all the details of an original german 38(t) version. This vehicle is owned by 2nd Armoured Productions in Clarksville, Indiana, USA. The walk around covers all the external details as well as the complete interior. The nice thing about this Hetzer is the very complete interior that serves as a great modellers reference. Paint, ammo, instruments… it’s all there. The fact that this Hetzer is still in driving condition gives us a good idea of the wear and tear on the wheels and suspension. 3D renderings About half way through the book the 3D renderings pop up. I am familiar with Kagero’s high level detail 3D artwork from (amongst others) their Fokker DVII book, but these Hetzer renderings are something else. The cut away style we see on real engines or weapons is used, highlighting the cut-lines with red colour. Step by step the outer armour of the Hetzer is peeled away, revealing the interior in clear detail. This is what should please the modeller. After the renderings have taken us cross-section wise through the interior, the gun is shown separately from different angles. And last but not least we are treated to huge full page views of the interior. Honestly, these titles keep blowing me away. Conclusion / Verdict If you have any plans of doing a Hetzer in the near or distant future, treat yourself to this book. All I can think of is that when these ultra detailed 3D drawings were ever used to 3D print a model, that would be pinnacle of armour modelling…. From 1 to 10 I’d rate this book a 10. That’s how much I like it J Very highly recommended Our sincere thanks to Kagero for the review sample. To purchase directly, click HERE. Jeroen Peters

Today Erik B. dropped in for a visit and brought with him the MDC Ar234. A great opportunity to compare the two kits and see what all the fuss is about. Without further ado, here we go: The wings match quite well when viewed from the top. The MDC wings show a bit more pronounced angle halfway down. Also the Fly wings don't feature the aileron and flap hinges, which are reproduced on the MDC wings. This should be an easy fix. A more visible difference is the angle of attach. Fly being more thick and horizontal. The inner flap on the MDC kit is also a bit wider. The fuse matches quite well. Slight difference in cross section where the MDC is a bit more flat on the top. Also the Fly wheel well openings are a bit more forward. See photo's below for difference in wing root / angle of attack: The intakes and exhaust on Fly is smaller in diameter: The wheels have the same diameter. Actually the Fly wheels are quite nice. One thing that does show is the smaller diameter of the wheel hub on the MDC kit: The Rato packs. In reality these should have raised rivets. Neither kit features this. The MDC has maybe too smooth and delicate detail: And last the tail planes. The control surface should run all the way to the end of the tail plane. MDC is correct. Fly needs to be corrected, but thats easy: Cheers! Erik & Jeroen PS Erik... you forgot one MDC resin wheel. I'll take it to the next sticky afternoon.

Painted the wheel bays. Ready to close the fuse...

LOVE IT!!!!

I'm getting one FOR SURE.

Frantic review Fran! Are you doing the 'Frantic' scheme??

I don't know when I suddenly became a speed builder, but I'm certainly enjoying this kit. Today I bought some generic HGW Luftwaffe seat belts. I plan to open the cockpit which means these will be VERY visible.

Really nice stuff Jim... These have become a must have for all of my builds...

Fitting the canopy. Fit seems OK. Wings dry fitted. Next up: wheel bay.

Oh oh...

Nice one Ben!

Ok Ok! Care needs be taken in and around the pit. No locating marks, so keep test fitting. The instructions tell you to place a clear part in a hole in the chin of the pit (in the pit floor). I fitted this part, but then checked references. The bomb camera needs to protrude through this hole. So I took the clear part out again and let the camera protrude. See reference pic too. Next step is to add lots of details and wires / hoses as per reference.