ACE's 1/72 Panzer II ausf. C Beobachtungswagen
By Kent Kirkpatrick
The Panzer II evolved from a basic design and came in a number of variants. This German light tank was useful in different workhorse roles including as a mobile artillery spotting post during World War II.
The Kit
There is a four-page fully-illustrated instruction sheet, six sprues of light grey styrene parts, one sprue of photo-etched (PE) parts and one sheet of decals.
Initial review of the styrene sprues shows the parts are somewhat 'soapy' in detail which is consistent with an ACE kit. ACE's short-run kits are not on par with
the crisp level of detail from larger injection manufacturers such Revell or Dragon. My sample kit has some flash (upper hull) and sink marks (suspension arms).
So get your files, sanding boards and filler ready to go for this build. ACE did put extra effort in this kit to include a rudimentary interior with flooring, driver's seat, bulk heads, engine and
transmission. If they went to that effort why didn't they include turret detail of some kind? The PE tracks are nice but expect to put some effort in the careful bending and folding these small tracks. They should look really good when done. Included in
PE sprue are extra track links and armored vision ports. The print quality of the thin decal sheet is good. There is one set of unit markings while the other decals are generic Balkan crosses of two types.
Upon reviewing the instruction sheet, assembly is well documented but the illustrations are somewhat unrefined. Organization of the steps could be better. There is a parts location diagram to assist in locating
a part among the various sprues. There doesn't appear to be any assembly step that is too complicated in this kit except the PE tracks. Construction begins with the lower hull assembly which includes mating the road wheels and suspension arms to the four-piece
lower hull. Once that is done you mount the PE tracks (each track comes in two sections). After that, depending on how you read the instructions, you can assemble the turret. Don't forget to drill
out the 20mm and coaxial MG barrels. If you choose not to build the turret next you can detail the rudimentary hull compartment with bulk heads, engine,
and transmission. The rest of the assembly involves the upper hull detail including tool stowage, muffler, stowage boxes and radial antenna. For the head lights
I recommend drilling out the molded lights and replace them with MV lenses for further realism. Now you are done and ready for paint!
When finished building your Panzer II you have the choice of two German markings, 116th Panzer Artillery Regiment / 5th Panzer Division (Autumn 1943 Eastern Front) or
75th Panzer Artillery Regiment / 3rd Panzer Division (Winter 1943-44 Eastern Front). Color references are dark green camo over panzer grey or white 'wash' over
dark yellow.
Conclusion
If you are a modeler who is used to cutting edge injection mold technology or one who demands fine crisp detail for their dollar, ACE is not your line of kits. I give them credit for the effort on this kit. You will need patience and a little forgiveness when building but ACE does offer a unique line of AFV / artillery kit subjects in 1/72. This company should not be ignored. I recommend this kit to the experienced modeler who will go that extra mile to build a kit. I would like to thank Scale Model Kits for the review kit.
ACE 72270 - Panzer Beobachtungs Wagen II ausf. C