Cyber Hobby 1/35 Pz.Beobwg. III Ausf. H Sd.Kfz. 143
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
The Panzer III tank gave the Germany army its first quality indigenous main battle tank, combining a good hull with a decent gun. With several thousand built, it was only natural to modify some to fit some of the other needs of the army. Such was the case with the Artillerie Panzerbeobachtungswagen Panzer III Sd.Kfz. 143, an observation vehicle used by forward artillery observers. Assigned to the self-propelled howitzer batteries of Panzer Divisions, the PzBeobwg III had its main gun removed and a machine gun put in its place. A dummy barrel was attached where the standard ball MG was located, to give the PzBeobwg III a similar silhouette to a standard Panzer III. Over 250 of these observation vehicles were converted between February 1943 and April 1944.
The Kit
For those familiar with Dragon's 1/35 Panzer III kit, there won't be much new here, as this is a derivative kit. It comes molded in light gray plastic, with excellent surface detailing and includes a bonus set of German tank crew figures. There is a small fret of photoetch and an even smaller decal sheet with markings for one vehicle. Finally, there are 216 individual track links in the MagicTrack system included.
Construction begins with the main hull, and this is pretty much the same as found in other Dragon Panzer III kits. The drive sprocket and return rollers are in two halves, as are the road wheels. The one-piece lower hull in this sample suffers from some warpage, but some judicious application of spacers inside should alleviate that. With the separate suspension pieces put in place and the wheels added, all that's left is to add the tracks. The instructions show the track assembly step with an exclamation point and an hour glass. Assembling 216 individual track links, I think those warnings are a bit obvious, but there you go. Once together, the tracks will look quite nice.
Moving on to the upper hull, this has a main casting with separate side, top and front pieces. There is no interior in this kit, so all the hatches are molded in a closed arrangement. As this is a sub-variant of a stock Panzer III, pay attention to the callouts for the various bits and pieces that need to be removed in the instructions, as there are several. With the upper hull done, it can be mated to the lower hull and the separate fenders added. As one would expect, the fenders catch quite a few useful bits and pieces, such as tools and spare wheels. While the kit includes photoetch, that is just vent grates over intakes. Brackets to hold these various fender bits would have been nice to see on that photoetch fret, but they're easy enough to create for those who are not happy with the plastic representations.
Moving on to the turret, the basic assembly here is the same as that found in other Dragon Panzer III kits, up until the addition of the mantle. The main turret comes with main upper and lower pieces, with a separate top decking and front. The prominent rear storage bin is separate and comes in two main pieces, with additional separate details. The new mantle accurately captures the changes for the PzBeobwg variant, with a two-piece dummy gun barrel for the right side and a detailed MG for the center station. The cupola is in two main sections, and you can have that hatch either open or closed. With no interior, should you decide on having this open I strongly recommend having a figure filling the space. Finally, the last touch is the intricate antenna found on the rear hull. This is very petite and delicate, so much care will be needed in removing it from the sprue.
Interestingly, there are no assembly instructions for the figures. However, given their layout on the sprue, assembly should be self-explanatory. There is a total of four figures, one standing and three sitting. The sitting figures are shown in the instruction painting diagram as sitting on fuel can 'stools' made up from the included fuel cans. These are split into right and left halves and feature separate handles. The figures are split as we've come to expect for figure kits, with separate right and left legs, a solid torso, separate head, and separate arms.
For painting choices, this kit comes with a single example from an unknown unit seen on the Eastern Front in 1943. The vehicle is painted overall dark yellow with an irregular pattern of green striping. The decals provide the German crosses and little else. While my references tend to focus on the more common tanks, the few photos I turned up of the PzBeobwg III showed it to have little in the way of markings, so don't expect some wild artwork on these vehicles.
Conclusion
Overall, I think this is a good extension of the Dragon/Cyber Hobby Panzer III family, and should make for a great addition to a 1/35 armor collection. The interesting differences between this and a stock Panzer III will stand out when placed next to one another. My thanks to Dragon Models for the review sample.