Hi
I just bought a tamiya pz iii ausf L. If anybody has built this kit please send pictures and tips for it. A photo-etched list would be nice.( I can only order from canada)
I have the kit, but I haven’t built it yet. I got a Royal Models detail set for it off Ebay.
I would have gone for either Royal Model or Aber… like he said check eBay and type ‘Panzer III Ausf L’ you will see many results. Avoid Verlinden upgrade set if possible but its stowage set isn’t too bad. If you are that good, go for Voyager sets.
I would order an aluminum barrel if I was you… Tamiya kit barrel may come in two pieces and it is pain in butt to make it look good.
If money isn’t an issue, I would order aftermarket tracks from Modelkasten or Fruil.
Got this in the stash as well. I went for Aber PE, always my first choice for armour PE, though i didn’t realise Royal Model did one. Also Fruil tracks and an Aber barrel. But armourscale/RB also make nice barrels.
The barrel does indeed come in two halves. There is a little trick to this barrel, as the mouldings incorporate the breech as well. This means that if you retrofit an aluminium barrel, you need to get the correct length, as the full length barrel passes through the mantlet. Do not buy a barrel which ends at the sleeve on the mantlet, unless you intend to do a little surgery.
Aber make a number of KwK39 L/60 barrels, but most are for Dragon kits with a different barrel mounting. If looking at Aber, look for part # 35L-33, which is intended for the Tamiya kit.
RB Model also has a barrel which appears to be suitable, 35B104
In both cases, the kit barrel is cut off at the breech and the replacement glued in its place.
There may be other barrels available, but I know that the two I have listed should fit the Tamiya kit.
Armorscale also do a KwK39/L60 including a resin mantlet, but it is overkill for this kit, with the applique armour mounted over the mantlet making it rather pointless. (Might be good for earlier versions (Late H/J?) with the L/60 without applique armour)
EDIT: Look for the March 2007 issue of FSM, which contains an article demonstrating some simple upgrades to this kit using a metal barrel and the Eduard “zoom” PE set.
Hi buddy - I definately agree with Andy on all counts here! [dto:]
The tracks at least would look much better replaced with MK’s or even better, Friuls. Some realistic sag look so much better and realistic - kit supplied one piece vinyl tracks on a German build that would have had some track sag don’t work. There are actually some new replacement clickable tracks available from Tristar that you can use too - they are much cheaper than Friuls and MK’s and look very good. I’m thinking of using them on my next build. I usually like Friuls but think these could work well. I think the US price is about $10.
Link to a review of these Tristar clicky tracks on Armorama below:
http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=5153
Link to a UK stockist for my British friends:
Friuls in the UK are about £25 - £30. These are about £12.
Also, as Andy says, an Aluminium replacement turned barrel really is a must imo. They are very cheap and a sound investment - the seam line on the plastic kit barrel is a horror and very hard to totally remove.
Why not enter your Panzer into Andys Panzer III and Variants GB - have a look at it in the Group Build section. It starts on July 1st.
Many thanks,
Ben [t$t]
You Guys are giving me prices in euros the PE needs to be based in canada please.
Try this website, http://www.airconnection.on.ca They are located in Canada, however I’ve no experience dealing with them so I can’t say if they’re a good company or not. They do list a large selection of Aber detail sets as well as other manufacturers.
There’s also this one, which is Canadian based. http://www.thebarrelstore.com/index.html I haven’t dealt with them personally, but there are many here who have.