10.5cm  K18 Auf Pz Sfl IVa Dicker Max by Brian Bocchino

Kit:  On Track Model #35001
Medium: Resin
Rating: **** ½   Highly Recommended

History:  This vehicle was originally developed for the purpose of destroying heavily fortified bunkers.  Two prototypes were completed by Krupp and delivered on March 31, 1941.  By May it was decided that the vehicle would be a heavy Panzerjager for use against heavy tanks expected from Britain and America - no mention was made of Russian tanks in the report.  Production was to commence in the spring of 1942.  Later requirements changed and no additional vehicles beyond the two prototypes were built. 

Both vehicles were issued to the 521st Panzerjager Detachment for the purpose of the attack on Gibraltar (which did not take place).  After some modification to the muzzle breaks and traverse locking system, the 3rd Panzer Division later used the vehicles in Russia.  One vehicle was destroyed when its ammunition exploded and the other vehicle was returned to Germany in October 1941 after successfully destroying numerous Russian T-34 tanks.

Reference:

1. Encyclopedia of German Tanks of WWII, Chamberlain, Doyle, Jentz ISBN 1-85409-214-6
2. Panzer IV & Its Variants, Walter Spielberger, ISBN: 0-88740-515-0
3. Panzerjager, Sturm & Drang #6, Delta Publishing Company 1993
4. German Military Vehicles In Photographs, Ground Power Special Issue, Delta Pub Co July 1998

Kit:

This was the very first kit the On Track Models released, and actually the third product that I purchased from them.  This kit has been on the market for about a year now.

This is a beautifully casted model.  The vehicle is hollow and consists of a lower hull and upper hull, just like you would find with a Tamiya kit.  A detailed fighting compartment is included, but no interior for the drivers compartment/transmission area.  Although the hatches for the driver and the transmission are separate so one could be added with little effort.  With out counting duplicate parts/pieces, there are a total of 112 parts.  Also as a nice touch, both styles of muzzle breaks are included in the kit.

No decals are included.  The instructions are straightforward and include two pages of eight color photographs of the completed model from different angles.  The biggest draw back, in my opinion are the tracks.  The tracks are resin individual links of the 36cm track with open guide horn.  The odd thing about the tracks is that each track has one 'knock-out' mark on it.  I wasn't aware of this happening with resin???  The tracks are definitely something I will be replacing with ModelKasten tracks.

Construction article should follow in 1 to 2 months.