Marc Mercier Attack Pz.Kpfw II Ausf C Africa

This is a another variant of the Attack PzKpfw II Ausf C (#72870) with a number of those typical Deutsche Afrika Korps (DAK) modifications added. It features the Late Ausf C with the 360 degrees vision commanders hatch, thicker front turret armour and gun mantlet, "Tropen" modifications and several stowage boxes and different sets of jerrycan racks.
What do you get?
Inside a sturdy box you'll find 63 plastic parts, 25 resin ones and 2 turned metal barrels. The majority of these can also be found in kit 72870. What's new then? The "old" turret sprue is replaced by a new one with the later turret while 2 extra resin blocks (containing mainly boxes and jerrycans) have been added as the metal barrels. 10 Parts are marked "not for use" on the instruction sheet, but after checking the instruction sheet, there are more...	The first look seems very promising. The parts have a lot of detail (like rivets and welding seams), but this is often a bit soft or overdone. However, the casts themselves are sharp and flash is minimal.

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At first, the choice of including resin parts (instead of styrene) may seem a bit odd. However, it's quite logical. Firstly this allows Attack to offer some special versions ( like this one) while at the same time keeping the cost at an acceptable level. Secondly, some parts are difficult to produce in styrene with the same all around level of detail, (a good example are the curved track lengths around the idler and sprocket) unless one uses expensive techniques like slide-moulding. In resin, this is much easier to do without the higher costs. As an example, just look at this (enlarged) image of a jerrycan rack. Even the three handles are faithfully reproduced, something I've never seen done before in styrene.
Now for a closer look...
The hull itself is a multiple part construction; no bathtub fuselage here. Fortunately, a centre-placed bulkhead is provided to get everything straight. Tools are moulded on the mudguards. There is no interior detail and only the commanders hatch can be modelled open. Two types of idler wheels are on the sprue. the instruction sheet tells you to install the later (reinforced) type, but pictures of DAK vehicles show both types being used in theatre. This is not a "shake and bake" kit for beginners. Additional references will be needed when building the model. An example : the bullet deflectors (Parts 35 and 36) themselves have location pins, but there are no corresponding holes in the hull.
This pictures shows you three Pz II upper hull (ACE, S-Model and Attack). ACE is notable bigger while Attack and S-Model have the same correct dimensions.
Two turrets next to one another : S-Model and Attack, The underside of the visors on the Attack turret sides is not sharply defined, it looks like they have been soldered shut. In reality, these could be opened to get some fresh air in, so this soldered look will have to be filed away.
The same turrets from above : the S-Model depicts the earlier version without the commanders hatch.
The straight runs of the tracks are nicely done, keeping the scale in mind. Most of the holes in the middle are not moulded all the way through, but this can easily be corrected with a needle.
The turned metal barrels are extremely well done. This will be appreciated by many modellers.
Two types of turret fronts are provided. The one in styrene sporting extra armour on the front sides while the resin one in addition also carries the "reinforced" gun mantlet. According to Panzer Tracts No. 2-1 - Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf.A/1 to C, all Panzer II send to Libya with Pz.Rgt.5 were modified with this special mantlet. On the other hand, every images I've seen of tanks of that other unit in theatre, Pz.Rgt.8, were all lacking that feature.
Part 23 (rear deck) has the correct larger louvers in both the radio operator's hatch and cooling air, designed for Africa. Next to it, on the same sprue is a similar part with even more louvers, but that for use on the Ausf F.
The instructions sheet and decals
The instruction sheet is nicely printed in colour with clear drawings. The numbers in red triangles refer to the versions shown on the last page. However, there are choices to make concerning the optional parts when building the model (e.g. type of mantlet, presence of jerrycans and boxes etc..). However, I'd find these options a bit confusing and additional information might be helpful.

You get 5 marking options in this kit: either from Pz.Rgt.8 (15 PzDiv) or Pz.Rgt. 5 (21 PzDiv). Unfortunately, only left side views are shown. So, the instructions about the placement of the decals on the other sides are nonexistent.

The decal sheet (logically) contains the DAK Palm Tree, but none are visible on the drawings above. On the other hand, the divisional insignia of the 21 PzDiv is absent on the decal sheet which I find bizarre.--
Conclusion Keeping in mind that this is a short run kit, I can only say that this is a very nice model with lots of potential, thanks to the many extras like the jerrycan racks and boxes. Preview sample provided by Attack This model can be purchased from

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Article Last Updated: 02 October 2016