Revell

Panzer III Ausf.M

Notes

• For an introduction to the later versions of the PzKpfw III, we refer to this preview.
• The kit that I used was the 2001 release, which is identical to the 2010 re-release except for the decals (see here).
• For a comparison with the Esci kit, we refer to this article.

Pictures from Henk of Holland website, used with permission

Picture from Henk of Holland website, used with permission

Construction

I mostly followed the instructions, but trying to have as much work done in parallel as possible. One thing about these instructions is that they are folded in a very unpractical manner, compared to most kits, even from Revell.

Pictures from Henk of Holland website, used with permission

These are the few remarks I had during construction

• Step 6: Later in the construction I discovered that it is perhaps not a bad idea to leave the return rollers off until the tracks are on.
• Step 7: If you want to install the Schürzen (which I didn't) drill the holes in the hull, but NOT in the fenders. The depressions in the latter are fine as they are.

• Step 8: There is a small gap between the lower and upper hull, but nothing a short strip of plasticard won't take care of.
• Step 12: The separate transmission hatches (on the glacis) are a mixed blessing. Revell chose separate hatches, not so much to have the possibility to install them in the open position, but to have as much parts commonality with their Panzer III Ausf. L kit as possible. The problem is that these hatches fit so well that you are left with no panel line whatsoever after gluing them in place. Scribing panel lines on the glue line between parts is very difficult, so I resorted to beveling the edges of the hatches very slightly before installing them.
  Note that the sides of the hulls are separate parts as well (no slide molding here), and that these need to be installed carefully.
• Step 13: The attachment of the stand-off armor on part 29 need to be slightly modified. I only discovered this when the part was already glued on, which is not the best way to go. At this point I also realized that I should have perhaps assembled more parts onto the upper hull before gluing upper and lower hull together.
• Step 15: I am not quite sure how the watertight covers (parts 33 and 34) need to be installed, but I ended up removing all locating pegs and gluing them on sight.
  Part 31 (the antenna bracket) is given in the stowed position only. (No antenna is given) Twisting (or cutting and gluing) the mount is an option if you desire an erect antenna.
  The edges of the fender flaps would benefit from a little profiling to give them the characteristic U-shape when seen from the front (or rear). It took me only a few minutes.
• Step 17: I believe it is easier to get well-aligned roadwheels when you install the entire inner row first and only then the outer row. One might even possibly wait with those until the tracks are on.
  Note that I didn't use the Revell tracks, but MACO Winterketten.
• Step 19: There is a fire extinguisher missing on the left fender, compared with the drawings in [1], behind the jack (for which [1] only shows the brackets). Incidentally, the painting instructions show the fire extinguisher together with the jack. I didn't have a jack in the spares box that was small enough to fit in that location.
• Step 20: A gutter should be scribed into part 47 (the antenna holder) . The angle of that part isn't quite right. It should be parallel to the fenders. I modified it as well as I could.
• Step 24: The sides of the supports for the stand-off mantlet (part 54) should have a hole drilled into them.
• Step 25: The shape of the rectangular openings in the top support for the stand-off armor (part 55) isn't quite correct. Making them bigger will already take you a long way.
  The grab handles above the lateral turret hatches are represented as solid parts. Replacing them with wire is the best option, but I only scribed a groove that (with a pin wash) will fool enough people.
• Step 26: The tank that I wanted to represent had special covers for the smoke grenade launchers which I made with thick paint.
• Step 27: The angle at which the lid of the Rommelkiste sits, is too shallow, but I found it difficult to fix, so I didn't. I did add pistol ports to the rear of the turret and strips to the sides of the Rommelkiste, though. (The latter were in reality wood, to avoid short-circuiting the antenna when the turret turned.)
• Step 28: I replaced the gun barrel with a metal part (72016 from Armorscale), but regretted it, as the muzzle of the metal barrel was off-center. Being metal, this was difficult to fix and in the end it didn't really look much better than the plastic kit part.

As I wanted to represent a vehicle of 2 SS Pz.Div. "Das Reich" during the 1943 Kharkov battles, I added a makeshift storage rack on the engine deck and filled it with extra equipment:

• Spare roadwheels from another Revell Panzer III
• Spare Winterketten tracks from Maco
• Jerrycans from Wee Friends (WBM 76007)
• A crate from the spares box (source forgotten)
• Fuel barrel (200L fuel drum - Wehrmacht 1942) with amazing detail from FPW Model.

The vehicle was painted in RAL8020 with RAL 7027 (which according to Tim Lau, these vehicles carried), with a whitewash on top. Turret numbers came from a Hasegawa Panther (which are close enough to the style used by Das Reich), the Balkenkreuze from the kit, and the unit Wolfsangel from the spares box.

Accuracy

As can be seen, most dimensions are within (my) tolerance, except perhaps for the turret. Most of this is due to the base width, which can be noticed as the turret doesn't reach the edge of the superstructure.

Conclusion

This is a great kit, with very few issues. It still requires some attention when assembling, but I would consider it to be compatible with most modeler's skills and budget.

References

[1] Panzer Tracts 3-3, Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf. J, L, M und N, T.L. Jentz & H.L. Doyle

Review sample purchased by the author.

Article Last Updated: 25 April 2019