Panzerhaubitze 2000

Manufacturer: Revell AG. (Kit #03121)

By Till Huber - NalarMidas(at)web.de

This kit is one of the most important additions to the Revell line this year. It was announced earlier for 2000 but it was cancelled and removed from their website, rumours say that problems with their moulds delayed this project. Also earlier announcements noted that the barrel should be made of aluminium like its big 1:35 brother but this idea was probably dropped due to the high costs.

First impressions

After opening the box you get the following:

• 4 Sprues molded in dark green
• 1 Instruction sheet
• 1 sheet with decals including 2 versions

Box contents at a glance.

Sprue 1.

Sprue 2.

Sprue 3.

Sprue 4.

Revell downscale?

The kit seems to share all the rich detailed characteristics of it's 1:35 scale brother on top of the hull and turret. It differs from it by not having vinyl tracks and a functional gear. The PzH 2000 does not seem to be a downscaled kit like the Luchs so the parts are not fully identical to the 1:35 parts. As mentioned before it does not have the aluminium barrel as promised in the preproduction phase a year ago. I think maintaining the price would have been impossible so they dropped this feature. Maybe they've got more space when selling bigger models, that's why they can provide it for the 1:35 one but not for a 1:72 scale model.

Weaknesses

As I said the kit also shares weaknesses with its big 1:35 brother, for instance the travel lock is one solid piece. When moving to its firing position the SPG elevates the gun, the travel lock is being carried in. So it requires some work to realise this by cutting it into two pieces. It should be also mentioned that all hatches except the driver's hatch are molded closed. Opening the hatches on the turret is a real challenge, the plastic seems to be quite solid.

Most people don't know that the PzH 2000 can also carry adaptive reactive armour modules protecting the gun from being destroyed by HE bomblets. I've seen a ROCO HO model carrying these blocks on turret and hull but again Revell was too "covetous" to implement this option.

Most of the PzH 2000 you will see on the net and in reality here in Germany, won't have them installed anyway as they are explosives and only added in case of an "incident" (V-Fall, Vorfall). In other words WAR. Maybe some Resin company will consent to make reactive armour, plus some crewmembers and extra rounds, which would be nice also.

-The best and only PzH 2000 model you will get for 1:72

I think no other company will dare to try and top this kit, which would be rather stupid. Not only because of the quality, Revell kits are so common worldwide. No other major company considers producing new modern vehicles in 1:72, except eastern European companies with limited run technology which cannot compete with distribution and quality.

Did I mention the running gear yet? The tracks and the bogie wheels are far superior to any released kit before. I highly recommend using the bogie wheels from this kit for the Revell Leopard kits, as the Pzh 2000 has a modified Leo 1 gear but shares the wheels with the Leopard 2. I'm not sure if the Diehl tracks are also identical but it features rubber blocks that are being used by all Bundeswehr vehicles to spare the tracks and grounds from damage.

Compared to earlier releases the molds are even more sharp, especially all the bolts on top of the vehicle and the mentioned tracks and chassis.

Pros

• Great bogie wheels, they can be used for Leopard 2 kits
• Very detailed surface with numerous bolts even feature anti skid stickers of the Bundeswehr
• Great Diehl tracks with hardrubber elements (not in the kit, its plastic!)

Cons

• No adaptive reactive armor modules included
• No accessories or figures included
• All hatches except the drivers hatch molded shut
• Travel lock is one piece
• Pioneer tools are molded onto the hull

Recommendation

This kit is a gift to all small scale modellers; considering the low price Revell provides and its value, it's a must buy. Today Revell paradoxically offers the best kits for the lowest price (here in Europe). Unfortunately they seem to not be interested in the most commonly used weapon systems of the Bundeswehr, like the M113 or M109 which are the backbone of the German artillery. (Only 187 PzH 2000 were produced and delivered to the Bundeswehr).