Carrera Revell Panzer III World Of Tanks (03501) 1/72 Carrera Revell

[Julien]

Panzer III World Of Tanks (03501)

1/72 Carrera Revell

 

 

Designed in the mid 1930s to be part of a pairing with the larger Panzer IV, the lighter Panzer III was originally intended to be sent up against other tanks, as well as to push through gaps in enemy lines to cause havoc with supply lines and generally disrupt the enemy's day.  Production began in 1937, with few of the early marks reaching series production, using up A through D as prototypes, of which the Ausf.B was used in the Polish campaign briefly before being put out to pasture as a training vehicle along with the remaining Cs and Ds.  The suspension was a work-in-progress, using leaf springs until the Ausf.E, which moved to torsion bars that were then seen on most new German designs during WWII and beyond.

 

During the early period of WWII the Pz.II continued to do its prescribed task until the T-34 rained on the Nazis parade, tearing up the lighter armoured Pz.IIIs and necessitating an up-gunning of the Pz.IV with a new high velocity gun to combat its sloped armour.  By 1942 it was relegated to tasks where its light armour and 3.7mm pop-gun wasn't an impediment, such as close support of troop advances.  By this time it was clear that it was past its sell-by-date, and that the Pz.IV had much more development potential.  The chassis went on to be used for many other developments, some of which were quite successful, like the StuG III, and our review of the O-series can be seen here, which incidentally shares some parts with this kit.

 

World Of Tanks is a popular online Game developed by Belarusian company Wargaming, featuring 20th century era combat vehicles. It is built upon a freemium business model where the game is free-to-play, but participants also have the option of paying a fee for use of "premium" features. The focus is on player vs. player gameplay with each player controlling an armored vehicle, from the time of Pre-World War 2, to the Cold War-era. This is mainly online with PCs, but is now available on other platforms as well. 

 

 

The Kit

Here Revell have re-boxed their own kit from 2001. Inside the compact end-opening box are three sprues of grey plastic and decals. The sprues are well laid out and the mouldings are free from flash. Surface detail is clean and crisp, and first impressions are very favourable..  Revell have obviously released this kit in conjunction with World Of Tanks. Inside each kit there is also a set of Special Bonus & Starter Pack codes for the game. As with most Revell kits, no shortcuts have been taken with the detail and the thing builds just like a miniature 1:35 scale model. While the axles and suspension units are moulded onto the side of the hull, the road wheels, drive sprockets and idlers are proper two-part jobbies. Take it from me, however, that painting the tyres on twenty-four individual wheels will drive you bonkers. The tracks are of the link and length variety and have been very nicely moulded. Once the running gear is in place, construction moves on to the upper hull. In keeping with the rest of the model, this is nicely detailed and extra parts such as spare wheels, tracks and pioneer tools are all present and correct. Once this is complete the turret can be built up. A three part glacis and gun mounts to the front with the commanders copula going on top. The side hatches are added along with the gun and rear storage locker. To finish of spare track links are added to the front of the tank. 

 

 

 

 

Decals

There is both a sheet of decals.. As well as national markings for the tank there are a wide range of markings which I suspect are available in the Game to mark your tank. 

 

 

Conclusion

This seems to be a good looking small kit and should build up into a good looking model. 

 

 

 

 

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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