Tank Workshop
Marder II Engine Compartment
Tank Workshop 1:35 Set #TWS 2013
Review by Terry Ashley

Dragon
The Set:
This set from Tank Workshop provides the engine compartment and Maybach HL62 TRM Petrol engine and accessories and is designed for the recent Dragon kit of the Panzerjäger für Pak40/2 "Marder II" (kit #6262).

The set consists of 25 parts cast in light grey resin and a large comprehensive instruction sheet and first off the parts will need a good bath in warm soapy water to remove the remaining mould release agent as this will effect glue and paint adhesion if not removed.

Resin quality is very good in detail definition but there is substantial excess resin film and the usual casting blocks to be removed from the parts as well as some minor warping on a few parts that is easily rectified with a quick dip in hot water.

Some parts will need extreme care during cleanup, especially the three pulley and belt castings which are very delicate and the larger of these (part 17) is virtually impossible to clean up without some breakage unfortunately but with care this can be kept to a minimum. The thin belts snapped in two places while I was cleaning up the part and the belt itself will need straightening with warm water but other than this cleanup is nothing out of the ordinary for resin sets.

There are some alterations required on the Dragon kit to accept the resin parts with the removal of the lower hull tub inside support brackets and opening up the hull top side intake as well as modifying the lower kit floor (part A14) but there is nothing that should bother anyone using the update set in the first place.

Main parts in the set include the lower engine compartment floor with weld seams, panel detail and the engine mountings plus the two side walls and engine bulkheads which either compliment or replace the kit bulkheads (kit part A10 replaced but others retained).

Detail in the Maybach HL62 TRM engine is exceptionally good with all the main engine accessories included with well defined detail and undercuts that are not compromised by being in the one casting. The only cleanup needed is small casting seams on either end of the engine block and thin resin film inside the manifold and exhaust pipe spaces but of course you can add some engine wiring to finish off.

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Additional engine parts include the fan and pulleys as mentioned along with the carburettor intake pipe plus the two part radiator with excellent fan and mesh detail, there is a bit of resin film inside the fan blades that again will require care to remove and the upper and lower radiator hose pipes are also included.

Fitting the engine compartment floor to the Dragon kit is very straightforward due to the good fit of the parts. The rear wall of the floor section did have a bad warp on one corner that can either be straightened using hot water or it will simply pull back into alignment as you glue the floor to the kit hull tub using cyanoacrylate as the resin is quite thin.

The sidewalls were also a good fit as were the other bulkheads in my set but of course you should always test fit before gluing to check if any minor trimming is needed?

At the back are the intake louvers for under the engine deck intakes as well as detail for the side intake added after modifying the kit hull accordingly and again test fitting didn’t show up any out of the ordinary problems.

Included with the set is a comprehensive 8 page letter sized instruction sheet which lists all the resin parts and has step by step colour photos of the model during construction complimented with detailed text descriptions. These are very clear and will help considerably with the assembly sequences.

Resin Parts
Tank WorkshopTank Workshop
Tank WorkshopTank Workshop
Conclusion:
This is a very detailed update set that provides the full engine bay and very nicely detailed engine that apart from a fair bit of clean-up needed on some parts sees the assembly very straightforward due to the good fit of the parts.

The usual care and test fitting will be needed but this will finish off the kit interior very nicely and as the kit engine deck doors are already separate parts make showing off the engine easy.

Highly recommended 8/10

References:
Pz.Kpfw.I/Pz.Kpfw.II and variants
Achtung Panzer No.7

Dainippon Kaiga Co.,Ltd.
book
Panzerjaeger
Panzer Tracts No 7-2

Thomas L Jentz and
Hilary Louis Doyle
book
Ground Power Magazine
Issue #069 Jan 2000
GALILEO Publishing Co.,Ltd.
book
 

Thanks to Jay from Tank Workshop for the review set.

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Page created May 6, 2007



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