During World War II, the German military often reused outdated vehicles and enemy equipment. The Panzer II was a capable tank in the early years of the war, but it was quickly outdated by advances in armoured vehicles. Gecko Models has now released a 1/16th scale model of a vehicle using the Panzer II hull in a mobile anti-tank role with the 7.5cm Pak 40 gun.
Looking at the mouldings for this release, which are mostly individually bagged to prevent damage, I see no obvious issues beyond some very fine mouldings that need to be removed from the sprues. You are advised to utilise either very fine side-cutters or a very sharp knife, possibly a razor saw.
This release provides a 1/16th scale model with a good quantity of the interior detail covered. The driver’s position is fully equipped, including the vehicle's transmission, and the engine bay contents are the only interior area not included. It should be noted that the vehicle is falt pack in design, so you will need to be careful when securing the armoured plate and make sure it is in the correct position. Some parts will help aid you in this aspect, but you will still need to think it through rather than just diving in. Install the suspension carefully, as it should retain some functionality for securing once placed on a base, especially if that base is rugged terrain. The suspension caps are secured inside wheel halves designed to allow the wheels to turn, although it will be very difficult to keep the wheels rotatable unless they are plastic caps, which I do not believe are included in the box. The suspension is further adorned with individual, workable track links with exquisite detail. The tracks are held together by individual pins, but these are plastic and are one of the areas where you will need to be careful, both freeing them from the sprue and installing them into the track links.
The raised fighting compartment looks complete to me, with the fuel tank right beside them, so I find myself wondering whether an enemy hit would likely result in a complete kill or loss. One of the issues that you will encounter is the difficulty of painting it, as access, despite it being a 1/16th scale model, means that you will need to plan as regards painting and assembly. Especially if you plan to go with the oxide red colour at the front beneath the driver, then progress to the exterior colour of the fighting compartment floor. This is not a critique of the kit, but purely a forward-thinking observation of a modeller with many years in the hobby. I will say at this point that the photo etch has been kept minimal and the parts that are present are of a reasonable size for the modeller to handle and attach. The trickiest photo etch parts is the clamp details for the tools, which have been supplied clean, makingem easy. T to painthe mudguards down each side again have nice detail throughout. You have a choice of 2 lights for the model, one is a Notek, and the other is a standard light with a slotted filter. The driver’s viewing port is designed to be workable, but I would secure it in the position of choice. Some personal equipment is included in the form of a gas mask container securely mounted in the vehicle;; personal weaponry in the form of an MP40 is supplied in completely separate parts and stowed securely on the vehicle again. The defensive weaponry, in the form of an MG34, is also present and can only be depicted as stowed, as far as the instructions go. I am trying to find ammunition for it, but as yet I have failed to do so. It should be remembered that this being an anti-tank vehicle, the ammunition would be provided in the form of Gurttrommel which is a 50 round belt side mounted ammunition box. This would kick loose rounds inside the vehicle potentially jam up things inside the vehicle, and so I believe a spent cartridge bag such as used inside tanks would be fitted. The upper surfaces of the vehicle are fitted at an early stage, including the plate for the gun mount, and from what I can see everything looks as it should.
Moving on to the Pak 40, you basically get the weapon system as released in the kit 16GM0012, which is a 7.5cm Pak 40 with a twin wheeled platform and 2 trail arms that are obviously missing from this release. Having built this gun, I know you will find a host of very fine details. You can choose a metal or plastic barrel, and you also get a resin covered gun muzzle brake should you wish to display the model that way. I found this a reasonable joy to build, with the gun shield being my only difficulty due to the very small details between the 2 parts of the shield while trying to retain the movement on the parts that cover the viewing port and the slide that travels up and down with the gun. On the exterior shield there are very small details that would be used to support wire or such for the addition of camouflage. The upper armour around the fighting compartment looks good in shape and form, ammunition storage has not been forgotten, and the correct load for 3 types of round are covered if you pay attention. For those who wish to obtain further rounds Gecko Models has released set 16MG0014 that will meet your requirements. The ammunition storage is boxed in, but if like me you want to see it, the doors could be left open. Referring back to the MG34, there are 2 boxes mounted above it which could potentially contain ammunition, but if so there is not a lot present. A periscope block is also stored in the same area. Further ammunition storage for the main gun is mounted to the armoured side plate. A fire extinguisher for the vehicle is provided again in all separate parts, with painting instructions in German gray and dark yellow. I suspect that this reflects the colour of the vehicle as a whole and in an aspect I question, especially as decals are provided for the fire extinguisher and if spayed these would obviously be covered up. A final ammunition storage area covers the location I describe as the access and exit route which holds 6 rounds. This can be raised or lowered and I suspect that it was raised during combat and lowered during travel. Additional parts that have been included in this release is a very pleasing communications set up for the crew to communicate, although you will need to supply your own wiring. The high points for me of this release are the functionality of the suspension and tracks, enabling realistic display on any surface, the addition of a turned metal barrel, the driver’s area being complete despite the limited view of it, and finally the ammunition storage being covered as regards what ammunition type would be stowed in each area of the vehicle.
3 finishing options have been included by Gecko Models:
3 rd Panzer Division, Russian Front.1942
“Rieta” unknown unit, Russian Front, 1943
Unkown Unit, Russian Front, 1942-43