Review
This offering from HobbyBoss arrives in a sturdy cardboard tray, with a separate card lid. Inside the sprues are packaged individually except where duplicated, with a segmented section that protects parts that HobbyBoss feel are in need of extra protection. The gates are a little on the large side for my liking, and in typical HobbyBoss fashion the gates attach to the mating surfaces in some areas making clean up a pain. An examination of the mouldings reveals no obvious issues to concern yourself with, but some of the smaller parts will require care during removal to avoid breakage.
This is the third release of the BergPanzer from HobbyBoss which I believe fits in the middle of the previous two releases. The suspension arms are individually moulded and lock into a neutral position. Provided you have the ability altering the suspension orientation is achievable and helped by the fact that the track is made using individual track links. All of the wheels from the road to the idler return and drive wheel appear to have been nicely replicated, and I see no issues in this regard to the lower hull. The bulldozer blade can be set as desired by the modeller, with a little bit of work on the modellers part.
The crew compartment in the vehicle has a surprisingly large amount of detail and the access doors in the roof and side provides the possibility to display this detail very well. The seats inside are in set positions, but again with a bit of know how can be adjusted as desired. The only concern I have is that there is no fire wall at the rear of the crew compartment, so it is possible that some light may show into the compartment. Those modellers that like their interiors should be pleased with what is offered, unfortunately I do not know the interior that well as to whether anything obvious will need to be added.
The engine deck fan is nicely replicated, with a large photo etched grille to allow view of the fan and accurate representation. As I said earlier all of the hatches relating to the crew compartment can be shown open or closed and if you adjust the seats you could show a crewman in the hatch. A lot of the detail on the upper hull is moulded as part of it, but details such as tools, blocks and tackle do need to be added. The hatches around the sides have good interior and exterior detail.
One potential complaint is that there is an awful lot going on in each stage which would make it easy to make an error or miss something. However, from what I have seen from previous releases these details on the upper hull gives the eye plenty to pick out. A defensive MG is present on the Commander’s hatch which is nicely detailed. The crane arm is adjustable even after being added to the model, both in terms of rotation and elevation. Brass wire has been provided to replicate the cable at the lifting end and as is usual I would consider using an alternative material as the coper wire provided in too stiff in my opinion.
A single finishing option has been provided, but in typical HobbyBoss style no detail on what it represents is provided.
Conclusion
This offering from HobbyBoss has very pleasing detail, both inside and out. But I do feel that the instructions, especially where the external detail is concerned are overly busy. I do not see any obvious detail that is missing, but then again I do struggle to pick out the differences between this release and previous offerings. My biggest dislike is the copper cable as I feel that it is just too stiff for the job and there are a number of companies producing after market cables that would replicate this detail better. The individual track links will not please all due to the added effort they require, however I feel that this is a pleasing release.