Looks like Dragon is resurrecting the oop CyberHobby white-box kit of this thing. The original CH kit is / was a nice kit of this interesting on-off; mostly pretty correct in that it depicts the ausf D hull that was used for the original bergepanther used to assemble this beast, and the Pz IV turret is one of those nice Dragon affairs. I'm not positive, but I think that CH put DS tracks in their wb kit... probably these will come in this ne re-release, too (but maybe the D will throw us another curve and put Magics into these! Right! Hope springs eternal!). The prototype item apparently had zimmerit - seen in a few photos - and you can probably be sure that this zimmerit was some sort of post-factory application... As few, if any, ausf D Panthers got factory zimmerit when built. The CH kit didn't come with zimm molded on - to be accurate, the builder has to add his own, and it should not be any of the "standard factory patterns" done on ausf A and G kitties. This new release probably follows suit and also comes without that zimm... As the prototype's zimm looks like it was pretty beat-up and spalled, using a DIY or resin sheet zimm product may be the better way to go so that the builder can mess the zimm up some. The prototype vehicle had, I believe, the original 16-bolt road wheels (at least some of the few available pics appear to show these) that came on the early D Panthers. I think that the CH wb kit may have come with the later 32-bolt wheels, but I may be mistaken on this (and I cannot reach any of my old stash of those CH kits right now to check and find out!). The artwork for this new kit suggests the 16-bolt wheels - which are known to be available within the D's line-up... So we can hope that they come in this kit! I guess that I'll not need to keep all of those CH wb kits of this one, either! Bob

I believe the turret on that one off frankenpanzer is fixed and can't traverse. If dragon allows it to traverse then the kit sucks.

this bergepanther have one version in 1/72nd.

You can always glue it, if desired. I doubt that Dragon will split hairs on this compared to what other bits they need to throw in for authenticity's sake.

Hey uncle Bob ,

Hey, Ian! YOU should consider getting one of these! It's surely an odd duck, but the D has done lots of great Panther kits and their Pz IV Smart Kits are superb... And this combines some of the best of each! LoL! Bob

I don't understand why DML produce these kits of "one off tanks" or prototypes. When you consider the options available of combat vehicles that need revisiting as the only options are ancient or vehicles that were used but have never produced in kit form their logic seems a bit flawed. Obviously they're in the market to sell kits but I just don't see people falling over themselves to buy these one off oddities. It's not something you'd revisit whereas you may buy a couple of the same tank, AFV, lorry to do a dio/paint it with a different camo scheme/to do a specific vehicle say Barkmanns Panther, Wittmans Tiger after building an unobtrusive and fairly anonymous tank. As these are literally the only one of their kind it limits your options thus no repurchases. Just a thought on it

I don't know what your specific tastes or interests run to... But I'm always looking around for the less-common vehicles and the documented one-offs, myself! I found the Cyber-Hobby white-box line exhilarating as it did bring out stuff outside of the main-stream. And if the D can make money out of trotting some of those - like this odd-ball frankenpanzer - back around, more power to them! And Bronco, Riich, HobbyBoss, Meng, Miniart, Takom and others are getting my continued attention for the same reason - they are doing or re-doing some of the lesser-known and really obscure stuff. It's a Golden Age for styrene armor modelers! That said, I agree with all who wish that some of the aging classics and popular subjects would get up-dated and modernized. And companies keep doing some of these, as well. And I'm sure that there will be new versions of seemingly-overlooked and ignored old subjects represented by old kits, as well. So I see little to complain about, myself. Just have some patience! (PS:, the REAL issue for some of us is that we are no longer as young as once we were and have perhaps less time to be patient in! ) But of course, this is just my opinion! Bob