DRAGON is rapidly becoming (in)famous for their various ambiguities...

It looks like the tracks will be the same EZ set from Dragon's earlier Hetzer releases.

It looks like the tracks will be the same EZ set from Dragon's earlier Hetzer releases.[/quote] Hm! The "EZ Tracks" weren't so "easy"- They required quite a bit of "clean-up" and were kinda fiddly to put together. Just checked on my old DRAGON/JP HOBBY Conversion- The resin Top Hull is very fragile, and apparently, in moving from one house to another, it had developed some nasty cracks and chips, so I probably WILL wind up buying the new DRAGON kit and a set of A/M Tracks. Or, maybe I'll just hijack the FRIULS out of my DRAGON/JP HOBBY set-up...

I've never tried Friul tracks. If this is a good kit, it might be worth it. Some say they are a lot of work.

i think what they should do at this time is not making these exotic variations. they should up grade or replace old molds. for example, tiger late 6383 turret zimmerit is strange. they should change it with new turret parts. and also some minor modify points exist this kit compared to their latest tiger 6700 mid tiger kit.

It says 30 were built. A pity there are no period pics other than those factory shots. Any ideas as to which units it may been deployed to?

Depending on the site one views... Perhaps 24 of these were built in late 1944 / early 1945, and maybe 6 "hetzer" hulls were converted for 6 additional units. There seems to be no readily-accessed info as to whether any ever saw action. I have never seen any "in action" pics - and actually none which show anything other than what appears to be a straight one-color paint-scheme (dunkelgelb base coat). But we can dream! The 15cm s.IG. 33/ howitzer was successfully mounted on other 38(t) - derived chassis and proved mobile and to not over-burden the chassis or its suspension (but the ammo was quite heavy at 82 lbs per projectile, which effectively limited the number of rounds that could be carried) - the Grill 38(t) H and M both being successful self-propelled arty. Existing "factory" pictures show that the hull and chassis sat pretty level on its suspension and that this vehicle was not noticeably "nose-heavy", unlike the Jagdpanzer IV - "Guderian's duck". Image borrowed from a public web-site and posted HERE for discussion purposed only. Cheers! Bob PS: I really look forward to at least seeing this kit get built by someone, if not getting one myself! It's VERY cool to see someone bring this out in 1/35 styrene, and I'm pretty sure that Dragon COULD do a good job - they have a good s.IG. 33 and vehicle mount kit available, and they have good 38(t) running gear and bits- and even tracks of the pre-cut-and-cleaned "magic Track" sort (though these may have used a different track set than the Grille M and Marder III vehicles did...). It could be something really good! Hope springs eternal, even when we are talking about the notorious Dragon.

Not to argue, but the photos of this thing with the "forward nose-heavy look" that I'm referring to MIGHT have been of a vehicle that had already gone through tests, and had either badly worn or broken springs on the Front Bogie Assemblies to create that impression. Possible..? Your opinion is very welcome! Since my JP HOBBY Conversion's damaged Upper Hull parts look like they might be beyond repair, I'll be looking forward to this new kit, too...

Almost anything is of course possible, and a test vehicle could easily have broken. I have no real idea as to how near to the chassis weight and carriage-limits the StuH 43 may have pushed things - although I generally doubt that it was really much heavier than was the 7.5cm KwK gun of the "hetzer", and the 38(t) chassis worked well with the s.IG 33 gun and mount in the Grille versions (unlike the Lorraine carrier...). But then, each of these variants would clearly have had a different center-of-gravity, and it is certainly possible that this version may have placed more weight further forward, which while riding apparently level when on a flat apron or something, would have over-weighted the front bogies on a slope, etc. IF you can, I (and many others, probably) would love to see other "used" pictures of this thing, if you might be able to post any! Just my opinions, of course! Bob