The Modelling News: Pt II: Construction & finishing the Schwerer Kleiner Panzerkampfwagen (2in1) in 1/35th scale from Das Werk

Having already looked at this diminutive monster in his in-box review, Paul gets to building, painting & finishing the Schwerer Kleiner Panzerkampfwagen (2in1) in 1/35th scale from Das Werk. Learn more about the kit today in the second part of his story.

Build review Pt. I: Schwerer Kleiner Panzerkampfwagen

German Heavy Tank Project 1944 (2 in 1)

Kit No #DW35019

1/35th scale

Polystyrene, photo-etch kit

Decals for six variants provided inside the box

Product link on the Das Werk Website

Previous part of this story:

Pt I: Schwerer Kleiner Panzerkampfwagen (2 in 1) in 1/35th scale from Das Werk

Today:

Pt II: Construction & finishing the Schwerer Kleiner Panzerkampfwagen (2 in 1) in 1/35th scale from Das Werk.

This kit looked like it was going to be a quick and simple build when I was going through the contents
of the box and I can honestly say that the actual build was as easy as I thought it would be. The
lower hull comes in a tub so there were only a few minor details to add to it. The bogies went
together easily enough, with the fit to the hull being tight enough to stay on while dry fitted, but still
having a little wiggle room.

The axels are not long enough or tight enough to hold the wheels in place in a dry fit, so I decided to
start the painting process early to make my life easier with the tracks being impossible to install
underneath the sideskirts later on. One of the elements I do enjoy about paper panzers is being able
to paint a project without being too concerned about colours and accuracy, although this doesn’t
mean I’m going completely into the realms of fantasy either. For this reason, I painted the lower hull
in red primer and only sprayed the forward and rear plate with Reseda green as the base colour. The
wheels were given a similar treatment with the red primer colour facing inside, and reseda green on
the outside with the rims painted in steel. I attached the inside layer of wheels in preparation for the
tracks.

The tracks come in length and link sections so they are not workable, but the fit is great when I
wrapped them around the drive sprocket and the inner level of wheels that I had already attached to
the hull. The second side of tracks didn’t seem to sag quite as well as the first for some reason, and
might have benefitted by adding an extra link, of which there are plenty of spares on the sprues, but
I didn’t bother since the upper run will be completely hidden by the side skirts.

Once the tracks were cured, I painted them in a track primer, and then brushed the grousers with a
steel colour. I was then able to fit the the tracks on top of the inside level of wheels, and then glue
on the outer layer of wheels over the guide horns.

The upper hull is a straight forward affair with just the tools to be added to the rear hull. There is a
pair of PE mesh screens that are attached inside the hull beneath the louvres, which will be hard to
see on the finished model so you can leave them off if you want to, but I attached them to help
prevent the see through effect with looking through the louvres, and sprayed the screens in black
before attaching them.

The front of the hull gives you the option of either a 105mm howitzer or 100mm anti-tank gun, with
a different mantlet and casemate depending on which version you choose. I went with the 100mm
gun because I thought it would go better with the night vision device, with the vehicle being employed as a night time anti-tank sniper of sorts. As you can see, both the night vision scope and search light are provided completely in clears, which isn’t the best, as you can’t put them together with regular cement, but super glue did the job.

The tiny turret is absolutely tiny, with pretty much the Mk108 cannon and a periscope being the only
details provided, but being a paper panzer, it is highly unlikely that there are any real plans of the
actual interior. There is a single bi-fold hatch which serves as the roof, and can be posed open if you
wish, but there will be no detail in the lower hull. You could jam a figure or two in there, but it will
be a tight fit.

As shown in the inbox review, the fit of the upper hull to the lower hull is pretty much perfect, so I
painted the upper hull with a reseda green base coat, and then the dunkelgelb and brown sections.

There are six schemes provided in the box, but really, you are free to use whatever combination of crosses and numbers you like.

I went with the hollow white cross, but the more I see the remaining decal sheet, the more I wish I went with the black cross with red borders, but the real star of the decal sheet has to be the “Krieg zum sieg” slogan, reminiscent of the slogans you often see on Soviet tanks.

Before / After the wash...

To finish off the model, I gave it a very heavily thinned wash in brown, and then grey to bring the colours together, and also giving the model a slightly grimy look. A dark brown/black pinwash bought out the various details, with the flame cuts on the front of the hull benefitting the most from the wash. I misted a dust colour all over the vehicle, but slightly heavier on the lower surfaces and the tracks, and then a similar light coat of earth, mainly over the tracks and lower surfaces to finish off the model.

Close-up photos of the finished kit's detail...

This was a fun little project by Das Werk, and while the kit itself was made by Amusing Hobby, that is not a flaw in any way. The kit goes together very easily, with the tracks by nature of the individual length sections being the most difficult part of the kit. These paper panzers may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I do like the blank canvas they provide for you to do pretty much whatever scheme you want, but without going too fantastical into walkers or other similar Luft ’46 vehicles.

A wider walk around the completed kit...