Some thoughts on Orange Boxes

Reading a review of the Cyber-Hobby Orange Box Brummbär Late on Amazon made me think of how the various Orange Box kits stacked up.  Quick thoughts are set out below.  The comments are colored by the following preferences: (i) don’t care for DS tracks (too weak; harder to reproduce sag of “dead” tracks on German AFV); and (ii) not a fan of using CA so lots of PE is a downer for me.   

CH 9117 Orange Box Brummbär Late

Good:  Only kit of late version of Brummbar available; lots of extras for the spare parts box; magic tracks; price (can be had for as low as $14.99 on dragon models usa online site)

Bad:  Schürzen too thick and not at all close to actual schürzen.  Also no support for attachment point of fender extensions resulting in poor/weak fit.  Loader’s hatch doesn’t open.

The Amazon reviewer gave this kit two stars, in part because of a some warped parts (see StuG IIIF comments below) and frustration with magic tracks.  I actually prefer magic tracks to DS tracks, because I think the end result is better, but I can understand those who might prefer the ease of the DS tracks (assuming they don’t break).  Some of the detail was soft or missing, but these can be replaced from the spare parts bin or scratch built as necessary.  Fit was generally okay, although fit between upper and lower hull is not the greatest.  Also, while mostly due to own stupidity, the lack of attachment points on the fender extensions probably contributed to installing one side reversed.  Added figures don’t add much, IMO.

Overall – 3 of 5

CH 9101 Orange Box StuG IIIF

Good:  magic tracks; included figures can be versatile.

Bad:  Hull fit; inaccuracies; lack of detail in breach.

This kit was kind of a dog for me because the upper hull was warped resulting in some major fit issues.  Also, there is no detail whatsoever in the gun breach area and it is not so easy to scratch build, so it has to be covered up.  Finally, I understand that there are significant inaccuracies that require correction, so assembly of this kit is on hiatus.  Added figures look okay and are probably versatile.  Probably would prefer to spend the money buying the Tamiya StuG IIIG even if it has vinyl tracks that have to be replaced.

Maybe I will see if I can put on some hippo team markings from girls und panzer.

Overall – 2 of 5

CH 9123 Orange Box 15cm Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33 auf. Pz. III

Good:  magic tracks; previously was only version available; price.

Bad:  lack second stowage box on rear deck; some hull to fender fit issues.

This kit wasn’t bad.  Biggest issue was a fit issue between upper hull and fender.  Also it lacks the second stowage box commonly found on these vehicles.  I think the upper ventilator probably needs some wire going around it.  There may be some inaccuracies, but with only 12 models built on various models of Pz III chassis, I didn’t bother to research too much.  For some reason DML released two follow up full price kits.  This kit sufficiently scratched that itch for me at a lower price.

Overall:  3.5 of 5 (based in part on price)

CH 9128 Orange Box Sd. Kfz. 253 le Beob. Pz. Wg.

This is still in construction, but so far seems to very nice kit, with nice figures.  One downside, from my perspective, is that reference photos seem to show this vehicle only in (boring) dark grey or dark grey with white winter camo, which would be consistent with the time that it was a standard part of the StuG Abt. TOE.  However, even presumably post-standard TOE reference photos appear to show the vehicle only in dark grey, e.g., with SS-Prinz Eugen division.  The only exception seen to date is a vehicle that appears to be in dark yellow with brown and/or green camo, with a shield fixed to the commander's rotating hatch.  Once source indicates that this vehicle was assigned to the SS-Totenkopf division in the Balkans.

Overall:  tbd

CH 9127 Orange Box Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) “Zwischenlösung”

Good:  magic tracks; nice figures; price.

Bad: “Thoma” schüzen appear to be difficult to install with weak attachment points; gun barrel vulnerable to flopping.  Some fit issues, e.g., rear road wheel holders.  Loader’s hatch doesn’t open; other soft/missing details.  For some reason the driver’s vision block is in a down position.

The kit probably suffers from the fact that this is simply an ugly looking vehicle.  The kit has been described as a “dog” on another website and I would have to agree.  The attachment points of the “Thoma” schürzen looked so weak that I didn’t bother attaching them, given the complex looking assembly of the “Thoma” schürzen and the fact that the Thoma” schürzen  didn’t look so good.  The gun barrel ended up flopping down and the mantlet had to be hacked apart to try to fix it.  I ended up using the DS tracks from the DML StuG IV Early with zimmerit on this kit because I didn’t want to spend too much time on it.   Figures are pretty decent, IMO.

Overall:  2 of 5.

CH 9131 Orange Box Jagdpanzer IV A-0

Good:  Magic tracks; nice figures; general accuracy and detail; price.

Bad:  Lack of zimmerit; some soft/missing details.

While still a WIP, overall this is a pretty nice kit, with good fit and decent details, although you probably want to replace a lot of the tools, jack block, muffler, etc., with better stuff from your spares.  Also, the rear convoy light probably should be an early version and the joint in the rear between the upper and lower hulls is missing (although there is a part for it included, but not called out in the instructions).  One big thing that is missing is zimmerit; although the museum version generally lacks zimmerit, there is a small patch on the rear that indicates that it used to have a zimmerit coat, as shown in reference photos.  Nice set of figures.  While this kit obviously isn’t as detailed as the DML kits described below, with some replacements (and zimmerit), it builds into a nice kit without the sometimes laborious amount of small parts/PE in normal DML kits.  In that way, it is sort of like a Tamiya kit.

Overall:  4 of 5 (based in part on price)

DML 6465 Elefant with Zimmerit

Good:  zimmerit; detail; metal barrel.

Bad:  DS tracks; would have preferred some PE be optional.

Overall nice kit with molded on zimmerit and metal barrel.  Some of the PE wasn’t fun (for me at least), and the DS tracks broke and had to be replaced with individual link tracks.  Fit generally seemed to be okay.

Overall:  4 of 5

DML 6397 Jagdpanzer IV L/70 (V)

Good:  good details; magic tracks; parts for spare parts box.

Bad:  some fit issues with upper hull to lower hull/fenders.

Except for a problem in fitting the upper hull to the lower hull/fenders, this kit went together well without too many annoying PE parts (or at least having the option of plastic or PE).  Lots of optional or spare parts also meant a good supply of replacement parts for less/softer detailed orange box kits like Jagdpanzer IV A-0.  Minor nits include lack of pad for interior of commander’s hatch.

Overall:  4.5 of 5

DML 6576 – Sturmgeschütz IV Early with zimmerit

Good:  zimmerit, good details; parts for spare parts box.

Bad:  DS tracks; gun assembly complex and offset.

The only major fit issue encountered was that the gun assembly (which is attached to floor of the vehicle) is offset, and has to be adjusted.  I had read about this elsewhere but forgot and so had to make the post-installation surgery.  The assembly sequence for the gun was a little tricky as well.  As always with DML kits, lots of test fitting is critical.  I don’t care for DS tracks and used them for the doggy Jagdpanzer IV L/70(A), replacing them with a set of open guide horn magic tracks from the DML StuG IV Late (which inexplicably has open guide horn tracks).  A minor quibble is that some of the spare track links have closed guide horns; while reference photos often show a mix, it probably would have been better to have the open guide horn option.  This kit also has lots of optional or spare parts that can be used as a source of replacement parts for less/softer detailed orange box kits like Jagdpanzer IV A-0.  Installed the schürzen rails, but not the actual schürzen, so not sure if any issues there – some comments suggest there could be an issue with the material used for the schürzen.  Also using PE for the bottom of the spare road wheel box doesn't seem like a good idea because it is more vulnerable than plastic to warping.

Overall:  4.5 of 5