Rubicon Models Panzer III build notes

This is the relatively new Panzer III from Rubicon Models, and it's a beauty.

The main constituent parts of this model are not yet glued together, in order to facilitate painting, so please ignore the gap at the front of the hull!

It's a beauty for two reasons, really: firstly because of the inherent brutal aesthetic of the tank's visionary design...

Drilled pilot holes - NOT strafing damage!

...and secondly because it's a Rubicon kit, and it's beautifully engineered.

This turret assembly, for example (below) is pretty much the best I've ever put together. Its articulation in elevation is fluid, and its traversing is smooth, but even better than that? The instructions are clear! - I wish I could say the same for all tank kits.

Of course, there are still a couple of sticking points. In this case, I had a little trouble with the colour-coding in the instructions, because I find the pinks, oranges and pale reds labelling the different optional drill holes to be rather too similar (below) ...although I'm prepared to accept that maybe that's just me!

Naturally, I've not yet affixed the tools, spare wheels etc. onto the sides as I'll paint the blocking colours first.

But what a beauty of a machine this is:

It's also worth noting that this Rubicon 1-56 kit comes with Schurzen and additional turret  plates and - Rubicon being Rubicon - they include their genius assembly jig to ensure the traditionally fiddly plates are perfectly aligned on their mounting brackets, so I'm looking forward to trying that out!

This particular model will be joining my burgeoning late-war German forces to supplement the Panzer IV workhorse and add a little more glamour with its classic lines.

I suspect it might add something of a substantial punch too!