Assistance needed with the Dragon Marder III Ausf M (Befehlsjager)

Hey Ben.  Don't sell that model.  Way too nice to not build it.  Don't let it intimidate you. 

I am working on the same vehicle now, just not the command version.  You can see it on page 2 of the Marder Madness thread.  But It probably won't be that much use to you since I went berserk and just about everything above the chassis is brass.  But As I have gone through replacing parts I have a good idea of the plastic parts I am not using.  I also went through all the pics in the review you posted and except for a few added bits most of the sprues are the same as my kit.

Don't worry about the brass either.  Usually it replaces a kit part so if you don't feel up to it you can use the plastic.  But you can still try to bend the PE and if it work, great.  If not, it's practice. And when that radio set that take up the whole side is all wired up... brother that will look sweet.

It looks daunting but it is pretty straight forward. I have my Friuls all put together but a fast test fit looks like hey are too long using the 96 link number for the magic tracks in the instructions.  I should have the correct number soon enough. 

Hey Wingy,

My good friend Craig here in the UK has given me directions to a brilliant blog of my kit so don't panic, I'm keeping her! I'm planning on completing my current WIP Tamiya JSU-152 and then building my Dragon Firefly IC Sherman Hybrid as I did promise myself some non-German builds in my cabinet!

I'll then get cracking on the Marder - it's a beauty of a kit! There are sooo many sprues I can hardly shut the box lid! I've got a great PE folding tool so I'll be using all the PE that I can. I'm very inexperienced when it comes to PE so this should be a good opportunity to learn how to work with it properly.

I've got some good plans for the radio wiring too and I'm going for the 'Giraffe Spot' Scheme like shown on the box art.

How did you find the 'Star' antennae? I used a DRagon one before on my Brummbar and found it terribly brittle. Did you have a PE one with your Marder upgrade set?

I'm not sure about the engine and transmission? I'm not going to have it visible except maybe the transmission at the front and keep the cover removable - what do you think?

I'll check out the Marder Madness thread soon - I forgot about that!

I'm really looking forward to this build now!

Cheers WN,

Kind regards,

Ben

Great. What is the link to the blog?

Mine did not come with the star antenna.  Did Dragon include with on the PE fret?  If not I may have one in the parts box.  Happy to send it over the pond if you need it.

Hey Wingy,

I'll send you the link buddy. 

It's got a Star Antennae but it's styrene and they are sooo brittle - I'd rather have a standard stem but a PE 'star' as it's very difficult to remove it without snapping a star arm

ATVB

Ben

Hey Hinsky

I am glad you are keeping that kit.  Truth be told, if you take your time with it, I bet you'll find your build skills match up just fine.  As for the PE, just remember to anneal it before bending - that was one of the most important things I learned.

Over in the Marder Madness thread, wbill posted a diagram of the radio that I think you've got in your III/M.  Here ya go: (posted for instructional purposes only)

Hopefully that'll help with your wiring.

If the pic is buggered up, here is the link to page 14 of Marder Madness where it can be found:

/forums/t/132222.aspx?PageIndex=14

Hope it is useful to ya!

Hey Brownii,

That's great buddy - perfect

There will obviously be a few other questions that will arise when I get round to starting this kit but at least I've found a fairly good blog and a radio schematic for my wires to get me going.

The other immediate questions that hit me are:

• Should I be fitting the ammo storage racks at all? Some research suggests maybe not?
• The ammo racks call for a small PE extension piece to be fitted at the top of each tube - what are these for?
• Colours for the radio facias. I can see that Black and Green feature on existing Befehlsjager builds?

Obviously this build is a few months off yet so I'll worry about these things then but at least I know I have the blogs and diagrams to help me with my build. It's a lovely looking kit so I'd much rather keep it and view it as a big challenge!

Thanks for your help guys,

ATVB

Ben

Hmmm, ammo racks... good question... I thought some of the command variants carried a main gun but with a smaller ammo load?  I could be wrong about that.

Also, since I am not familiar with that kit, I don't know about the extension of the ammo tubes.

As for the radio, I painted the one in my Marder III H in German Grey.  Looks the part to me...

All command Marders were gun-equipped (boyd may be thinking of munitionschlepper versions for vehicles like the Grille that wouldn't have had the gun mounted) however the right side ammo racks were reduced/changed to accomodate the space needed for the extra radio gear. Command Marders didn't carry as many rounds as their standard brethren.

As for the little extensions added to the tops of the ammo holders, those are small tabs that the retaining straps/buckles attached to that were used to secure the rounds in the holders.

I haven't seen this built up yet, though Marc is closing in on his Marder. I built the old Tamiya kit and I really enjoyed it, but it really needed AM tracks.

Nice gift. Good luck.

I just bought the same kit online a couple weeks ago and I haven't started it yet. I'll be watching this thread as well as the other one with all those Marders.

wbill76

All command Marders were gun-equipped (boyd may be thinking of munitionschlepper versions for vehicles like the Grille that wouldn't have had the gun mounted) however the right side ammo racks were reduced/changed to accomodate the space needed for the extra radio gear. Command Marders didn't carry as many rounds as their standard brethren.

Isn't that what I just said...? 

Good to get the skinny from you, Bill.  I had hoped you'd see this and chime it.  I'm also glad to see I was (mostly) correct - they carried the gun, just not as many rounds... good to know for future builds!

Hey chaps,

Helpful and insightful replies as per usual guys - many thanks

Bill - Thanks for the reply on the tube extensions - that clears that one up. I had a feeling that it would be something like that but had to ask. Ammo wise it looks like it has two 'racks' that would carry ammo in an upright position, each rack has two rows so obviously that 4 rows of ammo. Perhaps I could do away with the front rack but I'll need to look at some pictures. It will definately be cramped in there with all the racking in place!

Many thanks,

Ben