Die Waffenkammer PZ.III Ausf.M mit Shurtzen Review

Unboxing and Review

 So I've read a few reviews of Die Waffenkammer tanks and figured I could use one for my tiny German force. I had figured I'd need to order from them online but lo-and-behold my FLGS actually carries a few of their product! And better yet, they had the tank I was looking for (as, alas, they didn't have the Pz.III or Pz.Iv in amongst their Bolt Action stock). It seems serendipitous so I threw down and picked one up!

The First thing I noticed was the packaging. The individual pieces were very well packaged with the body and turret AND tracks all assembled (not glued mind you, just dry-fit) and wrapped up in protective wrap. All of the additional bits and bobs (fuel cans, tank commander, jerry-cans, stowage and shurtzen) packaged together in individual baggies, inside another baggy, in amongst popcorn foam. This company (they're Canadian! Huzzah for supporting Canadian businesses. Yes I'm Canadian :P) really knows how to protect their models.

 The second thing I noticed was that everything was RESIN. And I do mean EVERYTHING. Gun barrels, lights, toggles, everything is in a nice light, and luckily, bendy resin. I say luckily as the resin used is a rather sturdy type and will bend before it breaks, always my preference. Alas this also means that a tiny bit of boiling water was needed to bend the main gun back into place as it was mildly bent down in transit. You can see why from the above pic as the gun was nicely supported with stiff backing card and on top of a piece of foam (this was what was inside the safety wrap, all together and unmolested), but due to the packaging type, the barrel was forced down for some time under pressure and took on a bit of a droop. No biggie.

 The Detail on this kit is, simply put, phenomenal. the gun barrels had mild depressions so I didn't need to drill/bore them out. The casting was  wonderful and required very little clean up and de-flashing. I didn't even need to drag out my dremel tool for it (something I've needed to do for EVERY SINGLE OTHER RESIN KIT I'VE EVER BOUGHT!!). I was stunned. On the Bolt Action Sherman I must have spent an hour dremeling out and cleaning the kit to make it beautiful. This one needed no such effort. A little hot water, and, after, a little soap and water and she was ready to paint!

 As you can see from this close up, the detail is wonderful.

I forgot to take a pic of the only issue with this kit. Along the bottom butt-plate there was a small area of discolouration that, when I checked it, wound up being uncured/soft resin. A small bit that was cleared out and covered over with liquid green stuff (GW does some things right) in a jiffy (less than 2 minutes of work). after a quick bit of file work the primer coat went on and away I went.

As it stands, I haven't finished the paint job (because I'm swamped under other projects), as, along with the rest of my Germans, it is a lovely shade of grey... which works well for demo games(!), but will be finished in the upcoming months. For now, it shall sit, ignored until I get around to it. Rest assured that when I do finish it, it will appear on this blog!

All in all, I'd rate the Die Waffenkammer kit a 9.5 out of 10 (lost points for the uncured resin bit). My suggestion, pick a kit up (Support Canadian Business!) and see how you like it!

Until next time,
Back to painting Warmachine.
Bean out~