Dragon 1/35 Military - "1/35 Pz.Kpfw.Iii Ausf.N W/Schurzen" - D6474

The Panzer III Ausf.N was a specialised close-support version of Germany's mainstay medium tank, re-armed with the short-barrelled 7.5cm KwK 37 L/24 gun taken from the Panzer IV in place of the anti-tank gun fitted to earlier Ausf. models. Introduced in 1942, the Ausf.N was intended to provide infantry-support firepower for Panzer divisions, lobbing high-explosive shells rather than engaging enemy armour, and it served on the Eastern Front, in North Africa and in Italy through to 1943.

This Dragon 1/35 kit depicts the Ausf.N fitted with Schürzen, the perforated steel side skirts and turret armour plates introduced from spring 1943 to defeat Soviet anti-tank rifles and shaped-charge weapons. Dragon's engineering reproduces the distinctive mounting brackets and hinged plates of the Schürzen array using fine photo-etched and injection-moulded parts, alongside the short KwK 37 barrel and correctly configured turret and hull stowage bins typical of late-production Ausf.N vehicles.

The kit includes decals for authentic unit markings and the detailed road wheels, tracks and hull castings that Dragon's slide-mould process is known for.

A great subject for modellers wanting a mid-war German armour build with visual interest beyond the standard gun-tank silhouette, this kit suits builders comfortable with the extra assembly steps that photo-etched Schürzen brackets demand.