Tamiya 1/35 Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) Ausf. E/F
History of the vehicle
As many know, the Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) is a German WW2 tank used from the start, all to the end of the War in Europe. The tank is actually a Czechoslovak tank design named LT vz. 38, but as Germany annexed Czechoslovakia in 1938., the tank was renamed. It is generally considered an excellent early war design, with good firepower and high reliability. Even after the tank became obsolite, the chassis saw extensive use as a basis for various other vehicles such as the Jagdpanzer 38(t) (a.k.a. Hetzer), Flakpanzer 38(t), Aufklärungspanzer 38(t), 15-cm-sIG 33 (Sfl.) auf Pz. 38 (t) (a.k.a. Grille) and the Marder III. I hope you’re seeing the pattern most of the names have.
Kit
The kit is a brand new mold and came out in 2019 according to Scalemates. It costs around 3000 yen (18,5€ in 2025.) in Japan and in Europe, you will find it for 30€ – 35€. With the large difference in price, depending where you live, it may actually be cheaper for you to import it directly from Japan.
The kit consists of 7 light grey sprues, features a single PE part (for the grille) and 4 rubber caps for two drive sprockets and two ball MG mounts. You also get a commander figure (featured on the front cover art sitting on the cupola) so if you fancy, you can build him too! Very nice! The tracks are link and lenght, which is nice to see instead of the rubber or franky annoying link-by-link ones.
The instructions are written in 4 (!) languages (Japanese, English, German and French) and printed in black and white. They are very clear and I never had issues understanding them. When needed, they also show cross-sections of kit parts so it’s easier to understand what parts you are supposed to use and how. This alone deserves a grade extra. Alongside the instructions, you get a small booklet with background information and history of the tank. I quite appreciate this as you can get younger kids more connected with the build if they know what exactly are they’re building.
