Panzer 3 Ausf N

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Bryan Krueger
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Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Bryan Krueger »

This is the Dragon 6558 PzIII ausf M built as an Ausf N. This is what happens when you can't make up your mind. Sorry for the wall of text to follow.

I bought the kit maybe 8 years ago on sale at a LHS. Having just finished an Ausf L at the time, I wasn't too keen on building another similar long barrel Pz3 so it sat for a while. Then I decided I would and bought a replacement barrel and it sat. Later I changed my mind and eventually traded off the kit long barrel and mantlet parts to a guy for the Ausf N parts and it sat some more. I then thought I was hot shit and bought every PE set imaginable from ET models for this kit and it sat.

7.5 years pass and I finally dig out the kit. I decided to build the Ausf M this time and thought I had enough parts in the spares to finish this. Nope. Ausf N it is then but I had already glued some mantle parts on that had to be chopped off to fit the ausf N features. I then notice the copula parts were missing and recalled I had used them in the Beute KV-5. Fortunately I found new loose sprues on ebay. The PE fenders were used on another project and once I looked at the "basic" PE I decided NOPE on that. I decided to build as much OOB as possible but I really wanted to add schurzen. The Ausf M kit includes the sprue for the hull brackets but no rail (they were molded but clipped off), but the rail was easy enough with the AM set. The turret schurzen was a nightmare though. There are no bending guides in the instructions and the drawings in PazerTracks only got me so far. The brass was very springy and didn't anneal as much as I wanted. I spent hours rolling and bending and adjusting the fit until finally getting something that looks decent. And then I had to install dozens of .5mm resin bolts all the while the schurzen brackets kept popping off. :x :x :x :x The only good experience so far is being able to use the MC tracks I had preassembled 3 years ago. ;)

The moral is start a different kit. :lol:

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Philipp Gross
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Re: Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Philipp Gross »

Looks like all the hassle was well worth it in the end :D

I don't think there's any way to build PE turret skits without sacrificing some brain cells. By far the hardest part on my III N from ages ago.

What unit/paint scheme do you have in mind?

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Bryan Krueger
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Re: Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Bryan Krueger »

Thanks, but I haven't gotten that far. Probably an unknown unit. Maybe solid Dark Yellow or a three tone camo.

Going to set it aside for a little while. It was more about the challenge of tackling the schurzen than about finishing it. :|
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Vincent Power
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Re: Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Vincent Power »

Without the back story Bryan I would never have known you had any issues with the kit, judging by the pics. It looks great. :) Are you happy with how it turned out so far?

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Re: Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Adam Durrant »

Looks great Bryan, sometimes the kits you struggle with the most lead to the most satisfying result :D
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Bryan Krueger
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Re: Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Bryan Krueger »

Thanks all.

Vincent - Happy? In a way. I was really intimidated by the PE Schurzen for years, but I'm glad I put my big boy pants on and finally tackled it. :lol: I'm not happy with how it turned out though. It's a little wonky, and after a coat of primer I found a few glue blobs that are going to need to be clean up on some delicate parts in hard to reach areas. I need to let it sit for a while and work on other things and maybe will get back into it later.
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Re: Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Bryan Krueger »

After two years on the front, the venerable PzIII ausf N was brought back in for major repairs. Or something like that :lol:

The deformed turret schurzen bugged me to no end and only looked worse after primer. I scrapped it for a while then had the crazy idea to resurrect this build with T-34 Turret.


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Re: Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Philipp Gross »

This would look good with turret skirts, don't you think? :mrgreen: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Joking aside, I really like your slightly irregular camo stripes. :D

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Re: Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Bryan Krueger »

Philipp Gross wrote: 04 Mar 2023, 01:55 This would look good with turret skirts, don't you think? :mrgreen: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Die!!! :lol:
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Re: Panzer 3 Ausf N

Post by Bryan Krueger »

Getting closer to completion.

The tracks are a set of Dragon winterketten trimmed down to clear the schurzen. With the heavier gun and turret, I thought wider tracks would help with ground pressure. There are a couple of photos of this having been done but not with schurzen.

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