German Pz.Kpfw IV Ausf.D/E Fahrgestell
Trumpeter Kit No. 00362
1:35th Scale
With comparisons to
and 
Panzer IV Ausf.D parts
Lower Hull
Dragon and Trumpeter inner final drive detail
The separate suspension channels on the Dragon hull offer little or no detail
increase over the Tristar and Trumeter hulls with these parts included in the lower hull mouldings.
Note: There are four raised pins on the side of each Dragon suspension bracket that can't be
seen after assembly and you should cut these off as they only hinder the placement of the
suspension channels.
Rear hull parts
Note: The round port cover is correctly reversed on the Trumpeter Munitionsschlepper upper panel.
Idler mount parts
Note: idler mounting plates part of rear hull plate on Tristar kit
Assembled idler mounts
Dragon detail issues: 1. No mounting flanges for exhaust pipes.
2. Undersized muffler (see below).
Tristar detail issues: 1. Note different orientation of small cover brackets,
this is correct as the cover can be transposed and have a different orientation,
see the images below which show in photo 1 the same as Dragon and Trumpeter
and photo 2 the same as Tristar so all kits are correct here.
2. Small notches missing from idler mount caps.
Trumpeter rear hull, some detail not as fine but perfectly acceptable
Main exhausts and muffler on Dragon parts undersized
Tristar muffler is correct size compared to available 1:35 plans
Trumpeter muffler also undersized in width the same as the Dragon parts,
Note correctly rearranged exhaust pipe for Munitionsschlepper
Lower hull fillet with the Dragon part is slightly to narrow but with the correct contours
the Tristar and Trumpeter parts appear to be possibly correct on photographic evidence.
See Panzer IV Comparison Review
