The Jagdpanzer concept so popular in Germany during the latter part of WWII created a tank destroyer that was cheaper and quicker to build than a regular turreted tank. The Jagdpanzer IV (Sd.Kfz.162) was originally intended to be armed with a potent 7.5cm PaK42 L/70 gun. However, because there was a shortage of these armaments, initial-production types featured the shorter 7.5cm PaK39 L/48 cannon. This weapon was shorter and less powerful than the L/70 that became the most common type in due course. The Jagdpanzer IV was based on the chassis and drivetrain of the Panzer IV tank, while the 7.5cm gun was mounted in a fixed superstructure. The 25-tonne vehicle was popular with its crews, especially in the defensive fighting that characterized the latter part of WWII. The Jagdpanzer IV L/48’s first combat was with the Hermann Göring Division in Italy in 1944, but it also fought hard on the Eastern and Western Fronts.

Dragon has launched a 1/35 scale model of this important Jagdpanzer IV L/48 variant, one that was produced in the July 1944 timeframe. Logically, it makes full use of Dragon’s highly accurate Panzer IV chassis. It also features a number of new components to represent this tank destroyer, including the L/48 gun barrel and elements like the main armament’s cradle and recoil system. Although these latter parts are difficult to see even through open hatches, Dragon has provided them in full detail for the sake of complete accuracy. Other brand new parts on this remarkable kit are the fighting-compartment roof details, glacis plate, lower hull and gun mount. The Schürzen armor plates mounted on the tank destroyer’s sides are made in true-to-scale-thickness plastic for easy assembly. Further convenience comes from the use of Dragon’s patented DS track links. The Jagdpanzer IV was a distinctive German armored vehicle of WWII, and Dragon has provided a splendid kit of this earlier type.