Last year I have shown my little Peter Pig Jagdpanzer IV Lang, and also discussed a bit of the history behind the vehicles. In the fall I discovered a new French company, Normandy Miniatures, producing plastic kits in my beloved 15mm scale. A M8/M20 and a Jagdpanzer IV. I ordered a Jagdpanzer set to try. They are sold in 5 vehicles 'boxes' (it is a pattern?). Of course my order arrived without a box... but 5 vehicles (two sprues per vehicle) were there.
Good thing is the fact you can build L48 and L70 Vomag version and an L70 Alkett version. Bad thing is that the kit is not on par with PSC, Zvezda or Battlefront current release. Of course it is the first effort of a new company so maybe I am just hypercritical and spoiled. The vehicle itself is well designed, even if the plastic is a bit shiny and the detail is not on par with the more established companies. No crew figures are provided, and the hatches are quite thick and do not fit well. Also the 'mantlet' (I know it is not a mantlet, it is more like a covered mount...) assembly could benefit from a better design, and a better connection with the hull. The main gun also tend to unnaturally elevate, and you have to be careful during the build stage. Instructions could be better too!
Said that Normandy Miniatures' Guderian's duck rendition is good. I also had spare crews and storage to add. The assembly itself was quite nice, excpet for gun and hatched. The tracks are well done on the other hand.
Not overly persuaded by the schurzen, but, hey... they work.
Okay, not the greatest plastic 15mm kit, a a bit overpriced for the quality, but still a good addition to my giant German collection. also it is a very useful addition to 1955-45 German forces. I have now 4 L70, two L48 and two Alketts. I can cover different situations quite easily. And when painted they are nice little tank destroyers.
A couple of words on the Alkett, it is ugly, basically a Panzer IV hull with a welded on box. It looks like a driver training tank, but it was a quick conversion (less elaborate than the Vomag, redesigning part of the hull) to get a 75mm L70 gun on the field quickly. They also appeared in several units up until the end of the war. So... ugly or not, it is something you can find quite useful in your arsenal. I will threw them on the table soon and tell you how they fare!
