How now, Brown Cow?

This is my second Border Model kit. I started this in April of 2020. It's a nice kit. 

This is the original issue with the metal barrel. 

The base kit is the late Ausf. G and a lot of features ended up on this kit as well. The mounting points for the side skirts have to be filled in and the later spare wheel carrier holes are still present on the fender. 

It also has the 1943 era cold engine starting stuff on the rear hull as well as a later style towing pintel. (Oh look. I put the little locking lever doo-hickies on the wrongs sides.) 

In Step 14, the engine deck door handles J25 and J57 are missing from the instructions. 

I added a turned brass co-axial machine gun barrel (from Aber I think). 

The plastic link and length tracks are very nice with the mounded in sag being particularly well done. 

If you care about such things, you need to double-check the instructions with photos. In Step 4 they have you choose between two different four-piece cleaning rods. I cut one down to just the two-piece one carried by the short 75mm version. 

The side turret vision ports are mislabeled. You should use N36 on the right (Loader's) side and N2 on the left (Gunner's) side. 

Step 18 Front Right fender support C30 missing is from instructions. 

Step 11 The Ider Adjusting Wrench shows two different Part numbers J36 and N32 and two different stowage locations. I believe that the J36 location is the initial factory placement versus a common field stowage location at N32. 

The observant may have noticed that I install the rear idlers "swung up" as opposed to the hanging down position. Bad language was deployed at the moment I realized this but was ineffective. So into a box it went for almost a year. 

So I gritted my teeth and ripped and broke and bent. The link and length tracks were the saving grace in this situation because there is no tension on the idlers.  

I tried to shave off the extra bits. This would best be done before assembly.... 

The initial boxing (I've been told they will fix this in the future) comes with a turret that has an extra plate of armour welded to the rear of the turret roof. The instructions include a photo of an F1 at what looks like the time of Kursk in 1943 with a full set of Schurzen. As I wanted an earlier vehicle, I tried to hide the weld. I scraped and sanded it down and hoped it wouldn't be noticeable under a coat of paint. As well, the screw head holes are missing from the roof on the right front corner of the turret. I eye-balled it and just drill the holes. Again, hoping that a coat of paint will hide a multitude of sins..... 

Wow. Paint on plastic, what a concept. Tamiya's new XF-93 "Light Brown". 

The larger kit decals went on fine but both the smaller DAK palm tree and divisional insignia decals folded up and stayed folded up. Replacement from the Spares box. 

Painting the track after assembly. The key for me is that vehicles in the desert get covered in a lot of dust. A LOT of dust. 

When viewed with the naked eye, the scrape along the weld location is not visible but when viewed in a clear, close-up photo.....