ICM's 1/35th Scale
German Pz.Kpw. II Ausf. L "Luchs" (Lynx) Tank Build Review
Kit no. 35121
by Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 1998
MSRP: $22.98
KitLink's Price: $15.98
by Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 1998
MSRP: $22.98
KitLink's Price: $15.98
HISTORY:
The light tank Pz.Kpw. II Ausf. L 'Luchs' (or Lynx) was the final German effort at light tank production and a logical projection of the Pz.Kpw. II family.
In September, of 1939, the Army Weapons Branch of the Wehrmacht put out a specification for a new general reconnaissance tank. According to the contract, Man was to build the chassis and hull, and Daimler-Benz was to construct the turret.
The prototype, which was constructed of mild steel, appeared in mid-1942, under the development number VK 1303 and successfully completed its test trials at the proving ground. Some modifications were made to equip the vehicle for the rough terrain of the Russian front.
The tank was equipped with both a long, and a short range wireless radio for communications. Its 20mm automatic main gun, and 7.92mg was to be standard equipment for this German light tank. The crew consisted of four men: tank commander, driver, gunner, and wireless operator.
The engine was powerful and had a low combat weight, which was a positive feature of this tank. The chassis (designed by Kniekampf) had good cross-country capability. This was especially important because of the lack of good road conditions on the Eastern front.
Because it’s interleaved wheels gave it a certain similarity to the larger Panther tank, the Pz.Kpw. II Ausf. L was given the name of a smaller predator 'Luchs' or 'Lynx'. It also went under the designation of Sd.Kfz. 123.
Production began in 1942 and lasted until 1944, with 133 total vehicle built. 115 of these were assembled by Man and the balance by Henschel.
The Lynx was put into operation with the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 116th Wehrmacht Tank Divisions (Pz.Div.) and the 3rd S.S. Totenkopf (Death's Head) Div. The first Lynx went into action on October 25th, 1943 in the Ukraine.
On that day, Lynxes commanded by Hauptmann Keisch of the 2nd Company, 4th Tank Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Tank Division were deployed against partisans in the Kiev area, near Chernobyl. In May 1945, the 4th Tank Division only possessed seven Lynx tanks in any kind of combat condition.
The Lynx was used on the Eastern Front, Italy, Normandy, and in defense of Germany in the final days of the Third Reich. It was well liked by its crew.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Combat Weight: 11,800kg
Crew: 4
Dimensions: Length 4,630mm, Width 2,480mm, Height 2,210mm
Ground Clearance: 360mm
Armor plate: Hull front 20-30mm, Hull sides 20mm, turret sides 30mm
Max. Speed: 60km/h
Range: on roads at 60km/h was 200km, cross-country at 42 km/h was 175 km
Fuel Capacity: 235 liters
Engine: 4-stroke, 6-cylinder, water-cooled, petrol engine Maybach HL 66P, developing 200 h.p.
The light tank Pz.Kpw. II Ausf. L 'Luchs' (or Lynx) was the final German effort at light tank production and a logical projection of the Pz.Kpw. II family.
In September, of 1939, the Army Weapons Branch of the Wehrmacht put out a specification for a new general reconnaissance tank. According to the contract, Man was to build the chassis and hull, and Daimler-Benz was to construct the turret.
The prototype, which was constructed of mild steel, appeared in mid-1942, under the development number VK 1303 and successfully completed its test trials at the proving ground. Some modifications were made to equip the vehicle for the rough terrain of the Russian front.
The tank was equipped with both a long, and a short range wireless radio for communications. Its 20mm automatic main gun, and 7.92mg was to be standard equipment for this German light tank. The crew consisted of four men: tank commander, driver, gunner, and wireless operator.
The engine was powerful and had a low combat weight, which was a positive feature of this tank. The chassis (designed by Kniekampf) had good cross-country capability. This was especially important because of the lack of good road conditions on the Eastern front.
Because it’s interleaved wheels gave it a certain similarity to the larger Panther tank, the Pz.Kpw. II Ausf. L was given the name of a smaller predator 'Luchs' or 'Lynx'. It also went under the designation of Sd.Kfz. 123.
Production began in 1942 and lasted until 1944, with 133 total vehicle built. 115 of these were assembled by Man and the balance by Henschel.
The Lynx was put into operation with the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 116th Wehrmacht Tank Divisions (Pz.Div.) and the 3rd S.S. Totenkopf (Death's Head) Div. The first Lynx went into action on October 25th, 1943 in the Ukraine.
On that day, Lynxes commanded by Hauptmann Keisch of the 2nd Company, 4th Tank Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Tank Division were deployed against partisans in the Kiev area, near Chernobyl. In May 1945, the 4th Tank Division only possessed seven Lynx tanks in any kind of combat condition.
The Lynx was used on the Eastern Front, Italy, Normandy, and in defense of Germany in the final days of the Third Reich. It was well liked by its crew.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Combat Weight: 11,800kg
Crew: 4
Dimensions: Length 4,630mm, Width 2,480mm, Height 2,210mm
Ground Clearance: 360mm
Armor plate: Hull front 20-30mm, Hull sides 20mm, turret sides 30mm
Max. Speed: 60km/h
Range: on roads at 60km/h was 200km, cross-country at 42 km/h was 175 km
Fuel Capacity: 235 liters
Engine: 4-stroke, 6-cylinder, water-cooled, petrol engine Maybach HL 66P, developing 200 h.p.
THE KIT:
ICM is a prolific model company based in the Ukraine. They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
The kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a color illustration of a Luchs, moving down a dirt road next to a forest. There is a white sign post next to the road that has two signs on it. The top sign says CHERNOBYL 5km and the bottom sign says ACHTUNG! PARTISAIN!.
The Luchs is overall sand yellow with a red 215 outlined in white on the side of the turret. The German cross is on the side of a tool box on the fender.
The commander is seated in the open upper turret hatch. He wears a camouflaged quilted overalls that is white on its reverse side.
He has a panzer-grey cloth field cap with bill and headphones on his head.
One side panel of the box begins by saying the made up model is 133mm long (5 ¼”) and 63mm high (2 ½”) It is intended for modelers age10 and over. This is followed by 4 color box arts of other 1/35th scale AFV kits that ICM manufactures: a Soviet T-28 tank, a Soviet T-35 tank, a Soviet IT-28 bridge-layer tank and a British Cromwell IV.
No kit numbers are provided for these 4 kits.
The other side panel begins by saying the kit was made in the Ukraine. Followed by one-paragraph histories of the Luchs in 4 languages, including English.
ICM is a prolific model company based in the Ukraine. They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
The kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a color illustration of a Luchs, moving down a dirt road next to a forest. There is a white sign post next to the road that has two signs on it. The top sign says CHERNOBYL 5km and the bottom sign says ACHTUNG! PARTISAIN!.
The Luchs is overall sand yellow with a red 215 outlined in white on the side of the turret. The German cross is on the side of a tool box on the fender.
The commander is seated in the open upper turret hatch. He wears a camouflaged quilted overalls that is white on its reverse side.
He has a panzer-grey cloth field cap with bill and headphones on his head.
One side panel of the box begins by saying the made up model is 133mm long (5 ¼”) and 63mm high (2 ½”) It is intended for modelers age10 and over. This is followed by 4 color box arts of other 1/35th scale AFV kits that ICM manufactures: a Soviet T-28 tank, a Soviet T-35 tank, a Soviet IT-28 bridge-layer tank and a British Cromwell IV.
No kit numbers are provided for these 4 kits.
The other side panel begins by saying the kit was made in the Ukraine. Followed by one-paragraph histories of the Luchs in 4 languages, including English.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
The kit holds two light tan trees, two identical light steel colored trees, and one light gray tree, the decal sheet and instructions in sealed clear cello bags.
The instructions consists of a single-sheet that accordion-folds out into 6 pages in 8” x 11 ½” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the kits cover art, over the history and specifications of the Luchs in Ukrainian and English.
Page 2 is the parts trees illustrations, over international assembly symbol explanations in the 2 languages.
Page 3 & 4 gives a grand total of 7 assembly steps.
Step 7 is an assembly and painting guide for assembly of the figure.
Page 5 Is a painting and making guide. It shows five 3-views of the Luchs.
The first 3-view is the box art scheme. It further shows the German cross on the right rear and a white unit marking of a upside-down letter Y with 3 vertical hash marks beside it. It was with the 4th Panzer Div.,Ukraine, Chernobyl, October, 1943.
The second 3-view shows a Luchs in winter white-wash, with black number 41 on the turret sides and German cross on hull sides and rear. It has a black unit marking of a upside-down letter Y with 2 vertical hash marks beside it on the right side of the front of the hull. It was with the 3rd Panzer Div.,Western Ukraine, winter 1943-44.
The third 3-view shows a Luchs in matt desert-yellow with a few matt dark-green spots. It has a red 201 outlined in white on the sides of the turret and German crosses on the hull sides. It has a white tactical symbol on the front of the left front fender and a white unit mark of an upside-down letter Y with 3 vertical hash marks beside it
on the front of the right front fender. It was with the 4th Panzer Div., Poland, Summer 1944.
The fourth 3-view shows a Luchs in matt desert-yellow with a few spots of red-brown. It has a red number 1121 outlined in white on the sides of the turret and German cross on hull sides. On the front of the right front fender is a unit insignia of a white oval with a running dog on it. It was with the 116th Panzer Div., Normandy, 1944.
The fifth 3-view shows a Luchs in matt desert-yellow, with red-brown and matt dark-green blotches on it. It has a white unit symbol of a white skull & crossbones on the front of the left rear fender. It was with the 3rd Panzer Div., SS, “Totenkopf”, Poland, 1944.
Page 6 begins with CAUTION about the kit, over a suggested paint color listing of Testors and Humbrol brands of paints, decal application instructions, in multiple languages, including English and ICM’s P.O. Box address in Kiev, Ukraine and their telephone number.
Trees are alphabetized.
The first, letter A, light tan plastic tree holds: the body of the tank. Parts for this are broken down into the sides, front, rear, and upper decking. You have to assemble all this into a box. The turret parts are on this tree also. (12 parts)
The second, letter B, light tan tree holds: the road wheels, axles, storage bins, tools, jerry cans etc. (112 parts)
Two identical letter C, steel colored trees hold: the individual track links. There are 104 links per tree, for a grand total of 208 links.
Finally, one light gray colored tree holds the parts of the tank’s commander figure. He is broken down into separate arms, torso, head, a pistol holster, binoculars, and radio headset. Each of his legs is molded integral with his hips. He is designed to sit in the upper turret hatch and match the box art.
I have built this kit. Glitches I ran into... were darn few.
The kit holds two light tan trees, two identical light steel colored trees, and one light gray tree, the decal sheet and instructions in sealed clear cello bags.
The instructions consists of a single-sheet that accordion-folds out into 6 pages in 8” x 11 ½” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the kits cover art, over the history and specifications of the Luchs in Ukrainian and English.
Page 2 is the parts trees illustrations, over international assembly symbol explanations in the 2 languages.
Page 3 & 4 gives a grand total of 7 assembly steps.
Step 7 is an assembly and painting guide for assembly of the figure.
Page 5 Is a painting and making guide. It shows five 3-views of the Luchs.
The first 3-view is the box art scheme. It further shows the German cross on the right rear and a white unit marking of a upside-down letter Y with 3 vertical hash marks beside it. It was with the 4th Panzer Div.,Ukraine, Chernobyl, October, 1943.
The second 3-view shows a Luchs in winter white-wash, with black number 41 on the turret sides and German cross on hull sides and rear. It has a black unit marking of a upside-down letter Y with 2 vertical hash marks beside it on the right side of the front of the hull. It was with the 3rd Panzer Div.,Western Ukraine, winter 1943-44.
The third 3-view shows a Luchs in matt desert-yellow with a few matt dark-green spots. It has a red 201 outlined in white on the sides of the turret and German crosses on the hull sides. It has a white tactical symbol on the front of the left front fender and a white unit mark of an upside-down letter Y with 3 vertical hash marks beside it
on the front of the right front fender. It was with the 4th Panzer Div., Poland, Summer 1944.
The fourth 3-view shows a Luchs in matt desert-yellow with a few spots of red-brown. It has a red number 1121 outlined in white on the sides of the turret and German cross on hull sides. On the front of the right front fender is a unit insignia of a white oval with a running dog on it. It was with the 116th Panzer Div., Normandy, 1944.
The fifth 3-view shows a Luchs in matt desert-yellow, with red-brown and matt dark-green blotches on it. It has a white unit symbol of a white skull & crossbones on the front of the left rear fender. It was with the 3rd Panzer Div., SS, “Totenkopf”, Poland, 1944.
Page 6 begins with CAUTION about the kit, over a suggested paint color listing of Testors and Humbrol brands of paints, decal application instructions, in multiple languages, including English and ICM’s P.O. Box address in Kiev, Ukraine and their telephone number.
Trees are alphabetized.
The first, letter A, light tan plastic tree holds: the body of the tank. Parts for this are broken down into the sides, front, rear, and upper decking. You have to assemble all this into a box. The turret parts are on this tree also. (12 parts)
The second, letter B, light tan tree holds: the road wheels, axles, storage bins, tools, jerry cans etc. (112 parts)
Two identical letter C, steel colored trees hold: the individual track links. There are 104 links per tree, for a grand total of 208 links.
Finally, one light gray colored tree holds the parts of the tank’s commander figure. He is broken down into separate arms, torso, head, a pistol holster, binoculars, and radio headset. Each of his legs is molded integral with his hips. He is designed to sit in the upper turret hatch and match the box art.
I have built this kit. Glitches I ran into... were darn few.
The assembled model.
The tracks were partially assembled and ready to add to the model.
The kit supplied decal sheet.
I highly recommend this kit. It is a subject that, for years, I have always said "Why doesn't somebody do....!" My prayers have been answered.
I understand that Techmod brand also does a kit of this vehicle in 1/35 too, but have yet to see this kit.
I understand that Techmod brand also does a kit of this vehicle in 1/35 too, but have yet to see this kit.
I want to thank Kitlink for providing this review sample.