ShM-120 Pram Panzershop
Ref : #PS35C134

Historical background

The PRAM is a Czechoslovak self-propelled mortar based on an extended BVP chassis. Only 12 vehicles were built and following the separation between Czech republic and Slovakia, each country kept 6 vehicles in service.

General overview

Panzershop give a full resin kit issued in a sturdy cardboard box. The parts are protected by foam chips and air bubble wrapping film. The small parts come in re-sealable plastic bags. The kit comprises 156 resin parts, 12 photoetched parts and a decal sheet with nationality markings only for the Czech and the Slovak armies.

The cast is of good quality with few flash to remove and some seam lines a bit too heavy. On my model, the lower hull presents some resin excess as if the mold was damaged. However, the cleaning will be easy. Some air bubbles will have to be filled more specifically in the side skirts.
The overall detail level is good even if Panzershop have over simplified the hatches hinges for instance.
The dry fit of the main parts shows that we'll have to be very careful especially concerning the alignment of the both upper hull halves.

The kit

The hull comes in three parts: the lower hull, the front upper hull half and the rear casemate. Panzershop used the Dragon BMP kit to make their own parts with the exception of the casemate.
The Dragon lower hull has been extended and detailed particularly under the belly.
The front upper hull half has been modified. In fact, Panzershop properly located the large hatch on the right of the driver but didn't change the exhaust grille. On the PRAM, a protection for the exhaust has been added. It is present in the kit but lacks its tubular frame. Curiously enough, Panzershop do not provide the two handles for the engine access hatch while they are clearly visible on the instructions.
The casemate is full new. It gets the base and the mortar 120mm tube which end is hollow. A photoetched semi-collar complements the base.
The self-defense cupola is added. It has a bracket for a NVST MG, which a copy of the Tamiya T-72 one, and another one for a AT-5 missile firing post.
Panzershop also give a copy of Dragon spare track links and the towing cables eyes. One will have to make the cables oneself.
While looking at reference pictures, we can notice that Panzershop did some mistakes in terms of shape for some parts and have omitted some important details like the bolted plate at the base of the air intake left of the front cupola. Likewise, the rectangular part left of this air intake is too large and should be beveled. The air intake looks too large when referring to pictures.

 The running gear is also constituted of copies of Dragon parts. The sprockets and idlers are identical. Thus the sprocket is wrong as it has 6 spokes instead of 5 and is not of the correct type. The roadwheels have been improved by Panzershop and have their inner face detailed.
The tracks are of the link-and-length type. They are too copies of Dragon tracks. The pin marks of the Dragon parts are still present on the inner face. No assembly sequence is issued in the instructions. It will be necessary to have some dry fit.

Conclusion

Panzershop deserve some reward for the release of such  an original and very rare model. The systematic copy of existing parts is not a good solution more specially when the base kit is wrong.
To get an accurate model, you'll need to find a new set of sprockets (of the late type) and redo some details oversimplified by Panzershop which, considering the price of a resin kit, is not acceptable.

         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
   
         
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