PanzerSpahwagen P204(F) or French Panhard AMD 178 by Al-BE\Dragon\Dml
by Mark Nebbeling, IPMS/West Michigan

The Panhard Armored car was first introduced into the French army in the middle 30's. It was one
of the most advanced armored car designs ever built, and even by today's standard the car is
almost timeless.

This is one of those kits you know you've seen on the hobby shop shelves but never built because it cost too much or you didn't trust the manufacturer because you had never heard of it. What has happened here is the same thing that is happening all over the industry, big model companies are buying up or joining with small European or Eastern Block companies to get their kits released in the country at an affordable price.
The Panhard kit was produced by a company called Al-By of France about 4 years ago, but because the kit cost $40ish wasn't much of a hit. DML has fixed that by bringing the kit out as a German recon armored car for $24. The kit has none of the usual DML castings (remember it's not a DML kit) so builders will be a little surprised at the engraving style. This is not to say the kit is bad; it's just different. Basically the kit is just fine with a choice of 2 different armaments and with or without the command antenna. The kit goes together in a snap with no fit problems but the instructions for placing of the German antenna are vague and take something and dry fitting to get it right. As for painting, if you do it in the French, then the car is dark green In German, it can be panzer gray for early war, or tan with green strips for Russian use. In summary, It's a good kit and worth the money