The models produced by the Plastic Soldier Company come three to a box, and offer options to produce any of five different variants.
Assembly of the models is pretty simple, but the instructions are a bit muddled.
I added the interior parts for the Sd.Kfz. 250/11 to the standard parts of the Sd.Kfz. 250/7 for the first model. There is no indication of what the interior is supposed to be for the Sd.Kfz. 250/10, so I used the layout of the Sd.Kfz. 250/1 for the second model. I then used parts for both the Sd.Kfz. 250/11 and the Sd.Kfz. 250/1 in the final interior, but the wall bins ended up offset from each other.
For one of the no-neck drivers, I swapped the helmeted head for one wearing a field cap.
The fit of the upper and lower hull is not that great at the back end of the half-track, and I think this is the first PSC kit that I needed to use putty to fill gaps between parts.
I decided to give each half-track a different look for the rear mounted machine gun. I used a length of 1.2mm plastic rod and flattened the end on a makeshift hot plate to make a plain mounting post. I cut off the machine gun from another mount, and reattached it with a 90° rotation. The third one was left in its original state.
The Sd.Kfz. 250/7 is missing a base plate for the mortar on the back, but I think that I have something I can use from a Zvezda Art of Tactic set.
The folded carriage for the sPzB 41 has some unidentifiable box-like structure underneath, that I didn't see in any pictures of actual vehicles, so I modified the unfolded carriage to use in its place.
Since I used the interior of the Sd.Kfz. 250/1 for the Sd.Kfz. 250/10, it is easy to change between these two versions by merely swapping the machine gun shield and the 3.7cm Pak 36.
The extra sPzB 41 can be used with the carriage to make a standalone anti-tank gun, though there is no crew for it.
The assembled models look good and are very sturdy, making them ideal for gaming. I'm really tempted to get some more, just to make more variants of the Sd.Kfz. 250, but I will exercise self control since I have too many other kits to finish.
I didn't find any details of the interior of the 250/10 when I made mine, if similar to the 251 then it would have some 37mm ammo storage, but like you I didn't worry.
ReplyDeleteUsefully the turret for the 250/9 can be used as a replacement for that on the Airfix 222.
Hi Will,
ReplyDeleteI have come to the conclusion that it is better to complete a kit than to obsess over accuracy. I do add a few upgrades here and there, but if it looks good from a foot away, that should be enough.
I have really come to appreciate PSC kits because they always provide a lot of spare parts. I still wish their figures were not sculpted with metal 15mm figure proportions though.