Sd.Kfz. 251 ausf C

The Sd.Kfz. 251 ausf C was the penultimate model of the popular German half-track. The multi-angled rear hull made it one of the best looking members of the family.

There are three Sd.Kfz. 251 ausf C quick build kits that I know of (Armourfast, PSC, and Italeri). I currently have models from two of the manufacturers.

The Armourfast model has two identical sprues containing 28 parts in gray plastic.

The assembly of the Armourfast kit is fairly simple, but the fenders were a bit warped, and are not the easiest to install. There also wasn't any real indication of where to position the storage boxes on the sides of the hull, so a bit of guesswork is involved.

The PSC kit has three identical sprues containing 42 parts including passengers, crew, and stowage.

The PSC kit is well engineered, and goes together very easily without all the fiddliness of the Armourfast kit. It has minimal driver compartment detail, which is completely absent in the Armourfast kit.

I used the upper right corner of the gun shield as a low profile shield for the Pak36. Ideally the gun would have been mounted lower, but I added some sandbags from the 1/76 Fujimi Field Accessories set to provide additional concealment for the crew.

The PSC model (right) is about 2mm longer than the Armourfast model (left) because the angle of nose plate stretches out the front of the hull. The PSC model is also at least 1mm wider, and at least 1mm wider taller at least in part because of its wider diameter wheels.

The Armourfast model has finer panel lines than the PSC kit, and I like that it comes with separate headlamps.

The MG34s on the Armourfast kit are quite well done, but I think the thicker PSC MG34s will be less prone to damage.

A comparison of Armourfast (left), Dragon (center), and PSC (right) ausf Cs.

The dimensions of the Armourfast model are very similar to those of the Dragon model.

As a bonus, I've set up a comparison of an ausf A (far left), the three ausf Cs (center three in gray), and two ausf Ds (right side in camouflage).

The length of the First to Fight ausf A (left) is significantly shorter than the other models. It is almost 4mm shorter than the Armourfast model (right).

Viewed from the driver side, it can be seen that the Armourfast model is missing a muffler and exhaust pipe. It's can certainly be created out of sprue fairly easily, but it would have been better if the part was included in the first place.

I've abandoned building the ausf A since I have real doubts about the accuracy of its dimensions (based on the track record of FTF with their "75mm Schneider" and their Adler Kfz 13.

Last is a comparison of the two PSC Sd.Kfz. 251/10s – ausf C (left) vs. ausf D (right).

Both of the PSC kits were easy to put together, and the ausf D is very similar to the Forces of Valor ausf D in dimensions (but I'll save that for a more comprehensive post in the future).