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).

Waltersons M3A1 Half-track

I bought a Waltersons 1/72 scale M3A1 half-track from HLJ during their big sale last week, and just got it in the mail yesterday.

Waltersons is a Hong Kong based company that manufactures RC tanks and 1/72 scale plastic models. The later seem to be aimed primarily for the Japanese market as part of their 999 Series.

Most of their current inventory of models are actually reboxed Forces of Valor plastic models, but in the coming year they appear to be releasing brand new kits of their own.

The parts of the half-track are molded in green polystyrene, with a vinyl sprue for the tracks and driver figure. Some US star and serial number decals are also provided. There are no clear parts for the windshield.

I put the model together in under an hour. The instructions are clear, and there were no surprises.

I never bought the plastic Forces of Valor models before, because I thought they were identical to the diecast models, but comparing the diecast model (right) to this kit (left) makes it clear that they are from completely different toolings.

The models are pretty much the same size, though dimensions of various individual parts are slightly different.

The tracks are a bit thick, but they hold together well with CA glue.

Right now I'm trying to figure out how to add windshield glass to the model, but I'm probably going to go with UV resin because of the way the wipers are molded onto the windshield frame. 

I will definitely be getting more Waltersons kits in the future because they go together quickly, are relatively inexpensive, and look pretty good built up.

4D M3 Half-track

The 4D M3 half-tracked armored vehicle (半履带装甲车) was released at the same time as the 4D Sd.Kfz. 7, but I overlooked it because in the initial listings I saw, it was not advertised as a 4D model, or as 1/72 scale.

The model is described as a M3 half-track on the box, but it is actually a M21 Mortar Motor Carriage. It consists of 35 part in total, with 29 parts in green plastic (some parts are painted in black, and the national symbol is stenciled on the hull in white), the two front wheels in black plastic with hubs painted green to match the body, two vinyl tracks, a clear plastic windshield, and a metal axle.

The details of the kit are very rudimentary. Parts are thick and overly simplified. The engine louvers and roller wheels are particularly bad. I don't see an easy way to make the model into a M3 because the rear compartment is part of a single piece hull configured as a M21.

When putting the wheels on, align the drive sprockets, rear idler, and roller wheels so that the outside edges are flush, otherwise they will look misaligned when the tracks are in place.

I also had to file down the metal axle a bit so that the wheels did not stick out too far. The wheels need to be pushed in so they touch the chassis in order to be flush with the fenders.

The instructions tell you to add the tools before placing the hull on the chassis, but it is probably a better idea to add them after the hull is put in place. I had glued the tools in place, and found that the pins on the tools prevented the hull from going all the way down, making it necessary to clip off the ends of the pins before the hull could be seated properly.

Despite it's flaws, the model goes together quickly and looks fairly decent from a distance, though the windshield needs to be painted or the edges really stand out.

The size of the 4D model is nearly identical to the Forces of Valor M3A1.

I'm not sure how scale accurate the models are, but both are significantly smaller than Hasegawa, Corgi, and PSC half-tracks, which are all roughly the same size (probably ~1/70 scale).

One of these days, I'll have to dig out my Academy and Italeri M3 half-tracks and do a comprehensive size comparison of all the different models.

PSC Churchill

I haven't been able to do much in the way of model building recently, but last weekend I tried to squeeze in a quick build of a Plastic Soldier Company Churchill.

The PSC kit contains two models that the instructions say can be built into a variety of cast turret Churchill tanks, although the turret itself is not quite accurate for any of the versions. An excellent resource on the appearance of the various types of turrets used for the Churchill can be found at Armour In Focus.

The Mk III AVRE is mislabeled - a carryover from the
15mm kit, which includes parts for a welded turret.

I plan to build the CS and AVRE versions of the Churchill with the two models in the kit, but because the AVRE version would require a lot more work to make the various fittings mounted on the hull, I started off with the CS version.

The build was modeled after Ballyrashane, a Churchill Mk V of the North Irish Horse.

The tow cables of the model are molded in a position that prevents the spare track armor from sitting flush against the hull. I shaved a section of the cable away from each side so I could glue the tracks in place, and then used some stretched sprue to connect the two ends of the tow cable.

The first tow cable I did looks particularly awkward, due to some fairly sharp curves. The second one with shallower curves looks a bit better, but I'm not particularly happy about either of them.

I drilled out the barrel of the 95mm howitzer and inserted a section of brass tubing in the hole (A). The barrel of the howitzer protrudes a bit past the counterweight, but I probably should have made the tubing flush with the end, since the actual extended portion would be almost unnoticeable at 1/72 scale.

Some plastic card was used to represent the padding on the inside of the hatch covers (B). The flag canister on the side of the turret was mounted angled to the front, but I've seen it straight up, or tilted to the back as well (C). Plastic strip was glued around the turret ring to represent the additional armor of the late style cast turret (D).

I still need to add an armor plate to the side of the turret to cover the gap in the armor protecting the turret ring, and I'm going to have to cut the mantlet aperture to make it square, as befits a Churchill Mk V

Some exhaust pipes were added, since they are completely non-existent on the simplified exhaust system.

Below are some comparisons between the PSC Churchill, and diecast Churchills from Matchbox and Unimax.

The PSC Churchill is similar in length to the two diecast models, but is not as wide. This is consistent with the diecast models being Mk VIIs, which are wider than the earlier versions.

PSC Mk V and Matchbox Mk VII

Unimax Mk VII and PSC Mk V

Overall, I like the PSC Churchill. It's easy to build, and the completed model is weighty and well suited for wargaming. With a little bit of effort, I think it can also be made into a decent display model by more serious modelers.

РУССКИЕ ТАНКИ

I received a package from the Ukraine today containing some diecast tanks from the Russian Tank Collection. The collection is marketed to collectors from the former Soviet Union, and consists of various vehicles that were previously released by Altaya, with other vehicles that appear to be unique to this collection.

Each tank comes with a 15 page magazine in Russian, with information on the type of vehicle included with the magazine, including the vehicle with the markings carried by the diecast model. The T-72 that came with this magazine is a parade vehicle with the characteristic whitewall tires.


The magazine provides a nice four-view diagram of the vehicle.


Various color profiles.


And a profile section on early tanks.


As for the diecast models themselves, I found them a bit basic, but still not too bad. In this post, I'm only going to cover the T-72, since I don't really have anything to compare the other Russian Tank diecast vehicles with on hand at the moment. I'm just going to refer to the Russian Tank diecast as De Agostini from now on, though I'm not sure about all the relationships between De Agostini, Altaya, and GE Fabbri, who all seem to have some links to these diecast models.

The De Agostini T-72 is not as detailed as the Unimax Forces of Valor T-72. The wheels of the De Agostini T-72 come as a single unit for each side, as opposed to the individual wheels of the Unimax tank. Construction seems to be of metal and plastic. The De Agostini tank is also about 2 mm shorter and 1 mm wider than the Unimax tank, but they do not look too different when viewed from the top.


From the side, the differences are a little more apparent. The De Agostini tank is actually 5 mm shorter than the Unimax tank. I think that this may actually be more accurate, since Russian tanks do have a very low profile. The paint job on the De Agostini T-72 is also very basic. For some reason, the Dushka was just left the same color as the rest of the vehicle, so it may need to be repainted. There is no weathering, but that's fine for a parade vehicle.


Overall, I approve of these vehicles. Some of the WWII era vehicles are a little too toy-like, but the modern vehicles are mostly decent. They also have a T-28 and T-35, as well as some armored cars that I hope to get in the future.


Hmmm... I think I meet those qualifications.

T-34 & S-35

2010 ended on a rather difficult note, so it is only now that I find myself making the first post of 2011. In any event, I'm still walking and talking, so I guess there's not much to complain about.

This year I've resolved to complete all the near-finished models that I have laying about in order to clear out some benchspace for starting my 1/72 Dora railway gun.

The first two kits that I'm almost done with are the Armorfast T-34 mentioned in a post from 2008, and a Heller SOMUA S-35. The models still need markings and to be weathered, but are otherwise mostly finished.

The only problem I have is to find some way to simulate lenses for the headlamps. I'll probably just shape some pieces of clear sprue and glue them into the appropriate areas already carved into the headlamps.

Armorfast and Forces of Valor T-34s

The Armorfast T-34 is slightly taller, and slightly longer than the FoV T-34, but the turret of the FoV T-34 is larger than the turret of the Armorfast T-34. I have no idea of which is more accurate.


I'm not sure if it is so obvious in this picture, but I used a heated splatter screen to make tread pattern imprints in the previously smooth tracks of the Armorfast kit. They're not the prettiest or most accurate tracks you'll see, but better than the smooth featureless treads of the typical quick build kit.

Altaya and Heller S-35s

I believe that these are the only S-35s in 1/72 scale. They're practically identical in size.


The Heller kit is actually rather nice, despite soft details and the horrible tracks. I actually would like to build a couple more of these sometime in the future.

1/72 Bravo Team

After spending much of the year going over fantasy miniatures, I finally have the opportunity to make an entry on modern armor. I saw the new 1/72 Unimax Bravo Team "diecast" toys at Target a couple of weeks ago, and had some reservations about getting them, since they were very toy-like. Unlike the previous Unimax metal diecast vehicles, these are made of plastic, and I also heard rumors that these new vehicles were 1/76 scale. After some thought I decided that at US$4.99 each, they were cheap enough that I could buy one of each vehicle for review. For the pictures below, most of the vehicles are compared against their Forces of Valor counterpart.


Left) FoV diecast M2 Bradley IFV. Right) Bravo Team M3 Bradley CFV. The tracks are made of rubber, and the chaingun is probably made of vinyl.


Left) FoV Abrams. Right) Bravo Team Abrams. The tracks are made of rubber and the guns are made of vinyl.


Left) FoV M113 APC. Right) Bravo Team M113 APC. The Bravo Team vehicle is clearly smaller than the FoV version, but I don't think it is 1/76. Some of the apparent size difference may also be due to the lack of stowage racks on the hull of the Bravo Team APC. The tracks are made of rubber and don't fit very well. The machinegun is made of vinyl.


Left) CDC Armour LAV-25 (3121). Right) Bravo Team LAV-25. The LAV-25 is the best looking of the Bravo Team vehicles. Probably because it is actually painted, whereas the other vehicles pretty much come in bare plastic.

There is also a M1126 Stryker ICV. I didn't have anything to compare it against, but I heard that it is smaller than the Easy Model/Trumpeter Stryker.

My overall impression is that despite being quite toy-like, with some paint, or just a dark wash, they can turn into some nice wargaming miniatures. Swapping out the vinyl machineguns, and adding some stowage would make them even nicer. They are quite sturdy, and just a bit smaller than the FoV diecast vehicles as seen in the comparisons (I think the size difference is somewhat exaggerated in the pictures due to barrel distortion).