About Dragon D6425 Sd.Kfz.250/8 w/7.5cm K.51 L/24 1/35 Scale Pastic Model Kit

D6425: Sd. Kfz. 250/8 w/7.5 K.5 L/24 1/35 injection plastic kit with photo etch, metal width indicator poles and decals.

The Sd.Kfz 250/8 half-track was equipped the 7.5cm short barrel Kanone 51 and was often deployed in the reconnaissance units of Panzer divisions where it could provide close fire support. The Sd.Kfz 250 Neu series was introduced in 1943 and featured a simplified armoured body to reduce production costs and assembly time. On the Sd.Kfz 250/8 (Stummel), the 7.5cm main gun was fitted to a standardised mounting, which along with the low side armour shields, was attached to the standard open 250 body.

PREMIUM EDITION FEATURES

This is Dragon¡¦s second release of a Premium Edition kit of the German SdKdz 250 family of light armored half-tracks. As a Premium Edition release kit it combines parts from an earlier release along with new parts to add that extra finesse. The new parts include the upgraded tooling from the recent Sd.Kdz 250/1 Neu and the new Kanone 51 from the Sd.Kfz 234/3. This new gun represents a significant enhancement over the late 90¡¦s release. Other improvements are subtler and were not obvious until I compared the old and new kits back to back.

The 7.5cm gun and its mount are tooled to Dragon¡¦s current high standard. The gun has a one-piece slide molded barrel with rifling on the muzzle and a crisply detailed gun sleeve. Other features include the sights (clear plastic), a gun breech, spent shell catcher, hand wheels and guard all provided. The base plate for the gun is included and sits on the hull¡¦s top plate (above driver) while the shields are thin and include realistic weld marks. A Gen-2 MG 42 is mounted co-axially to the 7.5cm gun, and the modelers also has the option of an MG34, both of which have crisp detail such as hollowed muzzles, sharp perforations on the barrel jacket and separate feed covers. The MG42 is the more common option.

The interior is based on the standard Sd.Kfz 250 layout, which is consistent with the Kanone 51 being intended as a straight bolt on. An ammunition box with six separate shells is mounted on the hull side, and the standard stowage locker is towards the rear. Due to the paucity of photos of the vehicle¡¦s interior, when the original version of this kit was released, there was some debate on the internet as to the internal layout (production variations may have existed) and how the ammunition was stored with one suggestion being that the commander¡¦s visor was blanked out and his seat replaced by an ammunition bin.

The interior fittings have been improved both in terms of completeness and their crispness. Many fittings (e.g. fire extinguisher & grenades) and personal effects such as gas mask canisters and water bottles are now Gen-2 tooling. PE straps are provided to secure many of the items to the sidewalls. This kit leaves you with plenty of spare Gen-2 items.

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Many of the improvements are from the SdKfz 250/1 Neu and include:

The previous three-part lower hull has been replaced by a single piece slide molded hull. This will simplify assembly and remove a risk of having the armoured body misaligned (if you are assembling the original release use the centre bulkhead (part E35) as a brace when fitting the lower hull sides).

The side armour on the lower hull has new tooling which captures the multi-layer effect in depth. This will be most obvious around the front wheel well.

New Magic Tracks, which come loose and have two parts one for the rubber pad and the other the cast metal shoe. For most modelers these will require no clean up and shall save time. When assembling them, being sparing with the glue will allow the links to articulate a reasonable bit when fitting them to the kit (if not using a slow setting glue will give you time to fit them while flexible). As there are only 38 or so links on each track assembly should be quick. I have found making a simple jig out of cardboard can save time when assembling small two part tracks.

Improved road wheels and sprockets. The road wheels have improved detail on both faces while the sprockets have a multi-part construction offering greater finesse. The front tyres are made from five layers, and each layer provides part of the tyre¡¦s tread profile including the blocks extending onto the sidewall. The side wall now has the Continenta(U) brand name.

A Maybach engine which features the engine block, radiator, sump, fan, fan belt, filter gasket heads, piping etc. Overall it is quite complete and opens up diorama potential. This engine was previously released in a set with mechanic figures.

Enhanced weld seam marks such as for the joins on the front upper hull.

Revised hinges on the side stowage bins to improve accuracy. The bins can be modelled open, such as in a diorama or a model of an abandoned half-tack (plenty of photos for inspiration).

The two width indicator poles are provided with a choice of injection plastic or turned brass poles.

The screens for the vents above the engine are now PE, which is far easy to use and looks better than the earlier nylon mesh.

The driver¡¦s seat now has the spring coils cast onto the rear of the back.

DECALS & PAINTING GUIDE

This release has more painting and decal options than the first release and there are two Cartograph waterslide decal sheets. The instruction sheet has 3 view profiles for four 250/8 Neu and there is a colour side profile of each on the box. Each half-track has a dark yellow base and brown camouflage mottling or stripes.

A medium sized sheet has numerous individual digits for registration plates and Wehrmacht ¡§WH¡¨ and Waffen SS prefixes (the runes are broken into two parts) as wells as blank white plates (with and without black outlines), which will allow you to depict any specific 250/8 with these two forces.

The other sheet is unique to this kit and includes several sets of varying Balkan Crosses, tactical numbers, driver¡¦s dials and unit insignia.

The painting guide includes markings for the half-track on the box art, which is tactical number 425 from the Waffen SS Panzer Division Wiking at Kovel 1945 (Jamie Tainton¡¦s artwork quite nicely captures the 250/8 in its reconnaissance role), a mottled 250/8 from an unidentified unit on the Eastern Front in 1944, 2 Panzer Division in Germany 1945 and one from Germany 1945 this time from an unidentified unit.

Please note that product images are not necessarily representative of the finished model.