Italeri

1/35 S.W.S. with Demolition Team 'Goliath'

Kit Number 6434

Reviewed By Mark Andrews, #33206

MSRP: $38.00 USD

In 1941 Germany was in need of a medium halftrack that was economical to produce.  The solution was the Schwerer Wehrmachtsschlepper, or army heavy tractor, to be used by the infantry divisions for general supply and personnel carriers.  The Goliath was a small, remotely controlled tracked vehicle that was packed with a high explosive to destroy structures without risking  personnel.  Its primary use was during the closing stages of World War II with the engineer corps.

Italeri has released this intriguing device with the S.W.S. vehicle.  Included in the kit are 4 figures that can be used to build a small diorama.  The S.W.S. is molded in desert yellow; the parts are crisply detailed with minimal flash.  There are some of those pesky ejector pin marks on some of the smaller parts.  The wood ‘grain’ detail on the half track bed is delicate and crisp.  Die hard detailers may want to rebuild this in real wood, but I think the plastic parts are sufficient.  Painting instructions and markings are for 4 different vehicles; 6th ID Warsaw Uprising 1944, 205th ID Riga Latvia October 1944, 711th ID Holland Late 1944 and the 11th Panzer Division Volsges France end 1944.  The decals are very crisp and on register.  They are printed by Zanchetti Buccinasco in Italy.  Time to build!

The assembly sequence follows a fairly logical practice of assembly of the running gear and frame to start.  The side rails, axles and running gear are all separate and come together to create a study framework to build on.  The instructions suggest installing the wheels very early in the game, but I left mine off until further into the assembly.  The tracks are injection molded in length and individual parts.  I am leaving mine off until painting is complete.  Of note is that assembly steps 6 and 7, both dealing with the assembly of the front suspension, are backwards on my copy of the instructions.  Step 7 must be done before step 6.  I am sure this was a printing error and may have been caught in later production runs.  Be sure to look your copy over carefully before starting assembly.  Also in step 11 there is a small diagram that shows the windshield is operable.  It should be in step 9 when those parts are assembled.

The front suspension is assembled in a way that will allow it to be operational when complete.  I glued mine in place due to the very fragile appearance of the parts.  Assembly is difficult here because there is a need to handle many tiny pieces all at the same time and use the hot knife method to assemble them for steerable wheels.  I could have seen myself getting burned with my luck, so a fixed front end is what I have now.  Most of the overall assembly went along without a hitch.  One observation is how easy it would be to open the hood for a maintenance scene.  No motor is included, but an aftermarket one would fit nicely.  The clear piece for the windshield was too big for my kit so some careful trimming was required.  The road wheels were installed after a overall coat of Panzer Dunkelgelb 1943.  A suggestion for some added realism would be to give all of the ‘wood’ parts a base coat of reddish brown color, then over coating with the color paint.  This will give the wood a slightly different shade like real wood would appear in comparison to metal.  Next, the tracks were installed after a base coat of Testors Metalizer Gunmetal and dry brushed with steel, rust and grimy black.  There is a guide that points out the sequence that the track parts should be installed.  I recommend that you follow it carefully.  Final assembly went slick with adding the pioneer tools and the equipment for the bed.  The fuel drum has a hand pump with a vinyl hose.  Simple weathering completed the S.W.S.  On to the Goliath and crew!

Unfortunately the Goliath and the demolition crew are molded in a semi-soft plastic that produces lots of seams and flash to be cleaned up.  Some of the fine details on the uniforms are soft and not very crisp.  There is a plethora of equipment, weapons and supplies to further detail the crew and S.W.S.  The Goliath goes together easily.  The tracks, sides and wheels are all molded as one piece on each side.  The included wire goes from the Goliath to the control unit.  The wire is a bit short and a new, longer one could be easily added.  I constructed only one of the figures due to the difficulty in producing a quality job on them would take quite a bit of time.  I will finish the rest and post a photo in the website gallery section at a later time.

Overall this is a good kit with excellent detail.  A much needed subject with plenty of potential for diorama builders.  Highly recommended to anyone who has some experience with linked tracks and lots of small parts.  Thanks to Italeri and John Noack for the sample kit!

Additional Reference:

Armored Fighting Vehicles, Philip Trewhitt, 1999 Barnes and Noble Books, New York

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