Roden

1/72 SdKfz 234/3 8-wheel armored car

Kit Number: 707

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: $10.99 Roden Models are distributed by:   MMD/Squadron   1115 Crowley Drive   Carrollton, TX 75011-5010   www.Squadron.com Thanks to Roden for the review kit. The Vehicle: The SdKfz 234/3 was a replacement for the SdKfz 233 "Stummel". The 234 carried the same 75mm K51 L/24 short anti armor weapon as the 233, but it was a much more compact package, making it a better scouting vehicle. Only 88 234/3s were produced, most of them assigned to the 116th Panzer Division, which was at Normandy in June of 1944. One of these was captured, and is at the Bovington Museum in Britain. The other feature of the 234/3 which endears it to me is that it had two radios, a wonderful addition to a scouting vehicle. The Kit: 4 sprues and a decal sheet. Two of the sprues are exactly the same. If construction requires 2 parts, you'll find one of each on each of the sprue "A"s. If there are 8 parts (wheels and suspension, for example), you find 4 on each sprue "A". This makes finding the parts you want fairly easy. The sprues are coded A, B and D. Part numbers are marked on the sprue, and there's a location drawing on the instructions. There is minor flash on some of the finer parts, and mold separation lines on most of the small parts. These were easily dealt with. The instructions are very good. I had no problem figuring out the placement of all parts, and where there's some possibility for confusion in the assembly of the suspension, there's an enlarged detail drawing. There's an interior, with 2 drivers' positions. Nothing else, although I'd bet there's a very busy looking bunch of additional stuff. And no radios. Construction: Construction is done in sub-assemblies. The fenders/outriggers/storage bins are assembled and the stowage added, then the gun is assembled. Most of the time is spent on the suspension, which is then added to the lower hull. The turret is assembled on the upper hull, and the gun is added to the turret. Final assembly is to install the interior, assemble the upper and lower hull, add the fenders and finish with the spare tire and front bumper. I mostly followed this, except I didn't put the stowage items on the fenders, as they're several different colors, and I wanted to paint them separately, and add them just after final assembly. The wheels are molded in 2 parts, inner and outer halves. The resulting seams required filling. Also, there were little locating pins and matching holes on the inner and outer halves. They didn't match very well. Cutting the pins off made it a lot easier to assemble the wheels.

The suspension is very complex, as not only was this an 8-wheel armored car, it had 8-wheel drive. So each wheel has its own drive shaft and suspension. I used Testors liquid cement thickened with tube glue for these assemblies. The idea is to be able to apply the glue with a brush, but it is thick enough to hold the parts in place while it sets. Additionally, it's possible to work with the parts for about 10 to 15 minutes before things get too solid. This is a real plus when you're trying to get 8 wheels on the ground and aligned. I also had a problem getting the gun mounted in the turret. I'm still not sure why, but the way the gun shield and the turret fit together just wouldn't allow the gun mounts to fit into the holes provided. I trimmed the pins off the mounts, and it went in OK. Finishing: The Wehrmacht "Plain Jane" yellow scheme just cries out for weathering and dirt. I sprayed Tamiya's acrylic Panzer yellow on all the parts except some of the details. I painted a couple of the fuel cans Feldgrau, with the idea that there were probably some still in the original color somewhere in the supply system, and this vehicle got them. I added some burnt sienna acrylic wash, and then a black enamel wash. The decals were much better than I expected. The crosses come as 2 parts, a white decal and a black center. The WH registration plates are OK. The decals came off the paper nicely, and went on with no problems. I made sure the white part of each cross was thoroughly dry before adding the black center. Overall: When I asked John Noack to review this kit, I thought of the description of a battlecruiser. Eggshells armed with hammers! The short 75 was a fearsome weapon, and the phrase "armored car" was probably thought of by some marketing guy, not someone who actually had to crew one. Even with a couple of assembly problems, this is a great kit. Outline appears to be fine, and comparing it to my Matchbox 234/4, it's really superior in molding, fineness, and detail. I can see this kit winning a diorama trophy, if the modeler has some imagination and AMS. The interior needs to be detailed, but there's one more thing that separates this kit from the run-of-the-mill. The side sponsons have the storage doors molded separately. How cool would it be to build a diorama of the crew of a 234/3 preparing a meal, with those storage doors open on one side?

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