Ace Models

1/72 Leichter Schutzenpanzerwagen [2Ausf] Auf UNIC P-107 U-304[f]

Kit Number: 72267

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: $21.95 Website: Ace Models Available from: Stevens International The Vehicle: This is another of those wonderful World War II “recycled” vehicles. The Germans captured a lot of equipment during their successes of 1939 – 1941, and this half track is an example. Originally the Armée de Terre had a basic half track logistics/engineer vehicle, the UNIC P107. A “hauler”, if you will. The Germans used the chassis and running gear as the basis for an artillery tow vehicle on the Ostfront, and a general-purpose half track in France. The new vehicle used the tried and true SdKfz 251 body on the P107 chassis to provide better crew protection. The general purpose version was used by the armored infantry battalions of the 21st Panzer Division in place of SdKfz 251s. There were radio command versions, a mortar carrier, and mounts for FLAK and PAK weapons. The version provided in the kit is the basic infantry carrier or ambulance. Armament consisted of 2 MG-42 machine guns on the APC, none on the ambulance version. The Manufacturer: Since this is the first review I know about of an Ace kit on the IPMS USA website, I’ll give you a little info on the manufacturer. Ace Models is located in Ukraine. I was surprised at how many armor kits they’ve already produced, with over 80 kits listed in their online catalog. They also produce PE sets for 1/72 and 1/48 aircraft. If you’re into “Braille scale” armor, their web page catalog has some interesting projects. The Kit: The sprues are a medium gray plastic with some flash. The trees are heavier than usual, which indicates that the mold was probably designed for low-pressure molding. This leads to attachment points for the parts which are fairly stout. I’ll try to point out which parts for which I had to use “extraordinary measures” to prevent damage. The really neat part of the kit is that the tracks are photo etched metal. This is such an original idea, and far superior to the old-style “rubber band” tracks. There have been metal tracks before in larger scale armor kits, but the thought of doing individual track links in 1/72 is, well, silly. There is some “softness” to the edges of some of the parts, but there are no sink marks anywhere in the parts. The sinks are all in the sprue! Assembly: The assembly sequence is fairly logical, starting with the track assembly, then the chassis, interior, exterior and the finishing touches. The wheels for the track assembly are fairly simple, and only took a few minutes. The entire assembly was then painted Panzergelb, and the rubber tires on the bogey wheels were painted black. The P107 had a rather unique setup, with the return rollers built into the top of the road wheel assembly. I was then ready to tackle the tracks. I used a candle flame to heat the tracks, then cut one out and bent it. Actually, I broke it. A candle flame is NOT sufficient. I wound up using a neighbor’s propane torch to get these assemblies hot enough to glow. The correct technique is to heat the entire assembly with a propane torch, then cut out the parts and bend them. This is best to allow the frame to evenly distribute the heat. I melted some of the track part I broke off because the part was too small and thin to evenly distribute the heat from the torch flame. When the tracks were annealed, they worked marvelously. Because none of the wheels are notched for the guides on the track shoes, the guides are omitted where the track goes around the ends and under the road wheels. The track which I didn’t break bent easily and was fairly simple to get to match up with the wheels. The one I broke took only a little more fiddling, mostly to try to get the bad part to stay in there. Super glue is our friend. After the adventure with the tracks, it was time to mount this assembly on the chassis. Note that the drive shaft was molded a bit short. I cut off the shaft and replaced it with a section cut from a straight pin. The floor went on next, along with the seats, the shift and brake levers, and the firewall with the instrument cluster and steering wheel. There’s also a divider between the back of the seats and the cargo area. The steering wheel required care when removing it from the sprue. The tree comes so close to the rim of the wheel that I was worried that I’d deform or break it if I used the normal sprue cutter. Instead, I sawed the part off, and then cleaned it up with a knife and sanding stick. The right exterior went on next. I had some fit issues with the fit between the exterior, the floor and the front of the chassis. I then put in the part at the back of the passenger/cargo bay for the right side. I had to trim the personnel bench to length to get it to fit in there. There was also a back wall for the cargo bay and the front with the radiator opening. I found that the fit for the front part wasn’t perfect, as the side and front parts were beveled, and tended to slip. When I got the left exterior ready to install, it didn’t want to fit at all. The firewall and the divider behind the seats were about ½ mm too wide, and the parts wouldn’t mate. Some trimming with a knife, some sanding, and a fit was obtained. I worked with this until the front and back parts mated pretty well. The hood and windshield assembly has angled edges, which fit against the angles of the side assemblies and the front. I was glad I used tube glue on the sides, which allowed some shifting to get all the parts to mate fairly closely. I had to use some filler on the vertical mating at the front and rear of the right and left sides, as well as the hood. Now it was all together, and it was time for painting. Painting and markings: I had painted just about every part Panzergelb, so most of the painting consisted of some work on the interior and touch up for the puttied areas. The boxart shows an incredibly “artsy” camouflage job, but that’s also backed up with a photograph which I found on the Ace website. While the painting and marking instructions do give you a decent overall view of both schemes, they don’t show the right side of the vehicle. I suspect that’s because there’s no photo of the right side, so your guess is as good as theirs. I used Testors Panzer Olive and Panzer Brown for the camouflage. The decals were simple to apply, went on well, and when I missed getting the center line on one of the crosses on the line on the vehicle side, it allowed me to fix it, even after 5 minutes. Register was good on the crosses. Final Assembly: All that was required now was to add those parts I knew I’d dislodge, knock off, or otherwise remove if they were added too early. The pintle hook was easy. The headlights were difficult to put on, as the mounting pylons were small and there was no connection between the pylon and the blackout light assemblies, not even a flat spot. The two MG-42s were pretty nice, considering the scale and limitations of the mold. I once again used the saw, as those fairly heavy connecting gates left me with visions of destroying the gun while detaching the first gate with a diagonal cutter. With a coat of flat acrylic to match the decals to the paint finish and soften the edges of the camouflage, the vehicle was done. Overall evaluation: Recommended. This kit is designed for experienced modelers. There are some challenges to assembling the parts, and there are techniques I used which are not usually used in plastic modeling, especially annealing the tracks. The mold is not flash free, but what is there is of the type which can be mostly removed with a thumbnail and a medium sanding stick. Fit was mostly OK, with some filler required. What really makes this particular kit attractive to me is that it’s not just another Sherman or Panzer. And that makes the extra effort required to do the build worth it. Thanks to Ace for coming up with a model which isn’t just another ho-hum subject, further thanks to Stevens International for providing the review item, and finally thanks to IPMS/USA for letting me build it. Note 1: From the Wikipedia web site. Used under the GNU open license. Note 2: Both images are from the Ace website.