Bronco Models

1/35 Adler Kfz.13 Armored Car

Kit Number: CB-35032

Reviewed by  Jim Stratton, IPMS# 20703

MSRP: $44.95 Website: Bronco Models Available from: Stevens International Introduction: The Adler Kfz. 13 was the first light armored reconnaissance car designed and built for the German army. The Kfz. 13 was also referred to as the maschinengewehrkraftwagen was produced between 1932 and 1934 with a total of 147 units being built. This was a lightly armored open top vehicle with 8mm of armor protecting the crew of two. The Kfz. 13 was armed with either a 7.92mm MG13 or later with an MG34. The gun could traverse 360 degrees. The Kfz. 13 was based on the Adler Standard 6 automobile and the armored body was built by Deutsche Edelstahlwerke AG in Hannover-Linden. The vehicle had a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) on the road and a range of 300 km (186 miles). However, the 2 wheel drive automobile origin resulted in poor cross-country performance. The Kfz. 13 saw action in the Polish campaign as well as in France. By 1941 most of the Kfz. 13 had been replaced by the Sd. Kfz. 221/222 series of vehicles. The Kfz. 14 or Funkkraftwagen was an unarmed radio variant equipped with a foldable antenna and long range radio. Only 40 of this variant was produced. Bronco has also released a model of this vehicle. The kit: The kit is molded in a light tan styrene and the molding is mostly flash free. Detail is crisp and Bronco used the slide molding technique for some parts, namely the machine gun barrels. However, they did not use it for the muffler, which required boring out the end with a sharp #11 blade. The vehicles bulkheads are all relatively thin, replicating the thin 8mm armor plating of the real vehicle. The tires are hard styrene. The treads and side walls are made up of separate parts and look good when assembled. The instruction sheet is an eleven page, color booklet with clear drawings for each assembly step. Throughout construction the instruction booklet has color call-outs for some of the interior parts. There are thirteen steps of construction. The instruction sheet needs to be studied carefully before construction begins and again studied carefully during construction. There is a full color painting guide at the end of the instruction booklet and shows views of three vehicles. The markings are included for a vehicle in 1939 Poland, 1940 France and an unknown training unit in Germany in 1937. Construction: Construction starts with the chassis and suspension. The chassis is molded in one part and includes the front fenders, oil pan and transmission. Care is needed in the cleanup of the parts. The leaf springs and axles all have very small pins for positive location on the chassis. These pins are hard to see and if care is not used during parts cleanup then they can be easily eliminated. I bored out the corresponding locating holes on the chassis for a better fit of the parts. There are photo etched fender braces that require bending and gluing inside the front fenders. There is no indication of placement of these braces on the inside of the fender so again careful studying of the instruction booklet is essential for correct placement. These were very delicate and I thought difficult to glue into position. Take your time and glue small sections at a time. When placing the front axle onto the front leaf springs, be sure that the two holes on the front of the axle are facing forward. Moving onto the interior I assembled the machine gun mount and glued it to the floor as indicated. I eventually broke this off during subsequent construction and needed to repair it. I would suggest not gluing the top of the mount (parts Ba4 and above) until later. I also did not glue the driver’s seat opting to paint it separately and glue into the interior at a later time. The front of the armored body (part A17) requires the removal of the mounting plates for the Kfz. 14 radio antenna. There are no separate foot controls included; they are molded into the bottom of the firewall. These would be easy to replace with strip styrene and would add more detail to the interior. The instrument panel is glued into the front as well as the steering column and steering wheel. There is no mounting tab on the instrument panel for the upper steering column. The only attachment point is at the bottom of the firewall. This results in the steering column just hanging in space. If you move it forward to attach the column to the Instrument panel then the top half of the steering wheel is sticking out the front driver’s visor. The limiting rail (part B12) is very delicate and extreme care is needed to clean it and attach it to the front bulkhead. This requires two PE plates to be bent around the ends of the bracket and secured to the front bulkhead. There is no indication of where this plate needs to be attached. I glued the bracket to the front bulkhead, and then attached the PE plates to the ends of the rail. The rear of the armored body (part A16) had some nasty sink marks that need to be removed, as well as the rear mounting plates for the Kfz. 14 antenna. Once the parts are cleaned up they attach to the floor. Fit of these parts was excellent with no problems encountered. Moving on to the rear fenders, the PE fender braces were much easier to deal with than those on the front fenders. Once the fender braces are finished the body is added to the chassis followed by the rear fenders. Again the fit of these parts was excellent. There is a small pin on the bottom of the floor assembly. I removed this pin thinking it was a long knock-out pin. Later, I discovered it is used to mount the muffler. I guess I should have studied the instruction booklet a little better. The mistake was easy to correct, costing me only a few minutes of time. One problem I encountered was with the wheels. The axle pins are smaller than the holes in the inner wheel. This causes a problem because you are required to mount the wheels during construction, in order to attach the tie rod and steering controls. With so much play in the axle holes it is impossible to mount the wheels correctly. I ended up filling the holes in the wheel backs with styrene rod. Once dry I drilled new holes of the proper diameter and was able to mount the wheels correctly. With the front wheels fitting tight I was able to mount the corresponding arms to the wheel back and complete the construction of the steering components. Another issue with the suspension is the steerable front wheels. These are constructed to be steerable. However, the steering rod is fixed, thus not allowing any steering. The wheel to axle joint is extremely fragile. Because the steerable wheels don’t steer, I glued the wheels to the axle. This strengthened the joint considerable, and I would suggest the wheels be glued to the axles once the desired angle is achieved. Construction finishes with the mounting of the headlights, width indicators, rear view mirror and division flag. There are mounting points molded in the upper fender for all these components except the division flag. This was difficult to attach to the inner left fender. But I was able to get it into position with a little work. When mounting the side indicators (part C13) just forward of the side doors, remember that these are not vertical, but rather tilt forward slightly. Refer to the side view drawings for clarity. The width indicators on top of the front fenders also tilt forward slightly as well as towards the outboard of the fenders. Again this is clearly indicated on the color end views. Painting and weathering: I finished my vehicle in the markings for the 1940 French Campaign. I included the MG34 instead of the earlier MG13. I used Tamiya German Gray (XF-63). The decals went on without any problems. I decided not to weather this kit and completed it with a coat of Poly S clear flat. Recommendations: With the release of the Kfz. 13 and Kfz. 14, Bronco continues their series of armored reconnaissance vehicles. This is by far the best injection model of this early vehicle with clean molding and excellent detail throughout. The weld seams are delicate and the fit of the parts is superb. It builds quickly and will look great sitting next to the early Sd.Kfz. 221. I highly recommend this kit and must commend Bronco for giving us a really nice model of an important early German vehicle. I would like to thank Stevens International for the kit and IPMS for allowing me to build and write this review.