Tamiya

1/48 Mtl.SPW.Sd.Kfz.251/1, Ausf.D

Kit Number: 32564

Reviewed by  Chad Richmond, IPMS# 10346

MSRP: $28.00 Review sample provided by Tamiya USA: www.tamiyausa.com Tamiya keeps knocking out some really good subjects in 1/48th, and the 251/1 is a great release. I hope there are more German half tracks coming in our future. When you open the box, the first thing that catches your attention is the gray plastic sprue, which contains a great assortment of firearms, helmets, holster, gas mask canisters and bed rolls. Lots of good stuff to throw around in the back of the vehicle. The next thing you notice is that there is no cast metal hull. It's made of the same desert yellow plastic as the rest of the kit. I knew good things lay ahead.

The small decal sheet gives you markings for three vehicles; one in winter camouflage from the Eastern Front, Winter 1943, one from the 5th Panzer Division, Warsaw 1944 and another from an unknown unit, Normandy 1944. On the side of the box was another color profile of a vehicle in an ambush scheme, which was what I really wanted to do. But, the decal sheet did not have any markings for it. So, I settled on the Normandy scheme. In a total departure from my normal modeling, I built it in the sequence shown in the 10 page instruction sheet. Everything fits very well, throughout the build, and there are very few cleanup requirements throughout. Very few ejector pin marks have to be dealt with, which makes almost any build a joy. I painted as I went along in the build, including the tracks. I'm still scratching my head here, though, because both sides should be the same, and the instruction sheet shows it. But, when I assembled the tracks, the left side was one track length too long. So, carefully, I cut out the one link from one of the two link parts, and it fit like a gem. When I did the right side track, it was short one track like. Thankfully, I was careful in cutting the one link out for the left side, because it was a perfect fit on the right side. The interior is basic, but very nicely detailed, and everything fits nicely. The radio comes with a very nice decal depicting the radio front, and another one is provided from the instrument panel. Here's where I made a mistake that I didn't catch until too late. I put the decal on upside down, not paying attention to the instruction sheet which has the radio inverted. DUH! And the only other decal I had problems with was the instrument panel, which frosted on me on one corner. Go figure. Luckily the radio is not very visible. The sponsons fit like a glove, leaving that nice little overhang lip that just about anyone is tempted to sand flush. Don't, because that's the way it is supposed to be. In the kit you are provided with all kinds of equipment to hang on the sides of the vehicle, but there are no brackets to hang them on or run wire between, as there is on the vehicle. So, a lot of my cans, boxes, buckets, etc. are in the stowage racks in the cargo compartment. There are two nice figures, a Commander and a gunner, which are in winter uniform. The fit of the figures wasn't that great. And, all of their gear is all in those separate pieces contained on that gray plastic sprue.

I did all of my painting using Tamiya colors. I did lighten up the dark yellow considerably, however. Everything received a couple of coats of Future prior to putting on the decals. They are the typical thick Tamiya decals, but they do respond fairly well to setting solutions. Oils, acrylic washes and pastels were all used for various parts of the weathering process. I was very satisfied with this kit and hope there are more half tracks and armored cars to come. Thanks to John Noack for letting me review this kit and a special thanks to Tamiya USA for providing it to IPMS/USA.