Zvezda

1/35 German Motorcycle R-12 with Sidecar and Crew

Kit Number: 3607

Reviewed by  Scott Hollingshead, IPMS# 34786

MSRP: $20.99 Imoorted by Dragon Models USA - Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Originally produced as a civilian motorcycle, the R-12 was built in Munich by Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) beginning in 1935, but was quickly pressed into military service. The bike was popular in Germany, as well as in other European countries as the oil-filled front forks led to a smooth ride, and the engine was known for its reliability. Producing 18 horsepower, the 750 cc, 4 stroke, and two-cylinder flat twin engine was capable of moving the 408-pound bike at speeds of just over 50 mph (85 km/hr). An initial run of some twenty thousand machines were produced as the civilian variant, but many of these were to be used by the military. Once their value was realized, an additional ten thousand vehicles were ordered, and by the end of production in 1941, over 36,000 bikes had been created. The robust engine also led to the addition of the Einheits sidecar, which could mount an M34 machine gun, or could be utilized to transport a mortar. One of the changes that occurred when the R-12 was built for the military was the replacement of the aluminum footboards with foot pegs in front and pressed steel foot rests in the rear along with a cover installed over the headlamp. This newly tooled kit released by Zvezda is a fantastic reproduction of the early version of the BMW R-12, and the kit contains one hundred and fifty-eight parts contained on three sprues of light gray, soft plastic. The sprues are set up for future releases, as the "A" sprue contains parts for the sidecar, the "B" sprue is dedicated to the motorcycle itself, and the "C" sprue is for the three soldiers and one pig. The directions, which were easy to follow, are contained on a single large sheet folded into a tri-fold design with colors referencing Model Master Enamel paint numbers, and also provide a brief history of the R-12. There are decals provided for four vehicles consisting of the 12th panzer division in 1941, Guderian's 2nd panzer group in 1941, Eastern front 1941 (no other details are provided), and the final markings are unidentified in the directions. Being newly tooled, the parts were clean coming off the sprue, and very little cleanup was required during assembly. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the sidecar halves went together, as I have seen problems with other kits that left a large seam on the interior that was very difficult to deal with once assembled. The figures were all nicely molded, and compare favorably with any that I have worked with. One of the optional drivers has his hands molded onto a handlebar, which properly meshes the two together, rather than leaving an unrealistic gap. Although the directions have you install the kickstand in the down position, I was able to carefully install mine without glue, allowing it to be positioned up or down (this helped during the construction of the bike by lowering it, and looks more realistic in the up position once the sidecar is installed). The decals are of a simple black and white variety, and are produced by Zvezda, but they are well done, and they reacted just fine to Micro Set and Micro Sol.

My hits of this kit are the crisp moldings and fine details, which make this one of the best motorcycle kits that I have come across. The wheels/tires are molded in halves, which allow for interlocking spokes, and a realistic tread pattern is present. Another hit is the optional figure combinations provided to the builder including a pair of drivers, a gunner that is firing an MG34, and a pig. Included in the directions is a period photograph showing a driver with a pig being a passenger in the sidecar, which is reproduced with the figures included. The builder could also potentially utilize the "in-action" driver without the gunner being added inside the sidecar. The driver figure that goes with the pig, and the gunner both have excellent detail with regards to their hands, and the gunner lines up very well to appear to firing the MG34. As far as my misses are concerned, the markings for the period photograph of the driver and pig passenger are not included in the kit, which really surprised me. The only fit issue that I encountered when building the kit was regarding the gunner figure, as I had to file, sand, and use filler in order to position his right arm. I also discovered a couple of errors contained in the directions where in step 2, part B18 is mislabeled and is actually part B43 (which is not mentioned at all), and in steps 14 and 19, the figure legs are reversed (parts C23 and C24 actually go with the driver figure in step 14). The only other discrepancy that I found was that my references show a canvas cover for the headlamp (as the directions call for when painting), but the moldings are for a solid cover with a slit. Although not a miss, I am unsure of why the box cover painting shows a passenger holding a pig in the sidecar, as this is not an option with the parts included, and using either the rider or the pig by themselves fills the sidecar, which would prevent having both in at the same time. I would also caution builders when assembling the figures and doing this with dry fitting and lose gluing in order to position them on the bike or in the sidecar. I mentioned that the gunner required some additional attention during assembly, but the two driver figures also need to be carefully positioned in order to line up properly.

To finish my model I used Model Master Acryl for the panzer grey, and for the wood base color on the sidecar floorboards and wooden stocks on the guns. I used Model Master Metalizer aluminum, steel, and burnt metal for the metallic items on the motorcycle, and gunmetal on the MG34 and K98. Finally, I utilized Andrea's flesh paint set for all of the figures (pig included), and Andrea paints for the uniforms and gear as well. Overall, I would highly recommend this kit to anyone wanting to add the most widely used German motorcycle of WWII to their collection. In the research that I have done, I do not see where anyone else has produced a BMW R-12 in a plastic kit. This kit went together well, with minimal part cleanup, and only required some filler on a small sinkhole on the top of the MG34, and on the gunner figure's right arm. My thanks to the folks at Zvezda, Dragon Models USA for the sample kit, IPMS and finally to you for taking the time to read this.