Those of you who read these reviews will have picked up on the fact that I like Half-tracks, and the only thing better than a half-track is a half-track with a gun on it. One thing the German Military did often and did well was to mount guns on half-tracks, particularly FlaK guns which were also used against ground targets. The Sd.Kfz. 10/4 shared their platform with the Sd.Kfz. 250 series of armoured half-tracks and mounted the 2cm FlaK 30 onto the Sd.Kfz.10 halftrack.
The kit comes in a large tray and lid style box on two large and three medium sized sprues moulded in dark grey, a small clear sprue, a small sheet of decals and the instructions. The sprues in true Italeri fashion come loose in the box with no bags which probably keeps the price down but I do find this can result in loose and/or broken parts. All this makes up into the vehicle and gun, an Sd.Ah.51 ammunition trailer and four gun crew figures. The mouldings on this particular kit need a bit of cleaning up. This is an older kit and it shows in the little bits of flashing and heavier than normal mould seams ( compared to contemporary kits ).
The chassis is a simple affair, the suspension arms are moulded as a single piece for each side to which the roadwheels, sprockets, idlers and tracks attach before they are all joined to the lower frame as a single part. This does make for easy painting. The tracks are link and length injection moulded parts which makes for a much better look than single length vinyl tracks. No engine is included but being an Sd.Kfz. 250 platform any engine suitable for the 250 will work with this.
The main body has the hood in spearate parts though there is no internal detail, nor any engine, if you want to position them open. The radiator grill is see through too so if you don’t add an engine this would benefit from some sort of mesh added to the inside of it. The driver’s area is reasonably well represented with a decent enough dash, though oddly there are no foot pedals. You do however still get the six Kar 98K rifles for the fender mounted racks. Clear parts are included for the windscreens but not for the headlights which are moulded instead with the blackout covers.
The gun platform can be modelled with the sides either up or down. A soft vinyl mesh is provided to replicate the latticework grilles on the side pieces. This looks okay but these can be vastly improved with good photo-etched mesh, or even better the Kamizukuri lattice frames made for the Sd.Kfz. 7/1 and 7/2 models which can be modified to fit the Sd.Kfz. 10/4 sides without too much effort. The twin 20rd magazine ammo boxes mounted to the sides do not have the option to be modelled in any state other than closed.
The gun isn’t great but isn’t terrible. It needs cleaning up and some of the detail is a bit heavy but until someone comes along with a good FlaK 30 kit on its own this is all you have so it’s worth working with as with a bit of love and attention and a replacement aluminium barrel it will turn out quite well. Personally I would either replace it with the Tristar FlaK38 or hit it with the Lion Roar PE set for the DML FlaK 38 which will also work with this and has the advantage of also dressing up the trailer. What you get here is a good enogh example but the mount needs sharpening up and the shields are too thick but otherwise adequate. You also get a four-magazine carry box with a separate lid and four magazines that could be positioned in it if wanted. Though one would be needed for the gun.
The Sd.Ah.51 ammunition trailer is a simple assembly comprising the ammunition box and the Sd.Ah.51 trailer. The box lid can be positioned open and a single piece, moulded to look like the tops of several rows of ammo boxes plus a couple of loose 20rd magazines, is provided for interior detail if the lid is positioned open. The trailer wheels are single piece with reasonably good tread detail with the rest of the trailer details being good, if a little heavy.
The figures quite honestly are terrible. Figures have always been one of Italeri’s weak points, they try but they just can’t do figures. These are oversized, very heavy on detail and just plain ugly. They aren’t the worst figures that Italeri have done but there are just waaaay too many better ones out there. If you just want a set of passable figures to display with this kit then these will do, but if you want good quality figures bin these and get a good gun crew set.
Decals and painting guides are provided for four vehicles – 7th Panzer Division, France 1940 : Fla-Btl. ( Mot ) 606, North Africa 1942 : Regiment General Georing, Operation Barberossa, July 1941 : Luftwaffe Unit attached to 11th Panzer Division, Russia, October 1941.
Revell have reboxed this kit with some new parts and a new gun as the armoured Sd.Kfz. 10/5, the mouldings on that are also much sharper and cleaner. Italeri have begun re-releasing their older kits with cleaned up mouldings so hopefully this one will get the same treatment as it’s only real downside is the quality of the moulds which could use a general sharpening up all over. However as it is this is still a good little kit that makes up into a lovely little model of a vehicle that was seen everywhere that armour went, especially in the early war years. It is the only currently available plastic kit of an Sd.Kfz. 10/4 available and makes up reasonably well straight from the box, though it can do a lot better with a healthy application of modelling TLC. For those who like to super detail their kits the addition of a PE makeover, an alumimium barrel, Kamizukuri mesh, and a more modern set of running gear from an S.dKfz. 250 kit really brings this model into the “excellent” category.
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