Kit No. 35113
It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of the Sd.Kfz 250 and 251 series vehicles, in large part due to the almost endless variations possible to come up with. These vehicles were the true workhorse of the German Army being fitted with pretty much anything that could possibly be fitted. This kit from Tamiya represents the Sd.Kfz 250/3 Command version with the large frame antenna and includes decals to depict the kit as one of Rommel’s personal Command vehicles, either the well known one named “Greif”, or the lesser known “Adler”.
The kit comes in a medium sized tray and lid type box containing four dark yellow sprues, the top and bottom of the vehicle body, an instruction booklet and a sheet of decals. As is usual with Tamiya kits the instructions are clear, well laid out and simple to follow.
The mouldings are tidy with the detail nice and sharp and minimal cleanup of mould seams and a few knock out marks required. This is an older kit, somewhere around 20 years old now and it shows in some of the simplified details such as the moulded on tools and rolled tarps, and some of the detailing is a little heavy in places. Despite this there is still alot of nice features included in this kit.
The chassis is rather simple, with the suspention arms all moulded as part of the lower tub so articulating the wheels will take a little surgery. One nice feature in this kit though is the tracks which come as link and length tracks with much better detail and a more natural fit than the usual single length vinyl tracks. Despite the simplification of the chassis and running gear it does still look quite nice as the detail is sharp and well defined.
The body is a reasonably good representation, though there is some simplification such as stowage that is moulded to the fenders and the engine mesh screens being moulded as part of the upper hull. You can position the rear door open or closed, and likewise the engine cover hatches can be shown open or closed , though they lack interior details and have a couple of large injector pin knockout marks to get rid of. On the downside there are no clear parts to use for the vision blocks. This kit also includes the six jerry cans in a frame that are mounted to the right rear, as seen in photos of “Greif”.
A complete engine is included which complements the option to position the engine access covers either open or closed. so it is worth taking the time to detail those, and likewise worth the effort to replace the moulded intake mesh with PE mesh. All that is missing is the battery box, which for some reason everyone overlooks when making kits with engines, and of course the wiring which is always a DIY job, though I would like to see manufacturers start including at least a wiring diagram if they include an engine.
A full interior is also included with a good level of detail including the radios, full transmission, and all the usual mounted equipment found inside these vehicles. Again you’ll need to add your own wiring for the radios, though this seems to be the case in even the best kit with radio sets included. There is a good looking dash included but no decals for it so you’ll need to paint it yourself. You also get the spare vision block holder with moulded in vision blocks which should of course be clear but short of getting a good PE set with clear blocks included you’ll need to either work with this or scratchbuild your own.
A figure of Rommel is included as one of four figires that come with this kit. This figure does actually do a good job of capturing Rommel’s likeness and comes dressed in the long overcoat that he was known for, plus googles to attach to the soft peaked cap. This coat is moulded with a separate back to the skirts so you get good undercut detail, though it could be inporved at the front. He also comes with three arms so that his left can be positioned either behind his back or holding onto the vehicle.
The other three figures are all wearing Afrikakorp tropical uniforms and field caps, and are posed to represent similar poses seen in photos of “Greif”. Also included are four helmets, three bayonets, three breadbags, three canteens, three gas mask containers, three short shovels in carriers with attached bayonets, and two pairs of binoculars. Photos of Greif always show the crew wearing no personal gear so the extra personal equipment should really be either added to the vehicle as stowage or added to the spares bin.
Decals and a paint and marking guide are provided to represent both the “ADLER” and “Greif” command cars, and include a small guide showing how to trim the name decals to allow them to fit to the angles of the armour on the sides of the Sd.Kfz. 250/3. There are also decals included for an unidentified vehicle in “Panzer Grey” refered to only as “In Europe”.
This kit falls a little in the middle, it has quite a bit of detail, but it also has a lot of simplified detail and parts that are a bit heavy. It still makes up into a nice kit but to really get them most out of it you need to be prepared to put in the time and effort to updetail it. If your needs in a kit are simplicity and ease of assembly then this is a good one, however if you require more in the way of detail and accuracy then one of the Dragon kits is probably the better option, though the Dragon “Greif” also needs a little work.
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