Tamiya 35200 – le FH18/2 auf GWII ( Sd.Kfz.124 ) Wespe
It is often mentioned in books etc that when World War Two started the Germans had a much more mobile army including tracked artillery, and while it’s true that they took to the concept of mobile warfare and the idea of having tracked artillery that could keep up with the tanks there really wasn’t all that much tracked artillery about during the battles for Poland and France ( I’m excluding the Panzerjager I and Sd.Kfz.8 Bunkerknacker as not being truely artillery ). Mainly there was just the “Bison”, a 15cm SIG 33 mounted on a Pz.Kpfw.I hull and chassis complete with wheels and with a very large shield added. However as the war progressed more and more variations on this theme appeared with quite a number of mobile artillery platforms finding their way into the field ( also of course anti-tank variations ). The Wespe ( Wasp ) has always been one of my favourites and I personally feel it was one of the best mobile artillery platforms that the German fielded.
This kit represents the standard production Wespe and comes in a medium sized tray and lid type box and contains five sprues moulded in dark yellow plastic, one set of four polycaps, one small sheet of decals and the instructions which are a single long sheet of paper folded in five to create ten pages. These are of the black and white line diagram step-by-step style with 15 building steps. Two of the sprues are a double to provide all the wheels and ammo storage and there is of course also the lower hull tub, also moulded in dark yellow.
The mouldings are the typical Tamiya quality which is to say that they are very good with no flash, and minimal clean up of mould seams. There are some injector marks to deal with but nothing that should detract from the kit overall. The detail is nice and sharp. It can be a little over simplified in places as is the Tamiya way, with some pieces being a little heavier than ideal but overall the finish is very good and this has always been one of Tamiya’s better kits of the era.
The chassis is a simple but sharply detailed affair with some of the detail moulded onto the sides of the hull tub with the rest being made up of single piece suspension units and seperate springs. There is also a very nicely done two-piece towbar with seperate pin. The surface detail is very good with even the underside being done properly, and the final drive housings are likewise very well done as is the small muffler which just needs hollowing out.
The road wheels are very nicely moulded with each being one main casting with a seperate inner hub. The sprockets are simple but well done ( the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F sprocket wasn’t overly fancy anyway ) and use polycaps to hold them on as is the Tamiya way. The return rollers are one piece per unit with three per side mounting to pins already moulded to the tub. Despite the seeming simplification of assembly the finished result is very pleasing.
The tracks are the usual Tamiya tracks being one piece vinyl tracks which are adequate but lack the hollow guide horns and the sharpness of detail definition that individual link tracks have. I personally don’t like them and would replace them with either the Friulmodel metal tracks, the slighly cheaper Modelkasten workable injection moulded tracks or the cheaper still, but very good, Bronco individual link tracks.
The body is very simple, being a one piece moulding for the hull top and then seperate side and back pieces with a seperate rear tailgate that can be positioned either up or down. The drivers hatches are seperate pieces and can be positioned open or closed though there is no interior to be seen and the hatches lack any real internal detail. There are though several good AM resin upgrades to add a driver’s compartment. The tools are well done but would benefit from photo-etch straps and clasps.
The interior is good if somewhat simplified in detail, having all the main components necassary but being a little lacking in the smaller parts which should be in there, especially the radio and crew gear. The side powder lockers can be positioned either open of closed and include moulded in place powder cups while the rear shell racks have half depth holes for the fourteen ready shell holders but only four shells to go in them. This is an area that would benefit greatly from a good photo-etch detail set as while the radios and ammo storage do a good job these can be hugely improved in both the level of existing detail as well as the addition of missing items such as radio cabling and the MG34 and fire extinguisher which should be on the inside of the right hand wall.
The gun is a very nice representation coming with a nice looking sight and sharply detailed cradle. Assembled with care it can be elevated and traversed. The barrel is made in the usual two halves which means care must be taken when gluing them together but the fit is perfect, leaving only a very faint joint seam to remove. Alternatley there are some good AM metal barrels including the very good, and inexpensive, RB Model one. The gun shield is a bit thicker than it’s true scale thickness but this is more a constraint of the medium, not a fault in the kit. Both the front and rear travel locks can be positioned in either the transit mode or deployed mode and are well done though both would gain from PE updates.
The figures are actually quite nice, especially considering they use a minimum of parts with the bodies beign mostly one piece with each of the two figures just having a seperate arm, a seperate head, and one having a seperate leg with the other a seperate rear skirt for his greatcoat. Unfortunately on the figure in the greatcoat the only thing holding his feet in place is the solid underside of his greatcoat which really needs cutting away to give it a proper undercut look rather than the the solid look it comes with. This would require cutting away the feet and then rejoining them with wire then thinning back the inside of the coat.
The decals allow for three different sets of markings, one an unknown unit in France in 1943, one an unknown unit in Normandy in 1944, the other a vehicle of Grossdeutschland in July 1943 during Operation Citadel ( better known as the Battle of Kursk ). The unknown Normandy scheme matches 74.Pz.Art.Reg. 2.Pz.Div. in Normandy but these are pretty generic markings and the decals include no unit insignia.
The paint schemes have the France ’43 one as Olivgrun ( olive green ) over dunkelgrau ( German dark grey ), the Kursk one as olivgrun over dunkelgelb ( dark yellow ) and the Normandy one as olivgrun and rottbraun ( red-brown ) over dunkelgelb. The France ’43 scheme appears to be based on well known photos of a 9th SS Panzer Division “Hohenstaufen” vehicle and would make it a very early production version to have the dunkelgrau base colour.
Conclusion. This is already a very good kit out of the box and a much better one than the Alan version. Until DML gets their one on the shelves this will remain one of my favourites because although it is already good with a few additions like a metal barrel, new tracks, a good photo-etch set and a driver’s compartment can turn this into a truely top of the line model.
Click images to enlarge ( opens in new window )
Man there is an influx if neat kits coming out,I want one of each haha.
have almost finished a build of this one at the moment – great build – sharp looking kit too once finished. Got some track links of one of your mates for this one too I think Dean, as the kit I got did not have the tracks. But easy build, nice clear instructions, stuff fits together how it should!
Yeah I think this is a great little kit.