After playing a few of the WRG games I was keenly away of my lack of an armed Sdkfz 251 in grey (I have various armed halftracks in three tone camo). The obvious vehicle to get was an Sdkfz 251/10, which entered service in summer 1941.
Models proved surprisingly hard to track down (rather like the US T12 75mm halftrack) but Battlefield 3D do this version with a high gunshield. I would have preferred the low version, but needs must. I had vaguely thought of getting a Zvezda 251 and doing a conversion myself with a spare Pak 36 I happen to have in stock, but in the end I couldn't be bothered.
This is a resin print with just two parts - the entire halftrack is a single piece print and only the gun is separate. The mounting lug for the gun is tiny, but hopefully I put enough glue on it to keep in place.
This model is perhaps a bit cruder than some of the other B3D models, but I guess it depends on the master STL files. It is still a nice model though, and miles better than eg my SDD 251 which is a just a big lump of crudely cast metal. I suspect that given the fine-ness of the detail, the STL is aimed at larger scale prints.
The tools and doors etc are nicely moulded though. I added the crew myself (none are provided). The standing commander/gunner is a a PSC Sdkfz 251 MG gunner, while the seated bloke is Peter Pig. I was in such a painkiller addled state with my back when I painted this, that I accidentally painted the seated guy as an American! And was then a bit puzzled why I had a spare US crewman apparently wearing a German gas mask tin. I just repainted him.
The external stowage (tarp wrapped around a helmet) is from the mass of stowage in the PSC Sdkfz 251 kit box. The gift which keeps on giving.
This got the same paint treatment as the Pz III and Pz IV. VJ Panzer grey wash over a Humbrol Sea Grey base with a drybrush. The wash has actually worked really well on the wheels, but I picked out the tools with a pin wash. Otherwise I just added a couple of balkan crosses and it is good to go, another useful addition to my ever expanding 'grey' fleet, I've even got a scenario in mind for it.
Nice model and great result. How does this compare to the Zvezda halftrack. I have several of those to build.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I've not actually got any Zvezda 251s, the only 251 kits I've built were PSC ones, the rest are metal. This one was dead easy as it is a single piece casting with just the gun to stick on. Sizewise it is a good match for my fleet (mainly PSC and Skytrex).
DeleteIt looks a very decent model and a 2 piece kit has a lot going for it. Mine are Peter Pig’s with Martin’s lovely seated crew. Agree about the gun shield. A cut down version would be nicer.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I did wonder about trying to cut down the shield myself but you always have to be a bit careful with resin as it can be so brittle.
DeleteI did a fair bit of chopping around with some Peter Pig stuff in the old days though! Metal can be a bit more forgiving.