It is a standard 251 half-track of the AFV Club. Before I started this blog and my homepage before this blog, I think it was over ten years ago; I tried to challenge the 251 of Zvezda, which was too difficult to complete and thrown out on the way. The Tamiya seems easy to assemble, I wish I could try it, but I have never made it yet.
It was regrettable, and having five Sd.Kfz.251 series of the AFV Club, thought to complete it sometime. Because I had a prejudice that the German 251 half-track was hard to assemble, I unconsciously avoided it. In the meantime, I had to see a video of this vehicle. I want to build and complete it this time.
The caterpillar is a belt type; the front and back are sufficient detail. It will look real if we pay attention so as not to raise the belt in the air from the road wheels.
In the past, I had a memory that the joint of each armor panel of the cube became rattled and failed to assemble a caterpillar. I decided to bond as many parts as possible by adjusting them together.
Is the actual structure the same as this wheel? If you look closely, the sprocket wheel is slightly angled by the track width. The caterpillar’s real feelings will come out if I adhere to this.
(04-July-2018)
There is an impression that the assembly of the upper half is complicated. It is a pattern of rolling wheels like a Panther tank. In the case of the half-track 251, it cannot be relieved even if the underbody is completed. I still have a long way to go.
If it is a belt caterpillar, the upper half is floating, and it is quite unnatural.
I think the upper half of the caterpillar can express its weight if it adheres carefully, as in the above photo.
I am wondering about when painting the interior of an open-top AFV. I have to decide whether to make it dark yellow or German-gray.
(06-July-2018)
Finally, after assembly and painting inside, I felt all work was completed. After that, I need to paint the outside.
Although it is almost invisible when completed, I painted the meter on the panel, such as the speedometer of the driver’s seat, with a brush. I also painted the small equipment.
I think the rack with the backrest and backrest of the passenger compartment should be installed at the end in terms of structure. Painting after the completion of assembly is a little hassle.
I tried lightly washing the interior, which made little sense of use.
I think the parts fitting is good, but it is unusual for vehicles of this type to fit all in tightly, and gaps will be created somewhere. I’ll try to fill in the putty later and move on. Because it cannot be improved even if adjusted too much.
(08-July-2018)
I cannot see the rifle arranged in the rack when I attach the backrest. Slightly regrettable.
Because the clamp details on the equipment are not good, I tried additional work with a thin metal wire.
It’s an open-top vehicle; I covered the painted inside with masking tape and tissue.
I thought about trying the hairspray technique, even with camouflage paint, and painted the base black.
It is a three-color camouflage vertical. Vertical stripes are comfortable even in small vehicles.
(10-July-2018)
I am pretty of AFV plastic models, especially the German army I have made. However, for some reason, Sd.Kfz.251 half-track did not have the opportunity to up to this blog until now. This time I am glad that I completed 251 type-D.
The 251/1 is an ordinary military transport vehicle. It has two machine guns in the front and rear of the compartment. Compared with truck transport, the bulletproof performance against a small firearm has improved drastically, and non-flat running performance is also good. Such equipment would have been deployed preferentially to elite troops.
The crew is commander and driver; it was possible to transport up to ten soldiers.
Type A, B, and C are complicated manufacturing processes that take time and effort. It might be why it was easy to assemble as a plastic model. The D type was changed to a simple shape, and the shape of the rear part and the fender were also changed.
Both of the machine guns that were installed were attached to a drum magazine.
I do not see the driver’s seat. I can barely see the speedometer. It was good that I painted lightly.
The handrail interfered, and there was no place to put the antenna. It was replaced backward. Since the radio is on the right side of the vehicle’s front part, I think the antenna was better to be in front if possible.
Wow!! The decals are a bit silvering. Is it because Tamiya’s acrylic particles are rough? Before pasting, I made the surface as smooth as possible, but there was not enough adhesion.
This kit Sd.Kfz.251 can be chosen as an initial, standard, and latter type; I chose the form and position of the passenger seat and headlight for the latter type.
The marking was the vehicle of the 2nd-SS Panzer Division “Das Reich.” By the way, Das Reich is German, meaning “nation.” It was a vehicle around July 1944. In February 1944, Das Reich Division was reorganized and supplemented, and it was transferred to the direction of Normandy from the Eastern Front.
The car’s interior is not as much as the outside, but the light weathering is a natural feeling.
Striped camouflage painting did not work well in past works, such as Jagdpanther. I think that camouflage paint was successfully painted this time.
(12-July-2018)
The other day, I fixed the decal’s silver shining. I applied it again with a decal fit and painted the margin with body color.
(30-November-2018)
