Sd.Kfz. 251/2 Ausf. C Rivetted Version
mit Granatwerfer - mit Wurfrahmen 40 - 2 in 1
Cyber-hobby.com 1:35 Kit No. 6326 (07)
Review by Terry Ashley
The only really new parts are a third type of 30cm Wk Spr rocket projectiles (Rockets) included and a revised etched fret from kit #6284 plus the inclusion of the 8cm mortar from kit #6215 Fallschirmjager 8cm Mortar Team (Italy 1944) to truly depict the /2 version with this kit.
The kit also includes both the welded and bolted hulls for a choice of finish (no you can’t build both) as well as providing the 8cm Granatwerfer (Mortar) and 28cm/32cm Wurfkoerper (Rocket) options but unfortunately some of the parts revert to older detail which has since been updated in more recent 251 kits.
The quality of the parts is to the usual excellent dragon standard without any blemishes although there is some minor pin ejector marks on parts with detail on both sides such as the MG shield but these should be easy to deal with. Many of the parts have plastic ‘nodes’ attached to ensure completely moulded parts and some of these will need care when removing from the smaller parts.
The front axle is in two parts with separate stabilizer arms and can be assembled so the front wheels are steerable and the leaf springs articulate, the detail on these parts is excellent but there is no steering arm included as with all the other Dragon 251 kits. Also included is a separate lower suspension armour panel sometimes fitted and this simply fits over the existing hull detail.
The road wheels and drive sprockets are those first included in kit #6202 with the embossing on the rubber sections of the road wheels and drive sprockets which are still the same without the offset drive teeth or rollers as they should.
The drive sprockets on all German half tracks feature “teeth” in the form of small rollers that intermesh with the track links, the drive sprockets themselves have flat sections around the sprocket that the track links “sit” flush on as the pass around the sprocket.
The “teeth” are not located centrally on the flat section but offset to one end to allow them to mesh with the tracks better and this means the sprockets are not interchangeable between left and right and Dragon has them located centrally and does not have the “roller” section of the “teeth” included at all.
This may seem a small point but this is an important feature of the 251 drive
sprockets and Cyberhobby/Dragon seem destined to never fix this on their many
251 kits while it is depicted correctly in the many AFV
Club 251 kits.
There are also the etched re-enforcing panels for the lower hull sides that
fit around the axles as included in some previous kits.
Upper hull exterior:
The two lower side panels are separate parts with the upper superstructure
being a single moulding with separate engine bay doors although there is no
engine in the kit but it’s nice they are separate as it will make adding
and engine very easy. The rear hull panel and the front sloping armour panel
are also separate parts and the hull parts feature the many rivets associated
with this version and the rounded profile of the front hull plate.
The welded hull has some very nice subtle weld seam details on the various
panel joins as with previous kits.
The front driver’s panel and upper superstructure are also separate parts
with separate parts for the bullet splash guard and MG mounting plate while
the MG shield has a few minor pin marks on the inside that will be easy to
remove. These all have the rivet detail included along with the separate vision
ports, these consist of the outer cast vision block and the inner housing for
the armoured glass provided in clear plastic, and the two side vision ports
also have inner and outer parts.
The two armoured intake louver covers on the side of the hull front are separate
parts to better capture the contours of these parts.
The side fenders are full length single pieces with separate storage boxes, front exhaust and nicely moulded pioneer tools but most will replace the tool clips with etched items while the upper superstructure panel is a separate. These are the revised fenders with the front section bolt heads added and there are also the formed brass width indicators from previous kit.
The MG34 supplied has nice details and comes with a drum magazine, a second
MG34 is included if you with to add this to the rear Anti-aircraft mounting.
Other parts for the hull include the front headlights, NOTEK light and side
aerial mount.
Hull Interior:
This is very busy with the large front bulkhead having the instruments moulded
on as well the addition of other details parts but the left wall is vertical
with just a simulation of the correct offset which is included in later Dragon 251 kits.
The floor panel has nice tread plate pattern included and the two crew seats have etched spring details on the back as well as the driver’s steering wheel and gear levers but the central transmission hump is way undersized and should be larger in width and length and there are no driver's foot pedals included. This is despite the floor panel and transmission hump being correctly updated in more recent Dragon 251 kits but this kit reverts back to the incorrect sized parts.
The other major issue here as with all Dragon 251 C and D kits is the position
of the inside engine bulkhead which is located too far back and this may be
the reason the central transmission hump is so small to compensate for not
having enough room to show it the correct size due to the incorrect bulkhead
position. Anyone who has tried to fit a driver figure in there will know exactly
what the problem is?
I apologise for omitting to mention this in previous 251 reviews, sort of ‘out
of sight out of mind’ as it is not that obvious after fitting the upper
hull, but is quite a discrepancy.
The rear troop seats sit on top of flat storage boxes and on the side panels are the back rests and open storage boxes as well as nice rifle racks plus there is the inclusion of the bolted flange between the forward and rear compartment which still has the incorrect profile at the inner bend, this should be rounded, not squared off.
The two rear doors have the large hinges as separate parts and are fully workable plus the locking mechanism and other fittings.Tracks:
Only the one type is supplied as individual links with separate track pads
and when assembled are fully workable. Assembly was straightforward with the
now standard method for this type track with each shoe fitting together and
being held in place by the pad stuck on top, but watch the orientation of the
three pins on the back of the pad as they only fit one way around.
mit Granatwerfer:
Thankfully this kit fully represents the /2 version with the inclusion of the
8cm Granatwerfer 34 mortar from kit #6215 unlike the previous kit #6284 labelled
incorrectly as a /2 which didn’t include the 8cm mortar.
Also included is the interior floor mounting plate to fit the mortar into the
rear hull compartment. The detail on the mortar is quite nice and includes 8
mortar rounds and the ground mount plate if you want to show the mortar dismounted
from the vehicle.
An etched rack for the mortar round boxes is supplied for the inside which is
located in place of the right rear crew seat.
mit Wurfrahmen 40 (Stuka zu Fuss):
These parts are the same as in kit #6284 where you get the six large mounting
plates for the hull sides which have separate rotating supports for the rocket
boxes and these have small support brackets that can be assembled up or down
for the travel or firing position.
The intricate hull support frames are moulded very thin with just very minor
moulding seams to be removed and despite some tricky assembly give a very good
scale effect to the frames. Unfortunately these appear to be sightly too thin
when compared to photos and the instructions aren’t very clear on this
assembly with just a single illustration with the parts in place and careful
study will be needed before gluing.
The wooden rocket boxes are very well done with wood grain effect on two sides of each part with the smooth side mostly out of sight once assembled and this wood grain gives a good feel to the assembled box. There are two inner brackets at the back of the box to support the rocket motor which has a small connecting bar in plastic and you are given replacement etched connecting bars which gives a far better scale appearance and there are additional inner spacers added when using the smaller 28cm rockets.
The 28cm and 32cm Wurfkoerper (Rockets) are made up of four parts each without any mould seams to be removed and apart from one tricky sprue attachment point the rockets are moulded particularly clean with very nicely defined rocket holes on the base and go together without any problems.
One extra in this kit is the inclusion of a third type of 30cm Wk Spr rocket projectile also made up of four parts to add another choice for the rockets used.
The box assembly was very straightforward with a very good fit of parts, just take note of the instruction part numbers as there are some additional parts on the sprues not used for this kit and makes you wonder what else Dragon has in mind for these parts?
The fit of the rockets into the assembled wood boxes is exceptionally good with millimetre perfect fit both around the rocket head and rocket base and there is no lateral movement of the rocket inside the box but it will still easily slip in and out as required. There is a bit of filler needed on the base join with the inner brackets but this can easily be dealt with and these boxes with the fine moulding on the frames gives an overall excellent scale appearance to the assemblies.
Additional Items:
A DS100 vinyl driver figure from previous kits is included to use as you wish.
The instructions:
These are of the traditional line drawing exploded view type with easy to follow
construction sequences but as with any kit careful study of the instructions
before gluing is advisable. You also have to choose the version being built
early on as there are alternate internal fittings and other differences to
take into account. The instruction only show the riveted hull being used
as that is what the kit is labelled as but the welded hull parts are included
on the sprues.
Decals:
Three decal sheets are included, the small instrument panel dials, the generic
number plate sheet from kit #6206 and the generic balkenkreuz sheet from kit
#6293 which are nicely printed with fairly thin carrier film and markings for
four vehicles shown with four view illustrations.
Note: the mit Wurfrahmen 40 are not 251/2s when the 8cm mortar is removed according to know documentation.
Conclusion:
This is a nice addition to the list of Sdf.Kfz.251 kits as it provides an actual
8cm /2 version as well as the mit Wurfrahmen 40 on the riveted hull to provide
a real alternative to previous kits but the reversion to the older detail parts
for the interior is a disappointment when these have already been corrected
in more recent Dragon 251 kits.
There are still some other issues but overall will build into a nice kit to add to your 251 collection filling another gap in the versions available.
Recommended.
The Sprues: Click on thumbnails for larger view
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References:
| SdKfz251 Ground Power Special GALILEO Publishing Co.,Ltd  |
Schutzenpanzer (Armored Personnel Carrier) Ryton Publications ISBN: 1930571291  |
Sd Kfz 251 Wydawnictwo Militaria No.224 ISBN: 83-7219-224-3  |
| Sdkfz251 Osprey New Vanguard 25  |
SdKfz251 in action Squadron Signal #2021  |
Sd.Kfz.251 1939 to 1942 Panzer Tracts No.15-2 Covers /1 to /10  |
Page created June 11, 2006