Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf. C 3 in 1
251/1 sMG, 251/7, 251/10
Dragon Kit No. 6224
1:35th Scale
First Look Review by Terry Ashley

Well this is quite a box full of approximately 662 parts in light grey plastic with the basic vehicle being the same as the previous welded hull Ausf.Cs although there are a few and reworked parts which I’ll get too shortly.
This includes the additional parts for the /7 Pioneer vehicle, the /10 with 3.7cm PaK with metal barrel and the /1 with sMG as well as a set of bonus figures, additional uniforms and driver figure in soft plastic plus some brass 3.7cm rounds and to finish off two frets of etched metal and a length of twine, as I said quite a box full.

For a rundown on the existing parts I’ll refer you to my previous reviews of kits #6187, #6206 and #6246 while I will concentrate on the updated and new parts for this 3 in 1 kit.

Updated parts include on Sprue A the large upper hull moulding now has the side vision ports opened up allowing these to be shown open the same as with the front visors while the interior floor section has the locating hole for the water tank removed so you don’t have to worry about doing this but the central floor hump is still undersized and still no driver’s foot pedals although the way things are going these could be fixed in future kits?

Sprue B sees new parts for the head padding under the top hull plate and reworked MG shield that now incorporates the lower mounting plate which was a separate part previously.

On sprue C the two engine hood doors have the large pin holes on the inside filled in to save you the job if you show these open and a few extra parts to add details to the forward MG34 and mounting.

Sprue D has the side storage boxes reworked to incorporate separate doors which can now be shown open or closed while on sprue E are the separate storage box doors.

Also on Sprue E are the front wheels which have further reworked hub details, and the drive sprockets have also been reworked to refine the hub details and add some fine details to the drive teeth, but unfortunately the drive rollers are still missing and the teeth are still not offset as they should be.

The grey plastic internal visor details from previous kits have been replaced with clear parts on sprue W which included the visor frames and armoured glass blocks as well as the external visor covers.

The rear crew seats have additional alternate frames and lower storage boxes on sprue N which also has parts for the /7 and /10 versions and as a bonus there are two fine brass width indicators for the front fenders that will need to be bent to the correct shape much like those included in the new AFV Club 251/1 Ausf.C.

The remainder of the parts are for the optional versions in the kit, the figures and extra equipment which we’ll now look at.

Sd.Kfz.251/7 Pioneerpanzerwagon:
The interior is basically the same as the 251/1 with the option of the rearmost seat frames while the remainder of the parts are the external side mountings for the bridge sections made up of the triangular brackets with the large lightening holes included. The bridge sections are in one piece with nice details and include separate formed brass grab handles for good detail definition plus two ‘wooden’ planks with subtle wood grain effect as often seen fitted between the support brackets.

There is also an additional sprue P with a selection of engineer type equipment such as a variety of land mines, cable reels and equipment boxes to dress up the interior of the vehicle.

Sd.Kfz.251/10 w/3.7cm PaK:
The new sprue c (lower case) is actually the gun from Kit #6139 Sd.Kfz.250/10 w/3.7 PaK and consists of a nicely detailed gun mount with separate hand wheels and sight plus the small double shield on the left of the gun which are a little on the thick side but should look okay. You have a choice of the plastic gun barrel or turned aluminium barrel included in the kit for a better appearance with three brass 3.7cm shells to use as you wish.
A new top hull panel is included with the correct angular style bullet splash fillet that replaces the normal curved type.
On the interior are the two large ammo racks that replace the rear two crew seats and consist of a single moulding with seven 3.7cm ammo boxes and the box frame from etched metal which will really need one of the available etched metal bending tools to make a good job of it as it is a delicate etching from thicker than ‘normal’ metal.

Sd.Kfz.251/1 w/sMG:
This is the version of the basic 251/1 with the inclusion of the heavy sustained fire machine gun mounting which is made up of thirteen nicely moulded parts that build into a nice representation of the gun mount, there are some good photos of the mounting in the Ground Power 251 special that show Dragon have got all the parts in the right places.
Also included are four circular canvas tilt frames in etched metal for when the canvas cover is used with a plastic ‘template’ to bend the frames to the correct profile and as a bonus the rear section of folded up canvas cover is included in Dragon’s new soft vinyl to use in place of the last etched frame. But of course you don’t have to use the frames on this model as they could be used with virtually any vehicle to add a different character.

Just a brief note on the box top configuration of the 251/7 Pioneer vehicle with 3.7cm PaK fitted, the only photos I’ve seen of this vehicle show it on a rivetted hull and not the welded hull but this is really no problem as it gives an option for kit #6246 (Rivetted Version) and you can then build this kit as the standard /1 or the sMG version.

The Tracks:
These are the same as with the previous 251/1 kits and sssembly 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.

The instructions:
These are of the traditional line drawing exploded view type as with the first 251 kit with easy to follow construction sequences but as with any kit careful study of the instructions before gluing is advisable.

Additional figures:
The figures and weapons are from set #6146 Sturmpionier (Eastern Front 1942) that includes four figures with typical Dragon figure details along with a good selection of personal equipment and weapons. There is a separate sprue with a flamethrower unit and some additional equipment for the figures.

Added to these figures are the driver figure and ‘flat’ overcoat and a couple of pairs of boots in the new softer vinyl material to use in any setting and finally a large ‘sprue’ again in the softer vinyl with additional equipment containers, ammo boxes and some anti tank hand mines with four of the containers moulded open to show nicely detailed contents that should come up well with painting and add some ‘life’ to diorama settings.

Decals:
As with previous kits there is a large sheet with multiple vehicle numbers plus two smaller sheets with individual vehicle unit, tac signs and divisional markings as well as some stencil data plus the bonus sheet with licence plates and enough numbers to make virtually any vehicle you wish.

The instructions show three 251/7 vehicles but apart from the diagrams with painting schemes no specific units are mentioned;
Two each for the 251/10 and 251/1 w/sMG are shown again with no specific units mentioned but give a variety of cam schemes and decal placements but you will need to refer to your references for specific unit and vehicle markings.

Bonus vinyl tarp

Conclusion:
Dragon continue to give you a multitude of options to choose from with a nicely detailed base vehicle but not without as few problems remaining as well as the updated and reworked parts from the previous kits that should be welcomed.

The inclusion of the figures and additional equipment offers even more and adds to the selling appeal of the kits.

My only reservation with this continual updating is that you could argue as to why all the correct details were not included in the kits from the start instead of rushing the kits out leaving buyers of the first release kits feeling a little letdown seeing all the improvements in these latest kits with even more reported for the soon to be released 251/22.

But that aside who would have thought a few years ago we would see so many versions of the 251 released with more to come and when both AFV Club and Dragon have finish will there actually be any version left undone, let’s hope not.

The comparison review with the AFV Club Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf.C has been updated to take into account the various kit updates added to subsequent releases.

References:

SdKfz251 Ground Power Special GALILEO Publishing Co.,Ltd	Schutzenpanzer (Armored Personnel Carrier) Ryton Publications ISBN: 1930571291	Sd.Kfz.251 1939 to 1942 Panzer Tracts No.15-2 Covers /1 to /10
Sd Kfz 251 Tank Power Vol.VI Wydawnictwo Militaria No.215 ISBN: 83-7219-215-4	Sdkfz251 Osprey New Vanguard 25	German Halftracks 1909-1945 Spielberger Book 6
SdKfz251 Wydawnictwo Militaria No.12 ISBN: 83-86209-06-2	SdKfz251 in action Squadron Signal #2021	SdKfz 251 Militaria in Detail 001 ISBN: 83-7219-061-5

Page created 13 November 2004