Road Wheel Arm System
for Sd.Kfz.234
Voyager 1:35 Set # PE 35116
(for Dragon kits #6221, 6256, 6298)
Review by Terry Ashley
The set consists of 8 turned brass drive shafts, 24 resin parts for the suspension arms, 2 frets of etched parts and 3 short lengths of plastic rod plus the instructions sheet.
The quality of the resin parts is excellent with just the casting blocks to be removed but this will require care on the suspension arm mountings as the locating pins overlap the casting block so you can’t just cut it off but have to cut around the pins.
The etched parts are in two thicknesses with the suspension linkages being thicker than the etched mounting brackets for more strength but there are some issues with these parts which we will get too.
Thankfully the resin suspension mountings are designed to fit the Dragon kit lower hull the same as the kit parts so no alterations are required to fit the new parts but there are a number of alterations required to the suspension linkages to allow the new resin and etched parts to articulate after assembly.
One issue with etched parts is the flat profile which is often not correct for the part and this is evident on the suspension connecting and steering arms where the etched arms are flat while the kit parts have the correct round rod profile, this is more noticeable with the steering arms where the kit arms have the correct ball end connector but is flat on the etched parts.
The brass drive shafts are nicely done but the end pin is much shorter than on the kit shaft to allow movement and this means you have to glue the kit shaft mountings (part B3) directly to the lower hull before adding the brass shafts.
With the resin suspension arms you have to drill a few small locating holes before assembly indicated on the instructions and the arms then fit snugly into the resin mountings which in turn fit into the kit location holes on the hull allowing them to articulate freely.
The alterations required on the kit wheel mountings and steering linkages require the locating pins be cut from the wheel hub mountings (parts D18, D19) with small holes drilled and the .5mm plastic rod inserted to form pins. The steering linkages (parts D15, D23, D24) require locating holes drilled and 1mm plastic rod pins added as well as small etched brackets with this work fairly easy to deal with but the parts are small so care is needed.
After adding the pins and holes assembly is fairly straightforward being similar to the kit suspension assembly but fitting the brass drive shafts was a little tricky as the shorter locating pin doesn’t hold the shaft in place like the kit part. After assembly the wheel hub can easily be positional at any angle but the up and down movement is restricted by the pins in the wheel hubs and only marginal movement is possible and there is no real noticeable improvement in detail over the kit suspension with the flat profile etched link arms not as good as the kit plastic arms.
One thing to note is the resin lower suspension arm is smooth while the plastic kit arm has ribs with both types shown in various photos so you have a choice here.
Conclusion:
To be honest I can’t see any real improvements over the kits parts with
the alterations required to make the kit wheel hubs movable quite basic and
easily done on the kit parts and the movement of the new suspension arms is
very limited as well as step backward with the two dimensional etched link
arms.
The update set parts are certainly good quality but any advantage over the kit parts is up to individual to decide as the same linkage alterations are required if done on the kit parts to make movable or for the update parts.
Reserved decision.
References:| Museum Ordnance Special #24 Schwerer
Panzerspaehwagen Sd.Kfz.234 Darlington Productions Inc.  |
Panzer Tracts No.13 Panzerspaehwagen
Armored Cars Sd.Kfz.3 to Sd.Kfz.263 ISBN 0-9708407-4-8  |
Thanks to my Credit Card and 
for
the review set.
Page Created October 16, 2006