The Sd.Kfz.11/4 was a modified version of the basic 11/1 3 ton and was used to tow 10cm mortars and later to carry 15cm and 21cm Nebelwerfer rockets, the vehicle was also used to tow the NbW 41 and NbW 42 rocket launchers. Basically identical with the 11/1 except for the rear storage compartments being enlarged to allow room for the rockets. The width of the rear section was also increased to allow the storage of longer rockets.

The kit is the same as the previous Sd.Kfz.11/4 Nebelkraftwagen (kit #AF35051) except the parts are now in olive drab plastic and not the beige as with the first kit, there is also two sprues M from the Sd.Kfz.251/1 Ausf.C Stuka Zu Fuss (kit #AF35091) with four each of the 28cm and 32cm Wurfkoerper (rockets) plus a new small decal sheet.

The chassis, suspension, tracks and front cab and engine compartment are the same as the as the first kits (see the 3ton review for a build up of the chassis) while the rear section from kit AF35051 has the floor section, seats and wider side panels which feature internal detail for the rocket racks. The doors are separate parts with internal detail and can be fitted either open or closed, an extra wheel is included for the spare stored on the compartment room. Two extra sprues contain the end sections of the nebewerfer rockets to add to the racks as desired.

The tracks are also the same as the earlier kits and while nice for 'rubber band' type tracks the use of any of the available individual track sets will help greatly with the final appearance.

As mentioned these are straight from kit #AF35091 and there is one issue with which you need to take extreme care and that is the location of the sprue gate attachment points on the two part rockets. These are situated right on the raised rib detail around the head and base of the rockets and the longer base section was already twisted on all three sprues resulting in some damage to the raised rib. If you are not careful removing the parts from the sprues further damage can occur to these raised ribs which are very difficult to deal with and all the rockets I removed had some minor scarring on the ribs as a consequence and maybe a re-design of the parts sprue attachment wouldn’t go astray.

The wooden rocket boxes are nicely done with wood grain effect on one side of each part with a smooth side on the other with two inner brackets at the back of the box to support the rocket motor which has a small connecting bar in plastic between the two. The side connecting slats are moulded with a connecting strip to keep the slats lined up during fitting and then you cut the connecting strip away once the glue is dry. This may be a little tricky and you may want to cut the connecting strip away before fitting the slats with the box assembly being very straightforward with a very good fit of parts.

The 28cm and 32cm Wurfkoerper are made up of four parts each with a minor mould seam on the 28cm rocket only as well as the sprue attachment issue as mentioned above. The rocket head and motor base are moulded hollow with a separate rocket base and fuse in the nose with the detail on the rocket motor base being very well defined. Strangely there are also etched rocket motor bases provided but these don’t have as well defined detail as the plastic parts. The larger 23cm rocket doesn’t have the filler plug on the nose section as it should do but there is stencilling on the decal sheet for the nose of the rockets.

Also the locating holes in the ends of the rockets for the separate fuses are way too small and you will have to drill these out, do not try and get the fuses in without opening the holes as the fuses especially those for the 32cm rockets are very small and round meaning difficult to hold so take care.

The fit of the rockets into the assembled wood boxes saw the 32cm rockets marginally too wide to fit in the boxes and I had to sand down the raised ribs slightly to get the rockets to fit. Once fitted the fuse of the 32cm rockets protruded slightly past the front of the wooden box but this is incorrect and they should be inside the ends of the boxes. There are no inner brackets for the smaller 28cm rockets which mean these flop about inside the boxes and you will need to add inner brackets yourself to get a snug fit. There is a bit of filler needed on the base join with the inner brackets but this can easily be dealt with while the boxes match available plans and photos well.

The assembled rocket boxes are simply carried in the rear compartment with no alterations made to the original Sd.Kfz.11/4 Nebelkraftwagen kit to accommodate these.

The small decal sheet has the same markings for 2 vehicles as the first /4 kit, one in basic Dark Yellow and Red Brown cam scheme and the other in overall German Gray, both from unknown units on the Russian front plus a third scheme added for an SS vehicle from an unknown unit on the Eastern Front in 1943 in three tone Dark Yellow, Red Brown and Olive Green cam.

Yes, there are white fender markings on the sheet

A simple combination of two kits to add yet another variant to the 3ton series. The lack of pin ejector marks in noticeable places is again noteworthy and adds to the overall nice finish of the kit and the depiction of the wider rear compartments makes this noticeably different from the earlier 3 ton. Or you could just use this as an excuse to get another of these nice 3 ton kits.

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Leichter Zugkraftwagen 3 ton Sd.Kfz.11 Nuts & Bolts Volume 20	German Light Half-Tracked Prime Movers 1934-1945 Schiffer Publishing Ltd.	Halftracked Vehicles of the German Army 1909-1945 Walter J. Spielberger
Sd.Kfz.251 1939 to 1942 Panzer Tracts No.15-2 Covers /1 to /10	Schutzenpanzer Ryton Publications ISBN: 1930571291	SdKfz251 Ground Power Special GALILEO Publishing Co.,Ltd

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