Early Version Road Wheel Set for Sd.Kfz.221
Bronco Models Kit No. AB-3518
Review by Terry Ashley
You only get the early tyre section and the main wheel rim which also includes the outer section of the tyre but strangely you don't get the inner disc, the rear tyre section or the triangular hub guard. This means you can really only use this set on the previous Bronco Leichte Panzerspahwagen (MG) Sd.Kfz.221 (kit #CB-35013) which includes those parts and this seems to be a golden opportunity missed.
There would be thousands of Tamiya Sd.Kfz.222/223 kits lurking out there, in particular the recent re-issues of the Sd.Kfz.223 w/etched parts (kit #35268), Sd.Kfz.222 w/etched parts (Kit #35270) and Sd.Kfz.222 Leichter Panzerspähwagen 4x4 Afrika-Korps (kit #35286) which are perfect candidates for this wheel set if it included the additional parts, quite puzzling indeed.
Note; the inner disc and rear tyre section as well as the triangular hub guards
are not included in this set and have to be used from Bronco kit #CB-35013.
A little care is needed when fitting the central wheel rim/hub into the tyre section to ensure the sidewall joins is as even as possible to reduce any sanding needed. I found it easier to glue the front section to the tyre first making sure the join is even and let the glue dry completely before added the rear section. This eliminates any tendency for the front rim/hub join being disturbed while fitting the rear section in place.
All is not lost if you wanted to uses these wheels on the Tamiya kits, just a bit of extra work to modify the Tamiya kit parts slightly to fit the Bronco wheels, nothing that would be too difficult for the average modeller.
Firstly the inner disc (Tamiya parts B2/B10) needs the central locating pin reduced in height by about half to fit into the corresponding locating hole inside the Bronco wheel, a very simply modification.
The initial fit of the Tamiya rear tyre section (part B3) is a rather loose leaving a large gap and to fix this you need to add a shim of 0.5mm plastic strip around the tyre section to fit snugly inside the Bronco tyres, again nothing very taxing. The Tamiya triangular hub guards fit to the Bronco wheel rims without modification for a simply fit.
to fit the Bronco wheels
Images of the Tamiya Sd.Kfz.222/223 wheel parts added to the Bronco wheels
Initial poor fit (left), the fit after the mods above (middle) and front triangular guard added (right)
Once these modifications have been made to the four Tamiya wheel parts they can then be fitted to the appropriate kit as per the kit instructions, but as mentioned had Bronco included the additional wheel parts this work wouldn't have been needed.
Of course fitting the earlier tyres to the first Bronco Leichte Panzerspahwagen (MG) Sd.Kfz.221 (kit #CB-35013) is very straightforward by just using the earlier tyre parts from this set during the normal kit assembly.
As mentioned had Bronco included the extra wheel parts they would have made an equally simply backdate to the many Tamiya Sd.Kfz.221/222/223 kits out there, but that being so you are left with a little bit of work to do. Nothing taxing but it does get a bit tedious when you have to repeat it 4 times (5 with the spare).
Never the less, the wheels/tyres are superbly done and give a distinctive look to the earlier Sd.Kfz.221/222/223 vehicles and worth the bit of work for the Tamiya kits as well as the initial Bronco Sd.Kfz.221 kit.
Highly recommended.
See the Sd.Kfz.221/222/223 Subject page for reviews of other items for the 4Rad Series.
| Sd.Kfz.222 & 223 Heiner F. Duske Nuts & Bolts Vol.04  |
Panzerspaehwagen
Armored Cars Sd.Kfz.3 to Sd.Kfz.263 Panzer Tracts No.13 ISBN 0-9708407-4-8  |
| Panzerspähwagen Uwe Feist and Robert Johnson Ryton Publications ISBN: 1-930571-30-5 Hard Cover  |
German Light Reconnaissance Vehicles Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-522-3.  |
| Ground Power Magazine #63 - 8/1999 GALILEO Publishing Co.,Ltd.  |
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