Quickwheel
Sd.Kfz.7 Front Wheels (Diamond tread pattern) & Mask
Quickwheel 1:35 Scale Set No.QWX-027
Review by Terry Ashley

The Set:
The list of aftermarket manufacturers with replacement wheels for the Sd.Kfz.7 8-ton half-track series is long and getting longer with Quickwheel releasing the first set of two sets of front wheel rims and tyres that can be used on any of the available Sd.Kfz.7 kits from DML, Tamiya or Trumpeter.

This set has the more common diamond tread ‘Continental’ produced tyres and offer a nice alternative to the tread patterns included with most kits.

The set consists of four resin parts and a set of QW masks with the standard of resin casting extremely high with a virtually non-existent casting plug and well defined tread pattern with the sidewall “Continental” and tyre data embossing. The central six spoke hub is a separate part and again has excellent detail with the outer retaining bolts and hub grease nipple and the open backs of the spokes as they should be. The hub has the Hex cap which is an alternative style to the circular cap used on most kit wheels and provides another alternate appearance for the wheels.

Wheel and mask parts
Quickwheel
Quickwheel

The only thing missing is the long valve stem than can easily be added from thin sprue or wire (see image below) and there is the faintest of resin lip on the inside edges of the spokes that could well be ignored without any effect on the final appearance, if you decide to trim this ‘lip’ take note the spokes have quite thin edges and it is easy to cut away too much resin in the process which is another reason it may be easier to leave as is, it’s up to the individual?  

Dimensionally the wheels match available data and plans very well in diameter and width with any discrepancy being within accepted tolerances. The notable thing with these wheels is they are designed just like the real wheels with the separate central spoke hub that fits over small retaining lugs on the rims. The spoke hubs have small grooves on the end of the spokes that fit over the rim lugs and this requires a particular assembly technique that needs a little care. This method results in excellent definition of the rim/spoke join that simply can’t be achieved with a one piece casting and gives an excellent appearance to the assembled wheels.

Quickwheel

To assembly the wheels you firstly slip the spoke hub inside the rims between the raised lugs on the rims, you then rotate the spokes to fit over the lugs but be careful not to force the spokes while rotating as they are quite thin resin and can distort if too much force is used. It is easiest to use the blunt reverse edge of a #11 blade to rotate the spokes but note the spoke grooves have to align perfectly with the rim lugs for them to slip into place easily so if there is any resistance while rotating, don’t force them, just correct the groove/lug alignment for good fit. The small instruction sheet shows the assembly method as well as having some reference photos of the wheels and hub details included in the set wheels.

Quickwheel

Fitting the wheels to the available kits sees the axle hole in the back of the resin hubs being slightly larger than the respective holes in the DML and Trumpeter wheels so you will have to either replace the kit axles with slightly thicker plastic rod or add small filler strips to the kit axles wide enough to fit the resin holes. The Tamiya metal axles will fit the resin hubs okay, this may be the reason the holes are a little larger as it easier to adjust the fit for the plastic DML/Trumpeter parts than for the metal axles in the older Tamiya kits?

The assembled resin wheels, front and back views
Quickwheel
Images of the DML and Trumpeter wheels for comparison.
DragonTrumpeter
Images of the actual 8-ton wheels, note these cave the cirular hub cap fitted.
Trumpeter

Quickwheel Masks:
The masks provided have holes in the thicker section large enough for the wheels to fit into snugly and on the bottom is a sticky mask that just exposes the wheel rim making painting very easy with the sticky mask allowing you to get the mask to sit down around the rim to reduce overspray when airbrushing.

The only drawback is they appear to only have ‘one shot in the locker’ as it is quite difficult to extradite the wheel out of the mask to paint the other side of the rim without distorting the mask itself due to the stickiness of the mask material. You will need to take extreme care removing the wheels after painting one side of the wheel to be able to reuse for the other side.

Despite this the masks work very well allowing you to airbrush the rims with clean even edges, you have to of course paint the tyres before the rims due to the design of the masks but this shouldn’t pose any great problems.

Wheel masks
Quickwheel

Conclusion:
These replacement wheels from Quickwheel for the Sd.Kfz.7 series are a standout amongst the crowd with the blemish free casting requiring little or no clean-up and the separate wheel rim/hub giving excellent detail definition and very good overall appearance of the assembled wheels.

This diamond tread pattern “Continental” tyres will allow you to give a different appearance to your kit with very little work with the cast hub being the standout feature as mentioned.

Rating 9/10

References:
Halbketten Zugkraftwagen 8t Sd.Kfz.7/1/2
AFV Super Detail Photo Vol.9
Published by Model Art Co.Ltd.
Book
Sd.Kfz.7 in detail
Special Museum Line No.36

Wings & Wheels Publications
ISBN 80-86416-60-7
book
Halftrack Vehicles of the
German Army 1395-1945

Schiffer Military History
ISBN: 0-88740-758-7
book
Allied & Axis No.21
Ampersand Publishing
Sd.Kfz.7, 8-ton
KM m 11 halftrack
Book
German Medium Half-track
Prime Movers
1934-1945

Schiffer Military History
book
German Half-Tracks
Panzer 12
Argonauts Publications
Tokyo, Japan
Book
Thanks to Greg from Quickwheel for the review sets.


Page created August 2, 2011



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