Einheitsdiesel Kfz.61 Road Wheels & spare
Type 1 Off-Road tread pattern & Mask
Quickwheel 1:35 Scale Set #QWX-029
Review by Terry Ashley
IBG Models have released two kits of the Einheitsdiesel, Kit #IBG35003 Einheitsdiesel Pritschenwagen and kit #IBG 35004 Einheitsdiesel Kfz.61 and while the actual wheels were interchangeable they had at least six different tread patterns from different manufacturers that can be identified from period photos of the Einheitsdiesel trucks but unfortunately the IBG kit tyres are not among the documented types.
To address this QuickWheel have released two sets of replacement resin wheels designed for the IBG kits, this set QWX-029 features one of the tread patterns commonly seen in period photos and has the rims without the bolt protection ring around the rim bolts, these appear to be earlier production wheels with many later wartime in-service vehicles including the bolt protection rings.
The set consists of seven resin wheels in light grey resin, six main vehicle and one spare, six separate brake drums/hubs and twelve small rim bolts plus a set of QW masks with the standard of resin casting extremely high with a virtually nonexistent casting plug and well defined tread pattern with the sidewall embossing “Continental” and other tyre data. The rims have excellent contours and bolt details including the undercut around the outer rim and hollow opening for the valve stem which is present. Some wheels had small protection rings around the valves while others didn't and these wheels represent those without the valve protection ring.
Dimensionally the wheels match available data and plans very well in diameter and width with any discrepancy being within accepted tolerances. The rims also feature the inside rim rivets but these are mostly hidden then the drums/hubs are added but adds to the level of detail on the wheels.
Assembly of the wheels is very straightforward with the drums/hubs fitting precisely into the wheel rims but you should ensure the six hub bolts are aligned with the six larger rim bolts as per the images below, this is important to correctly depict the wheel detail. The rear of the drums also includes small details as well as the axle holes ready to take the kit axle stubs. There are two types of separate rim bolts, one set (6) with the bolt heads that can be added to the spare wheel rim or the second set (6) bolt shafts that can be fitted to the hubs if you wish to depict the model undergoing maintenance of similar with the wheels off the rims.
Assembled spare wheel with the separate rim bolts
Separate wheel drum bolts shafts if you wish to display the kit with wheel removed?
Images of the IBG kit wheels with incorrect rim contours, rim bolts and tread pattern for comparison.
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.
As mentioned this set represents one of six different tread types seen on the Einheitsdiesel trucks and also features the earlier rims without the bolt protection rings and provide a marked improvement in detail over the rather basic and incorrect kit wheels.
Rating 9/10
Einheits-Diesel Truck Tankograd Wehrmacht Special No.4017 |