Krupp Protze 1ton (6x4) Kfz.69
towing truck with 3.7cm Pak
1:35 Scale - Kit No.35259
First Look by Terry Ashley
This re-release is slightly different in that it also includes new parts to make the 37mm Pak towing vehicle (Kfz.69) version of the Protze from that of the L2 H 143 Personnel Carrier (Kfz.70) first released back in 1978.
The
Kit:
The new kit consists of 162 parts in dark grey plastic for the Protze, another
63 parts for the 3.7cm Pak and 72 parts for the figures and personal equipment
for a total of 297 plastic parts.
There is also the clear sheet for the windscreen, a new decal sheet and a small
length of thin wire.
The L2 H 143 37mm Pak towing vehicle (Kfz.69):
The original Krupp Protze kit was quite nice for its day and still stands up
well against some kits released today so with the addition of the new parts
moulded at today’s standards it is a nice looking kit.
The Protze truck has two sprues (A & B) from the original kit for the chassis,
suspension and front body work plus a new sprue (E) for the Kfz.69 parts.
The original parts are still well moulded with no appreciable flash or other
blemishes to give away their age, the wheels in particular have excellent hub
and tread details. The suspension has the same working front steering as the
first kit and the well detailed rear suspension with full length exhaust pipe
and lower half of the engine.
The new parts consist of the central rear structure, the large ammo containers
on each side plus the crew seats with nice cushion texture, a spare wheel and
mount plus many smaller parts for the rear of the vehicle such as tools and
two new Kar98s. The quality of these smaller fittings shows the difference
25 years in moulding technology makes but they don’t really look out
of place with the older parts due to the good standards of the original.
You also get a new driver figure designed to have his hands on the steering
wheel and a standing officer both of which have quite nice uniform and facial
features.
3.7cm AntiTank Gun Pak35/36:
This is unfortunately the same kit as released back in 1974 without any alterations
except for the omission of the figures sprue but again time has not affected
the moulding quality as they are still crisp and flash free. The kit does
provide the basics for the Pak but can do with some detailing, the gun shield
is a little think and has some sizable pin ejector marks on the inside faces
but the gun should scrub up fairly well.
There are also two seated crew figures for the rear compartment consisting of a single sprue Z from the FAMO kit (No.35239) which also have nice uniform details given that they were produced new for the FAMO.
Finally there is the large weapon and equipment sprue which is from the German Machine Gun Crew (Kit No.35184) and the parts do look very dated and “sterile” compared to those found in newer figure and equipment sets such as those from Tristar but will still be useful to populate the model.
There are markings for four vehicles from the eastern front all painted in overall German Grey some of which have quite colourful unit markings to give some life to the model. The decals are the usual Tamiya fair with thickish carrier film but good colour register.
The Sprues
Click on thumbnail for larger view
Conclusion:
In all a nice kit for of an attractive vehicle for German vehicle fans which
provides another variant not produced in plastic before and should look good
in any diorama.
And let’s not forget the ready made update set form Plus Models of the
Protze Engine set to add even
more life to an already nice
kit.
 Krupp Protze in detail Special Museum Line No.18 Wings & Wheels Publications. ISBN 80-86416-67-0 |
 Krupp at War Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-399-9 |
 Trucks of the Wehrmacht Schiffer Publication Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-686-6 |
Page created 9 April 2003