So I'd rather have a standard troop carrier of this vehicle. What all would be involved in converting it? Is there a kit on the market? How much work would I have to do?
to replace the radio sets with a rectangular stowage box, and place a single seat in front of this new box. The rest of the interior is very similar to the /3 depicted by the Tamiya GREIF kit. Look at some built models of the SdKfz 250/1 on armor modeling websites. Even 1/35 models will show you the proper details. HTH.
I should have mentioned that the vast majority (95%+) of the SdKfz 250/1 vehicles were built on the standard major production body, and the Tamiya GREIF kit doesn't use that body (type E) but the limited production type Z body derived from the SdKfz 253 artillery observation vehicle. Now, you have an out - from those "methodical" Germans..... It seems that one of the armor fabrication companies that built the raw bosy assemblies kept on making the older type Z body and shipping it to the final assembly companies, where these "alternate" bodies were put into the lines and assembled as all sorts of variants without any special designation. Lucky for you.
When the new ID appears, we MAY produce the standard body. My opinion is that this is a pretty expensive way to do it, but a lot of people do NOT want to have to cut their models apart. Since one must remove material and shorten the body, the only way to do it in resin is a complete new body, top and bottom. The only alternative to that is to have cutting templates for the experienced modelers, and produce just the new rear end. HOWEVER, there are numerous minor detail changes in the front and rear, so we would probably do the whole body and try to be merciful in pricing withut going into the toilet again. At least that would be the plan. (For those not up on German precision engineering, the angle of the drivers' front plate changed, along with the type of armored visors, the mudguards were different in detail, and the angles of ALL the rear body armor panels changed, as did the rear door detail. It just seems a shame to make people buy a whole new body when some careful cutting would allow you to use just a few bits that wouldn't cost that much. Sic transit gloria.....
I was aware of the detail differences in terms of hull, as well as the "out," so I'm not terribly bothered by it. To do it with the "correct" hull is more work than I can either dedicate to it, or have talent for (some people find scratch-building easy; I have quite a bit of difficulty interpreting shapes from photos, and need the object there in 3d to get a feel for it...). That being said, it sounds like the conversion would not be THAT difficult, so I'll probably put it in the queue...
may have given you a "get out of jail" card. One fabricator kept building the early type Z body from the SdKfz 253, like the Tamiya kit. These old-style bodies were delivered to the manufacturers and mixed with the standard bodies, with apparently no records being kept as which vehicles were built on the type Z body and which were assembled on the type E (production) body. So yes, you could easily use the Tamiya body unmodified for your /10 conversion, and no one can PROVE you are wrong because these errant early bodies were out there by the hundreds, and they were used to make many different variants. Or, you could do a quick cosmetic job on the mudguards and rear body with altered front visors, as described in the other thread, and simulate the production body.
people who take scale rulers and micrometers into the model room are covered under the justifiable homicide statutes..... There isn't a jury in the land that would convict you.
about the body changes, the conversion of the /3 to the /1 is very simple. Remove the entire radio installation, add the stowage box and the new seat, and you are done. It is possible to jimmy up the rear body so it looks more like the standard body. It all depends on how comfortable you are in cutting plastic body parts. To be frank, most people will not notice the change in drivers' plate angle. The mudguards can be changed easily by rounding off the upper corners and adding the beading from thin plastic rod. The drivers' visors can be modified to look like the later cast ones with pieces of shaped styrene strips. Remove the vision flap from the rear door, and simplify the rear body if you want. This just means altering the rear body parts so the joint between the upper and lower rear panels is a bit lower than the Tamiya GREIF kit has it. The bottom of the upper body should be on about the same level as the bottom of the rear hatch. Add a strip of plastic to the bottom of the upper body, and I'd recommend adding a piece of .040" (1mm) to cover the lower rear body tailplate, and leave off the lower step. This will get you a very good representation of the later production body, without having to cut off the rear panels from the main body of the kit.
For your Sdkfz 250/10 conv. There ARE quite a few photos in books that show the /10 on the Z (ie 253) body. Its a conversion I was planning myself using the Gasoline conversion.
However i will be doing a sdkfz 252 conv. on the Tamiya kit and plan a 251/10 conv.
I have quite a bit of refs on the 250/10. If you need help just ask.
andrew
It seems that one of the armor fabrication companies that built the raw bosy assemblies kept on making the older type Z body and shipping it to the final assembly companies, where these "alternate" bodies were put into the lines and assembled as all sorts of variants without any special designation. Lucky for you. 