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DRAGON MODELS LIMITED
6292, Sd.Kfz.251/17 Ausf.D w/2cm Schwebelaffette. 1/35th-scale injection-molded styrene plastic with multi-media parts. Contains: 622 injection-molded styrene parts (including eight clear and 57 new parts for the gun and mount); six DS-100 soft styrene parts, three etched brass frets, three turned metal parts, one stamped/etched part, two bags of EZ track, two decal sheets, silver stickers for mirrors, eight decal/markings schemes and ten pages of instructions in 20 steps.
This recentt release from the hyper-prolific DML will allow the modeler to construct a replica of this very late war halftrack, which mounted the 2cm KwK38/FlaK38 on the compact, fully-rotating “Schwebelaffette” mount. There are a total of 57 new styrene parts for the gun, its shields, mount, and ammo racks. There are three different ways to model the gun’s shields: one is styrene with beveled edges for scale appearance, while the other two are based on etched brass. One of them is the traditional part which is flat and must be bent to shape; the other is etched and then stamped into shape for ease of use. However, they are different from each other in that the traditional part has an additional cut-out not seen on the stamped part. The mount itself is exquisitely well-done with many very small parts. There are separate ammo magazines from a slide mold that feature sharply-defined details such as the visible 2cm round at the opening. Also notable is the extremely well-represented 2cm gun tube, which has a flash suppressor with a pre-bored muzzle as well as the very tiny holes around the cone. This can be further enhanced by using a turned metal barrel section to which the flash suppressor (after removing it from the styrene part) is attached; there is a jig supplied to ensure that the finished composite part is “true”.
All of the improvements from the more recent iterations of this vehicle are included in this box. They are: improved appearance of part A29, the interior floor panel, with enlarged hump over the transmission system, and enhanced details on the road wheels and drive sprockets. However, these parts are still not completely accurate since the drive sprocket teeth are not off-set, and the circular holes on the road wheels still have a smooth face, lacking the slightly “swollen” effect that is seen on the prototype. While this is a bit irksome, considering the revisions that have been made to the original kit parts, quite frankly, with a bit of paint and weathering, these subtle inaccuracies will disappear. Other improved parts that were recently introduced, such as new driver’s seats, slide-molded tow hitch and photo-etched brass parts to detail the lower hull, are included here as well. Additional details in the form of peel-and-stick mirror faces and turned-brass fender-mounted width indicator poles (with a jig molded onto one of the sprues to bend them correctly) are also included.
Display options abound such as: separate engine deck hatches, separate rear doors (with separate locking gear and “T”-shaped handle), separate visors with clear vision block inserts, separate stowage locker doors (one on each side), and a folded tarp for the crew compartment molded in DS-100 soft styrene. There is also a driver figure in DS-100 soft styrene, which is a feature of nearly all of these kits. Finally, there are two sets of workable individual link tracks included, both of a slightly differing style. One set of tracks is the traditional “sprued” type with no ejector pin marks, but with normal clean-up of mold pips. The second set consists of pre-cleaned “E-Z Track”, but has ejector pin marks to deal with. Take your pick; the second set will be useful if you have ‘251s from other manufacturers in your stash.
The decals are, as usual, from Italy’s Cartograf, which is an assurance of excellent quality. There are eight color schemes given, but I have virtually no references for them (except for the one depicted on the box-top artwork), so cannot comment. The instructions are of the usual DML style, and are rather clear and uncomplicated, except for the last few steps dealing with the gun and mount. Simply proceed slowly and there should be no trouble. Molding is excellent; there are no pin marks or sink marks anywhere to be seen.
It would now appear that DML have made up their minds to keep producing variations on the Sd.Kfz.251 halftrack series, particularly the Ausf.D. There will be an IR-equipped “Uhu” vehicle as well as a ‘251/23 (this was an un-official vehicle according to current references and will come as a limited-edition Cyberhobby release). I can’t wait to see what else they come up with next!
Highly recommended.
Frank V. De Sisto
Reviewer’s note: Since May of 2005, I have been working on books for Concord Publications, a sister company to DML. The reader may wish to take this into consideration. For my part, I will attempt to maintain an objective viewpoint when writing these reviews.
DML kits are available from retail and mail order shops. For details see their web site at: www.dragonmodelsltd.com.
