Kit, Cyberhobby 6337, Kübelwagen Radio Car

CYBERHOBBY/BEGO


Product Specifications.

6337, Kübelwagen Radio Car.1/35th-scale styrene/multimedia kit. Contains: 176 styrene parts (including 10 clear), three etched brass frets, two turned aluminum parts, one metal wire, one decal/markings scheme and six pages of instructions in 13 steps.


Introduction.

Cyberhobby keeps pouring out variations of the Bego Volkswagen Kübelwagen, in this case, one modified to create a light-weight, mobile radio station. So, aside from the original kit parts, two additional sprues, three metal parts and a new etched brass fret provides the parts for the radio, accessories, lockers and mounts. And, naturally, new water-slide decals are provided, but only for one complete vehicle.


Wheels and Suspension.

The place where this kit stands above the rest has to be the undercarriage as well as the suspension system. The wheels have the correct hub details for the front and rear stations, and the spare tire is also well-rendered. The hubs are all visible as there are no hub caps provided; the tires are of the “European” pattern. The inner hubs have some nice details, while the outer hubs only lack air filler valves.


The front and rear suspension components are all broken down into many separate parts each, with the front end also getting a separate panel to cover things up. This will complicate assembly and will be a challenge to the less-experienced modeler, but the end result will be an extremely intricate assembly. Likewise, the vehicle’s belly has many separate parts. These include the main lower panel with the proper stamped structure and a separate lower engine compartment panel, with separate parts for the exhaust. An eight-part engine, with separate interior walls and separate access hatch lid finishes up that area.


Body Exterior.

The typical stamped appearance of the body panels is very finely-rendered, as are the other smaller details such as the mounts for the various external items. Very fine hinge details are given on the separate door panels; each panel consists of both doors in the closed position. Opening them will require some extra work and the replacement of some of the details that will be lost making such a modification. No pin marks are visible on the inner or outer panels, which is a nice touch. However, the handles are molded in place and are not separate styrene parts. This is too bad, but the kit does include etched brass replacements, which naturally, will be flat. The front panel has separate fuel filler parts, delicate rib details, and the mount for the previously-described spare tire.


As mentioned, the engine access door is separate, and the rear panel has some very fine rib and vent detail. The four wheel wells are separate parts with nicely thinned-out fender edges for a scale appearance. Separate head- and tail-lamps, Notek black-out driving head-lamp, distance-keeping tail-lamp, horn, mirrors, turn signal indicators, a shovel, tow hooks and various pennant holders dress up the area.


The clear windshield and frame is movable and has separate wiper motor housings with molded-on blades. Etched brass replacements are provided for the latter, but removing the molded on detail and then attaching the brass to the clear parts will create some challenges for the modeler, such as not scratching the clear window, and not fogging it when attaching the etched parts with super-glue. I’d let this “sleeping dog” stay that way! There are clear panels to represent the side windows as well as the rear window seen on the convertible canvas roof cover. The latter is included, but is rather basic; it has no real fold or texture detail and is completely devoid of any fastener details. The folded cover is a multi-part affair to include separate frames.


Body Interior.

This kit’s designers paid careful attention to many of the subtleties of the inside of this vehicle. For instance, the floor has the proper stamped appearance, and is complimented by beautifully represented separate parts for the wooden slats seen over it (complete with an absolutely brilliant wood grain effect). This allows for an excellent degree of detail fidelity. The trans-axle tunnel is separate as are the passenger’s floor board, the fuel-tank, all driver’s hand and foot controls, steering wheel, and instrument panel. There is even a multi-part jerry can for stowage under the front panel, which is completely un-seen on the finished model. This is a fine touch, but I’d use it elsewhere as it would be a shame to waste it under there!


Each front seat has separate mounting rails, but there is little in the way of texture for the seat cushions themselves. The rear bench seat is molded onto the top/rear deck part and also lacks any kind of cloth texture. The modeler will probably wish to address these issues.


As described so far, the kit will build into a standard 1942-era Kübelwagen. But, Cyberhobby has included new DML-produced parts to convert the kit to a radio car.


Figures and Accessories.

The original figures, a seated officer and driver figure are fairly well-done, especially considering their age. They wear temperate Heer (Army) uniform styles appropriate for the post-1942 era and therefore should have a wide variety of uses.

To create a radio car, a new etched brass fret provides for a locker, table-top, various shelves and mounts for the radio equipment. An Fu.11 SE 100 transmitter and a Torn. Fu. d2 receiver, accompanied by a Zubehör (battery pack) comprises the radio fit. There are accessories such as a turned aluminum antenna base, field phone case and hand-set, various boxes, a clock, telegraph key, and what is probably an “Enigma” encoding machine. The main items missing are the antenna rod, head-sets and hand microphone.


There is also a set of three more multi-part jerry cans. These have the now standard etched brass inserts to create the seam between the two halves of the can, as well as separate carrying handle and pour spout cap. There are a pair external racks for them on one of the etched brass frets; these represent the typical fender-mounted items.


Molding, Fit and Engineering.

This kit is broken down into far more separate parts than usually seen, especially in the area of the undercarriage, suspension and adjacent areas, as well as the interior. This complicates assembly, but the parts fit well; just proceed with care. There are no visible ejector pin marks after assembly and there were no sink marks visible on any part. The use of the radio set will require that one door is cut-apart to show the locker; the way this will have to be done is a weak point in the assembly. The turned aluminum antenna base cannot take an antenna rod, and does not fit positively in its designated place; it is round and is to be attached with no intermediate bracket, to the flat body side. Someone really missed this one in the design phase!


Accuracy and Details.

The main components match very well against photographs and drawings. However, I don’t have reliable 1/35th-scale plans to compare the kit to. Details are very well-rendered in nearly every case. My only gripe is that the handles on the doors are molded in place, but the kit does include etched brass replacements, even if they are of necessity a bit thinner than they should be.


Instructions.

These consist of traditional line drawings and should be easily followed. As usual, colors are keyed to Gunze and Model Master paints.


Decals and Markings Information.

The water-slide decals are from Cartograf, and exhibit their usual excellent quality. A complete set of markings is provided for a vehicle of the Grossdeutschland-Division (which the instructions call an “unidentified unit”), finished overall in Dunkelgrau. Some other insignia for a DAK vehicle is also provided, but no information regarding them is given on the instructions.


Conclusion.

This kit as presented offers the option of modeling the standard version with or without erected canvas roof, as well as (with a bit of care and extra work) the radio car version. The glitches seen in the kit are far outweighed by the remaining features, as well as the overall level of detail. In conclusion, fans of the VW Kübelwagen should find this kit appealing.


Highly recommended.


Frank V. “Curley” De Sisto


References consulted for this review included, but were not limited to:

1. “VW Kübelwagen in Detail”, Wings & Wheels Publications Special Museum Line No.8, by F. Koran & J. Mostek.
2. “VW Kübelwagen in Detail”, Wings & Wheels Publications Special Museum Line No.35, by F. Koran & J. Mostek.
3. “Wireless for the Wehrmacht in Detail”, Wings & Wheels Publications Special Museum Line No.10, by F. Koran & A. Vesely.
4. “Volkswagen w II Wojnie Swiatowej”, Books International, by R. Sawicki.
5. “Kfz.1 Kübelwagen Volkswagen Type 82”, Almark, by T.Oliver & K. Jones.
6. “German Military Transport of World War Two”, Hippocrene Books, by J. Milsom.
7. “Modeler’s Special Edition Guide to the Kübelwagen”, Ampersand Publishing, by J. Porter.
8. “Cars of the Wehrmacht”, Schiffer, by R. Frank.


Reviewer’s note: Since May of 2005, I have been working on books for Concord Publications, a sister company to DML and Cyberhobby. The reader may wish to take this into consideration. For my part, I will attempt to maintain an objective viewpoint when writing these reviews.


Cyberhobby kits are available exclusively from them at their web site: www.cyber-hobby.com.


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