Kit, Bronco CB-35011, T17E1 Staghound Mk.I (Late Production)

BRONCO MODELS


Product Specifications.

CB-35011, T17E1 Staghound Mk.I (Late Production). 1/35th-scale styrene/multimedia kit, containing 306 styrene parts (including 17 clear), two etched brass frets, one turned aluminum gun tube, seven decal/markings schemes and 10 pages of instructions with multiple un-numbered steps.


Introduction.

Probably one of the most asked-for Allied subjects of the last decade has been the US-designed T17E1 heavy armored car. Although never adopted by the US Army, it was widely used by the British, their Commonwealth partners and other Allied nations, such as Poland. These vehicles saw service in North-West Europe after D-Day, as well as in Italy (from 1943); they also served post-war in the Middle East, among other locations.


In our hobby, when it rains, it often pours. Recently, both Bronco and Italeri announced that they would release the Staghound in styrene kit form. Bronco is first out of the gate, and this kit is a stunner, to say the least; those modelers who have waited for this one ought to be quite happy.


Wheels.

These are molded in two styrene halves and properly depict the large non-directional tread pattern typically seen on many US wheeled vehicles of the era. The outer hubs have crisp rim and bolt detail and only lack the air filling valve stem, while the tire’s sidewalls feature manufacturer’s logos and tire data. These assemblies are added last and fit over well-detailed brake drum housings.


Suspension System and Drive Train.

Wheeled vehicle kits usually feature complex undercarriage assemblies, and this one is no different. The trans-axles are made up of multiple parts for the best possible detail definition. There are separate steering linkage parts as well as multi-part brake drum assemblies. Leaf spring bundles are multi-part assemblies that are fitted to separate mounts. Separate parts go to make up sway braces and shock absorbers, while the final items are the two drive shafts.


Hull and Superstructure.

A construction feature of some armored cars is sometimes referred to as a “frameless” design. The Staghound is one such vehicle, where the belly and hull plates also act as the chassis frame. In this kit, it is a single, robust part to which the two main side plates are fixed, as well as multiple plates for the front and rear ends. The belly has crisp access plate details as well as a number of drain plugs and weld beads molded in place. Each of the main side, front, rear and roof parts requires careful cutting from their sprues and should have all their edges “dressed” with a semi-fine grit sanding medium prior to test fitting. When fitting them to the belly plate, the large side plates tend to want to spread at the front and rear while the glue sets, so they will need to be held in place for the best results. With care, no filler will be needed and everything will be in proper alignment.


The upper rear plate features multi-part muffler assemblies and a choice of styrene or etched brass stowage bin. On its inner face it has a molded-on plate which divides the area where engine cooling air was exhausted. On the lower plate are tow clevises and their mounts, as well as some etched brass fittings.


The bow plate also has tow clevises and their mounts, to which tow cable end-loops (complete with opened ends using a slide-mold) are to be attached. Although a cable is shown in pages 7 and 9 of the instructions, and the end-loops are ready for it, no string or braided wire is provided to complete the assembly. Working further up on the bow plate, there are etched brass head-lamp brush guards with a styrene former provided to ensure their proper shape. The head-lamps themselves feature separate clear styrene parts for their lenses. The bow .30 cal. MG has a separate cast blister with nicely rendered weld bead detail; it will need added texture using the modeler’s method of choice. The MG itself has nice cooling jacket detail as well as complete receiver and trigger group and includes a separate, tiny bore part, complete with proper slot. The ball mount and shield is comprised of three parts.


Further up, the drivers view-port flaps are multi-part affairs that can be depicted opened or closed; these include clear styrene parts for the wind-screens that also have wiper blades molded in place. They mount on a plate that has some very nice recessed slotted screw head details. Above this is another separate plate with excellent weld bead detail and openings for a total of three periscopes. The ‘scope heads are clear styrene and feature separate rotator plates as well as hinged flaps; they can be depicted opened or closed and can be set pointing in any direction.


Behind this assembly is the opening for the turret. It includes gear-tooth detail on the inner ring, as well as bolted cover for the ball-bearing race. It is devoid of the classic slots for the “bayonet” mount of the turret, which is something this reviewer welcomes. There is a separate, two-part horn mounted forward of this opening, while behind it is a two-part affair to represent the external fire extinguisher pull handles and their armored guard. Next, is the engine cooling air intake grill, which is covered by a separate spaced-armor shroud. Behind that are the two separate access hatch lids, with loads of separate hinges, latches and lift handle parts.


Working our way to the vehicle’s sides, we find a stowage box topped by a multi-part, etched brass and styrene jettisonable external fuel drum arrangement. It is well-detailed and rather complex, especially where the straps and mounts are concerned. The instructions show what appears to be some sort of rod being placed in the end loops of the straps; these are not provided in the kit. Plumbing is also given to connect the fuel tanks to the hull. The hull-side access hatch lids are separate and can be left opened or closed (the interior is entirely empty, of course). Each features a separate stowed periscope head in clear styrene as well as molded-on latch details on their inside surfaces.


A multitude of tools are then fitted to the sides, some of which include etched brass straps. A two-part ground mount tripod for the .30 cal. MG is also given; it too includes an etched brass strap. The prominent fenders are separate; the front pair has delicate supports for the side-view mirrors as well as cutting guides on the rear surface if the modeler wishes to add the ammunition boxes (not included here) that some units attached in these places; one of the rear fenders mounts a multi-part jerry can. Etched brass parts are also added for fender brace and hull attachment details, while both forward fenders receive etched brass mud-flaps. Also, on the rear ends of the side plates are tail-lamps and their shrouds, as well as lift rings.


Turret.

Beginning on the inside, the turret contains some of the more prominent main internal assemblies. These include a very nice multi-part 37mm gun breech, as well as a co-axial .30 cal. MG, detailed just like its counterpart mounted in the hull. There is a movable sight aperture arrangement that includes clear styrene parts. A multi-part styrene and etched brass No.19 (I presume!) radio set is also fitted into the turret bustle.


Outside, all hatch lids are separate as are the clear periscope heads, rotator plates and flaps. Separate hinges dress these up, while a separate part fills the opening for the 2-inch smoke mortar. Antennae bases, two-part search-light and MG pintle are also fitted to the roof. The .30 cal. MG is again very well-detailed and includes ammo box (with etched brass carry handle), tray and cradle. The gun mantlet has beautifully-rendered recessed slotted screw head details and a multi-part rotor shield. A three-part styrene gun tube is provided, as is a turned aluminum part to replace two of the styrene items; the latter is shown on the parts diagram but is completely ignored in the instructions. The last items for the turret exterior are the prominent lift rings and the odd etched brass mounting bracket.


Molding, Fit and Engineering.

Molding is very well-done to include very crisp in-place details such as hinges, rivets, recessed slotted screw heads and weld beads. No ejector pin marks are visible on any exterior surface; there is one mark on the insides of each hull-side hatch lid. Parts fit is very good or excellent, but care in clean-up and fitting will be the order of the day. The engine deck, part C4 is somewhat warped (this is quite natural because it is an open frame that accepts separate hatch lids), but it will self-align when the access hatch lids are fixed in place; clamps were required to hold them while the glue set. The turret race ring, part E1, was a tricky fit because the alignment recesses are not prominent and getting all three of them to properly match up will take some care.


Some texture will need to be applied to represent cast armor, especially on the turret and the bow MG blister. When doing so with the turret, the modeler is cautioned NOT to obliterate the seam that results when fitting the lower rear part, E8, to the main shell, E53. This is a natural left-over from the casting process of the actual turret. Likewise, the raised lines seen around the large lift rings are also seams from the actual casting process, so they need to be left in place.


Accuracy and Details.

Photos and drawings in reference 4 indicate that every thing given in the kit is substantially correct in detail and shape. These also show that there were some small differences, especially regarding some field-improvised or depot-level stowage changes and additions.


Most photos (see reference 11 for the exception) and all drawings in the cited references show a small disk-shaped vent plate in the center of the turret roof, up forward; this is not present on the kit part. The turret foundry casting numbers in that area begin with “E5221”, which was the part number for the earlier turret with view-port flaps on the side walls. The turret given in the kit does not have these flaps and should have “E5229” as its part number, placed aft of the vent plate. The modeler can use the provided etched brass numbers to fix this.


Instructions.

The instructions are in the traditional line-drawing style. The images are extremely well-drawn and clearly-rendered, but can be a bit confusing since some sub-steps are shown, but are not used until later on. In addition, the instructions direct the modeler to begin construction by placing all detail parts on the main body panels and turret shell sections, prior to their assembly. I think most modelers would agree that it is better to get the main parts together, clean up where necessary, and then add the details. In cases where certain assemblies are to be done more than once, the second set has no part number indicated. In another case, part C9 has other parts added to it, but they are not numbered when first shown in place on page 4. They are in fact etched brass parts, P21, which are shown as being installed later on page 6. In addition, there is no indication of their precise location on the styrene part; a life-size drawing on page 4 shows their placement.


The stowage bin on the rear plate is given in styrene as part D23; it is shown being installed on page 4. Later, on page 5 the etched brass alternative is also shown installed as parts P22 and P5. Later on page 6, the bottom of the etched brass assembly is shown as part P4. Confused? Me too! While we’re on the subject of etched brass parts, an entire second fret is included, which contains separate numbers and letters; it is also shown on the parts map. Nothing in the instructions tells the modeler what to do with it. I presume it is provided so that the modeler can add casting numbers where appropriate; it would be nice if the instructions show where these details go.


What it all boils down to is this: the folks at Bronco REALLY need to address how they design their instructions.


Decals and Markings Information.

Water-slide decals are provided by Italy’s Cartograf. These are typically of extremely fine quality and feature crisp, perfectly-registered designs, with thin, matte film, cut close to the edges. Color saturation is also excellent. Markings for the following seven vehicles are provided:

• 12. Pulk Ulanov Podolskich, 3.Dywizji Strzelcow Karpackich, Polish II Corps, Italy 1944.
• 27th Lancers, British V Corps, Italy 1944.
• 2nd Household Cavalry, British VII Corps, NW Europe 1944-45.
• Royal Dragoons, British XII Corps, NW Europe 1944-45.
• Israeli Defense Force, 1956.
• 12th Manitoba Dragoons, Canadian II Corps, Belgium 1944.
• Australian CMF, Western Australia 1944.

Each vehicle is provided with a set of five-view drawings and numbered call-outs for each individual design, to help in placing the markings. However, each drawing is quite miniscule (about the size of a postage stamp), making it extremely problematic to precisely place each separate design. Another thing to note is that in too many instances, the numbers called out are for the WRONG markings.


I could not confirm the Polish markings, although I have good references devoted to the specific unit in question. What I do have shows markings that are very different from what’s provided in the kit. If wanting to do a Polish Staghound, get hold of the recent Bison Decals sheet, reviewed here at ToT. The Canadian markings match reference photos to a certain degree, but it would appear that the numbered call-outs that accompany the individual designs are incorrect in some instances (those pesky instructions again…). I can find references for two of the three British schemes (Royal Dragoons and Household Cavalry) but some details differ. The remaining marking schemes are un-confirmed, using the cited references.


Conclusion.

Because of the tricky instructions, sometimes odd parts engineering and complex parts break-down, I would not recommend this kit to a novice; shaking the box won’t assemble it. The more advanced modeler will, with some skill, good references and REPEATED perusal of the instructions, come up with an absolutely beautiful finished replica. In the end, it’s the plastic bits that will grace the display case, not the instructions in the box. That’s what this is really all about!


Highly recommended.


Frank V. “Curly Stooge” De Sisto


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

1. “British Tanks of WWII, (1) France & Belgium 1944”, Concord 7027, by D. Fletcher & A. Wrobel.
2. “British Tanks of WWII, (2) Holland & Germany 1944/1945”, Concord 7028, by D. Fletcher & A. Wrobel.
3. “The British Reconnaissance Corps in World War II”, Osprey Elite 152, by R. Doherty & R. Chapman.
4. “Armored Cars, a History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles”, Presidio, by R.P. Hunnicutt.
5. “US Armoured Cars”, AFV Weapons Profile 40, by R.J. Icks.
6. “The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, an Illustrated History”, RCACA/RBS, by J. Marteinson & M. McNorgan.
7. “Canada’s Fighting Vehicles, Europe 1943-45”, Canadian Military Historical Society, by W. Gregg.
8. “Blueprint for Victory”, Canadian Military Historical Society, by W. Gregg.
9. “Polish Armoured Forces 1939-1945”, Pegaz-Biz, by Z. Lalek.
10. “Od Acromy Do Zwyciezcy, Vol.1”, F.H.U. Phantom, by A. Kaminski”
11. “Staghound Italiano”, Military Modelling Magazine, V36, #7 or Zaloga Collector’s Edition #1, by S. Zaloga.
12. Steve Zaloga’s gallery post (September 1, 2007) here on Missing Links.
13. www.warwheels.net.
14. www.staghounds.org.uk.


Bronco Models are available from retail and mail order shops. For more information, visit their web-site at: www.


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