BRONCO MODELS
Product Specifications.
CB-35011, T17E1 Staghound Mk.III. 1/35th-scale styrene/multimedia kit, containing 319 styrene parts (including 17 clear), one etched brass fret, one piece of string, four decal/markings schemes and 16 pages of instructions with multiple un-numbered steps.
Introduction.
Although the doctrine associated with mechanized and armored reconnaissance troops usually emphasized stealth in the gathering of information, sometimes it had to be fought for. Additionally, reconnaissance units often screened larger formations from enemy observation, another traditional role. So, although a heavily-armed vehicle was usually not desired, having a decent-sized gun could not hurt either. To fulfill the need for a more heavily-armed armored car, the British eventually fitted a modified turret from their Crusader Cruiser Tank, which mounted the 75mm Gun, Mk.V, similar to that installed in the Cromwell Cruiser Tank.
Bronco, who caused quite a stir with their original release of the Staghound Mk.I, has followed it up with this new kit of the Mk.III. It saw limited use at the end of the campaigns in NW Europe during WW2, as well as use post-war, by such diverse nations as Denmark and Lebanon. Regardless of its somewhat limited use, it makes sense for Bronco to bring out this variant in order to maximize profit from the original molds. This will allow them to continue bringing out more unusual and sought-after subjects, such as the projected L3-33 series.
NOTE: many parts are not glued in place, thus there are several gaps that will disappear when parts are properly fixed.
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 valve stem, while the tire’s sidewalls feature manufacturer’s logos and tire data. These assemblies are different in that the front and rear pairs have unique hub details. In addition, their inner faces are specific to the front and rear axle mounts. What this amounts to is that the modeler must pay careful attention to the instructions so the parts are not inappropriately mixed-up.
Suspension System and Drive Train.
Wheeled vehicle kits usually feature complex undercarriage assemblies, and this one is no different. The axles are made up of multiple parts for the best possible detail definition. There are separate steering linkage parts as well. Leaf spring bundles are two-part assemblies that are fitted to separate mounts. This is a less than optimum solution since the mating surfaces have knock-out pin marks that must be carefully removed; regardless, there will be a prominent seam on each set, which will be tricky to fill-in. Some textured mud will be helpful in this regard. 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, the belly plate 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 and reinforced with super glue for the best results. With care, no filler will be needed and everything will be in proper alignment.
The new upper rear plate features multi-part muffler assemblies, but is devoid of the stowage bin seen on the Mk.I. 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. Unlike the original release of the Staghound Mk.I, this kit is provided with a length of string 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 housing is 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 was not fitted with the opening in the mantle covered by a plug on the actual vehicle; this is provided for in this kit.
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 choice of two different separate spaced-armor shrouds. Behind that are the two separate access hatch lids, with loads of separate hinges, vent covers, latches and lift handle parts.
Working our way to the vehicle’s sides, we find a new stowage locker layout. This consists of two different lockers, one on top of the other; one of them has a separate lid. The styrene parts (but not the etched brass) for the original multi-part, jettisonable external fuel drum arrangement are also provided, but are not for use on this type. The hull-side access hatch lids are separate and can be left opened or closed (the interior is entirely empty). 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 Browning .30 cal. MG is also given; it is shown being assembled in the instructions, but not mounted to the vehicle. Since the Mk.III did not mount any Browning machine-guns, I doubt the tripod was part of the vehicle’s OVM suite. 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, but sold as a separate accessory by Bison) 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 only the most prominent main internal assembly, the breech for the main gun. This assembly consists of a nice multi-part gun breech, as well as a rather austere co-axial BESA MG (the latter needs its bore drilled out). The 75mm gun tube comes from a multi-part slide-mold, which has allowed the characteristic muzzle brake to be molded in place with all the proper openings. Careful clean-up will result in a properly-rendered assembly. This is all placed onto the internal mantle, which is movable behind the turret’s front plate. A second gun tube, resembling a standard US-style 75mm gun tube is also included and is listed as an option. This reviewer is unsure of its relevance to this kit.
Outside, all hatch lids are separate and include internal levers. The British-style periscope heads are separate and some have separate bases as well; the ‘scopes are marred by an inconveniently-placed knock-out on mark at their bases, which will need care to eliminate. A separate part fills the opening for the 2-inch smoke mortar. British-style antennae bases, lift rings and hatch stops complete the turret details. A separate turret race ring, as well as two separate armored guards are placed around the turret base.
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 turret race ring was a tricky fit because the alignment recesses are not prominent and getting it to properly match up will take some care. Some texture will need to be applied to represent cast armor, especially on the bow MG blister.
Finally, the etched brass parts are extremely tightly “shrink-wrapped” in clear plastic. Removing this without mangling the etched brass parts will take an extreme amount of care and not a little bit of aggravation. This is an idea whose time has NOT come!
Accuracy and Details.
Photos and drawings in reference 2 indicate that every thing given in the kit is substantially correct in detail and shape.
Instructions.
The instructions are in the traditional line-drawing style. The images are extremely well-drawn and clearly-rendered. Overall, they are quite an improvement compared to those provided in the original Mk.I kit, for which the manufacturer is to be commended. The painting guide consists of full color, multiple views of each subject, with colors keyed to a variety of commercially available hobby paints.
Decals and Markings Information.
Water-slide decals are provided by Italy’s Cartograf. These are 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 four vehicles are provided:
• 12th Manitoba Dragoons, Canadian II Corps, Germany 1945.
• RAC Gunnery School, UK 1943.
• Danish Army, 1946.
• 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division, Italy 1945.
I have not been able to confirm the accuracy of any of the markings one way or the other. So, here are some “Guest Appearances” to hopefully clarify the issue.
Peter Brown has stated the following:
“Few (Staghound Mk.IIIs) saw service in WW2 and then only as far as I can see with the Canadian Armoured Car Regiments in NW Europe. The New Zealand decals may be wishful thinking though they may be a bonus if they are usable on a Mk II if someone wants to convert the kit. Checking the "15 Army Group AFV Holdings as at 25th June 1945", there do not appear to be any Staghounds in NZ service. Various other units have them; including vehicles in depots, workshops, etc., there were 660 Staghound 37mm and 67 3" Howitzer - this is the Staghound II not the III - and 78 AA.”
In a table included in an article at the War Wheels web-site (see links below), Peter goes on to show that:
According to “21st Army Group AFV Holdings as of June 1945” (in NW Europe), XXX Corps had 7 Mk.IIIs on hand and 5th Canadian Armoured Division had 7 Mk.IIIs on hand.
Brain Broderson states:
“It is correct that the Danish army had Staghound Mk.IIIs; all in all there were 8 in the inventory. They were in service with the recce squadrons and used by the Hussars and the Dragoons from 1946 until 1953. From 1947-1958, the Danish Army had troops in Germany including Stagound units, so an early postwar diorama with some kind of left behind German thing is possible. The Registration number in the kit is wrong. All Stag´s had prefix 83.xxx and individual numbers from 261-268. Also the army badge in front of the prefix is missing. Do not use the one from the Humber kit, that's the wrong badge.”
So, the markings supplied in the box would appear to have several issues regarding accuracy. Another alternative for markings can be based on a photo on the War Wheels site that shows a Mk.III in post-war service with the Lebanese Army.
Conclusion.
While I applaud Bronco for consistently producing less-well-known subjects, the average modeler may not find this rare subject to be appealing. On the other hand, since the vehicle certainly saw post-war use, those with a bent towards the unusual are well-advised to check out this very finely-molded and well-detailed kit.
Highly recommended.
Frank V. Curly Stooge De Sisto
References consulted for this review included, but were not limited to:
1. The British Reconnaissance Corps in World War II; Osprey Elite 152, by R. Doherty & R. Chapman.
2. Armored Cars, a History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles; Presidio, by R.P. Hunnicutt.
3. US Armoured Cars; AFV Weapons Profile 40, by R.J. Icks.
4. Staghound Italiano; Military Modelling Magazine, V36, #7 or Zaloga Collector’s Edition #1, by S. Zaloga.
5. Steve Zaloga’s gallery post (September 1, 2007) here on Missing Links.
6. www.warwheels.net.
7. www.staghounds.org.uk.
8. www.dragonforening.dk.
Bronco Models are available from retail and mail order shops. For more information, visit their web-site at: www.bronco-model.com.
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