MK72(MPK)


www.onthewaymodels.com

Sd.Kfz.250 Ausf.A & B (Alt & Neu)

Kit # 7204-7205

Preview by Rob Haelterman


History and version

The Sd.Kfz.250 or leichter Schützenpanzerwagen (roughly translatable as light rifleman armoured vehicle) first appeared in prototype form in the summer of 1940 and was based on a shortened Sd.Kfz.10 chassis (by removing one road wheel). Mass production of the Ausf.A started in June 1941, just in time for Barbarossa.
A little known fact is that between June 1941 and November 1941 two distinct variants of the Ausf.A were in production: one based on the design of the Sd.Kfz.253 (minus the roof), known as Sd.Kfz.250/Z, and one with a design that was specific for the Sd.Kfz.250, known as Sd.Kfz.250E. After November 1941 only the Sd.Kfz.250E was kept in production. (We will come to this when we study the accuracy of the kits.)
In the summer of 1943 a simplified version (Ausf.B, better - but incorrectly - known as "neu", i.e. "new") appeared [1].

As the boxtop shows, but the title does not, MK72 offers two variants in each box: the Sd.Kfz.250/1 and Sd.Kfz.250/10 armed with a 3.7cm gun. Production of this variant ran from early 1942 until the end of 1943. Even though its production apparently started when the Sd.Kfz.250/Z was no longer in production, [1] shows a drawing of this variant on that chassis.

 

Phase I: gazing at the boxes and their contents

This will be the third and fourth MK72 kit I will build (previously, I built the Zugkraftwagen 1t (Sd.Kfz.10) Demag Typ "D7" and the Marder II), so I know what to expect: a fine kit.

The backside of the box clearly shows the contents of the kit, including the conversion option. Notable features are the styrene "single length" tracks (like in the Demag) and the double Pak shield.
Color call-outs are given for RAL, Model Air and Model Color. (Watch the shades carefully, as the painting instructions do not refer to them explicitly; then again do not watch them too carefully as we will explain shortly.)
The use of the MG42 on the Ausf.A is noticeable and suspect. The kit parts are actually MG34s, so this was probably just a copy-paste between boxes.
The Pak barrel is not hollowed out in the drawings, which corresponds to the kit part.

 

In the following picture we see three sprues that are common for the Ausf.A and B. The beige L-shaped sprue is actually part of that found in MK72's Demag kit. This is quite logical given the Sd.Kfz.250's ancestry.
As you can see the "Demag sprue" contains tracks, idler and sprocket, but the grey sprues also have them. I am not quite sure as to the reason, but the new parts seem to have somewhat better detail. (I believe the Sd.Kfz.250 and Sd.Kfz.10 used the same parts.) On the other hand, the new tracks have prominent ejector marks on the inside, which the old ones do not have. The Demag sprue will also provide other spare parts, as the parts lay-out in the manual will show below.

This is another sprue that is common to both boxings.

Below are the only sprues that are Ausf.-specific. On top that of the Ausf.B, below that of the Ausf.A. The Ausf.A has MG34, the Ausf.B has MG42.

As this is a brand new kit, no flash can be found, and the parts are very crisp. In more than one way they remind me of what Revell offers us these days.
Visors can be positioned open, but the slot in the hull behind them needs to be opened up, if so desired.

Marking options are provided for 6 vehicles in each kit, four of which are for the Sd.Kfz.250/1, two for the Sd.Kfz.250/10. MK72 offers a novel approach in that they don't use side-views, but two three quarter views.

It's a pity that the color references are not on the sheet with the markings but on the back of the box, as the difference in printing makes it somewhat unclear what the colors are. Worse, in the Ausf.A, marking option "1" is probably a desert shade, while marking options 2 and 3 in Dark Yellow. The color chart on the back of the box of the Ausf. A has a color "chip" for the Dark Grey that almost perfectly matches the brown seen on the DAK vehicle, while the Dark Yellow and Sand Yellow on the back don't match the colors used in the drawings.

The decals are plentiful. To obtain the numbers with white edges, you have two options:

  • use decals with white edges, which are sometimes a bit out of register;
  • use separate white and colored decals that have to be positioned one on top of the other. While a bit cumbersome, it pins the problem of having them in perfect register on the modeler.

Most numerals come in either red or white, even when the instructions do not mention this. Actually, the instructions show decals with the white edges already in place, so it seems this approach might have come as an afterthought.
Note that the arms of the Wiking "sunwheel" are interrupted, probably for legal reasons.

I have some misgivings about the marking option "18 Pz.Gren.Div." in the Ausf. A kit. The insignia that MK72 proposes is the Stahlhelm of Grossdeutschland, which (as far as I know) has nothing to do with 18 Pz.Gren.Div..

The manual is of the "common type", and presents no difficulties at first sight.
These are the pages common to the Ausf. A and B,

while the following are type-specific.
Note that the sprues lay-out does not match the sprues that are actually in the box.


MK72 limits the difference between the Sd.Kfz./1 and /10 to the roof. This is the most obvious difference, but I guess the interior would have been different as well, to accommodate the different types of ammo. According to what I find in [1], the only difference is that the seat (part 42) of the /1 should be replaced by ammo boxes for the /10.

 

Phase II: Assembly of major components

Ausf. B
Although (once again) I had promised myself to finish the kits that already were on my workbench, I couldn't resist removing some parts to see how they fit. Then one thing led to another.
The first thing I noticed when assembling this kit is that it reacts very well to my favorite glue, MEK, which means I had to use it sparingly. This observation is probably linked to the styrene being somewhat softer than on other injection plastic kits.
I rarely follow the sequence of the kit instructions, as I try to get as much work done in parallel as possible. In this case this led me to go for two major subassemblies: lower hull and upper hull. I tried to add as much to both subassemblies as possible before it started to obstruct the paintjob. This meant for instance that I left the running gear for later. Speaking of which, when reading the instructions carefully, I noticed that the left and right sprocket are different, but carry the same part number. The instructions do their best to point out the difference, but I guess the molds were already made with the same part number for both parts when this was spotted. (Note that the molds seem to be made by CMK, judging by the prominent publicity on the sprues.)

The detail on the lower hull is astonishingly fine with delicate rivets. It's a shame most will be hidden by the running gear. Note that the left and right running gear are slightly offset, as in reality, due to the torsion bar system.

The suspension for the front wheels is partially from the older Sd.Kfz.10 kit and partially from the new molds. I guess MK72 wanted to improve the parts, as there is no significant difference except the level of detail.

The interior is very complete, with a delicate anti-slip plate pattern on the floor. The way the kit is engineered, I would guess that other variants are forthcoming, as the rear of the fighting compartment floor is separate from the driver's compartment. As the bench on the left rear is an integral part of the floorplate, it will be difficult to remove and restore the floor plate pattern if you want to do your own conversion work.
When installing the locker at the rear right, take care to add the door with the hinge on the correct side. The separate door makes it easier to open up the locker with some minor surgery.
The ejector marks on the side walls are strategically placed in places where they will be mostly hidden by the interior. I am not sure if this is intentional, as moving them just a little bit would have hidden them completely.

The rear hull plate has some prominent ejector marks that need to be removed. As they are on the smooth side of the plate, that is just a question of applying some elbow grease.
When you clean up part 52 (the holder for the ammo drums), watch out not to cut off part of the detail that is present on one side.
The outward slanting hull plates (parts 53 and 54) are a bit fiddly to install, as they need to be butt joined to the lower hull. It's utterly doable; just take care. You might want to add the nose plate at this point to add some rigidity and check the angles.

The front fenders had a bad tendency to slant upwards when I tried to install them. Some sanding where they met the hull corrected this. Some sanding was also needed around the edges of the rear door, before it wanted to sit in the recess in the rear hull plate. As the door can easily be positioned open, going for this option will eliminate the need for sanding, as it is just a quarter of a millimeter and no-one will notice. Note that the box on the rear door is for a first aid kit and will benefit from a red cross marking (decal.).
The box that needs to be added to the right fender (part 65) is something peculiar. It didn't want to fit properly. Luckily I discovered that this is exactly what it should (not) do, as the real vehicle apparently (sometimes) had a bad fit here as well, as can be seen in this picture from Wehrmacht History. Note that this box came in two different sizes for the Sd.Kfz.250 Ausf.A. The Ausf. B seems to have only used the larger size, which might have been exactly the same as that used on the Ausf. A but would now fit less well due to the different shape of the hull.
The small roof section (part 58 or 68) has some ejector marks and no head pads. With the door closed, you can't see. If you open the door and suffer from AMS, you will need to sand the former down and add the latter.

Note that the dashboard doesn't touch the hull sides, while it actually should as this picture from a restored vehicle found on Wehrmacht Awards shows. This might be because the same part is used for the Ausf.A and Ausf.B, which have different shapes. When I construct the Ausf.A and I find that it fits perfectly on that kit, then my suspicion will be confirmed.

I dry-fitted the upper hull. By this time I had fitted as many parts to the subassemblies as possible. At this point I am no longer convinced that adding the storage bins before adding the tracks was a wise idea.

Ausf. A

Assembly was pretty much the same as for the Ausf. B, with the exception that this time I took care to assemble the tracks before adding the fenders. As expected, the fit of the dashboard was perfect this time, as was that of the rear door. The rear door on the Ausf.A stood slightly proud of the rear hull plate; in the kit it is flush. The same can be said about the top engine hatches: they also should be slightly raised with respect to the top plate, while they are flush in the kit.
As I was building a /10, I left the extra seat off.
Some annoying ejector marks were found on the rear hull plate, which had to be eliminated.

 

Phase III: Further assembly and mating of the hull parts

Ausf. B
The problem with open topped vehicles is that the interior needs to be painted one way or another. The easiest way to do this is when the hull halves have not been joined. The trouble with this approach is that gluing the halves might damage the paintwork in hard to reach places.

The lower half was primed in black, which will help with the shading.

Pale yellow was applied.

In the picture above you can see that the toolbox in the rear slopes a bit. This is due to the built in bevel in the kit part. According to my references this is not correct, but I caught it too late. Next time I will sand down the bottom of the box. Easy enough if you do it in time.

While a decal for the dashboard is present in the MK72 Demag kit, none is provided for the Sd.Kfz.250. A big white dial on the dashboard is a prominent feature and was added with a disc of plastic created with a punch-and-die set. Other dials came from a decal sheet with dials that I bought ages ago. An MP40 was added for the co-driver. This is about the only other missing item for this kit.
(Note that in February 1945 the interior was simplified and one of the things omitted was the holder for the MP40.)

The running gear follows an approach that has become the standard on halftrack kits these days: you get a couple of one piece rows of half roadwheels, connected with an arc (which becomes invisible after assembly) and separate half road wheels for the outer row. As with all manufacturers (Dragon, Revell, Maco, ...) that follow this approach, all wheels are aligned at the same angle, which is technically possible, but not very likely. (Dragon has the same issue with their Sherman wheels too, by the way.)

I love the foldable tracks that MK72 pioneered. In my opinion they offer the best of both worlds: the ease of band tracks and the quality of link-and-length. I wanted to assemble the wheels and tracks as a subassembly, so I could paint the lower hull more easily. At this point I realized that this would have been much easier if I had done this before I added the suspension to the kit. Luckily, I had a second kit to help me out.

 

Some notes at this stage:

  • Make sure to align the outer road-wheel halves with the inner halves. (Leaving them off until later might actually be wiser: it will ease painting.)
  • The parts numbered 32 are actually parts 33.
  • The locating peg for the outer half of the drive sprocket is badly formed. Shaving it off will be the easiest solution.
  • The Sd.Kfz.250 (just like other German half tracks) used torsion bar suspension. This means that the left and right wheels are slightly staggered, as you can see in the pictures above. Still, I feel that on the right side, the drive sprocket sits too close to the roadwheels.
  • As with all tracks, it is a challenge to ensure that the circumference of the track run is an exact multiple of track links. The best solution I have found was to slightly stretch the tracks where needed.
  • The spare roadwheels on the sprue (which are there because the sprue is originally from the Sd.Kfz.10, which had one wheel more), can be used to spice up your kit. Spares were sometimes carried on the nose plate. Alternatively, you could use the track links that you have to cut off.

After painting all the interior bits, I was ready to mate the hulls. At this point, I discovered that the side bins wouldn't be parallel to the upper hull, as they should be. Ensuring alignment would be very easy if the modeler added the bins after mating the hulls. My earlier misgivings caught up with me here, so I removed the bins. It was not a pretty sight...

After much careful repair-work, I managed to hide most damage. A close inspection shows that some "battle damage" will still be present. I also discovered that leaving off the front visors would have eased the sanding. (It seems I had been rushing this kit....)

In the pictures above, some touch up work is still required.

Some notes:

  • It must have become clear by now that I installed some parts much too soon in the construction sequence. One more part in this category is found in the suspension of the front wheels, in casu part 27. (It is actually not numbered in the instructions, but it is on the sprue.) Otherwise you are bound to break it off if you are as ham-fisted as I am.
  • Even though I installed a lot of parts too soon, I only discovered that I forgot to install the shift levers (part 17) until after I mated the hulls. (You can tell I only started my modeling career some months ago.)
  • The extra seat (part 42) has locating pegs, which I shaved off. Only much later I discovered there are locating holes in the floor plate that you can drill out. The instructions don't mention this however.
  • There are ejector marks on the visible side of the wheels. The kit could have been engineered with them on the other side, in my opinion.
  • When mating the hull, I noticed that the top of the dashboard interfered with the upper hull.
  • There are no locating pegs for the Kar98k rifles and the rear fixture doesn't reach the hull. A slice of plasticard can help.

 

Ausf. A

Assembly was again pretty much the same as for the Ausf. B, but with no fit issues to speak of. Learning from my mistakes with the Ausf.B, I followed a more logical sequence of assembly (visors left off till last, etc.). I also corrected the box at the right rear in order to eliminate the slant.

For the vehicle I was going to depict, I chose not to add an MP40 (but only the holder) and make an empty rack for the Kar98k rifles and for the MG34 ammo drums. The Notek was also stored inside, to the right of the co-driver.

 

Phase IV: The final construction work, painting and decaling

Ausf. B
Final construction didn't reveal much that is worth mentioning. Some points that might be useful

  • There are two parts 64, and both are mufflers. Use the one on the new sprue.
  • The front wheels have a slight V-stance when seen head-on. When you enter the model in a contest, inform the judges.
  • The instructions have you place the axe with the axe-head pointing inwards. According to my references outwards seems more likely.
  • There are some extra tools on the sprues that are not for use, even though the instructions do not mention it.
  • An antenna needs no be added to the right side of the roof. This is not mentioned in the instructions. Note that German antennas were rather rigid and about 2m high.
  • Some vehicles (especially Ausf.B) had a footstep on the sides of the hull, probably as a field modification.
  • The MG only has detail on one side of the barrel. The longitudinal slit on the other side is missing. MK72 gives two nice ammo drums for them; banded ammo was also very common, especially for the front gun. While we are talking MGs, note that the /1 came in two variants: one with a front MG with a shield (as per the kit) and one with the front MG installed on the sMG mount without the shield. I have yet to see the latter on the Ausf.B. One more thing about the MG: in my opinion the attachment of the front MG sits too low. The bar that projects backwards from the shield slopes down, while in reality it sloped slightly up (when the MG was in the neutral position). If you don't modify the part, your MG will point nose up and be slightly too far to the rear.
  • The jerrycans on the hull can be seen on many vehicles, but were not standard. Jerrycans could be fitted differently, elsewhere, or not at all. I therefore assume that some of the marking options didn't have them. The jerrycans are missing the central bar, by the way. (The three handle system was a true revolution when this can was first put into production, allowing a soldier to either carry two full cans or four empty ones with his two hands.)
  • The width indicators are a bit too "sturdy" and short. It is recommandable, however, that they are included, as some companies don't bother.
  • There is no pattern on the face of the front wheels, due to molding limitations, I guess. You can always assume they are very, very worn.
  • One of the left-over road-wheels was attached to the nose plate with a "field modified" mounting.
  • On the left side of the interior there is a bin. On top of that bin is a tarp. While building the Ausf.A I discovered that I had attached the tarp on my Ausf. B upside down. It's rather easy to miss on the Ausf.B as the instructions only show the tarp from the rear, so you can't see where the latches go. In the Ausf. A you can only install the tarp one way, due to the shape of the hull. The pictures below show the tarp upside down, i.e. before I corrected it.

As a marking option I chose the one from the 2nd Pz.Div., but added decals from

  • ICM, set D72001, for the unit insignia. (This set seems to be out of production.)
  • Aleran, set GE2 for the licence plates. (Apparently I forgot to scan this set before using.)
  • An old Fujimi 1/76 Sd.Kfz.222 for the tactical symbol (half track recon unit).

I am not vowing for the accuracy of these additions; I only added them for artistic reasons.

Final weathering will be done when the vehicle finds its place in a diorama.

 

Ausf. A
Final construction didn't reveal much that is worth mentioning. Some points that might be useful

  • All visors and hatches are separate. This will help the modeler who wants to display them in the open position, even though the openings in the hull still needs to be created.
  • The front wheels have a slight V-stance when seen head-on. When you enter the model in a contest, inform the judges.
  • The instructions have you place the axe on the front right fender with the axe-head pointing inwards and forward. According to my references inward and backward (with the head below the pick axe) seems more likely.
  • There are some extra tools on the sprues that are not for use, even though the instructions do not mention it.
  • The MG34s are nice, but I left them off for my vehicle. Note that the rear MG was sometimes stored on the lower right wall of the fighting compartment.
  • The jerrycans on the hull can be seen on many vehicles, but were not standard. I left them off for this vehicle.
  • The width indicators are a bit too "sturdy" and short. It is recommandable, however, that they are included, as some companies don't bother. I replaced mine with setting pins used by butterfly collectors.
  • An antenna needs no be added to the antenna holder on the side of the hull. This is not mentioned in the instructions. Note that German antennas were rather rigid and about 2m high. I used the rods that were left over when cutting the setting pins (that I used as width indicators) to length. Talking about recycling!
  • There is no pattern on the face of the front wheels, due to molding limitations, I guess. You can always assume they are very, very worn.
  • I used one hollowed out head lamp (that's on the sprues anyway) to simulate battle damage.
  • The color drawings (for the painting options) show a small shield to the right of the Pak, which the kit itself lacks. I don't think this was installed on many vehicles. I had some trouble getting the gun to fit in its cradle.
  • Having discussed the possibility to use the low Pak shield for a Dragon Sd.Kfz.251, note that the same Dragon kit could be the donor of a high shield, as it seems at least one Sd.Kfz.250/10 was fitted with a higher shield (see picture below).
  • Only after finishing the review, did I discover that I unstalled the rear convoy light upside down.

    Picture found on the internet, source long forgotten.

As a marking option I chose an SdKfz250/10 used by the Polish 13th Self Propelled Artillery Regiment in Pomerania in 1945. Decals are from Armo. As far as I know only one photograph exists of this vehicle, which gives the modeler a large margin for artistic licence. From the picture it is clear that the Armo decals are a bit too large and that the asymmetrical eagle in the decal is not quite correct. Applying the decals I discovered that the "10" wouldn't fit due to the presence of the antenna mount. Apparently the mount was positioned further forward on this vehicle than I put it; it is also a different type. With the decals still wet, I removed the mount, sanded the hull smooth where it had been and repainted the damaged paintwork.
The hull of the vehicle in the pictures looks quite dark without traces of overpainting the Balkenkreuze. The roadwheels seem lighter. I therefore assumed the following scenario:

  • The vehicle was originally delivered in dark grey (i.e. before February 1943).
  • The Germans repainted it in Dunkelgelb in 1943, not bothering to repaint the interior.
  • The Polish forces captured it in 1945, repainting the hull in green (likely to be Russian 4BO), not bothering to paint the suspension nor the interior.

     


Picture found on the internet, source long forgotten. For discussion purposes only.

 

Phase V: Measuring the accuracy

Ausf. B
Having built the kit without major surgery, I decided to compare the kit against the information in [1]. The following might be of interest, in random order:

  • The kit has 34 track pads per side, the real vehicle 38. For a short time during the summer of 1943 all steel tracks were used. I've heard complaints about their accuracy. Personally I think they are quite good, except for their width which scales out to 296mm, while the real tracks were only 240mm in width. Incidentally the Revell Sd.Kfz.251 tracks scale out to 252mm, which is almost the exact opposite problem as for this kit. If the track lengths weren't that different, one might think about swapping tracks.
  • Vehicles produced before March 1944 had a Notek light and two small headlights. Afterwards vehicles had a single Bosch headlight. The kit only has the Notek, not the small headlights.
  • At first I thought that a conversion of the Sd.Kfz.250/10 into an 11 would just be a matter of using the Panzerbüchse from a Dragon kit, but it seems the mount is completely different. Conversely, if you build the kit as a /1, you can use the left-over Pak of the MK72 on a Dragon /10, as these kits only come with the high shield (in PE), which was rather rare, especially on the Ausf.D. Also note that the Sd.Kfz.250/10 was no longer produced after January 1944.
  • If you want to stow the rear MG, it should go on the right wall. I guess there should be some attachments for that.
  • The pictures I've seen of the first aid kit on the rear door have a different fitting: a frame that holds the edges of the box, not a central "strap".
  • Some vehicles had an antenna mount that was attached to outside of the fighting compartment. Most (like the kit) had a mount attached to the roof.

 

I measured the kit in some areas:

  Kit dimension (mm) Real vehicle dimension (mm) based on [1] Scale Correct dimension in 1/72 (mm)
Overall length (excluding tow hooks)
62.22 4540 1/72.9 63.05
Overall width 27.27 1930 1/70.8 26.81
Overall body height 21.50 1603 1/74.5 22.26
Height of rear hull plate (measured parallel to plate) 13.47 1029 1/76.4 14.29
Length engine deck (measured in the horizontal plane) 23.94 1740 1/72.6 24.16
Width engine deck (at the nose) 19.00 1308 1/68.8 18.16
Length opening fighting compartment 21.55 1583 1/73.5 21.99
Width opening fighting compartment 19.90 1431 1/71.9 19.88

Diameter nosewheel

11.95 888 1/74.3 12.33
Diameter roadwheel 8.00 560 1/70.0 7.78
Length track 40.72 2828 1/69.4 39.3
Width track 4.12 240 1/58.3 3.33

 

While most measurements fall within tolerances, the above table shows that

  • The kit is slightly too short and too wide, but the Mk.I eyeball won't notice that. (The Mk.II might.)
  • What is more noticeable is that the tip of the nose is too wide. This causes the engine deck to taper too little, which the Sd.Kfz.250 expert might notice.
  • The nosewheels are slightly underscale, but not nearly as much as Esci's Sd.Kfz.250 (which scales out at 1/81.5) or the Modell Trans correction set for Esci (that scales out at 1/77.2).
  • The area where the more casual observer can really tell that there is something amiss is around the tracks. Not only are they far too wide, they are also far too long. The visual effect is that the idler sits too close to the rear of the fender and the tracks actually just pass behind the rear lower hull plate. With the single part suspension this will be rather difficult to correct. As already mentioned the first roadwheel on the right side also almost touches the sprocket.
  • Talking about fenders. In the Ausf.B the fenders doubled as storage boxes. In the kit the boxes extend a bit too far forward, say 1.5mm.
  • The rear hull plate should be tilted forward by a couple degrees more and should be higher.

 

Ausf. A:

I measured the kit in some areas:

  Kit dimension (mm) Real vehicle dimension (mm) based on [1] Scale Correct dimension in 1/72 (mm)
Overall length (excluding tow hooks)
61.88 4470 1/72.2 62.08
Overall width 27.60 1942 1/70.4 26.98
Overall body height 21.40 1590 1/74.3 22.09
Height of rear hull plate (section containing door - measured parallel to plate at the right side) 12.18 936 1/76.6 12.95
Length engine deck (measured in the horizontal plane) 25.40 1912 1/75.3 26.55
Width engine deck (at the nose) 11.20 766 1/69.69 10.84
Length fighting compartment (including roof sections) 28.60 2008 1/70.2 27.89
Maximum width opening fighting compartment 22.54 1627 1/72.2 22.60

Diameter nosewheel

11.95 888 1/74.3 12.33
Diameter roadwheel 8.00 574 1/71.7 7.97
Length track 40.72 2765 1/67.9 38.4
Width track 4.12 240 1/58.3 3.33

 

While most measurements fall within tolerances, the above table shows that

  • The kit is slightly too wide. Also note that on the real vehicle the superstructure was slightly wider than the fenders (at least according to [1]), while in the kit you have the opposite.
  • What is more noticeable is that the tip of the nose is too wide. This causes the engine deck to taper too little, which the Sd.Kfz.250 expert might notice.
  • The nosewheels are slightly underscale, but not nearly as much as Esci's Sd.Kfz.250 (which scales out at 1/81.5) or the Modell Trans correction set for Esci (that scales out at 1/77.2). Nevertheless, they interfere a little with the fenders. I believe the reason is that the vertical spacing between the wheels and the body might be bigger. This might also solve the (slightly) insufficient height of the vehicle.
  • The area where the more casual observer can really tell that there is something amiss is around the tracks. Not only are they far too wide, they are also far too long. The visual effect is that the idler sits too close to the rear of the fender and the tracks actually just pass behind the rear lower hull plate. With the single part suspension this will be rather difficult to correct. As already mentioned the first roadwheel on the right side also almost touches the sprocket.
  • The door in the rear hull plate is too large, or better the rear plate is too small. The door extends too far to the bottom of the plate. In reality, its bottom edge was level with the bottom of the hull plate at its right side (at least on the 250E Aufbau).

 

While we are talking accuracy of the Ausf. A, it is perhaps time to discuss the differences between the Ausf.A with 250/Z Aufbau and that with 250E Aufbau. Few people actually know there were two distinct versions of the Ausf.A (aka "Alt"):

  250/Z (first version) 250E (second version)
Visors

Flat, double slit. Those on the side are at the same height as those at the front.
Visor in rear door.

Domed, single slit. Those on the side are lower than those at the front.
No visor in rear door.
Headlights On the side of the nose armor In front of the fenders
Lift hooks on superstructure Yes No
Driver's front plate More vertical More sloped
Rear plate Shorter Larger
Plug on right rear superstructure Yes No
Fenders Plain Beaded
Ventilation for engine exhaust Holes or slits Slits
Engine deck Three parts Two parts
Licence plate Plate below nose Painted on nose
Tool box Smaller box between fenders and extra box on fender One, bigger box
Turn indicators Slightly more to the rear Slightly more to the front
Width indicators on fenders More to the rear On the edges
Notek on left fender On the edge In the middle

Note that

  • the 250/Z Aufbau is the one used by the Sd.Kfz.253, so if you plan on converting this kit by roofing it over: it is not as simple as that.
  • there was a pre-production run, that closely resembled the 250E superstructure, but with some differences.

 

Comparison with the S-Model Sd.Kfz.253.

We recently reviewed the S-Model offering of the Sd.Kfz.253, which represents the 250/Z body. That kit is nicely detailed on the outside, but has some scale issues. Comparison with this kit teaches us that cross-kitting might be an option to arrive at a more correct Sd.Kfz.250 or 253:

  • The tracks of the S-Model kit are better, and might fit on the MK72 kits.
  • The front wheels of the MK72 kits are better, and might fit on the S-Model kit.
  • Other exchanges might be possible, and we would be interested to hear from our readers if someone attempts to cross-breed both kits.

 

 

Conclusion

These are beautiful little kits that go together well, and need very few additions. The main issue are the tracks that are too wide and too long, extending too far to the rear. I have been told that some of the sprues in this kit will be used for another kit in the near future.

For those that light to stray from the beaten track, we gladly share the following pictures.


Sd.Kfz.250 Ausf. A (and 250Z Aufbau) with Panzer I turret. Picture from EBay auction-used for discussion purposes.


Sd.Kfz.250 Ausf. A (and 250Z Aufbau) with a very peculiar position for a frame antenna. Picture from EBay auction - used for discussion purposes.


Sd.Kfz.250 Ausf. B with an Italian Breda 20mm Flak gun. Picture from Robert Icks collection - used for discussion purposes.

 

 

 

 

 

References

[1] Panzer Tracts 15-1, leichter Schuetzenpanzerwagen (Sd.Kfz.250) Ausf. A & B, T.L. Jentz & H.L. Doyle.

[2] Sd.Kfz.250 Alt-Neu Archive Part 1 & 2, Total Detail, Martin Kögel.

[3] Sd.Kfz.250 Vol I & II, Wydawnictwo Militaria 173 & 231.

[4] Sd.Kfz.250-251 at War, Trojca, W. Trojca, K Münch.

[5] http://vincesgallery.smugmug.com/History/SdKfz-250-Alt

[6] http://vincesgallery.smugmug.com/History/SdKfz-250-Neu

[7] Sd.Kfz. 250, Miltar's kits Hors série N°1, MK Editions

[8] Die Halbketten-Fahrzeuge des deutschen Heeres 1909-1945, W.J. Spielberger, Band 6 der Reihe Militährfahrzeuge, Motorbuch Verlag

[9] SdKfz250, Ground power special issue, Delta Publishing

[10] «Pleins Feux sur : Le SdKfz 250 Neue Art», Dragon 1/35, Steelmasters 30, Histoire & Collections

[11] Schützenpanzer , B. Culver & U. Feist, Ryton Publications

Thanks to MK72 for the review sample.

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Article Last Updated: 11 January 2015

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