Flimsy side opening cardboard box with individual zipper-type plastic bags (organised per subassembly).

Picture above: Courtesy of MarS (used with permission).

2. Type of kit

Resin kit with interior, but no decals or painting options. Tulle provided for turret mesh.

3. Quality of casting

The casting quality is very good, with no air bubbles, warpage or other annoying discrepancies. Only one small, fragile part was broken on the sprues. The detail is quite crisp (better than the ICM kit).

Most parts come with quite big molding 'carrots', which are sometimes hard to carve away, especially on the insides of the wheels, which require a major effort.

Pictures above: MarS interior with personal additions (granades, gas mask canisters, tools, ...)

This resin kit has a lot more detail than ICM's to the point that it is somewhat over-engineered (especially the chassis). It is also more expensive, but you get a LOT of parts for your money. The interior is nicely done and well catered for, but still lacks some items, like personal gear (haversacks, gas mask canisters,…), MP40s, pioneer tools.

If you really want to add some detail, you could also add the frame to the back of the driver's seat, which should be a bit more reclined as well.

The gun mount is correct, and has nice detail, but the spent cartridge bags are missing.

A very nice thing about this kit is that it allows you to open most hatches and visors.

Pictures on the boxtop show an alternative type of hubcaps (with recesses and without hubcaps protectors), that I associate with LSSAH vehicles [13]. I found the wheels of MarS' Sd.Kfz. 223 in my example (standard type, with integrally molded protectors). Stan (MarS) was so kind to send me a new set.

The grating behind the turret is solid, but with texture added. It would be quite difficult to create a see-through effect without major surgery, but it is convincing enough with a suitable wash.

The turret mesh frame is of the higher type, and is a weak part of the kit. The frame is quite chunky, and you are supposed to make the mesh itself from a piece of tulle that is included with the kit. I found the latter quite difficult to cut, glue and paint, but managed to a certain degree. You will need to add the support rods if you leave the mesh open.

While you get footsteps under the rear fender, these were only fitted to late war vehicles (judging from the available photographs), by which time the alternative hubcaps were (apparently) rare.

The typical small plate on the turret in front of the optics is not provided, but is easy to make from some plasticard.

Mars does give you turn indicators with cage and width indicators. The latter are quite thick for this scale.

The worst fit I encountered in this kit were the exhaust, and I ended up making new tubing and carving cut outs in the rear fenders.

4. Accuracy

Picture above: ICM vs. MarS nose (open visor of ICM kit is personal modification)

According to my references, Mars got most angles in the nose region wrong, which results in a nose that is too wide and too shallow. It is very noticeable when put next to the ICM kit.
In my humble opinion it is almost impossible to humanely correct this error.

As MarS points in the direction of a LSSAH vehicle (if you get the hubcaps on the boxtop), you can always scratchbuild the added spaced armor on the nose as done by this unit and hide it, and even drape a camouflage net over it, as was sometimes done. In this way it becomes harder to tell that this vehicle would need a nose-job.

The wheels are a lot better detailed than those from ICM, but they are either too big, or there is something wrong with the dimensions of the sides of the hull. This means that the spare wheel looks quite big when mounted on the sides.

The wooden block for the jack and the spade are missing.

5. Version

If you build the vehicle straight from the box, you would get a vehicle from the first half of 1941. If your kit contains the wheels meant for it, it would point to a LSSAH vehicle in the Balkans, so you would need to add the spaced armor on the nose.

If you get the other wheels (that are supposed to be in de Sd.Kfz.223 kit from MarS), you have more options.

The rear license plates are of the square (i.e. early) type, which I haven't seen in this time-frame. It is easy to modify.

The box on the top of the engine compartment is missing, which at this time was an almost universally fitted item.

6. Instruction sheet:

The instructions consist of hand drawn "exploded" sketches, which are not always 100% clear. The lack of numbering on the kit parts (which are very numerous) does not make it any easier. Because the parts are packaged according to their subassembly you can eventually figure out where everything goes.

7. Decals and painting options:

None. As noted above, you would best look for the "Dietrich" (key symbol) badge and make this a LSSAH vehicle in the Balkans. Colors would be Panzergrau overall.

8. General Impression:

Until recently this was by far the best Sd.Kfz.222 in this scale. (Ok, I can't compare with the Al.by kit, which should be very nice too.) It is not cheap, takes some care and attention to build and has a poor turret mesh and nose shape. But at least you can build it with all doors open ! The wheels are also very nicely detailed with a nice hub and thread pattern.

Then the ICM kit came around. It is dimensionally more accurate, a breeze to build, relatively cheap, but overly simplified in the turret area. It has no interior detail and all hatches are closed; the wheel pattern is a bit simplified; the turret mesh is nice; you get an abundant amount of decals (including ones for LSSAH !). Detail is less crisp than the Mars kit.

At that point it all depended on your personal taste, requirements and budget.

Now we also have the Goffy interior set, which brings the ICM kit a long way. You have a good interior, open doors (but closed visors), but still a poor turret and wheels. The total retail price of ICM + Goffy is about the same as the MarS kit.

I guess we still do not have the definite 222, but if you want a cheap, easy to build, accurate 222 with all hatches closed and plan to put figures in the turret, I would opt for the ICM kit. If you want a one stop, detailed 222 with all hatches open, go for the Mars kit, and perhaps add a better turret mesh and nose armor.

Pictures above:
MarS Sd.Kfz.222 finished in the markings of the "Leibstandarte" (LSSAH).
Decals, licence plates, turret mesh and box on engine deck from ICM kit. Spaced armor on nose scratchbuilt (plus some minor modifications, most of which are mentioned in the text).

9. References

[1]  Samochody pancerne 4x4, J. Ledwoch, Militaria.

[2] Myssing-Lynx website (http://www.missing-lynx.com). Discussions on forum, mainly Robert Johnson, 27/02/05

[3]  AFV Interior, http://afvinteriors.hobbyvista.com/

[4]  DAK SdKfz 222 http://members.verizon.net/~blu.skink/blueskink/222_interior/222_interior.htm

[5]  Littlefield collection pictures, http://russiannavy.net/photos/littlefield (/Sept_2004/Sdkfz222)

[6]  Petr Vanek, private communication.

[7]  SS Armor, R.C. Stern, Squadron/Signal

[8]  Panzer Colors I, B. Culver & B. Murphy, Squadron/Signal

[9]  Panzer Colors II, B. Culver, Squadron/Signal

[10]  Panzer Colors III, B. Culver, Squadron/Signal

[11]  Gepanzerte Radfahrzuege, W.J. Spielberger, Militärfahrzeuge 4, Motorbuch Verlag

[12]  Panzer Tracts N°13, Panzerspaehwaegen, T.L.Jentz, Panzer Tracts

[13]  Panzerspähwagen, Ryton

[14]  Steelmasters 53, “Les automitrailleuses SdKfz 222 et 223”, October 2002

[15]  SdKfz 253, 252 & early 250, Archive Part 1, M. Kögel, Total Detail