Achtraden! 8x8 Group Build '09-'10

Here we go with the Dragon 1/35 Sd.Kfz.234/2 Puma. Let's start with an in-box review.

  Dragon 1/35 Sd.Kfz.234/2 Puma  In-box review

 Historical background.

The Puma was, in mid-1944, the first of the Sd.Kfz.234 series of heavy 8-wheeled armoured cars to enter production. Technologically advanced, it featured well-sloped armour and, unusually for a German WW2 AFV, a diesel engine. Fitted with a 5cm main gun in an enclosed turret, some 100 examples were produced. These were assigned to the reconnaissance elements of the 2^nd, 20^th and 130^th Panzer Divisions, and also to the 1^st SS Panzers.

Contents

Inside the sturdy, top-opening box, there are 493 parts, of which 19 are marked ‘not for use' on 14 grey injection-moulded plastic sprues. Three further clear sprues provide 16 more parts, two of which will remain unused. An etched brass fret features 24 parts, and there are four separate turned brass width indicator feelers. The lower hull is provided as two individual slide-moulded grey plastic parts.

There are no sink marks or visible ejector-pin marks anywhere, no flash and hardly any mould separation seams.

Two decal sheets, printed by Cartograf, are provided. One is a generic number plate sheet, and includes 2-part SS runes for reasons of political correctness. The 10-page instruction leaflet features a parts map, and  covers construction in 25 stages, and finishing in two further ones. Colour call-outs are in gunze acrylic and Mr. Colour.

I'm not going to provide sprue shots. Dragon's own website does this far better than I could hope to achieve with my limited photographic skills and equipment:

http://www.dragonmodelsltd.com/html/6256%20Flash.htm

Brief description of major plusses and minuses

Construction starts with the complex and highly-detailed suspension. Careful construction will be required to ensure that all eight wheels rest on the ground, and in this respect, the Tamiya 8-wheelers, whose suspension arrangements permits a bit of play, are better. As fitted, this permits only a straight fore-and-aft wheel arrangement, but a few simple modifications would allow them to be set at an angle. The steering linkages are designed to permit this.

The lower hull interior is very well fitted out and detailed, as befits a series of vehicles, many of which had open-topped hulls. Unfortunately, the hull side doors are moulded shut integrally with the lower hull, and opening them would involve major surgery and scratchbuilding. The upper hull interior is adequately detailed, though much of this won't be visible on the completed model, even with the turret removed.

The hull side stowage bins are also moulded shut, but it would be fairly simple to scratch-build new doors and padlocks, and then to pose at least some of them open. Optional opened and closed engine deck vents are provided - but no mesh benath them -  and the other hull exterior fittings are well-detailed. The OVEclamps are moulded integrally with the tools, except for the spade and axe, for which optional clip-free parts are provided. You get six superbly-detailed jerricans,but their mounting frames and straps are provided as injection plastic parts, and are thus too thick for scale accuracy.

Suface detail is excellent, and includes weld beads and cast texture where appropriate.

The road wheels include a spare. Tyres are made from hard plastic, and provided as two halves, featuring excellent tread detail. Two different styles of wheel hub are included.

The turret halves and mantlet are superb, slide-moulded, features, as is the main gun tube. Turned aluminium aftermarket replacements are available but no improvement on the kit part. The turret ring is accurately represented, and not as the traditional bayonet-type fitting. Turret interior detail is limited to a fairly well-detailed breech, but nothing else - no crew seats, radios, ammo stowage or even co-axial MG, though a stub barrel is provided for the exterior. There again, if built as the instructions intend, none of this would be visible on the completed model. 

The etched fret provides a starfish aerial and hull lifting lugs,though the kit also provides plastic alternative parts which are close to scale thickness. You also get etched centre seams for the jerricans.

A quick taping together of the major components revealed no fit issues except for a small gap between the upper and lower hull pieces at the sides. This looks as if it will be disguised by the mudguards/ hull side stowage lockers. If not, it will be easy enough to fill with thin pieces of plastic strip. 

Finish options:

Four are provided, as follows:  

• 20^th Panzer Division in Bohemia, 1945. This vehicle features on the box art, and is finished in Dunkelgelb, with Rotbraun and Olivgrün patches.
• Unidentified unit (possibly 1^st SS Panzer Division) Normandy 1944  in Dunkelgelb with Olivgrün stripes. Note, however, that the decal shet does not contain any Leibstandarte divisional emblems.  
• 2^nd Panzer Division, France 1944: in overall Dunkelgelb with Olivgrün ‘smoke ring' camo - for those who wish to give their airbrushing and/ or masking skills a major workout!
• 130^th Panzer Lehr Division Normandy 1944 in overall Dunkelgelb with stripes of Rotbraun and Olivgrün.

Note that for all except the first of these options, you have to make up your own number plates from the generic number plate decal sheet provided. 

Conclusion

At first sight, this loks to be an excellent, well-fitting, accurate and superbly-detailed kit. There are only a few areas where it might have been better (jerrican racks, turret interior detail, stowage bin hatches, engine deck vents), but fortunately, there are etched sets which address these issues. My only really major gripe is that when I acquired my copy, as a Christmas present a couple of years ago, it was retailing for about £28. The very same kit is about to be re-released in the UK, with no upgrades at all, but this time the RRP will be £47.50! Grr!!!!

Next up, a review of the Griffon Model etched set.

Cheers,

Chris.

So here is a shot of the "LUCHS"  nice box art.

Sprues

The cleanup begins.

Bob

Very well done initial post Chris.

Nate

Thanks Nate,

I've identified the figures I'll be using with this model. they are:

• one from Tamiya's German Ammo -loading Tank Crew set. He's the guy dressed in fatigues, bending over as if to pick up a shell.
• Figurre 'D' from Dragon's Sturmgeshutz Crew Reloading (1941) set. He's passing a shell up to a mate wo's standing above him on the vehicle, dressed in field Grey self-prop crew uniform, though I'll be painging him in late-war pattern Summer camo Panzer dress.
• Figure 'A' from Dragon's 'Tiger Aces Normandy 1944' set. He's a commander figure, sitting, dressed in Summer camo camouflage Panzer dress as before.

I might replace some or all of their heads with Hornet items.

Cheers,

Chris.

I've been able to dig up ALOT more images of the internal's of an ASLAV, so its time to start doing some considering. While I know Most of the main stuff will need to me scratch built using styrene sheet and the such, I'm after some tips for after market kits (if any) that supply stuff like jerry cans (ok an easy one) but also stuff like gas cylinders, fire control, belts, straps, guages anything really (doesnt have to LAV related, just stuff I might be able to put to good use)

Andrew

Evening, gents -- Chris, that was a very detailed roundup of the Dragon 234 as she comes, and obviously far superior to the old Italeri. It'll be most interesting to see it come together.

M1 -- the Luchs is a fascinating vehicle, borrowing, as I believe it does, on the technologies and approach of the 234s, and it'll be most interesting to see a Revell Germany armor kit going together. I've never built one of theirs, but have their Panzerhaubitzer 2000 in the stash.

My progress on the old Puma is steady, with the wheels now assembled. I'm modifying the assembly sequence for convenience, and will join the hull halves before tackling the suspension.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Chris,

I have the same kit Dragon 1/35 sd.Kfz.234/2 Puma in stock so I will be watching you very closely.  I have a confession to make... the suspension and wheels assembly scares me a bit when I reviewed the instructions so your inputs will be helpful for me to do my build as I am going for 234/1 for this group build. 

I hope to start my kit in a week or two... I need to finish painting the figures before I can clear my desk. 

deafpanzer wrote:

Chris, [snip]  the suspension and wheels assembly scares me a bit when I reviewed the instructions  [snip]

Hi Andy,

I think the trick will be to ensure that the suspension arms are kept straight and level at all times. To this end, I've got a ceramic tile which I can rest the model on at this stage of assembly, and will be using slow-setting polystyrene cement to cement the main suspension components together, and will weight the model while leaving it overnight for the glue to harden.

Cheers,

Chris.

Got some more progress done on the LUCHS. 

Filled al the hull dimples and sanded them flush:

Started work on the axels and suspension:

logo?

OK tried adding the logo, dont know if it will work.  If someone could post a "how does Bob do this"  it would be great.

Bob

Bob, its not an official logo (yet), just a suggestion as there isnt one yet.

As for how to add.

Get a free image hosting account (flickr, photobucket etc)

upload desired image to image account

 copy the [img......../img] url given

paste it into your fsm sig details under profile

easy

:)

Andrew

Im such a dumb , I should have known that.  Anyway I like the logo.

Bob

Hi Guys,

I've made a bit of progress on my Dragon Puma. I've completed the first 3 steps. I intend to build it buttoned up, so I'm not going to waste the interior sections as they won't be seen. I'll also be using selected parts from the OUTSTANDING Griffon Models update set for this kit. I am building this at my job on lunch breaks and such, so progress may be a bit on the slow side. Well, here are the pics. Feel free to comment.

Nate

Nate, those are some ritious clamps bro...................LOL......that aint going no where, and it will stay GLUED..........LOL.

keep the pics coming.

Bob

Thanks for looking Bob. Yeah, I saw these clamps at a dollar store for about $1.50 Apiece, and bought a bunch! They're perfect for things like this.

Nate

Nate, doesent the $1.50 negate the whole dollar store theory...............LOL.  I have to look Saturday at the one here in town and pick some up. The look like they worked out really well.

Bob

Ordered this reference book from Amazon.com this morning... 'German Armoured Cars and Recon Half-Tracks 1939-1945' from Osprey Military.  It was the only one I could find for my 234/1 kit... I like to have reference books while I build & paint my kits.  Is there a better reference book out there? 

 If you don't hear from me by Monday, please do not hesitate to call 9-1-1... I am afraid my wife is going to kill me when she finds out that I broke my promise not to order something until after Christmas. 

Bob: Due to the economy, everything in the dollar store now costs $1.50!

Andy: If I remember correctly, Squadron had an "In Action" on German armoured cars years ago. You can still find it on ebay every once in awhile. I also think Cocord Publications might have something too.

I might just order that Osprey book too.

Nate

Nachtflieger......LMAO.  that was great.

Bob

Hi all,

Nate -- the suspension of the Dragon 234 looks amazing, an order of magnitude better than the old Italeri kit. I find myself thinking I'll have to add these kits to my stash!

Update on the Testor/Italeri Puma:

The limitations of molding way back when this series was tooled meant the rear hull had to have some cut-outs (Dragon no doubt do it with slidemolds). I've worked on this hull design once or twice in the past (never completed one, though) and found the best way to line up those parts was to lay in some stripstock to create ledges:

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The ledges mean you can drop in the triangular fillets that complete the hull without alignment issues. I glued the upper and lower halves together and taped them overnight (the fillets are not yet installed here):

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The skirt/stowage bin fairings cover all but the foremost and rearmost parts of the hull armour apex so there's no need to dress most of it. I used some filler to close the hull at nose and tail:

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The filler is mostly dressed here, it might need a touch more here and there.

Next I moved on to the turret and assembled it in a couple of rounds of work. The dressing parts are very small and Italeri is one ofthose companies that offers you minute components without positive alignment devices, which makes my hackles rise. I make no guarantees about the survival of the turret lifting lugs through the handling between here and the display case!

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There's an interesting story goes with the turret. The bottom lays into the turret with some corner ledges to rest on, but not very well at all. I superglued it and added tape to hold it in place. later, to reinforce the joint I flowed in some liquid cement, but some was carried by capillary action under the tape in the forward portside corner. Naturally, it reduced the plastic surface to a softened, almost rubber-like texture, which was still a bit pliable even after drying overnight. I brushed on some cya to redress it, then filed the surface down so it would mate cleanly to the hull.

As it's a closed-hull build I left out all internal parts, not that there are many. My next jobs are mounting the stowage bins/flank hulls, and the suspension, not sure which order yet. My objective is to get the model structurally complete and ready for paint, then set it aside and concentrate on my StuG IV for 1000 Roadwheels, bringing that one up to the same stage, so I can get them both in the paintshop together and put them into dunkelgelb (Tamiya acrylics all the way).

Cheers,

Mike/TB379

Nice work Mike, it's coming together quick! That's one of the nice things about an older kit versus the newer Dragon kits. You could probably build two or three of the Italeri kits in the time it takes to do one Dragon kit.

I finished the suspension and tires on my Puma, and as soon as I wake up a bit, I'll take some pics of it. It was pretty complicated, but if you take your time, and follow the instructions, it comes out looking great! I won't be working on it this weekend as I plan on painting my Brummbar for the 1000 roadwheels build.

Nate 

Hi Nate -- Thanks! Sounds like we have a similar gameplan with similar interests! I'm working on the suspension at this moment, first round tonight, second round tomorrow, and can see this one ready for paint in a couple of days. Then I'll change back to my StuG and get her up to the same point. I was hoping to do a Brummbar as well, it all depends when the kit comes in.

I must break my Dragon virginity one of these days, I have about ten later-tool Dragons and a couple of earlies, the earlies are simple in some ways, confounding in others. I've put two together, but neither are complete yet.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Mike, you owe it to your self to build one of the new Dragon Smart Kits! I just finished the new Jagdpanzer IV, and it was a pure joy to build!

As promised earlier, here are a few pics of my Puma. The upper hull is just placed on the lower, so it wouldn't look so bare. Also, the wheels are attached with Blue Tac so I can remove them for painting later on. As it stands, the lower half is complete. Next up will be the upper hull. As always, comments welcome!

Nate

Here's a close up of the wheels. Each one is made up of 5 parts.......outstanding detail IMHO!

Very spectacular, Nate! That is real plastic engineering, and it looks so solid and businesslike! I'll put one of these on my shopping list for the not too dustant future! I have one of their Panther Smart Kits, plus some Imperials and some '39-'45s, methinks I'll have to pay more attention to Dragon!

Two small links to go and I'll be fnished for tonight (it's 12.23am here in Aus). Tomorrow I'll install the leafsprings and steering rods, plus a few other bits and pieces and the running gear should be done.

Cheers, and great work,

Mike/TB379

Giggling like a kid...

Why does seeing your build upside down like that, remind of a bug on its back that it makes me giggle and smirk

Thunderbolt379 wrote:

(it's 12.23am here in Aus).

Actually in the real parts of australia its 12:58am :P

Thanks Mike! It IS a real piece of work, isn't it? It's 9 AM here in the States, so good morning from here, and goodnight to you!

Konigwolf13: Yeah....it DOES look like a bug on it's back!

Nate

KW13 -- Damn your eastern states elitism, sir! Just because you don't have Daylight Saving, don't get the impression you're more important than the rest of us!

Mike/TB379