251 Halftracks GB 1 October '08 - 8 June '09

White_R34 - very interested to hear how you like this kit, I'm leaning heavily toward the new Zvezda release of the /3 to fill that slot in my own personal lineup. Also, glad to see someone hitting a B model!

What changes are you planning on making to portray the /5? I had guessed that you would start with a /7 and work from there. 

Josh - who's boxing of the /17 Command are you going with (I seem to remember Cyber Hobby, but I could be wrong)?

Depending on what exterior scheme you're going to use will alter the interior. Generally, 251's that were painted Panzer Gray exterior had a Panzer Gray interior, and those with a Dark Yellow exterior (base color) had the DY interior. 

For individual items I'm sure someone could give you a hand...just list what you need here.

wing_nut wrote:

Good looking progress Bish.  Maybe dupes will back off lufty and me with all the speedtser comments

Haaahahahha....no pressure, fellas. I'm just so used to the both of you flying through your builds I figured there would be some neat WIPs to look at. Take your time!

Lufty - your guess is as good as mine on those parts. Perhaps somebody with one of the Panzer Tracts books can ID those parts?

dupes wrote:

Josh - who's boxing of the /17 Command are you going with (I seem to remember Cyber Hobby, but I could be wrong)? Depending on what exterior scheme you're going to use will alter the interior. Generally, 251's that were painted Panzer Gray exterior had a Panzer Gray interior, and those with a Dark Yellow exterior (base color) had the DY interior.  For individual items I'm sure someone could give you a hand...just list what you need here.

Dupes, i do believe that when they switched from grey to yellow, older vehicles only had the outside re-painted but not the inside. So i think all the /17c's should be grey inside.

Well, I got some free time this weekend and started on the 251/18, using the Dragon /6 kit as the foundation.  Got through the first 3 or 4 steps and strangely, it looks alot like Lufty's build...   

So I thought additional pics would be redundant.  But I'll certainly post a few shots in the near future when the radios get assembled as I'm planning to do some rearrangements of the kits radios, and later when I attempt to scratch build the map table.  We'll see how that goes.

Guy, your guess is as good as mine regarding kit parts K amd M.  I'll have a look through the references that I dug up on the /18 to see if there is any mention of battery placement.  But Dupes had the better idea to appeal to others who have more general reference sources on the 251 variants since there is very little detailed info on the /18.

 Don

Bish wrote:

Dupes, i do believe that when they switched from grey to yellow, older vehicles only had the outside re-painted but not the inside. So i think all the /17c's should be grey inside.

Bish - I believe that you're correct about older vehicles. However, unless Josh's scheme indicates that his vehicle was produced prior to the changeover date, a dk yellow exterior would be matched by a dk yellow interior. Still waiting to see which kit/scheme he's got, so I can check my own kits/refs.

On re-checking the battery looking item (Prt K) im goin with it being a battery. So now everyone, I need to know what the other gizmo is. (Prt M ).

...Guy

dupes wrote:

Bish wrote: Dupes, i do believe that when they switched from grey to yellow, older vehicles only had the outside re-painted but not the inside. So i think all the /17c's should be grey inside. Bish - I believe that you're correct about older vehicles. However, unless Josh's scheme indicates that his vehicle was produced prior to the changeover date, a dk yellow exterior would be matched by a dk yellow interior. Still waiting to see which kit/scheme he's got, so I can check my own kits/refs.

There were only 2 /17 command vehicles and 10 /17c gun vehicles built, and i believe they were all issued to the HG Div in France in 1942.

Luftwoller wrote:

On re-checking the battery looking item (Prt K) im goin with it being a battery. So now everyone, I need to know what the other gizmo is. (Prt M ). ...Guy

It looks like it has some sort of filler cap on the top. This is only a guess, but is it possible its some sort of colant tank for all that extra equipment.

I am doing the AFV Club /17 Ausf.C Command Variant Division Hermann Goering, Autumn 1942.

Exterior Color is going to be "Dark Gray" according to these crappy instructions ...

Josh

Then the bulk of the interior should be the same. I believe the face of radios should be RLM 2 with mostly black features.

I have the AFV 17c gun version and its details on the colours is quite good. Seems they have slipped up on this one.

Aye, that is what it seems. I have only built one armor model previously to this and it was a tiny 1/72 kit.

The only colors it shows through-out the instructions are tire black, steel and wood brown. Maybe it's just the mass of the parts that are going to be the same color.

I guess the only other thing i'll look forward to, or request some posting of is how people are going about painting with the huge opening in the back. On airplanes it's just cover the canopies, bubbles etc and start painting! But this seems tough ... maybe i'm just worrying myself.

Thanks for the info Bish!

Josh

Wood brown for the gun stocks and tool handles.

I was just thinking about it and it seems like the easiest way to paint everything would be paint everything gray and then paint all the other colors afterwords. Assembling when needed.

Josh

wing_nut wrote:

Finally some progress.  Whole family is sick... or was I should say... so by the end of the day was dog (butt) tired. Some PE stuff for the driver's area and I scratched the gear shifts and the brake levers.  the instruments are printed on paper But I wanted a glass face.  I took some thin clear sheet styrene and coated it with Future.  Then I put the instruments face down into the Future and then coated the back so it was impregnated with Future.  The white parts looks gray and wet but it dry all nice and white. And big shout out to lewbud  THANKS DUDE for the timely warning about the front suspension.  A test fit showed he was dead on.  Setting it all in place, the locating pin is just visible in the hole that is in that raised rectacle over the suspension.  I just let it rest in place and put a few drops of Tenax in the hole and let it cure in place.  It kinda sealed the hole so it is hard to see in the pic.

Wing nut

That is some seriously nice work!

What is the deal with the suspension again?

Lufty

That is one sweet build you got going.  The radios are great!  I really like how you picked up the detail in them.  They really stand out!

dupes wrote:

White_R34 - very interested to hear how you like this kit, I'm leaning heavily toward the new Zvezda release of the /3 to fill that slot in my own personal lineup. Also, glad to see someone hitting a B model! What changes are you planning on making to portray the /5? I had guessed that you would start with a /7 and work from there.

Ok the only reson I jumped for buying the /7 was the price. (My kit was on sale) I realy wanted the /7 for the radio and bars to put on an Ausf. C version, but that will have to wate. To do the /5 its going to be realy easy as this kit comes with most of the item you see on the Combat Engineers Vehicles Extra as I reed up on this version, I only see that they droped members of the crew or the crew size to have space on the interior for equipment.

[Quote from Squadron booklets]: The Sd.Kfz. 251/5 was desinged to carry combat engineers and their equipment. It carried only eight men and room thus made available was used for special equipment. This version was later suppianted by the Sd.Kfz. 251/7

The Engineers Vehicles came in two models. the /5 was the original version, introduced in 1939. It carried less troops and the space vacated was used for carrying the various equipment used by the engineers. These Ausf. Bs of the 9th Panzer Division carry cabies, jacks and spare track links on the front plates and extra equipment under the tarpaulins in the back.

Ok if any of you like dups wants this kit at the low price I got her at go here:(PE set also in link)

http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=ZV3572&Submit3=Go

Ok some more info for you Ausf. A or B fans, you can make the A or B verison from this model. as I read up on it the A version being the first it only had two things that the B version didn't have two more side view ports. Here's some Diogram images of what the two look like.

Now I must point out that on the early version of the B types the front MG didn't have a gun sheld like the late A versions. and like the A versions the B also had extra equipment. See here:

On the early B versions mini of the solders would go for the two swing arms and not the front mounted MG with the shield. They would find off off air stricks by using the dubble swing arms to defined the carrier. This was true on both the A and Bs.

Photos of the A version:

Here's some photos of the B version on the move.

Now once I start on this build mini of you will see that the side walls of my halftrack will not have some of the wall racks. An I know some will say thay al have wall racks that I goof up but you couldn't be more rong I have photo and as you have read my upper post that some items had been removed for space. [Photos] Also the radio was on the dash of the first As and late A versions and moved to the side wall in the B versions.

An for you guys here a look at the sheet from the kit. Like I said there's a lot of parts!

I must say this is a realy good kit to have and at the low sales price you can get the Tamiya version of the Ausf.C and try to scratch build it in to the Ausf.A/B versions and that would be up to any of you but I think this new kit is the best I have seen yet out of the 251 versions.

Links to both kits:[Sd.Kfz.251/3 Ausf.B Mittlerer Funkpanzerwagen]

http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=ZV3604

[Sd.Kfz. 251/1/Ausf. B Mittlerer Schutzenpanzerwagen]*

http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=ZV3572

Bish wrote:

Mainly it says that the kit has the interior for the Ausf C which is different to the B. Is this causeing you a problem at all.

The instructions seem to bear this out since the radio was mounted on the right side of the co-driver seat in the A and B.  It was moved to the front for the C.

Lufty, I found a cyberhobby review of the Dragon 251/6 kit that suggests that assembly M is a backpack radio.  In an earlier 251/1 kit, Dragon supplied a water canister for this position.  It was then determined that only the /8 carried the water cannister so the kit was corrected by the addition of the pack radio.   If so, assembly M could easily be left out if you desire.

 Don

Thx Don, that sort of makes sense it being a command wagon an all. Im going to keep it though and might add a couple of shoulder straps. Might not be correct but it will add a little more interest to melee.

Cheers again Don and any more info you can find will be eagrely lapped up.

...Guy

Thansk Boyd.  The suspensionissue is that if you seat the front suspension all the way down in the slot, when the back end is up on the tracks, the front tires won't be on the ground.

Got around to to some dry fitting.  I noted a couple of open space that I figured needed to be closed up. And now that I have done it someone is gonna say they are supposed to be there.  I amdit I have not seen any mention of it in any of the kit reviews or build articles I've seen.  But they sure don't look like they should be there. Also the GIGUNDO holes for the fender alignment tabs need to be filled. I had some square stryene that was almost a perfect fit. And oh yeah... I had to make a new piece of front end armor.   Don't ask

Whoah, tons of stuff today!

White - looks good. Definitely keep me abreast of any errors you see in the B variant stuff.

Bodge - would love to get you in on the build. However, I'm going to need you to read the first page over - this one's running a bit differently. I would prefer that you do a 1/35 build, but if you're able to fill one of the remaining variants with a 1/72 then I may allow it. Look over the list of available models (I believe the ones left are the 12-15 and 19, unless I'm unable to get a hold of MPKev31B...then the /3 may open up as well) and get back to me.

Wingy - keep it coming, man! What exactly did you do with the front hull...?