I am going to start on the Tamyia hanomag Sdkfz 251/1 for my next project. It looks like a nice (if old) kit. Anyone build this one? Anything very obviously wrong that needs to be changed or any spots that gave you trouble? Any tips would be helpful, all you german fanatics chime in and help an allied builder out with his first german armor.

Hi bison44,
I haven't build one before. It's still on the shelf waiting to be built. Here are some links kindly given to me by the very fine guys on this site:

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Pit/3515/251/index.htm

http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/german/mm251/mm251.htm

http://www.panzermodellbau.com/

Good luck!

If your talking about the ausf C version, then one defect with the kit is the inaccurate interior. This site should help with the details, http://www.kithobbyist.com/AFVInteriors/251/251a.html . I'd also recommend the Osprey Vanguard book for other interior info.

I've done the older Tamiya kit of the 251/1 the interier is extrealy basic. need some scratchbuilding there. the bolt pattern was fairly rare also. in fact in my references on the vehicle there was only 1 picture of one that was bolted togheter so I sanded most of them off mine.

here is a link so you can see my early attempt... just keep in mind that this was my 2nd project when I started last year.

http://home.ceinetworks.com/~delbert3/Sd.Kfz.251/Sd.Kfz251.html

If you are referring to the 251 Ausf C then the second big problem is the tracks and running gear are inaccurate. The AFV Club set will go a long way to improving it. There is a large Eduard PE set for that kit that provides a lot of the interior and other details.

PH

Thanks for the links and the info guys. It doesn't say anything about Aust C, but it must be a very early version (251/1 APC). It does have a very sparse interior and the rather large clunky bolts. I really like what you did with your kit Delbert. You did a good job sprucing it up with the extra equipment .

Hi, Bison. I am about half way through my Tamiya Sdkfz 251/1 Ausf C. The basic kit is just that, basic. The interior and the running gear bears no resemblance to the real thing. The actual dimensions don't agree to scale drawings I have but they are fairly close approximations.

I decided to go the whole hog with a detail set from Royal Models which includes resin interior and PE. I also bought the Modelkasten tracks and the AFV club suspension. I recommend each of these.

I have also thinned out the superstructure to something close to scale thickness (in some places the plastic is now translucent). All in all I have been working on this over a year and the project has stalled several times. Hopefully I will complete this soon. I have taken some pictures which if anyone is interested I will post.

Cheers

Nick

Thanks for the info, guys

Why don't you just chuck the Tamiya and go with the newer Dragon or AFV? Of course the Tamiya is real cheap now (on ebay some sellers are dumping them starting at .99 c).