I have always liked the German Buhndeswhere 8-wheeled armored car, the SpPz 2A Luchs and I know that Revell-Germany has had one available for quite some time. Can anyone here speak to the quality and accuracy of this kit?

Thanks,
Dave

I can't answer for accuracy, but I do know that Model Expo online has the Revell of Germany kits for only $13.99. Two different kits SPAEPZ 2 Luchs 8x8 Recon Vehicle #RG3036 and SPPZ 2 Luchs A2S Recon Vehicle #RG3040. Very nice prices and I don't think you'll find another manufacturer of that vehicle in 1/35 scale. You must go to www.modelexpo-online/fcac (include the "fcac") and they give a 5% discount for ordering online. The catalog number for the flyer is FL302. Great place to do business with, I've had no problems with them.

I don't know the difference between the two kits or if one is better than the other or not. I also spelled the names as they are printed in the flyer. Good luck.

Sorry never built it

The above link is no good, that sale must have ended, but I just got an e-mail yesterday with this sale: http://www.modelexpo-online.com/ema021/ and they still have both variants for $13.99. Only 4 of the A2s left, but 14 of the other ones.

How you feel about this kit is going to depend on your skill level and willingness to trade effort for accuracy. I am building one now, and happen to have several 1:1 examples a few klicks down the road. So here is a mini-review:

1. I suspect the molds are older, as there are significant misalignments. I had to replace virtually all of the running gear struts and tie rods (and there is a bunch) with plastic rod. The axles are two halves, and don't align well without a good bit of filing.

2. The topside detail is quite soft and a bit undersized. I suspect that the basic kit is modelled on the prototype, and a lot of the housings and bumps got bigger on the production model. The Eduard PE for this kit is a big help in a lot of areas, like the wheel chock well on the side, and the periscopes and assorted bump on the top.

3. The front of the turret has a major error on the right side of the gun. It is easy to see in reference photos, and pretty easy to fix with plastic and putty. The Smoke-grenade launchers suffer badly from the mold misalignment mentioned before, and I went with MR replacements.

4. The vinyl tires are a very early type. My refs show at least 3 major types, and two manufacturers for each type. MR has all three types and both manufacturers. Check your references for the type you want. The only major use of the Luchs outside Germany was/is IFOR/SFOR. There are two types (middle and current) of tires I see in the photos, and the current version is similar to a heavy truck tire. Aftermarket is your only choice here, as 8 tires make the wrong choice pretty obvious.

5. There are a lot of little details, like cables and the mirror brackets that aren't in the kit, but really dress up the final look. Use your references to find them.

5. As I mentioned, the only major deployment of the Luchs I have found is Bosnia. These are all late-model or upgraded versions. Also, every one of them has the red & white striped over-width warning panels on the mudflaps. Eduard supplies them in their set.

If you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them. Overall, the kit is a lot of work, but shapes up into a nice model when you get there. If I can get a package of pictures to Jim, perhaps he'll put them on the site for everyone to use.

Hope this helps a bit.

The only difference between these two kits are the decal options and a little extra sprue on the SpPz2 A2 version with some stowage for the vehicle. The SpPz 2 kit has a decal option for an early variant, the A2 kit includes SFOR/KFOR decal options only.

Violetrock

Thanks, guys, especially ARENGCA for the detailed opinion. That helps.

here is a link for some Luchs pic's:
http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/armored_vehicles/germany/gallery_002/luchs/index.htm

hope it helps :-)