Following the recently launched ammunition carrier Sd.Kfz.252, Dragon announces now a command variant of this vehicle.

Read the Full News Story

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Why? Apart from the obvious to squeeze more cash out of existing tooling of course ....

1. Why have a command version of a vehicle which was a support/logistics vehicle integrated in other units which had their own command assets with long range radios?

2. Why try to squeeze a command function into a shell that was already reduced in size? The command version of the 250-family was roomier so why "invent" a new version on the same basic chassis?

3. The Sd.Kfz. 253 already had an "armoured" roof so there is no need for a new version simply to get a closed top.

4. The production run was 413 vehicles and all were issued as ammo-transports to Sturmartillerie units.

5. Was this a one-off field conversion by a unit who had lost all their other command vehicles?

6. Is my mind overheating? Could be ....

/ Robin

Edit: Some off the answers to the above are in the News article but I would still like to see a wartime photo showing one of these.

252 with antenna

Here we are again. Another command version "whatever" and I"ve been asking & waiting years for Dragon to produce a command kettenkraftrad. Since all their other "command kits" do little more than slap a star antenna & a radio in a pre-existing kit,, what's so hard about putting a star antenna on one of those???

Robin, I think you hit the nail on the head there about their greed. I'm a great fan of 250's and 251's because of the variety of versions and Dragon do some of the best ones. They certainly cover more variants than anyone else. I'm not however a fan of Dragons inflated prices these days. I was pleased to see them bring out the mortar variant of the 250 but I am not spending £65 on a kit, which is what I've seen it retailing for. At the end of the day they've got all the moulds in place to produce the basic vehicle so why do they find it neccessary to charge an arm and a leg for a couple of extra sprues to make a specific type? I've built a few of the 3 in 1 Sdkfz 251 range and they're really good as you do get three different options. A straightforward SPW or two completely different variants which leaves a pile of spares to use for other projects.(I recently upgraded a Tamiya 251D using DML spares making it a fun build and accurate but without the hassle of DML's instructions lol). The logical thing to do here would be to release a 3 in 1 Sdkfz 250. A straightforward recce vehicle with two additional options. This is the third one they've released recently. This, the mortar variant and the twin MG AA mount version. Being realistic I can't see either this or the twin AA one selling many so they've shot themselves in the foot there. If however they did a 3 in 1 with say the mortar and AA variants (not a lot of changes required as the hull's the same) it would be a lot more attractive. Due to their policy of greed I have undertaken a policy of thrift where DML are concerned. I won't buy any of their kits brand new anymore because of their ridiculous prices and now pick them up off ebay for a fraction of the cost, usually less than half price. I picked up their Sdkfz250/10 for £12 ($15)a while back. The most I've spent on any of their 3 in 1 kits was £22 ($28) as opposed to £40+ and I've bought about 6 of them over the last couple of years. Okay the 250/10's an old kit (it's wrong internally anyway so needs work doing) but the saving means I can buy a couple more kits. They'll sell one of these brand new to Mr A as odds are he rushes out and buys everything as soon as it's released and has a house full of kits he's not got time left on the clock to build. His wife complains about the size of his stash so he has to have a clearout and I pick it up for a fraction of the price. If they'd not been greedy and priced fairly I'd have bought one new so they'd have made two sales as opposed to one. Also it's not a common vehicle so that limits it's potential buyers. They don't seem to do much thinking these days as far as the buyer's concerned.

I also don't buy Dragon new, waiting instead for the online store to put them at 50% off or hitting up ebay.

That said, unfortunately Dragon doesn't feel what we do as they already got their money from the retailer. It's the retailers who lose out selling at reduced prices. As far as they're concerned all their product sells at the price they wanted. Dragon will only reconsider their direction if the retailers stop ordering product.

But military models are a small part of their business so even then they might not care.

I was thrilled when finally, after years of waiting, Dragon finally released the 252 with ammo trailer. Then, apparently, the gate was wide-open for every variant, realistic or not. Kind of tired when they offer something this redundant and expect everyone to jump on board. Or when they announce something like the 251 A series and never deliver, or the Opel Blitz radio truck that vanished after release, or not releasing a much-desired Bergepanther when they're simply FILTHY with good donor kits with which to make one. I really don't get it -beyond the greed /sucker factor, that is- but I'm plenty tired of it, so its back to the work bench for me as I submerge my frustrations in another build.

somewhere around the house is a book on the "250" half track series. might be one photo of a "253', but several of the "252" in combat. All were Eastern Front.
gary

P.S. I'm more interested in their 257/7 kit whenever it appears on the shelf

Ya, a 257 would be sweet. And therefore unlikely.

SdKfz 257/7, 257

You'll have to excuse me, but...257??? I've been in the hobby 5 decades and I know of no Sd.Kfz. 257. Do you not mean 247? Or 251/7?

Apparently there was a 257, but I can't find much info about it online. May not have been made in large numbers and got lost in the post-war shuffle.

Reproduction 257 seen at Lowell, IN. / Buckley Homestead reenactment:


Photo copyright Michael Koenig - All rights reserved.

When I find that pic online, it is described as a 247, not 257.

Is the difference internal? Does anyone have a link to more info?

Isn't that supposed to be a 247 Ausf B?

Sorry but that's a repro of a 247. I don't usually bet, but in this case I'm willing to wager a month's salary someone's just made a mistake and there never was any such thing as a Sd.Kfz. 257. As I said, I've been in this hobby 5 decades now and never read or seen anything about one in all the mountains of ref material I have, or have read.

You won't find any info on the Sd.Kfz. 257 because it didn't exist. Ain't no such animal. If it did exist, there would be at least a few dozen resin kits of it by now. The "257" was, as noted previously, a typo which was never corrected and taken as fact by the non-observant members of the "community" known as "them" or "they". "They" never bothered to notice that photos of this Sd.Kfz. 257 looked exactly like a Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B, which was, indeed, the case. Know your Sd.Kfz's, it may save your life. Well, probably not; but, you can impress your friends the next time the subject comes up during halftime breaks.

I think he was meaning the 250/7 mortar track I spoke of.
gary