Introduction

The Horch was a medium off-road passenger car that the Wehrmacht used as troop transports. The Kfz.15 was the version used in the signals corps. The cars had a Horch V8 and a curb weight of 2,700 kg and the open-topped Horch version was 3,080 kg. The Horch Kfz.15 was built from 1937 to 1943 and was used in various configurations on all fronts throughout the war. It was one of the most important medium cars of the Wehrmacht and it saw action with the German military in a wide range of combat zones from Russia to North Africa.
This is a collaborative model kit is brought to you by Tamiya and Italeri. This latest product in the series is of the Horch Kfz.15, a 4WD transport vehicle which was equipped with a liquid-cooled 8-cylinder engine capable of producing 85hp.

Contents

The base kit and vehicle parts are products of Italeri from their Kit No. 6215. This part of the kit is the Italeri parts and is at least 20 years old. These pieces are on 2 Sprues (A & B) and even come in a plastic bag that is stamped Made in Italy. Considering the age of these parts they displayed good detail and clean molding. There are some pin marks on the interior that can be easily cleaned up and most won’t be visible when the kit is assembled.

New parts include in this offering are a folded roof, cargo area surface, rear-view mirror, taillights and front window. These parts are attached to Sprue A where the Italeri figure was. The kit also includes 3 figures that are a product of Tamiya. The one figure has a standing base with cactus while the other 2 figures have multiple arms and heads options.

There is 1 sprue of Tamiya’s German Infantry Weapons Set kit # 35111 parts included (That kit sold separately has 2 sprues). This spruce includes just about every hand held weapon that the German military used ranging from P-38’s to panzerfaust, includes bipods and tripods for the heavy machine guns ammo can and ammo pouch holders. All of the aforementioned sprues are colored in light tan.

The tires are now made from paintable elastomer according to the Tamiya website. Additionally there is 1 other sprue containing 7 clear plastic parts of the windows and headlights. There are three newly-designed marking options included with this kit. Two decals depict North African front vehicles and a third Eastern Front option,

• Luftwaffe Propaganda Company, 1943
• 220th Armored Reconnaissance Detachment, 164th Light Africa Division, 1942
• Signals Battalion, 24 Panzer Division, Russia, 1941

Review

As previously stated the main vehicle parts are contained on Spruce A and B. The chassis for the vehicle is all one piece with the cross members and front fenders molded into the largest piece in the kit. However the suspension parts look like what makes up the majority of the parts in the kit. The body of the kit is several parts as well with the floor of the vehicle displaying a nice tread pattern and some deep ventilation ports on the hood and front body sides. However no engine is provided with the kit, just what looks like a lower half of a transmission and engine is supplied, so there will be no option to display and open hood. The dashboard has molded in gauges and there is a decal provided to display the dashboard gauges prominently. There are many small pieces that will require care when removing from the sprues such as mirrors, lights and pennant holders that will ultimately be attached to the assembled body. The kit also comes with an optional closed canvas roof that has weak details and is not depicted in the Tamiya instruction booklet. Also included in the kit are 3 jerry cans that are made up of 3 pieces each.

Instruction Booklet

The instructions come in Tamiya’s standard folded black and white format. It’s a 10 page booklet that contains 16 easy to follow steps that include a paint marking guide for practically all parts. The only colors codes that are listed are for Tamiya paints.