I wonder how it stacks up against the Dragon and AFV Club kits?

There was an Internet "battle" over which company got the SdKfz 251 hull dimensions right, AFV Club or Dragon, and the Panzer Tracts drawings suggest it was AFV Club. Dragon's kits were narrower by several scale inches. Zvezda's versions fall right in the middle, width-wise, so they're visually compatible with either. Zvezda had no photos or drawings of the interior of the Ausf. B, so they just duplicated the Ausf. C parts (which are wrong--the early halftracks did not have enclosed bins under the passenger seats). Surprisingly, Eduard's photo etch set for the Zvezda kit actually corrects this. Zvezda's upper body lines up exactly with the lower body sides, but actually should overhang them by a fraction of an inch (it casts a noticeable shadow on the real machine). If you're ambitious, you could gently scrape down the outer face of the lower hull with an X-acto knife to create this step (the plastic is thick).

Very informative, Jim and Gerald. A note on the overhang. Could you add thin styrene sheet to the upper hull to correct it?

Remember, it's an open-topped vehicle, so the upper edge of the body is exposed--you'd have a light infantry carrier with armor seemingly two inches thick, if you added plastic sheet to the top faces. Beveling the lower half is easier to conceal, once you've added fenders and stowage boxes.

A word of caution though... The Zvezda kit is not for beginners. It does have fit-issues, like upper/lower hull and tracks. That being said I'd build another any day, simply because it is the only Ausf.B on the market.

Other than fit issues, is it comparable to the Tamiya kit? I know the AFV Club is the most accurate, but the price difference is great enough to consider some extra work.

Hi Jim, very nice kit and good informations, with many details. Noted the decals of instruments for the dashboard. It could be useful, instead of painting. Cheers Giovanni

What are the price ranges for the Zvezda halftracks?

It is not Tamiya quality, not even remotely, but for a B version, it is the only game in town, and if you have a Dragon or AFV Club kit lying around, you might want to pirate some of the better parts, like the road wheels. There is a very detailed review on the Perth Military Modelling Site: LINK