introduction

Hot on the heels of Dragons totally revamped Kubelwagen Ambulance, Cyber Hobby have released this sweet DAK Kubelwagen, complete with DAK Officers.

the kit

As with the Ambulance kit, the Kubelwagen in this set is of course the Tasca/Bego one, arguably the best 1/35th scale Kubelwagen on the market. It's slightly more difficult to build than the Tamiya offering...............but far superior!

Inside the box you'll find the Dragon card, containing two photo etched frets, a transparent sprue and a Cartograf decal sheet. Also in the box are eight sprues of the usual light grey styrene. There is a small amount of flash on some of the parts, but only a small amount and easily cleaned off, and I mention this only because it's unusual these days to see even this on a Dragon sprue.

Since this is basically the Tasca/Bego kit, obviously all the original sprues are present as you would expect, although as with the Ambulance version, the moulds have been somewhat sharpened, so that the detail is much sharper on these parts than on those supplied in the original kit. In addition to the original sprues, all the parts necessary to make A DAK vehicle are supplied on three new sprues, and we're also given a set of three jerry cans with photo etched inserts for the seam. A rabbit's ear 'scope on a tripod is supplied on one of the sprues along with a spare wheel for the bonnet, or hood in a canvas cover, in fact you have the choice of a covered wheel or uncovered for the hood.

At the rear of the vehicle, we are given a new folded canvas roof and supports, which is different to the one offered in the original Tasca kit, I must presume that the canvas roof was different for this version? Also on one of the new sprues there is a canvas covered, folded-down windscreen provided. As with the original kit a full engine is provided, although as this is exactly the same as the one given in the European version, you might need to consult your references here, as I seem to remember a different filter may have been used in the DAK version? A full set, including the spare as mentioned, of sand tyres are included, with different tread patterns on the rear and front, a fact I was unaware of.

The two Officer's supplied, as you can recognise from the box art represent Rommel and another Officer, and although nicely moulded, their usefulness is limited by this fact. Of course, you also get the original two figures, and in point of fact, everything apart from the decals is still in the box, so if you don't want to make the DAK vehicle you can make a European vehicle since the normal tyres are still included too.

marking options

Cyber Hobby have included decals for three different versions, two army and one Luftwaffe vehicle. They have also included a generic set of numbers to make up your own number plates if you're modelling a vehicle from references. As is usual these days, the DAK Swastika is present on the decal sheet, but you'll need to 'construct' it from a number of parts!

conclusion

A beautiful little kit! This one is going to be used in so many dioramas you won't believe it! It is so good that every modeller should get two or three for their stash because you just know you'll use them! Highly recommended!