Introduction

The Zundapp Company was started in 1917 to make munitions for the German military. In 1919 with the need for munitions gone due to WWI having finished the previous year Zundapp needed to branch out, and in 1921 produced its first motorcycle the Z22 in versions from 200 to 800cc which became very popular.

In 1937 the German Reich contacted Zundapp and BMW wanting them to build a bike to meet a set of criteria, this resulted in the BMW R75 and two 700cc prototypes from Zundapp. The Reich felt that the Zundapp machine was superior and asked BMW to build the Zundapp machine under license which was refused. BMW eventually started building its R75 model while using a number of parts from the Zundapp machine.

In 1940 Zundapp came out with KS 750 building over 18,000 during WW II. It is this vehicle that Great Wall Hobby have released in a 1/35th scale model, and it is packaged with a trailer.

Contents

This kit is available in two packages; the first is the base kit and the second is the base kit with a separate box containing a resin update set.

The base kit contains;

• 7 light grey sprues which are all packaged individually with the exception of 4 small sprues, which contain segmented tires in order to get the tread pattern correct.
  
• 1 clear sprue
  
• 8 shaped PE frets each containing 1 set of spokes
  
• 1 small PE fret
  
• 2 small springs
  
• A small decal sheet
  
• A set of fold out instructions

The base kit is also available with a resin update set packaged in its own box and which consists of;

• 45 resin parts in two zip lock bags
  
• 2 A4 pages of instructions

Review

Sprues A and B
Contain the parts for the motorcycle and sidecar with all parts being completely free of flash, and no discernable push out marks that would be viewable on the finished model. The level of detail is to a very high standard and crisply moulded. The parts have not been broken down as far as possible, but I consider this a plus as it does make the kit very buildable as opposed to a headache, and this results in a model that should be within the ability of anyone to make with a minimal amount of experience.

These two sprues also contain 2 part wheels for those who do not feel up to the multi part option with PE spokes, this is not however pointed out in the instructions and even if you don’t use them on the motorcycle itself they can still be used to provide some stowage for the trailer. Another part well worth mentioning here is a beautifully moulded multi-part MG34 for the sidecar which I believe is one of the best injection moulded MG34’s I have seen.

Sprue C
This contains the parts for the trailer and is again of a very high standard. No push out marks or flash to worry about, the connector points have been kept to a minimum and are small in size. There are a number of flow tabs (I don’t know what else to call them) due to a number of the parts being frames as opposed to bulky mouldings, but again the connector points are small.

The trailer is provided with a choice of 2 wheel types, one of which broke free during transit but fortunately did not cause any damage. There are also 2 trailer body types and, if I am correct, enough parts to enable both trailer types to be built. All the pieces are again nicely detailed and it is good to see a manufacturer pay attention to what many consider an item to bulk out a product, the only addition that would have been nice to see with the trailers is some cargo.

Sprue D
The clear parts for this model only number 4 but the parts that require detail have them and it is nice to see a headlamp on German WW II vehicles that actually has a lens.

Sprue E x4
Contains the five parts to make the tyre to which PE spokes are added, detail appears good and is again free from any of the negatives that can be present when buying injection moulded kits.

PE fret
The small fret contains 27 pieces and is made by LionRoar. The sheet metal used is a little on the heavy side in terms of thickness, but I do not see any real issues with its use.

PE spokes
There are 8 PE frets each containing 1 profiled set of spokes which should more than meet expectations.

Springs
The 2 springs supplied in this kit are the suspension parts for the motorcycles seat, and while I would usually see this as a gimmick on this vehicle it is a plus as they can be clearly seen in the completed model.

Decals
The small decal sheet provided appears to cover all of the bases and gives you the option for 1 of 2 vehicles in one of the following three units;
15th panzer division
Panzer Grenadier division Grossdeutschland
24th panzer division
The decals for the 24th panzer division I believe should be in yellow and not white, and is only suitable for vehicles up to 1942 time wise when the symbol was simplified.

Resin upgrade
The resin upgrade for this model as said earlier consists of 45 parts in a cream resin, and replaces the seats amongst other parts on the motorbike and sidecar and adds some missing details on one of the trailers. The parts are well moulded with the minimum of clean up being required.

Conclusion

The base kit for this model is of an exceptionally high standard with a very good selection of multi-media parts. I question if the added cost of the resin addition is worthwhile as I fail to see the benefit of complicating the build, you may feel otherwise. Returning to the base kit I have no concerns about highly recommending this product to you. The base kit is not cheap at £28.99 but having seen this model close up it can be justified, I do have difficulty justifying £39.49 for the base kit and the resin upgrade.

Zundapp Live links

Motorcycle Classics Live links

Zundapp KS750 Live links