introduction

The resin wheel company BitsKrieg (a subsidiary of QuickWheel) has been releasing front wheel sets for the Sd.Kfz. 251 & Sd.Kfz 11 (see my review here). Now they are releasing individual spare wheels in three brands: Dunlop, Fulda and Deka. German armor motor pool NCOs mixed and matched replacement parts as dictated by the vagaries of warfare; the same is the case with tires: Warsaw's Polish Army Museum has an Sd.Kfz. 251 pulled intact from the Pilica River in 1989 that had tires from different manufacturers on its front wheels.

the contents

The three tires are sold individually and come in Ziploc baggies with a stapled-on label card.

the review

Each tire is ready to mount with a minimum of clean-up. The molding is superb, with so much detail on the sidewalls, you probably will want to make sure the spare is somehow prominent and not hidden away.

There were at least four tire makers in Nazi Germany whose products ended up on military vehicles: Continental is the most-common on today's kits, but Dunlop had a factory in Fulda that was nationalized when Hitler took over, and produced the Fulda brand as well. The Deka brand was also used, though I have been unable to find out much information about the company.

conclusion

Any manufacturer who increases our options for accuracy should be heralded. In this case, not only is BitsKrieg bringing out interesting after-market products, but the level of detailing and quality are among the best of the resin manufacturers. Highly recommended.

Thanks to BitsKrieg for supplying the review samples. Be sure to mention Armorama when ordering from them.