introduction

First some history.

June, 1943 was the month in which the Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle was formed in the south of France. Added to it were the remnants of the 60. Panzergrenadier Division which was destroyed in the battle for Stalingrad. While being rebuilt in Danzig, the division got its title as Panzergrenadier Division. The original name Feldherrnhalle (literally translated “Field Lord’s Hall”) found its origin from the SA units that made up the original Feldherrnhalle Division, and was named after the Feldherrnhalle (beerhall) in Munich where the SA coup was crushed by the German State.

In 1944, the Division was pretty much destroyed in the battles for Minsk, and was rebuilt again from July till December 1944; in the meantime it was renamed as Panzer – Division Feldherrnhalle 1.

It started its actions again in January, 1945 in Budapest, Vienna and other locations in Austria in the last months of the war. Eventually it retreated to the American & British lines where it surrendered. Now Archer Fine Transfers has released a set of dry transfers for an Sd.Kfz. 250/1 B from Panzer–Division Feldherrnhalle which was photographed on Czech territory at the end of the war. The decals give you the opportunity to make exactly that vehicle from your Sd.Kfz. 250/1 Neue (Dragon has a nice version of the vehicle, kit# 6427).

the set

The transfers come packed in a plastic back which is closed on top with a heavy paper card with a staple through it. Inside you will find a /- 6cm wide by 3cm high decal sheet. A piece of heavy blue paper so the decal doesn’t bend during transport and an instruction sheet roughly the size of an A5 paper folded twice. The decal sheet gives you:

3 Balkenkreuze (crosses)
2 front license plates
1 license plate for the back
3 versions of the vehicle number “211”
4 Feldherrnhalle shield insignia

the review

Archer Fine Transfers doesn’t really need an introduction, as most people are well-acquainted with the excellent dry transfer sets they produce for the modeling market. And this set is no exception. They're always working on providing the modelling world with nice, useful and authentic decals and transfers. This vehicle-specific set is no exception to that rule.

The picture mentioned in the introduction can be found in the newly-released book AFV Photo Album Vol. 1 by Canfora Publishing. The photo is also on the Archer Website, and is reproduced to the right with Archer's kind permission.

The transfers themselves are really well-designed, with sharp detail and very good colors.

The instruction sheet gives you a diagram which shows where the transfers need to be placed on the vehicle, along with some basic painting instructions. Also to be found on the instruction sheet is some information on working with the decals, and how to get a good finish with them.

Conclusion

All in all, a very nice set of dry transfers that will put some real accuracy to your Late war Sd.Kfz. 250/1 Neue. I haven’t had the chance yet to put this set on a vehicle, but earlier works where I used the dry transfers from Archer went like a breeze and ended up with a good result. I have no doubt it will be the same with the Feldherrnhalle transfers. Also, the sheet comes with 4 Feldherrnhalle shield insignia but the instruction sheet shows you only need 2, which means you have two bonus shields which you can use for another Feldherrnhalle vehicle.

For more info and pictures on the Feldherrnhalle Division besides the new book from Canfora, check Panzer Sicherungs-Kompanien and Panzer-Abteilung 208 - I. / Panzer-Regiment Feldherrnhalle (Tankograd Publishing). There is a really nice series of photographs of the Fedlherrnhalle Division surrendering at the Allied lines in Hungary in Panzerwrecks 4 (reviewed by me here on Armorama).

Thanks for Archer Fine Transfers for providing a review copy to Armorama. Please be sure to mention seeing it here when ordering.