Background

The Sd.Kfz.8 Half-Track was a widely used vehicle in the German Army. The vehicle was produced by Daimler-Benz, starting in 1931-32. It went through a few versions, with the DB10 being the version adopted, and produced during the entire war. There were approximately 4000 produced. The primary role was for towing heavier guns, like the 21cm Morser, 15cm Kanone, 10.5cm Flak 38, and of course the famous 8.8cm Flak. The version depicted in this kit is an amoured version.

Kit

Arriving as it did in a fairly large box, I was excited. Opening the box, I was even more excited to find it chock-full of sprues carefully packed, and individually contained in their own plastic bag.

The box contains 12 sprues of tan molded plastic, not including the top and bottom hulls, which are in their own plastic bags that were packed well in a cardboard separation at the end of the box. There are 10 sprues of "workable" track that will need to be assembled. Also included are a fret of photo etched, a small piece of copper wire, 4 rubber tires, and a small sheet of decals, including a decal for the dash. As for instructions, there is a 20-page, 19-step, booklet, and a colored sheet showing the single paint scheme for the vehicle.

review

The hull is molded in two parts, lower and upper. The moldings are crisp and flash free. There are some ejector marks, and while most look like they will be hidden, there are some that will need a little sanding. The floor anti-slip plate is molded into the bottom section of the hull.

The molding on the road wheels is exquisite. The holes are sharp, flash free, and the appropriate raised detail is well presented. The kit does come with the full motor and gear box, molded across 2 sprues, and some parts with the lower frame. Again the moldings are sharp and flash free, including the fine detail pieces.

The upper hull and interior detail are also well molded, with raised rivet detail and clean and crisp details. The wood grain looks to be well molded for the seat parts, and should make simulating the painted wood seats easier. The dash has a nice molded face, and I am not sure how the provided decal will sit, but it may not be too bad.

One thing that really amazed me was that the included MG 34 had the sights molded on in plastic. Now how is that for detail? Speaking of detail, there is one fret of PE, which looks mostly to be some brackets and tie downs.

The kit comes with 2 set of tires with two different tread patterns. I believe it would require a little research to ensure which pattern to use. As for the tracks, they are molded in a little darker plastic, and contain fine pieces that will need to be assembled. The parts look clear and useable with very little clean up.

There is a small sheet of decals, which include the dash, name plate and license plates. Printing of the decals looks sharp and in register.

Intructions

The instructions are printed in a small booklet format, with black printing on white paper. Printing is very clear and readable. The instructions are broken down into 19 steps on 20 pages. While mostly well laid out, I found some steps a little busy, especially the frame layout, which may take a little work to ensure it is square.

The instructions break down as follows:

Step 1 - Gear box
Step 2 - Engine
Step 3 - Front wheels, drive sprocket, and lower frame.
Step 4-6 - Install engine, add exhaust, steering parts, and suspension
Step 7 - Add remainder of frame parts, assemble road wheels
Step 8 - Install road wheels and track
Step 9-10 - Start adding pieces to exterior lower hull, build seats
Step 11 - Construct and add exterior stowage to lower hull
Step 12 - Mount lower hull on to frame and add firewall
Step 13-15 - Construct and mount interior detail and stowage
Step 16-17 - Add exterior detail to upper hull
Step 18-19 - Mount upper hull, add remainder of the detail

There are some paint call-outs, but as most of vehicle is a standard color, I would not expect a lot.

A single color sheet shows the paint scheme and markings location placement. All colors are provided for Mr. Hobby, and a few options for some colors from Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya, and Humbrol. The markings represent a Luftwaffe vehicle that towed an 8.8cm Anti-aircraft gun.

Summary

Overall this seems to be a great kit. As usual with most Trumpeter kits of late, great molding, well detailed, and sharp. The interior detail looks like it will build up very nice, with no extra work required. For me, I am looking forward to building this great looking kit.

Follow me as I build this kit as a Build log. And maybe I will have to find an appropriate flak gun to build and add behind it.