1:35 Sd.Kfz.11/Sd.Kfz. 251 late type steel tracks (Stahlkappen)

Late type Stahlkappen tracks for the Sd.Kfz. 11 and the Sd.Kfz. 251 in 1:35 scale (SBS Model)

This item is not a kit of a vehicle but an accessory set of tracks made of resin. It replaces the tracks from the box on the Sd.Kfz. 11 and Sd.Kfz. 251 half-tracked vehicles and gives the running gear a sharper pattern of links than injected plastic or soft rubber can manage. Neither the number of links nor the way they are joined is stated here, so the text does not work with them.

The real subject

The light artillery tractor Sd.Kfz. 11 and the armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz. 251 were built on a related half-tracked running gear. The original links carried rubber pads, which cushioned the ride and spared the surface of paved roads. In later production rubber was moved away from and simplified links with steel caps, in German Stahlkappen, came in. The difference is clearly apparent on a model, because it changes the pattern of the track as well as the way the light breaks on it.

Building and painting tips

First wash the parts in lukewarm water with a detergent, so that no trace of the release agent from the mold stays on them. Cut the casting blocks off with a sharp cutter or a cutting disc, not with nippers, which shatter resin. It is glued with cyanoacrylate glue, as cement for plastic does not work here. Sanding is worth doing wet and with respiratory protection. Spray a primer on before painting, otherwise the paint holds badly on smooth resin. Let the track dry in a slight sag between the rollers, so that it comes across naturally. The basis is a dark steel shade, onto which rust and dust belong; the running surfaces of the caps rub down to a metallic sheen, which you suggest with a graphite pencil or a metallic pigment.

Who the set is for

• Modelers building German half-tracked vehicles in 1:35 who want the right variant of track.
• Builders of dioramas where the running gear is visible from close up.
• More experienced modelers used to resin and cyanoacrylate glue.
• Those who want to tell the late production form apart from the earlier one.

The set is an accessory, not a model of a vehicle. The base kit, glue and paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.