1:16 Sd.Kfz 251 front wheels with spare (weighted) late version

Late wheels from a time when everything was being saved

As the war drew toward its end, even something as small as a tire changed on German equipment. Tread patterns were simplified, demanding compounds were given up and production was split among more suppliers. The Sd.Kfz 251 half-track of the late series therefore ran on wheels that differed at first glance from those of machines from 1941. A model built with early wheels and a late-production hull therefore looks inconsistent, and it is the kind of inconsistency a connoisseur notices before anything else.

Contents and application

The set brings the front pair in the late form and the spare that was carried on the side of the vehicle. The tires are cast with compression where they meet the ground, so a large 1:16 model at last stands on its whole contact patch. The brand also carries three early variants in the same scale, between which the choice is made according to a period photograph. Anyone building a vehicle from the last months of the fighting will reach for this set; anyone modeling a machine from the campaign in Russia will be looking among the early numbers instead.

Recommended procedure

Wash the part first in warm soapy water, because mold release residue from the mold will reliably upset the adhesion of the paint. Lightly sand the face of the tread with very fine paper to create an impression of wear, and only then spray. The rim is separated from the tire with masking tape cut into narrow strips; anyone who dares can draw it in freehand with a thin brush. The model of the carrier itself is ordered separately, as the set is merely a replacement for parts from its sprues.