1:35 Sd.Kfz 222 early road wheels set with spare (weighted) MIX (for Tamiya)

The mixed footwear of one car

The word MIX in the designation means that the package does not hold five identical wheels but a combination of designs. What arises is a picture you meet surprisingly often in period photographs: a unit got a replacement tire from whatever was to hand, and the machine then ran with two or three different patterns at once. On a model this takes away that showroom neatness at once and adds to the credibility.

Settling under its own weight

The wheels are cast as weighted, that is inflated but with the bottom compressed. The difference against the parts from the kit tends to be a fraction of a millimeter, yet the eye catches it immediately: the vehicle stops looking as though it were floating and begins to stand on the base for real. On a light armored car with exposed running gear the effect is more pronounced than on tracked equipment, because here the wheel is covered by nothing.

The early series as the subject

Cars of the first production batches differed from later ones in small things, among them the tires. The set belongs to the early shape of the machine and carries the shaping to match. It is therefore worth making sure which version your kit renders.

A practical note on the build

Because the wheels are not the same, try first laying them out on the table and picking the order that will look best from the main viewpoint. Only then glue them. It is a good idea to leave the spare with a different pattern from the wheels on the axles, because that is exactly how a vehicle looked whose damaged tire had just been replaced.