1:35 Sd.Kfz.251/1 Ausf.C

The real subject

The Sd.Kfz.251 was a German armored half-track of the Second World War. At the front it had a steered wheeled axle and at the rear it ran on tracks, so it could get into terrain a truck would not have reached. The vehicle appeared in several production forms, which differ mainly in the shape of the armor plates; the Ausf.C form has the front plate of the engine compartment made as a single sloped panel. The designation 251/1 belongs to the basic form for carrying infantry, from which a whole range of further conversions then grew.

What the set contains

This is a set of photo-etched parts, that is an accessory for a kit. A photo-etched part is far thinner than a plastic molding, and so it suits everywhere the thickness of the material is distracting: on fenders, brackets, lifting eyes, grilles and small flat details. Which parts the fret contains and which kit it is cut for are given in the instructions for the set; go through them before building and offer the parts up dry first.

Building and painting tips

• separate the parts from the fret with a sharp blade on a hard surface, not with pliers
• make the bends over a straight edge and in one go, as repeated bending will crack the material
• they are glued with cyanoacrylate or two-part glue, as cement for polystyrene will not bond them
• degrease and prime the parts before painting, otherwise the layer will rub off during handling
• fit the tiniest parts right at the end, once the surroundings have been sanded and cleaned up

Terms of supply

A set of photo-etched parts is supplied. The kit of the half-track, paints and glue are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.