1:35 German Sd.Kfz.251/7 Ausf. C/D Sturmbr�cke Pioneer Assaut Bridges

The real subject

The Sd.Kfz.251/7 was the engineer variant of the German halftrack armored personnel carrier. Its recognition feature was the pair of assault bridges carried in brackets along the sides of the hull. Engineers used them to cross ditches and smaller obstacles, and they could take them off the vehicle and join them together on the spot. The Ausf. C and Ausf. D versions differ in the shape of the hull, but both carried the bridge brackets.

What the set contains

The package holds the plastic parts of two assault bridges, each made of a separate lower and upper section with detail on both sides and with the handles rendered separately. Engineer equipment for the hull goes with them: two large stowage bins, mines and ammunition boxes and wooden crates. The set serves to convert an Sd.Kfz.251 kit in the Ausf. C or Ausf. D version into the engineer variant. The bridges can also be used on their own as an element of a diorama that another vehicle drives across.

Building and painting tips

Separate the parts with side cutters a little clear of the part and sand off the gate remains. They are glued with cement for polystyrene. Dry-fit the bridges in their brackets before painting, because adjustments are harder once the paint is on. It pays to set the wooden and the metal parts of the bridge apart: build the wood on a brown base, refined with a glaze and thin strokes of a dry brush, and leave the metal parts darker with the edges brought out by rubbing. The boxes and mines in the hull gain depth from a wash settled in the seams.

Who it is for

For modelers of German Second World War subjects and for diorama builders. The vehicle kit, paints and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.