Sd. Kfz. 7/2 - 1:72 Revell

[Paul A H]

Sd. Kfz. 7/2

1:72 Revell

In the 1920s, the Heereswaffenamt (German Army Weapons Agency) started a programme of standardising the production of military half-track vehicles into three types; light, medium and heavy, weighing in at five, eight and twelve tons respectively. The first of these vehicles to enter service with the Wehrmacht was the eight ton model, the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 7. The Sd. Kfz. 7 was designed by Krauss-Maffei of Munich, who went on to manufacture 6,129 of these highly effective vehicles. By the war's end, a further 5,880 examples were produced by other manufacturers, making a total of just over 12,000 vehicles.

Powered by a Maybach 6-cylinder petrol engine, the Sd. Kfz. 7 was originally equipped with simple leaf spring suspension, but this was replaced with a more sophisticated torsion bar system on. It was capable of speeds of up to 31mph and could carry up to twelve crew. Initially employed by the Wehrmacht for towing artillery pieces, the Sd. Kfz. 7 was so useful that it ended up being used for a myriad of different tasks. The Sd. Kfz. 7/2 was a dedicated anti-aircraft variant, fitted with a single 3.7cm Flak 36. 123 examples were adapted in this way by the end of the war.

The first iteration of Revells Sd. Kfz. 7 made its debut in 2012. Hot on the heels of that release, Revell issued the Sd. Kfz. 7/1 anti-aircraft sub-variant. Now the kit is back again, this time in Sd. Kfz. 7/2 guise. MaCo recently released a kit of the same variant, based on the same Revell plastic but with different additional parts, so let's have a look at Revell's offering and see what's what. Inside the end-opening box are five sprues of caramel coloured plastic and a small decal sheet. The kit is made up of 140 parts. This is a few more than the MaCo version, a fact which can be explained by the inclusion of the ammunition trailer in this edition. As you would expect of a recent kit from Revell, the sprues boast a high level of moulded detail and are free from flash or other flaws that can appear over time.

Construction starts with the suspension and running gear. The suspension is of the leaf spring type found on early war Sd. Kfz. 7s and is moulded in place along with the axles for the road wheels. This will help ensure that all the wheels are in contact with the ground at the same time. The detail on these parts is nice and sharp too. The wheels themselves are nicely moulded, with the inner run moulded together as a single part for each side. The front wheel assembly is made up of the wheels themselves, leaf spring suspension, solid axle and steering rack. As was the case with the original version of this kit, the tracks are neither link and length nor vinyl. Instead, they are comprised of two long runs moulded in the same polystyrene as the rest of the kit. This is the same technique Revell used for their recent Leopard and T-90 MBT kits. The idea is that you warm them up in hot water and then form them around the road wheels, gluing the ends as they meet. I've used these before with mixed success (they will snap if not handled correctly), so it's just as well that a spare run is included. The tracks are nice and thin and beautifully detailed in any case.

Turning back to the chassis, everything but an engine is provided, including the fuel tanks and exhaust system. The drivers armoured cab is nicely detailed, with a steering wheel, grab handle, handbrake and gear lever. It would be a shame not to show this detail off, and happily Revell have designed the structure so that the oof hatches can be posed in the open position. The rear fighting compartment is comprised of a flat platform with a folding wooden bench for the crew at the front and folding sides, meaning you can finish the model ready for combat or ready for the road. The 3.7cm Flak 36 mounting is provided on a separate sprue (which is different to that provided in the MaCo kit) and is made up of dozens of parts, including spare ammunition magazines. It should look superb once finished. The other main difference between this and the original kit is the provision of the ammunition trailer. Made up of eighteen parts, this looks well detailed enough and will be useful for creating a diorama. The rest of the kit is fairly straightforward, with just a few details such as the headlamps and pioneer tools (moulded separately) to add in order to finish everything off.

Four options are provided for on the tiny decal sheet:
Sd. Kfz. 7/2 of Heeres-Flak-Abteilung 300, 8th Army, 1944, finished in dark yellow;
Sd. Kfz. 7/2 of 5 Battery, I. Flak-Abteilung, 12th Flak Regiment, Italy 1944, also finished in dark yellow;
Sd. Kfz. 7/2 of 1 Battery, Heeres-Flak-Abteilung 279, 25th Panzerdivision, 1945, finished in dark yellow, red brown and green; and
Sd. Kfz. 7/2 of 1 Battery, Heeres Flak-Abteilung 279, Russia 1944, finished in temporary white finish.
The decal sheet is nicely printed and although small offers plenty of variety.

Conclusion

Revells small scale military vehicle kits are usually very good, and this is no exception. Engine aside, there is plenty of detail certainly enough to keep the most demanding small scale modeller happy. The engineering is pretty good too, which should help to make this a straightforward yet rewarding project. Highly recommended.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Are those the folding walls of the deck on the new sprue with the gun.....Looks like they may have redone them?