AFV Club Bussing NAG 4500A w/ Bilstein 3T crane. 1:35

[Shar2]

Bussing NAG 4500A w/ Bilstein 3T crane
AFV Club 1:35

The foundation of the company Bussing goes back to the year 1903. Bussing is considered the oldest German lorry manufacturer. In 1931 Bussing took over AEG daughter company NAG and became Bussing-NAG. This company manufactured many lorry types from 1.5 ton to 11.5 tons payload. The Bussing-NAG type 500 was manufactured from 1939 to 1941. Beginning in 1940, it was designated Bussing-NAG type 500 S. It was propelled by a 6 cylinder, 105 HP diesel engine and had a payload of 4.75 tons. The Bussing-NAG type 500A was developed in the beginning of 1939. It was made in small numbers from late 1940 to 1942. Unlike to the Bussing-NAG type 500S it had all wheel drive. The Bussing-NAG type 4500 S was the successor model of the Bussing-NAG type 500S. Outwardly, it looked different, but it was based on the same technology. It was manufactured from 1942 to 1945. A whole range of alterations were introduced into the series production units of the Bussing-NAG 4500, especially to type 4500A. Nearly 15,000 units of the type 4500 A/S were manufactured until the end of Second World War.

The Model
The kit is a variant of the previously released NAG 4500S and instead of the flat bed, it is fitted with a Bilstein 3T crane. The box style is typical AFV Club with a photo style picture of the built up kit with a black and white background. Inside the top opening box it is literally stuffed full of sprues. There are fifteen sprues of yellow styrene, one of clear styrene, a small etched sheet, a small decal sheet, seven vinyl tyres, a length of string and four ultra small metal parts, (so small in fact that I couldn’t get a photo of them). Naturally, being from AFV Club, this is highly detailed kit, with lots of parts, so not suitable for novice modellers, in fact it may be a challenge for even an intermediate modeller. Whilst all the parts are cleanly moulded, with some finely rendered details there is a small amount of flash,, but only on a couple of parts. There doesn’t appear to be any signs of other imperfections, but there are a lot of moulding pips. The tyres, although not to everyones taste are very well moulded with very fine tread detail, (certainly for road use, not cross country), and sidewall details, including the manufacturers name. As with most truck kits, most of the detail is on the chassis and suspension parts, and this is no different, so care and attention to the instructions and parts placement will be needed to get all the wheels to sit on the ground correctly as it looks like it will be relatively easy to get the chassis slightly skewed.

As with most truck kits the chassis is the first section to be assembled. Consisting of two longitudinal rails which are joined together via six cross members, the rear most one being fitted with a four piece towing hitch with its associated spring mounted behind the cross member. Two five piece accumulator tanks are then fitted, one on each chassis rail whilst the four part exhaust/silencer is threaded through the mid section cross members and out to the left hand side. The front bumper is then fitted with two reflectors and number plate before being attached to the front of the chassis rails. On each rail, two footstep support brackets are attached, followed by the front mudguards, which have the footsteps moulded integrally. The two piece fuel tank is then fitted to the right hand rail via two triangular brackets. To the rear of the chassis, the two reflector arms are attached, and then fitted with the reflectors and the rear number plate to the left hand arm. Up forward the radiator is fitted along with the single hooded headlight and two open headlights, which come with clear lens parts. The two differentials are then assembled, the rear from five parts and the front from no less than twenty six parts, which include the very detailed, and thusly, complex, steering mechanism. The differentials are fitted to the leave spring assemblies, which, in turn are attached to the chassis. Each of the four wheels are built up with an inner hub which has a poly cap fitted into it, followed by the outer hub, then the vinyl tyres are slipped over the rims, and the centre hub glued into place. The wheels are then attached to the axles.

Assembly moves onto the engine, which is made up from two halves of the block, to which the cylinder heads are attached, followed by the alternator, auxiliary drive cover and exhaust manifold. The gearbox is then assembled from eight parts, and then fitted with the two piece bell housing before being glued to the engine assembly, which is then fitted with the sump block. The engine is further detailed with the fitting of the intake manifold, three piece air filter unit, coolant pipes, fan belt and fan. The engine/gearbox assembly is then fitted to the chassis, along with the transfer box and the three driveshafts, each having separate universal joints. The gear leaver is then attached to the top of the gearbox.

The assembly of the cab begins with the fitting of the foot pedals and hand brake lever, as well as a couple of fixing brackets to the floor. The bench seat base is then fitted, being topped off with a single piece seat cushion. The rear bulkhead is fitted with the single piece seat back, rear window and two hand holds. The interior of the front cab section is detailed with the fitting of the instrument binnacle, switchbox, two windscreens and a couple of fuse boxes. The three cab assemblies are then joined together and the roof fitted. On top of the roof there is a small light fitting complete with clear lens, along with two grab handles, two more of which are fitted to the sides of the rear bulkhead. The cab assembly is attached to the chassis, with the previously fitted gear stick, threaded through the hole in the cab floor. The steering column is, likewise slid into a hole in the floor and attached to the steering rack, before being fitted with the steering wheel. The bonnet centre bar is then fixed between the cab and the radiator. Each door consists of a single piece door, clear window part plus internal and external door handles. These can be fitted to the cab either open or closed positions. The four piece bonnet, with additional PE mesh fitted to the inside of the grille, and pioneer tools to each side panel, is then fitted over the engine. Unfortunately the bonnet sections cannot be posed open without resorting to some surgery.

Just aft of the cab there is a large tool box, which is made up from eleven parts, inside there is a space for the spare wheel to be fitted, an eight piece manual winch, and a large catch that holds the spare wheel panel in place. On the rear panel two tool holders are fitted to opposing sides, whilst under the outer edges of the tool box the four piece Jerry can holder and six piece stowage bin are attached, before the whole assembly is fitted to the chassis. Behind the tool box the truck bed, assembled from two longitudinal rails and four cross members, is fitted to the chassis rails via eight U clamps. The actual bed itself is fitted with the six part crane turntable, two storage boxes, two rear light clusters, the two rear wheel arches, each fitted to the bed with two supports, and three cross beams. The bed is then glued into position, followed by the tool box lid and more pioneer tools, with their associated brackets. Two axle stand assemblies are then fitted to the rear of the tool box, whilst the paraphernalia required for the crane is fitted to eh bed, these include various lengths of pole, eyes, hooks and lifting beams. Five Jerry cans are then assembled and slid into their respective slot in the rack, and “locked” off with a large strap.

We finally come to the crane itself. The jib is made up form five parts, with seven piece jib extender being fitted to the lifting end. The left hand side of the crane housing is made from three parts, into which the cable drums, with the string provided, wrapped around them, and ends left free, spacers and guides are fitted. The single piece right hand panel is then glued into place with the ends of the various shafts and axles slotted through the panel. The housing is partially closed off with three panels at the front and the upper guide wheel frame fitted to the rear of the roof and a long handle to the left hand side panel. The jib assembly is the attached to the cable housing, followed by the string being passed through the various guide wheels and onto the three piece hook assembly. The completed crane is then mounted onto the turntable fitted to the truck bed. The kit comes with the option of having the four stabilising legs deployed or folded, depending on how the modeller wishes to depict their model. Each rear leg consists of eight parts, whilst the front legs consist of seven. The last part to be fitted is the tool box side panel, covering the spare wheel. On the outside of this panel, two folding legs are attached, allowing the panel to be posed either open or closed. This then completes the build.

Decals
The small decal sheet actually has quite a few decals on it. There are mostly stencils for the crane, which seems to be covered in them. The rest are the individual truck markings for the three schemes included on the colour charts.

• NAG 4500A from StuG Abt.209 on the Eastern Front 1942/43 in Panzer Grey overall
• NAG 4500A from Panzergrenadier Division “Grobdeutschland” on the Eastern Front in Autumn 1943 in a rather purple looking German Grey.
• NAG 4500A of the 1st Company SPzAbt. 501, based in Tunisia in the Winter of 1942/43 in overall green brown with olive green splotches on the front half of the vehicle.

Conclusion
There’s not a lot more I can say, other than being an AFV Club kit it is quite complex and detail wise, complete. There is so much you can do with this truck though, with endless possibilities for diorama settings or vignettes. Modify some troops from the spares box for the crew and away you go. It is a very nice kit, but as I said at the top of this review, not one for the beginner. It’s definitely one to test your patience and dexterity, especially as there are some really, really small parts. Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of
UK Distributors for

[whitestar12chris]

Very nice review Dave, i do like AFV models attention detail, this one is tempting as you say to add to a diorama, a few possibilities spring to mind, obviously involving 1/35 submarines LOL.

All the best chris