Search the Community

Sd.Kfz.234/2 Puma (35414) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd Armoured cars and their derivatives were a dominant part of German military thinking after WWI, as they were prevented from having tanks or other types of heavy weaponry by the Versailles Treaty, at least until they unilaterally set its terms aside once Mr Hitler was firmly ensconced as the country’s mad dictator. Although it closely resembles the earlier Sd.Kfz.231, the 234 was based upon a more modern ARK chassis, while the 231 was built on the GS chassis. The 232 Schwerer Panzerspähwagen was available in 6- or 8-wheeled formats, with the number of wheels appended to the designation, and it was the 8-Rad that the basis for the 234, following on later in 1940 and learning from issues encountered with earlier designs. The new turret was designed by Daimler Benz, while the engine was a Tatra air-cooled diesel unit, powering all eight wheels that were also all steerable. To add to the ease with which the vehicle could be driven, there was an additional driver’s station at the rear of the crew cab, complete with a steering wheel that gave it the capability of reversing out of trouble with similar speed and dexterity as driving forward – a facility that came in very useful in the event of an ambush or stumbling into an enemy position. The 234/2 was the initial variant and the most prevalent, as well as being the best known, probably because of the (comparatively) large 50mm gun in the turret. Oddly, it was replaced less than a year later with an open-turreted /1 variant that mounted a smaller 20mm cannon, and concurrently another variant with a short-barrelled 75mm K51 gun under the /3 designation. This variant was also short-lived, increasing the fire-power substantially with an installation of the powerful Pak 40, although the extra weight caused extreme stress to the 234’s chassis and running gear. All the variants after the /2 were open-topped, leaving the crew exposed to the elements, incoming plunging fire and explosive charges or grenades lobbed in by the enemy. To keep the enemy out of range however, a single MG42 was coaxially mounted with the main gun - a very capable machine gun against troops and lightly armoured targets. The armour built into the vehicle could deflect light-arms and smaller cannon rounds, with 30mm of sloped armour on the turret, and up to 100mm thickness on the mantlet, but at the rear the protection was only 10mm, as was the roof of the /2. Over 100 /2 vehicles were made before it was superseded, and despite being the most well-known, there were around 200 of the later /1 produced, with roughly 90 of each of the other two made before the war ended. The Kit This is a new boxing of a very recent tooling from those dynamos at MiniArt, the first Interior Kit boxing, and doubtless we’ll soon be seeing the other variants that we’ve spoken about above, some of which we already know are on the way. We’ve had other kits of the type in this scale previously, but not for some considerable time, and it’s fair to say that armour modellers with an interest in this genre are very pleased. The kit arrives in a standard-sized top-opening box with a painting of a 234/2 parked on a street with the engine exposed, following the theme of the kit. Inside the box are twenty-five sprues of various sizes in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on the outer pages on glossy paper, with profiles of the decal options on the inner and outer covers. The detail is excellent, extending to the full interior for this boxing, following on from the exterior-only version we reviewed recently. The full gamut of hatches can be posed open or closed to expose the details, PE parts, and the surface is fully realised with weld seams and exterior structure well defined. New Interior Sprues Construction begins with the lower hull, starting with the narrow bottom section where the drive-shafts and suspensions are located, which is made from three faces, two internal bulkheads, and two steering actuators, one at each end. The hull floor has tread-plate moulded-in and a cut-out ready for the interior, sandwiching it between the two outward sloping sides, drilling out holes in the parts before assembling them, adding a rear bulkhead behind the engine compartment. The two assemblies are mated, fitting the first parts for the suspension to the sides, and a U-shaped stiffener in the centre of the lower portion. The interior starts with the two drivers’ positions, fitting the floor section after drilling out holes for the pedals, three for the rear driver and four for the main driver at the front, adding linkages down both sides of the engine compartment, and fairings on the left side of the hull, plus a battery compartment and fairing on the right that is built from five parts, fitting a shallow frame in front. The drivers have their steering columns and wheels attached in recesses, the main driver’s being a more comprehensive installation. A two-part seat is fixed to the rails moulded into the floor, with a linkage and gas mask canister to his left, and a five-part shell stowage box fitted to the wall behind his left shoulder. The battery rack is wired into a distribution box on the right wall, using wire from your own stock, then inserting the two levers to the driver’s right, noting that the scrap diagram shows that the wires to the battery are braided and thick to cope with the level of current. The rear driver’s station has the same pair of levers fitted, mounting a seven-part two-box radio rack, another small equipment box to his right, and another six-part ammo stowage box behind his left shoulder, or the front driver’s right shoulder. The rear driver also gets a two-part seat, and an additional lever that’s probably related to taking control from the main driver. A skeletal bulkhead is inserted into a groove on the inside of the hull, fixing a seven-part bulkhead for the engine compartment behind it, which has a circular seat projecting out into the fighting compartment under the turret ring. A folded MP40 on a bracket is fitted above the right-hand side door within easy reach of the rear driver. The engine is a substantial block, weighing in at 14,825cc, and is a V12 diesel manufactured by Czech manufacturer Tatra, and it is supplied in its entirety in this boxing. The piston banks are each made from four parts, held together by the end-caps, adding extra parts around the underside, and at both ends, utilising a lot of parts that includes the ancillaries, twin cooling fans, fan belt, dynamo, and if you feel brave enough, you can wire up the engine using the extra steps that are labelled for “advanced modellers” that run side-by-side with the main steps. The completed engine is an impressive size, and covered with detail, especially if you continue with the wiring that helps to integrate it with the chassis. A pair of four-part tanks are inserted to the sides of the engine, and another shell stowage box is made from six parts, with two extra parts for the doors either in the open or closed position, as you see fit. It is fixed in place at an angle over an area of tread-plate between the other two shell boxes, and the side doors and their locking mechanisms are installed in either open or closed position if you want to show off your work. The upper hull interior has several appliqué panels, gas mask canister, the driver’s instrument panel, another radio box and other inner structural parts, plus the vision ports applied, adding hinge-points for the driver’s hatch and building two vision ports for later installation, and an optional stowage box for some decal options. The upper hull has the engine deck filled with cooling vents that can be posed open or closed by using different parts, with two solid doors at the sides that can also be posed open, locating it in the cut-out in the back of the deck, then adding the rear bulkhead with hatch that has four “milk bottles” on the inner face if posing it open, mating the upper and lower hull assemblies, fitting the vision ports and a hatch with separate hinges and handles in the square cut-out in the glacis plate, again in either open or closed position, as you might have guessed. Suspension and steering parts are assembled on the underside of the hull, making up four axles and leaf-springs on each side, replacing left with right-handed hubs on the relevant side. Either four or six triple-handled Jerry cans with PE central weld-flares and filler cap are made and wrapped in PE straps that secure them to the vehicle later, making up both sides of the sponsons and installing the rear carcasses of the flush stowage boxes, adding the external parts such as the jack, two mufflers and another stowage box, finishing the sponsons and their ends with additional parts. The doors can be fitted open or closed by using different parts, with a selection of stowage boxes made up and used for different decal options. The spare wheel is the first to be made, making it from either four centre laminations and two exterior faces to create a detailed tread pattern, or using a simpler two-part wheel structure if you prefer, fitting it to the bracket on the rear of the vehicle, in between the mufflers on either side of the sloped rear of the sponsons. More stowage boxes and the requisite number of Jerry cans are mounted on the engine deck, again for the decal options, plus pioneer tools and a fire extinguisher on the left sponson. More detail parts are dotted around the hull, including width-marker lollipops, headlight(s) depending on your chosen decal option, an antenna with PE star-shaped tip for some decal options, then crushing it all while you fit the tyres (I hope I’m joking here), which are made from four laminations and exterior faces, one of the inner parts a tapering hub that will be seen once the wheels are installed on the four axles. The turret is started with the breech of the 50mm gun, fitting the breech halves and twin recuperators on top, the protective cage around the breech, adding sighting gear and the four-part MG42 that slots into the rear of the mantlet, passing through the turret front and held in place by the circular inner mantlet. The turret shell is detailed with equipment, extractor-cage, stowage and other small parts over three steps, the turret floor taking the same number of steps to detail with shallow-backed seats, more radio gear, headset and aiming equipment, fitting the mantlet, turret outer shell and floor together. A two-part periscope is applied to either side of a roof cut-out, with an aerial on the rear edge of the roof, extending the breech with a short peg that supports the cast outer mantlet, which has the muzzle of the MG42 inserted into a small hole to the right. The two circular hatches on the roof are made up with vision blocks, handles and latches, and can be posed opened or closed, showing off the detail or to accommodate any figures you might wish to use. The main gun is moulded as a solid tapering tube with pegs at either end, and a three-part flash-hider fitted to the noisy end, the thick end inserting into the mantlet, all of which are keyed to ensure correct alignment. A pair of triple-barrel smoke grenade launchers are each glued to a PE bracket, and these are mounted on the sides of the turret after adding a styrene L-shaped base to the sides, and some optional PE parts. A circular shell-ejection hatch is fixed to the rear of the turret along with a lifting hook, with another hook on the forward edge of each side, plus a brass-catching bag added under the breech to finish the build, dropping the turret into the ring, which doesn’t have a bayonet lock, so you’ll need to be careful when inverting the model. Markings There are six decal options included on the sheet, all wearing a base coat of dunkelgelb (dark yellow) with a variety of camouflage schemes that expose more or less of the base coat. One option has a patchy coat of winter white distemper, and another has an almost complete overcoat of green. From the box you can build one of the following: Pz.Aufkl.Abt.4, Pz.Gren.Lehr-btl., Pz.Tr.Schule Krampnitz, Germany, Summer 1944 Pz.Aufkl.Abt.2, 2. Panzer-Division, Normandy, Summer 1944 Pz.Aufkl.Abt.130, 130. Panzer-Lehr-Division, France, Summer, 1944 Pz.Aufkl.Abt.20, 20. Panzer-Division, Eastern Front, Summer 1944 Pz.Aufkl.Abt.7, 7. Panzer-Division, Poland, Winter 1945 Stabskp.IPz.Aufkl.Abt.20, 20. Panzer-Division, Czechoslovakia, Spring 1945 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A comprehensive kit of this eight-wheeler armoured car that goes forward just as well as in reverse, complete with an entire interior, and a hull full of detail that extends into the engine compartment. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of