Revell Type 82E German Staff Car 1:35

[Mike]

Type 82E German Staff Car
1:35 Revell

The Type 82E is best known as the Volkswagen Beetle, the people's car designed by Ferdinand Porsche for the Nazi ideal of a mobile workforce. It was designed for cheapness of manufacturer, to be robust, and to be easily maintained by users, running an air-cooled engine that gave it a distinctive sound that is still recognisable today. Most people probably don't make the link between the hippy-era Beetle and the German Staff car, but there it is. Millions were made over the years, and after production finished in Europe the equipment and toolings were transported to Mexico where they continued to be made for some years.


The Kit
This is a re-release of a re-release of a re-tooling of a CMK kit from the late 90s, the original of which had a separate roof panel and a few other differences. This latest version has an integral roof panel, with a little nipple in the centre that you'll need to sand off before painting. The kit arrives in one of Revell's new-style boxes with the Level 4 logo giving a guide to the skills needed, and inside is just one sprue of medium grey styrene, plus a bodyshell part placed on the lower body for safety. A clear sprue contains all the windows and lights, while the large instruction booklet is printed in colour in their new style. Hiding in the irritating (but necessary) Health & Safety page are the decals that could easily be thrown away if you regularly chuck these things out, which Revell might do well to take heed of.

There are no modern fripperies such as rubberised tyres, but you do get a choice of either the traditional domed hub-cap type, or a 5-stud steel rim, which share a common inner hub that attach to either end of the full-width front axle, or the split rear axles. These are placed under the lower body, and the front axle is trapped in place by an insert. The bumper and over-riders attach to their mounting points, and the clear front and rear light clusters are installed, with either shrouded or unshrouded headlights at your choice. Inside there is a duck-boarded floor, and you add the rear load area, plus the instrument panel and pedal box in between the back of the front fenders. The front seats are padded, and have the pattern moulded in, with some ejector-pin marks on the rear, and C-shaped runners holding them off the floor. The rear seats are a single bench, and fit just forward of the rear arches, with a transmission tunnel containing the gear lever and hand brake (remember those?) running fore to aft.

Turning to the bodyshell, the roof nipple will need removing first, after which you can add the door cards and rear-view mirror. The head lining is just the inside of the roof, although I'm not 100% sure whether that's accurate, it will need a little clean-up at the front to make it presentable. With the interior complete and painted, the windows are then added, which are all individual panels that are fitted from the outside, so take care to test-fit and fettle where necessary before resorting to glue. The bodyshell is then glued to the lower, and fits very well, so shouldn't need any filler at all. You'll probably leave the door handles, bonnet/hood handle and windscreen wipers off until after main painting.


Markings
Surprisingly there are three markings options in the box, differing in terms of number plates and colour schemes, with a number of common stencils in white or black. From the box you can build one of the following:

• German Army 1943-5 WH-49760 – sand/green wavy camo & domed hubcaps.
• German Army 1943-5 WH-1123 458 – Panzer grey & steel rims.
• German Army 1943-5 WH-1400 382 – Sand & steel rims.
  

Decals aren't Cartograf, but are still printed in Italy, with good register, colour density and sharpness. The sheet includes an instrument dial for the driver's panel, which is a nice touch.


Conclusion
An ageing but still useful little kit that would benefit from some nicer wheels to spruce it up. Adding a little weighting by sanding the bottoms of the tyres flat will definitely help however.

Recommended.

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

[Panzer Vor!!!]

ok other one for the stash

[Antoine]

Revell doesn't want to pay a license fee to WV?

[Julien]

Revell doesn't want to pay a license fee to WV?

No one does these days. It is why you can buy a 1.35 4 wheel drive off road vehicle, but not a Willys Jeep

[Antoine]

And what does the pollution test says?

[Julien]

Its a VW so thats a pass