MiniArt German Tractor D8506 w/Cargo Trailer (35317) 1:35

[Mike]

German Tractor D8506 w/Cargo Trailer (35317)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

The German military had a habit of pressganging anything they needed into service during WWII, and they weren’t averse to pinching civilian machinery to use for any task they were struggling with.  Tractors were especially useful for lugging around heavy equipment, as that was their original job around the farm, so it made sense to press a few of those into service as transports over rough ground and to lug aircraft and other heavy equipment around their airfields.

 

The Kit

This is another rebox of MiniArt’s D8500 range of kits, with this being the fourth and not the last.  This boxing brings together one of the tractors with a large cargo trailer, plus a quantity of oil drums and large boxes that you have probably seen elsewhere in their range before now if you’re either a reader of our reviews or owner of any MiniArt kits.  Detail is excellent as we’ve come to expect from MiniArt, with a pair of figures included to give it some human scale.  It arrives in a standard top-opening box, and inside are twenty-five sprues of various sizes in grey styrene including two tread parts for the big wheels on their own sprues, a clear sprue, a small sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) in a card envelope, decal sheet and the instruction booklet that has colour profiles of the decal options on the inside and one of the outside covers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the tractor, which has a large cast metal chassis that is made up from two halves each end around a centre-point, with lots of parts used to create its distinctive shape, plus a few PE parts on the forward end cap.  The superstructure is roughly rectangular, having various filler caps on the top, radiator panels on the sides, and a choice of two styles of PE name-plates on the front, which should be curved ever-so-slightly to match the shape of the cowling.  The driver’s foot pedals are long curved linkages to the underside of the chassis, and with these in place the driver’s tread-plated floor is installed and a big handbrake is fitted to the deck, with a stowage box under the lip at the left rear.  The driver’s seat is mounted on a sturdy spring, a couple of hand controls are inserted into depressions in the deck in front of him, then the large drive housing is mounted on the left side of the chassis, with a bell-housing on the opposite side, and two large fenders/sidewalls over where the rear wheels will be, plus a sturdy bumper-bar at the rear.  Two large exhausts are made up from various odd-shaped parts, and the front axle is built with a central leaf-spring and steering arms, then attached under the chassis in several places, with a pair of large clear-lensed headlamps on an oversized cross-member on the topside.

 

The wheels on this tractor have heavy tread, which is built up by layering five parts together to make a tyre-sandwich at the front, and a three-part layer for the larger rear wheels.  The tyres have their hubs moulded-in, while the rears have additional rear hub parts added between the wheels and rear axles.  The fifth wheel is the steering wheel, which can be fitted atop the steering column as you’d expect, or detached and used on a shaft to manually start the vehicle via the input shaft hidden behind a cover in the centre of the right-hand bell-housing.

 

The flatbed for the trailer is next, made up on a ladder chassis with two sections of bed, which has fine engraved wood texture on both sides, as do the other wooden structures in the kit.  The towing hitch to daisy-chain trailers together is attached to a cross-member at the rear, and in front of it are a pair of leaf-springs for the fixed rear axle.  The front axle is similarly built, but on a frame that has a turntable between it and the bed to enable the axle to turn for easier manoeuvring.  The solid rubber tyred wheels are supplied as two halves with moulded-in hubs, and each one slots into the end of its axle when complete.

 

A small bench seat is added to the front of the shallow front upstand of the flatbed, with two long sides and rear tail-gate with tiny styrene clasps giving the impression of holding it in place.  To model it with the sides and tail-gate down is simply a matter of gluing them in place folded down and fitting the clasps loosely against the sides accordingly.  The cargo consists of four barrels with separate ends and stiffening ribs, which also come with some hand pumps on the sprues.  The wooden crates are of various sizes, with three in total to place in the bed of the trailer.

 

As already mentioned, there are two crew, consisting of a driver and officer.  The driver is seated for obvious reasons, while the officer is carrying an MP40 loosely by his side in his right hand, and is wearing typical officer-style riding trousers and knee boots, plus a flat-topped officer’s cap.  Sculpting and parts breakdown is up to MiniArt’s usual excellent standard, and there is a map case, pistol holster and a pair of binoculars on the sprues next to the figures.

 

Markings

There are two schemes available from the small decal sheet, one in Wehrmacht service, the other in Luftwaffe.  Although they’re both panzer grey, the Wehrmacht machine is covered in dunkelgelb squiggles.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Unidentified Luftwaffe Unit, 1940-95
• Wehrmacht, Eastern Front, 1942-44

 

 

 

Decals are by MiniArt’s usual partner DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

 

Conclusion

It’s a peculiar assemblage, but that’s one of the things that makes it appealing.  Exceptional detail helps in that regard of course, and the figures add extra interest.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of