MiniArt Sd.Kfz.234/2 ‘Puma’ (35419) 1:35

[Mike]

Sd.Kfz.234/2 ‘Puma’ (35419)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

Armoured cars and their derivatives were a dominant part of German military thinking after WWII, 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, 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) big 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 lobbed in by the enemy.  To keep them out of range however, a single MG42 was coaxial 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 tooling from those dynamos at MiniArt, the first in a line of boxing that will include Interior Kits, and doubtless the other variants that we’ve spoken about above.  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 on the battlefield, passing a flaming tank that has been knocked out, and with a few soldiers in the hazy background.  Inside the box are twenty 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, as usual, restricted mostly to the exterior for this boxing, but the next review of this type will be the Interior version of the same kit.  The hatches can be posed open or closed, although with limited appeal for this boxing, PE details, and the surface detail is fully realised with weld seams and exterior structure well defined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 that’s ready for the interior kits, which is sandwiched between the two outward sloping sides, 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.  Despite the exterior-only nature of the kit, various internal parts are installed in the lower hull, with side doors and their locking mechanisms, and an inner stiffener in the centre of the crew space.  The upper hull has inner structure of the vision ports applied, plus 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, locating it in the cut-out in the back of the deck, then adding the rear bulkhead with hatch, 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.

 

Suspension and steering parts are assembled on the underside of the hull, making up four axles 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 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, and adding the leaf-spring suspension units, plus making a start on the external parts such as the jack, two mufflers and another stowage box, then going on to fit steering linkages and other detail parts before the sponson sides are glued in place, finishing the 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, with a muffler on either side of the sloped rear of the sponsons.  More stowage boxes and the requisite number of Jerry cans are made and 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, pioneer tools, an antenna with PE star-shaped tip, 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 eight axles.

 

This exterior kit includes most of the breech of the 50mm gun, starting with the breech halves and twin recuperators on top, which slot into the rear of the mount, passing through the turret front and held in place by the circular inner mantlet.  The breech and stock of the MG42 are slotted through a slot to the right of the main gun, and this is installed in the front of the turret, with the turret floor added underneath.  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 mantlet, which has the muzzle of the MG42 inserted into the 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, which could be pertinent if you are planning on placing figures in the hatchways.  The main gun is moulded as a single tube with pegs at either end, and a three-part flash-hider fitted to the noisy end, and the thick end inserted into the mantlet, all of which are keyed to ensure correct alignment.  A pair of triple-barrel smoke grenade launchers are 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.  A circular shell-ejection hatch is fixed to the rear of the turret along with a lifting hook, with one on the forward edge of each side 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 of which have a base-coat of dunkelgelb or dark yellow, with a variation of green and red-brown camouflage on all but one of them, as they were later war after German armour had transitioned away from Panzer Grey.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Unidentified unit, Eastern Front, Summer 1944
• Pz.Aufkl.abt.2, 2.Panzer-Division, France, Normandy, Summer 1944
• SSPz.Aufkl.Abt., 1. SS-Panzer-Division ‘LSSAH’, France, Falaise, Summer 1944
• Pz.Aufkl.Abt.20, 20. Panzer-Division, Eastern Front, Summer 1944
• Pz.Aufkl.Abt.2, 2. Panzer-Division, Battle of the Bulge, Belgium, December 1944
• Pz.Aufkl.Abt.7, 7. Panzer-Division, Poland, 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

The 8-rad armoured car is an appealing subject to a lot of modellers, and the Sd.Kfz.234/2 is one of the fun ones with a large gun.  The detail is excellent, and I can’t wait for the /4 with the even larger gun.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of