ICM Sankas WWII Wehrmacht Ambulance Trucks (DS3523) 1:35

[Mike]

Sankas WWII Wehrmacht Ambulance Trucks (DS3523)

1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd

 

 

Sankas is a shortened form of ‘Sanitaetskorps der Armee', or Army Medical Service in English.  Amongst other things, medical, they oversaw the management of ambulance provision, using whatever vehicles were available to them, from horse-drawn carts to half-tracks and anything in between.  This set includes three such vehicles, replete with red crosses on white circular backgrounds that marked them out (hopefully) for safety from opposing forces in whose sights they might fall. 

 

 

Lastkraftwagen 3.5T AHN with Shelter WWII Ambulance Truck

The original AHx design by Renault could carry a load of 2 tonnes, and when Germany conquered France they ordered more into production and the larger AHN, which was capable of carrying 4 tonnes, but was designated 3.5 tonnes by the Wehrmacht, probably to give it a safety margin for overeager crews.  The AHN was equipped with a 4L straight six petrol engine that was coupled to a four-speed gearbox.  From introduction in 1941 to the end of WWII they served in all theatres where German troops were found, and around 4,000 were built in various forms.  For two years after the war France built a further 2,400 units, many of which were sold to the civilian market, along with some of the former military vehicles.

 

 

The Kit

Stemming from a new tool in 2014, this is a reboxing with the addition of a new roof sprue that gives the option of a small ventilation hatch right above the driver’s head.  Inside the box are seven sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a bag of flexible plastic tyres, decal sheet and instruction booklet with colour profiles on the rear pages.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a full detail kit, and construction starts with the chassis, which is built from rails and cross-members, into which you install the engine when it has been assembled from a decent number of parts to give good detail.  The radiator slots into the front, and then suspension is added in the front and rear using leaf springs, which are then fixed to axles after the exhaust has been glued to the chassis rails.  Steering linkages are fitted into the left side of the engine, joining up with the front axle's steering rack, and then the wheels are added, made up from the flexible tyres slipped over the styrene hubs.  The rear wheels are paired for weight distribution, so have twin hubs joined together with a castellated mating surface.  Fuel tank, spare wheel, drive-shaft and towing hitches are then installed to finish off the lower of the vehicle.

 

The snub-nosed cab is next to be fabricated, and this begins with the stepped floor, which has crew steps added to the underside, and then has the two doors fixed to the sides after the clear windows are put in place, with the front completed in the same manner.  Inside the cab an air filter box, instruments (with decal), driver controls and comfy-looking barrel-backed seats are all glued in place after painting, and the rear panel with small rear-view window finishes off the framework.  The crew doors have glazing added and are attached to the front edge of their aperture in open or closed positions as you see fit, while the roof goes on as a single part or as the ventilated version with a lozenge-shaped hatch, and both roof parts have a couple of ejector-pin marks to square away if you think they will be seen.  At the front is a distinctive radiator grille, which has an emblem design added to the front, and then gets fitted to the hole in the nose, plus a filler cap above it.

 

The truck bed has a complex arrangement of supports underneath, which are slotted together on two central rails and surrounded by side frames, after which the floor is dropped on top and the sides are added.  The rear mudguards underneath are attached via a pair of supports that mate with small blocks under the bed and ridges on the semi-cylindrical guards themselves.  The number plate sits low on the rear, and side frames are added to the tops of the bed's uprights, with a large roof part fitted with longitudinal slats to complete top frame/tilt.  Both the bed and cab are fixed to their slots in the tops of the chassis rails, and as the final step the lights, windscreen wipers, the convoy light and wing mirror are all attached to the sloping front and sides of the cab.  Now for some paint.

 

 

Markings

These is just one scheme for this boxing, which is a brown/green random camouflage, sprayed over a base coat of dark yellow (Dunkelgelb).  From the box you can build the following:

 

 

 

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

 

 

V3000S/SS M Maultier Ambulance Truck (35414)

This kit originated in 2010 with new parts to make the ambulance body released four years later, totalling five sprues of grey styrene, two of clear parts, a small decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in black and white, as it is an older boxing before the transition to colour booklets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the chassis and running gear, until the cab is started, which has a moulded steel structure.  The roof is moulded into the windscreen and scuttle, fitting the screen and instrument panel with dial decals, joining it to the rear cab after installing the back cushion, rear window and another curved part.  The bonnet has sides and a central decorative trim piece fitted, and a cross-brace underneath near the front helps to strengthen the structure.  The lower panels are mounted on the firewall, with the radiator at the front, laying the bonnet over the top, and making the cab floor with pedals, levers and the steering wheel on its column before the bonnet and cab are mated with it, making up crew doors with windows and door cards, which you can pose open or closed.  The front wings have running boards moulded-in, and you must remove 11mm of its length for this variant, adding headlights with clear lenses, convoy light, pioneer tools, wing mirrors, indicators and windscreen wipers to the exterior, and fitting a Jerry can in a frame on the right wing, plus a filler cap on the curved panel applied earlier.

 

The rear box has a flat floor with five cross-braces underneath, to which three sides are installed, fitting windows and doors with handles to the sides, then making the roof with shallow gable ends before gluing it in place.  The rear doors are decorated with handles, number plate, hooks, to be installed either open or closed in any combination, then the raised centre section of the roof is made, with a curved top, long straight sides and ends that follow the curve of the main roof.  At the rear, a two-part chimney/vent is fixed in a recess on the main roof, bringing the three main assemblies together, then installing the track assembly under the load area, and linking it to the engine with a drive-shaft.  The back steps can be flipped up and held on hooks for travel, or folded down for access, making it from two carriers and four steps, plus two rings to correspond with the hooks on the doors.  A stowage platform is built for the cab roof, consisting of a slatted floor, two brackets that conform to the slope of the roof, adding a shallow basket with ‘handle’ and a spare tyre that is made from the main carcass and hub, inserting one sidewall, and a handle that winds down to lock the tyre in position.

 

 

Markings

There are two decal options, with a dark yellow (Dunkelgelb) chassis, and white load box, with the white repeated on the bonnet, adding red crosses to further deter the enemy from shooting at them, or smaller red crosses and no white on the post-war option.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Poland, Autumn 1944
• Germany, Winter 1945

 

 

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

 

 

Typ 2.5-32 WWII German Ambulance Truck (35402)

The Opel Blitz was an extremely common light truck in use with the German Wehrmacht during WWII, and was available in 3 tonne long-wheelbase and 2.5 tonne short-wheelbase, with a variety of body-styles that included the ambulance that we have here.

 

 

The Kit

The initial tooling of this kit was released in 2013 in flatbed form, followed by the ambulance body in the same year.  The kit consists of three sprues of grey styrene, two of clear parts, and a bag containing six flexible black tyres.  The kit is rounded out by a sheet of decals that is hidden in between the pages of the black & white booklet, which has the profiles in monotone on the rearmost page.  Detail is good, extending to a full chassis model, with planking engraved into the wooden parts, and a well-detailed engine under the bonnet, which has finely-spaced louvres moulded into the sides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the engine, making the block from two halves, adding intake and exhaust pathways, plus the usual accessories and four-bladed fan on a belt at the front.  The chassis rails are spaced apart by three circular profile cross-beams, a flat beam at the rear, and a K-beam behind the engine location with a sump-guard at the front, adding a steering actuator to the inside of the left beam.  Leaf-springs are installed under the rails on the outer edge, mounting brackets and supports to recesses moulded into the outer faces of the two rails, then fitting the engine above the sump-guard, and framing it with the radiator and connecting hoses.  The exhaust is set under the chassis with moulded-in muffler and a separate L-shaped tail-pipe that exits in front of the rear wheels, which are next to be made.  The front wheels are built from two-part hubs that have a flexible tyre slipped onto the rim, while the rear wheels are paired, fitting opposing hubs that mate in the middle and have tyres flexed onto them.  The front axle is a simple beam with steering arm and actuators with a wheel at each end, the rear axle has the differential bulge with input shaft as a separate part, fixing a pair of wheels to each end, then installing them under the chassis on the leaf-springs, adding another linkage to the front, and a long drive-shaft leading from the engine back to the rear.  A towing hitch with vertical bar is made from three parts and is fitted to the rear cross-beam, moving on to the bodywork.

 

The cab is separate from the load area, assembling it on the floor, which has the kick-board and bench seat cushion installed on a raised platform, then adding three pedals and a steering column on the left side, the wheel a separate rim that fits over the three arms moulded into the column.  A handbrake is fitted in the centre, attaching the rear wall with window behind after adding the back cushion for the driving crew, mounting the front arch and running boards around the front wheels, then lowering the cab floor into position and adding a cranked gear shifter directly to the transmission box under the floor through a small opening.  The firewall and integrated windscreen frame have the dash installed from within, using a decal to depict the dials, then fitting the clear windscreen in the frame, and a battery into a pre-formed open-sided box on the engine side of the firewall.  This too is installed on the chassis in front of the cab, and a grille with logo is mounted at the front of the chassis on double pegs, fixing the roof and two doors with windows, winders and handles to each side, with the option of leaving them open or closed at any sensible angle.

 

The load bed is initially assembled exactly as the standard cargo truck, with planked floor, sides, tailgate and headboard, the latter with a pair of extra verticals added to the outside.  The subframe forms a hash (#) shaped frame under the floor, fitting three stowage boxes with separate doors asymmetrically along the edges between the rails, and installing the rear arches on tabs, supported by two spurs from the cross-rails on either side.  The load bed is then mounted on the chassis, and the bonnet is assembled from louvred side panels and the top, adding a logo to the front, and a pair of windscreen wipers to the scuttle, then fitting lights, convoy light, a single wing-mirror, and width-indicator lollipops to the front of the vehicle, plus pioneer tools on the sides, and vertically stacked light clusters under the tailgate, one mounting the number plate holder and Notek convoy light.  The load box is a separate assembly that is made from four sides plus roof, with three windows inserted from within on the front and sides, lowering it over the model to complete the build.  If you’re wondering how the wounded got in and out, the tail-gate would flip down, and the rear was split into two halves that open from the centre.  A set of steps would have been nice for the casualty’s convenience, but there wasn’t one.

 

 

Markings

There is one set of profiles on the rear page of the instructions in black and white (we colourised the drawings), with the option of painting the model dark yellow (dunkelgelb) for a later war option, or panzer grey earlier in the war.  From the box you can build one of the following colour schemes:

 

• Russia, 1942-43 Panzer Grey
• Russia, 1942-43, Dunkelgelb

 

 

 

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

 

 

Conclusion

A surprisingly compact package with three ambulance trucks to evacuate your 1:35 casualties from the battlefield.  They’re all full-chassis models, so have plenty of detail moulded-in, and have tons of opportunity to pose doors and engine bays open if you choose.  They will also take up a lot less space in your stash than the individual boxings, which is also nice.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd.

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Kelscale]

If I bought a scale model of a Spitfire, I’d at least want it to look like a spitfire!  Too much to ask? 

 

And here lies the problem with one of the trucks in this boxing. Whilst the Ford and the Opel are fairly decent representations of the real thing the AHN is a complete mess. If you were to compare the finished model to a real AHN truck the cab side profiles are completely innacurate as the fender profiles are mysteriously engineered to house ridiculously undersized wheels, similar to those found on Renault’s baby brother, the AHS.

 

Whilst the kit fits together well and is a pleasurable enough kit to build, it is widely inaccurate in appearance!  Which is a shame as this vehicle was a welcome addition to those wishing to build a vehicle that was utilised by German forces in all theatres in WWII.

 

Why ICM choose to ignore the chorus of complaints when the first boxing of this vehicle was released in 2014 and not address the inaccuracy issues over time I cannot say. They did re-release it in 2022 and fans were expecting at least one new re-tooled sprue containing new cab mouldings, and some new wheels and tyres, but all that that was offered was the addition of a new cab roof moulding with a vent in it! Disappointing is an understatement.

Edited August 29 by Kelscale