MiniArt Sd.Kfz.234/2 with ‘Luchs’ Turret (35416) 1:35

[Mike]

Sd.Kfz.234/2 with ‘Luchs’ Turret (35416)

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 sped 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 MiniArt, a new Interior Kit boxing that represents the variant of the 234 that utilised the lower-profile turret from the earlier Panzer II Luchs, which the original larger turret was intended to replace on the new VK16.02 Leopard platform that was cancelled before it reached prototype.  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 Luchs-turreted 234/2 travelling across a smoky battlefield with other German armour in the background.  Inside the box are twenty-three 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 rear cover.  The detail is excellent, extending to the full interior for this boxing, following on from the initial 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 an ammo stowage box behind 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, with two extra parts for the doors either in the open or closed position, as you see fit.  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 three vision ports for later installation, and a stowage box.  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.  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.  The spare wheel is the first to be made, making it from either three tread 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 Jerry cans are mounted on the engine deck and front fenders, plus pioneer tools and a fire extinguisher on the left sponson.  More detail parts are dotted around the hull, including width-marker lollipops, headlight, 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 two halves and a tapering hub that will be seen once the wheels are installed on the four axles.

 

The turret floor, such as it is, is first to be detailed, adding a radio installation with twin seats to the sides, plus an L-shaped assembly with adjustment gear, fitted in the rear and front of the ring respectively, and joined to the rear with a set of headphones with a PE band joining the “cans” together.  Adding some fine wire to link the phones to the radio will add a little extra realism here too.  The 20mm recuperator is fixed on a support under the breech, which has a magazine slotted into the left side, sliding the assembly into the narrow mantlet, adding end caps and sighting gear, plus a coaxial machine gun, before mounting it in a frame, which allows the outer mantlet to be fixed to the exterior on a pair of conical supports at the ends.  The rear of the turret has a large hatch in the centre, and is detailed inside along with the triangular sides, one of which has a viewport that can be built in the open or closed position by using alternate parts, putting the mantlet, sides and rear together on the turret base that allows the roof to be installed after some detail parts are added inside.  The rear hatch can be posed open or closed, adding a handle and PE for both choices, with a handle above the hatch, a cover over the vision port, and a rotating periscope on the roof.  The top hatch also has a rotating insert with periscope in the centre, which fits inside the outer rim with hinges added at the rear.  Unsurprisingly, this too can be posed open or closed, fixing it open with a short stay next to the hinges.  You have a choice of making the gun barrel from a single part, or by cutting off the conical flash hider and rolling the PE replacement to shape, you can have an in-scale tip for extra realism.  The coax MG34 muzzle is fitted into a hole to the left of the main gun, adding an aerial to the back of the roof to finish it off.  To finish the build, the turret is dropped into the ring, which doesn’t have a bayonet lock, so you’ll need to be careful when inverting the model in the future.

 

 

Markings

There are two decal options in this boxing, both with a base-coat of dark yellow, one with a hypothetical winter distemper camouflage.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Presumably Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 17, 17. Panzer-Division, Czechoslovakia, Spring 1945
• Hypothetical winter Camouflage Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 17, 17. Panzer-Division

 

 

 

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 Luchs turret adds a little rarity value to the /2, and while it doesn’t have the 50mm barrel of the standard variant, the lower profile gives it a sleeker look, if that’s at all possible.  Detail is excellent, and this interior kit will keep you at your workbench for many a happy hour.

 

Highly recommended.

 

At time of writing, this kit is on a substantial discount with Creative

 

Review sample courtesy of

[psdavidson]

20 minutes ago, Mike said:

this kit is on a substantial discount with Creative

You're despicable

[Mike]

5 minutes ago, psdavidson said:

You're despicable

Yup.  You could get 2 for the price of one!  

[psdavidson]

6 minutes ago, Mike said:

You could get 2 for the price of one!

SWMBO would kill me!

[Mike]

20 minutes ago, psdavidson said:

SWMBO would kill me!

...and quite right she should if you spent the shopping money, but if you're harming no-one, go for it.  Get two variants and build them side by side

[psdavidson]

You didn't mention free shipping. That might be enough to get me off the hook 🤞

[Mike]

47 minutes ago, psdavidson said:

You didn't mention free shipping. That might be enough to get me off the hook 🤞

You want them to build it for you too?  

[Titi90]

The F sprue is missing from your photos, along with most of the turret parts.

 

 

(from Miniart site)

Edited June 14 by Titi90
Photo link