Dragon

1/35 SdKfz.7/1 2cm Flakvierling 38 auf Selbstfahrlafette

Kit Number: 6525

Reviewed by  Perry Downen, IPMS #44000

MSRP: $59.95 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com I would like to thank Dragon for submitting this model to IPMS for review and IPMS for allowing me to review it. History Development of the Sd.Kfz. 7 half-track began in 1934 with design work by Krauss-Maffei. The vehicle was to meet the requirement for an eight-ton tractor. It was to be used to tow the 8.8 cm FlaK gun and the 15 cm sFH 18 150 mm howitzer. The Sd.Kfz. 7 was manufactured by several companies, but was powered by a Maybach 6-cylinder, 140hp engine. Production of the Sd.Kfz. 7 ran from 1939 until March 1945, with approximately 12,187 units being built. The Sd.Kfz. 7 carried a crew of 10 and could reach speeds of 30 miles per hour on the open road. Its range was 155 miles on 54 gallons of fuel (2.8 mi/gal.). Several versions with various armament configurations were produced. This kit represents the open cab Sd.Kfz. 7/1 variant that mounted a four-barreled 2cm cannon unit on the rear platform. The Sd.Kfz. 7/1 had a maximum rate of fire of 1800 rounds per minute. It was intended for anti-aircraft use, but was also effective against ground targets. The guns could be traversed 360 degrees and could be elevated from -10 to +100 degrees. The main German units using the Sd.Kfz. 7 were the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS. The Kit The kit comes in a sturdy cellophane wrapped slip-top box measuring 15"x9.75"x3". Inside the box I found separate cellophane bags containing: 11 sprues of gray styrene, 1 sprue of clear styrene, a single-piece chassis and a fender platform, 1 sheet of excellent photo-etched parts, 3 "DS" (Dragon Styrene) tires, a small sheet of decals, masks for the windshield and a set of Dragon's Magic Tracks in two separate bags. The total count on the parts is approximately 536 of which 216 are track parts. The styrene parts are extremely well molded with no flash and very slight mold lines if any. The detail is outstanding. Sink marks or ejector pin marks are virtually nonexistent. I did notice there were a number of mold vents on many parts - some more than others. It is a small inconvience to achieve the beautiful detail of the parts. There are eight pages of instructions on one sheet of fan-folded paper. Construction is broken down into 17 steps using an exploded view line-drawing style with part number call-outs. Many of the 17 steps include several subassembly steps. Two steps, 16 & 17, are duplicated - one for building a combat configuration and one for a travel configuration. The painting and decaling instructions are for four different vehicles from the Eastern and Russian front. Only one of the four is identified. The other three are "Unidentified". A winter scheme in lieu of one of the three brown/green patterns would be nice. Paint call-outs refer to Aqueous Hobby, Mr. Color, and Model Master paints as well as generic color. The decals are from Cartograf and are of excellent quality. Construction - Chassis and wheels Construction begins with the chassis, engine, suspension, running gear and wheels, steps 1 - 8. As with most German tracked vehicles the road wheel configuration is over lapping. There are seven road wheels per side and each wheel is made up of two pieces. With a little study, forethought, and following the instructions carefully this part of the build presents no problem. The detail on all the wheels is excellent and the fit is trouble free. I should mention that a lot of the wonderful detail of the under body parts are difficult to impossible to see when the upper body parts are placed. There are several very small and delicate parts to be removed from the sprue and placed during this portion of the build. These are identified in the instruction. Be very careful. I did not find the placement of the winch and associated parts clearly presented in Step 7, particularly on the underneath side. It took some time dry fitting and trying several arrangements to discover the correct assembly. I deviated a bit from the construction sequence at step 6. I did not add the tires to the front wheels nor the wheels to the chassis as called for. With the tires being painted black, it forced me to added these after the chassis and bodywork were painted.

Construction - Body Next in the construction sequence is the build up of the body, steps 9 - 12. Here, the front fenders, radiator, and engine are added to the frame. To the body are added the firewall, windshield, cab and interior as well as the gun deck and deck bench. This bench can be added in the stowed or down position. Here again I suggest a small deviation in the construction sequence. I did not place any of the small delicate body parts that would be susceptible to being knocked off or lost during handling. Neither did I place any clear parts (windshield, lamps) on the body until the body was painted. All these parts were added after the painting was completed. I experienced one fit problem with the engine hood. The radiator is placed in step 9. It must be placed exactly in the correct position. Apparently, I had it leaning a little much forward. The distance between the cowling and radiator was greater than the length of the hood. When I installed the hood there was a gap I had to shim with a piece of thin styrene. This is not easy to dry fit due to the number of intervening steps. As with other parts, I did not glue the hood in place in order to remove it and show the engine detail.

Construction - Track This is the part of the build (step 13) I was dreading - the building of the tracks out of 216 parts. As it turns out, this was a fairly simple and fun process. For those that have never done this before and might have the same apprehension I did, I strongly suggest this technique. I'm sure there are techniques that work just as well or better, but this was easy enough. If it were not for the excellent detail and fit of these small parts, this could have been a tough proposition. The accompanying pictures show the "how to" and the end results. The track consists of links and treads. The links are laid out on a small piece of 90-degree angle aluminum to keep them flat and straight. A bit of liquid cement is place at the pin/slot point and the tread is added in place. Allow the unit to dry enough to stay together, but be flexible enough to bend around the sprocket and sag down to the road wheels. Build several segments and fit into place and allow to dry. Mounting the body to the frame was not that straight forward. There are a number of interfaces that must meet correctly in order for the body to properly fit to the frame. A major problem I encountered was the interference of the fuel tank. I broke it loose several times and finally just removed it from the frame. This omission cannot be seen on the completed model.

Construction - Guns The modeler has a choice to make before beginning this series of steps, 14 - 17. The kit can be built in the combat configuration or the travel configuration. In the combat mode the platform's side panels are in the down position, the guns elevated and facing towards the sides or rear, and the gun shields folded out. In the travel mode the side panels are in the up position, the guns facing forward with 0 elevation, and the shields folded back. As a way to illustrate both configurations, I built the kit as if it was in transition between travel and combat configuration. I did not glue the linkage between the guns and gun sight, thus allowing full elevation. Neither did I glue the turret to the mount, thus allowing it to rotate. I placed two side panels in the down position and one in the up position. The turret/guns have very nice detail and the parts fit is excellent. However, this assembly has some small and delicate parts, so be very careful.

Construction - Photo-etch parts There are not many photo-etched parts in this kit although several opportunities for additional PE present themselves. Some may find this to be a negative. However, the parts provided are crisp and easy to work. They include step plates, windshield wipers, gun sight (very, very delicate), light bracket, sprocket ring and very nice mesh panels for the sides of the platform.

Construction - Finish Painting the model to represent a vehicle in the 24.Pz.Div. near Stalingrad 1942 was not difficult. The windshield masks helped and setting the small parts in place at the last moment was beneficial. The decals were the last item added and exemplified the detail throughout this kit. The identification plates consist of a blank white decal on which individual numbers are placed. This takes a steady hand. It's interesting that with all the detail in this kit, there are no decals for the instrument panel.

Conclusion Dragon has produced another excellent product. The overall level of detail is outstanding. The moldings are crisp, clean and of top quality with little or no clean up. The parts fit is tight and trouble free. Maybe a few more pieces of PE would be appropriate and an instrument decal is certainly called for. The addition of a few gas cans, storage boxes, and tarps to go with the axes and shovels would add a little interest. This kit, with it's many small and delicate parts and link tracks will be a big challenge to the beginning modeler or someone with a short attention span. However, for the intermediate and above it will present a challenging and fun build. I highly recommend this kit to all fans of German tracked vehicles and modelers in general who enjoy working with quality products. Thanks again to Dragon for supplying the kit to IPMS for review and to IPMS for allowing me to review it.