"Overall this project was an enjoyable one..."

<View full review here>
- Bill Plunk from Armorama

"...first kit in styrene of this popular version of the 251 series..."

<View full review here>
- Cookie Sewell

DML 6395: Sd.Kfz. 251/17 Ausf. C
1/35 injection plastic kit with decals, PE, turned metal and driver

Developed for the Luftwaffe, the Sd.Kfz. 251/17 Ausf. C had a 20mm flak mounted on an extensively modified half-track. The fighting compartment's armored body had the sides replaced by hinged extensions/drop sides which allowed the flak 38 to traverse and be loaded by the crew while the drop sides were up. The Luftwaffe's Herman Goring Division was issued with these half-tracks and used them in the Mediterranean and on the Eastern Front.

OVERVIEW

This new kit is based on Dragon's recent Sdkfz 251 Ausf C half-track series and features newly tooling for the flak conversion including a new upper armored body, the side extensions, fighting compartment platform and the Flak's turntable.

This model has over 700 parts and many components are broken down into multiple parts. For example the suspension arms, which are positionable, are separate; the lower hull is built up from 3 main panels and there is detail hidden underneath the fighting compartment floor (these parts could be omitted to save time. The multi-fold instruction sheet has 18 steps.

CONTENTS

Several new and revised sprues contain the parts specific to Sdkfz 251/17 Ausf C while other parts such as the sprocket and road-wheels have been enhanced from the initial Sdkfz 251 releases.

The most obvious changes are in the armored body where the upper hull is made from individual parts including a new separate bonnet armor, rear upper plate and side extensions/drop sides that can be modeled up (e.g. for
transit) or down for combat. These side plates have detail on both the
inside (e.g. bolt heads & hinges) and outer faces (e.g. weld beams). Rifles racks, with Kar 98 carbines, are fitted onto the front side armor as seen in photos and the forward fighting compartment has the expected detail such as visors and vision blocks. A slide-molded spare barrel case is fitted to the roof above the driver's seat.

Inside the fighting compartment there are significant changes to accurately depict the Sdkfz 251/17 Ausf C. A new floor with anti-skid and a raised table, with crisp small detail onto which the Flak 38 was mounted are provided. There is a choice of driver's and commander's seats with one option having photo etch springs on the seat back and the other being simpler to build. On both sides of the rear there are simple metal-framed seats for one man, while ammunition is stored on the sidewalls. The boxes have good detail for the handles and latches. Two of these ammunition boxes are slide-molded and can be modeled open with the slide-molded ammunition clips visible.

The tracks are the early style with lightening holes. They are two part separate link tracks with one part for the rubber pad and the other for the shoe. The shoes do not have any injection marks and from experience can be removed quickly from the sprue with a fresh blade, but make sure to correctly align the three pins on the pad and be sparing with the glue.

Some of the features and upgrades including in the Sdkfz 251/17 are:

* Upgraded front tyres and upgraded rear road wheels with "VORWERK" sidewall markings
* Improved drive sprocket
* Photo etch detail such as part of the base for the rear MG and detail on the hinged sides
* Brass width indicator rods
* Clear vision blocks which can be modelled either open or closed
* Details-up in both sides of lower hull, along with appliqu? photo etch detail for the lower hull.
* Driver figure wearing a M1943 field cap and M1942 field jacket with matching trousers and calf length boots. This figure is molded in Dragon styrene, which provides some give when positioning.

FLAK 38

The Flak 38 was fitted to the new raised turntable in the Sd.kfz 251 without modifications beyond removing its turntable. Not surprisingly the Flak 38 in this kit shares its sprues with other recent Dragon releases. This gun has crisp detail and features a mix of slide-molding, multiple parts for items such as the main gun sight, and some photo etch, such as optional PE tightening hand-wheels on the Flak's base.

For the cannon's feeder & breech there is the choice of three options, namely the standard Flak 38 version, the late model version and that fitted to the Schwebelafette (Sdkfz 251/17 Ausf D). Due to the kit's barrel design any one of these options can be fitted without any need to rework parts.

The barrel tube is a single piece slide-molding with a hollow muzzle opening, while the flash suppressors on the side are represented by indentations. I expect that some modelers will replace this with an aftermarket metal one, however the kit barrel is crisper than several one-piece metal flak barrels that I've seen.

The injection plastic gun shield parts have tapering edges, no injection pin marks, detail for the brackets with nut heads and appear to be straightforward to assemble. Optional photo etch parts are included for the gunner's small shield, but not the larger main shield. The spent shell case has PE mesh for the netting and for the lower netting there is pre-formed metal for quick assembly.

Alternative arms and plates allow the gun to be positioned at one of four angles of elevation, namely flat at zero degrees, raised 20 degrees, 40 degrees and 60 degrees, which effectively allow a modeler to choose a position in each band of elevation.

Sufficient spare parts are included to make the Sd.Ah. 51 trailer, which was used when towing the Flak. With a bit of scratch building this trailer could be made into an ammunition trailer for use behind a range of vehicles.

MARKINGS

Two Cartograph waterslide decal sheets are included along with painting and marking guides for three vehicles from the Flak regiments of the Herman Goring Division. One half-track is solid dark grey with white Balkan Crosses (box art), another is sold dark yellow as deployed in East Prussia in 1944 and the last is from the Division's time in Tunisia North Africa and is yellow with green camouflage stripes. Three view profiles are included for each halftrack on the instruction sheet and a side colour profile

One sheet is specific to this kit and includes varying Balkan Crosses, vehicle numbers and unit emblems. The other medium sized sheet has numerous vehicle generic registration numbers and Luftwaffe "WL", Wehrmacht "WH" and Waffen SS prefixes as well as two sets of blank white plates (one with and one without black outlines).

RECOMMENDATION

The Sdkfz 251/17 Ausf C is a crisp kit, which with its unique open fighting has considerable appeal. The thoughtful design of the kit, including the drop sides and metal parts, will ensure that it is rewarding to construct. Definitely recommended.

- Neville Lord