Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited 1/35 scale '39-'45 Series Kit No. 6671; German Half-Track Riders; 202 parts in grey styrene; pre-order price US$14.95 from Dragon USA Online

Advantages: completely fills up an unarmored halftrack (3, 5 or 8 ton types) or cargo truck; varied poses a plus

Disadvantages: usual "stick here" photo directions and "follow the box art" painting instructions

Rating: Highly Recommended

Recommendation: for anyone wanting to "populate" softskin vehicles

Quite frequently these days model companies provide kits of softskin or partially armored vehicles with open bodies and bench seats for the crews needed for this or that mission, but no figures. This creates a very barren and unimpressive display when finished, but obtaining suitable figures in 1/35 scale has been difficult. Several companies have tried to do this in the past – Tamiya and Peerless Max/Italeri being the best known – but have failed. The set which came with the original release of the Tamiya Sd.Kfz 7 8-ton Halftrack in 1974 redefined the term “zombie” with eight identical clones staring straight ahead.

DML has now come to the fore with the release of a complete crew set able to fill up their 8-ton halftrack series, a half set of six figures being provided with the early production 8-tonner (Kit No. 6545). The complete set now provides 12 figures (not 10 as advertised elsewhere) and two extra sets of arms to provide variety.

Each sprue provides six different poses and faces, all with sidecaps and basic kit included. Each figure is a DML "Gen1" type of eight parts - torso, head, coat skirt front, arms and legs. The torsos all come with the rear part of the skirt of the coat molded in place. Each one has some slight differentiations - head and arm positions, leg positions, etc. – so with the addition of the extra arms and some creativity you can get at least eight and probably all 12 to look different. All figures are set for normal height (about 18" or 20 cm) seats.

The kit also provides a sprue of generic German equipment for further individualization - helmets, bread bags, canteens, gas mask canisters, etc. There is also a sprue of generic weapons - four Kar 98K rifles, three MP40 submachine guns, and one each MP44, Gewehr 43, MG34, and MG42. But from photos of artillery crews on halftracks, this comes up short as each man should have a rifle and helmet even if not worn. Hopefully the detail-oriented modeler has a good parts box to draw on for spares.

Once again DML relies on a photo on the bottom of the box (no directions) with “stick here” photos and “follow the box art” painting directions. While this is not a major problem for experienced modelers, they keep doing themselves a disservice by making some of the best figure sets available today and then giving them short shrift in the area of helping newer modelers to get the best out of the kit.

Overall, however, this kit provides the ability to man any softskin or halftrack vehicle on the market today, especially the 3, 5 and 8 ton variants. It also works for Opel and MB cargo trucks and other softskins needing crews. In that area it should prove to be a very popular and useful kit.

- Cookie Sewell

Introduction
Dragon began releasing their series of Sd.Kfz.7 8-ton German halftracks a while ago now, and kept modellers waiting for what was likely to be the most popular version, the straightforward prime mover that had seats in for carrying personnel. When that was released we had to wait again for a decent set of figures to fill the model. At last they've released this set, providing a crew of twelve figures for their kit.

Kit Contents
The set is supplied in one of the top opening, slightly larger Dragon boxes, of the sort that early 2nd Generation figure sets were released in. Inside the box there are two large identical sprues containing the parts that go to make up the basic figures, plus three smaller sprues of personal kit items and one small one containing two pairs of alternative arms.

The moulding is good, although there is a small amount of fine flash on some of the kit items, along with fairly prominent mould seams that will of course, have to be removed. There is no photo-etch included in the set.

First the personal kit. The box is marked as 'Gen 2 Gear'. The 'Gear' part of which is picked out in a colour that may lead some to 'overlook' it when glancing at the boxart on the hobby shop shelf, erroneously leading to the assumption that it's a 2nd Generation figure set. Only some of the personal kit items are claimed to be of 2nd Generation origin, and even these are strictly speaking slightly inferior to the original 2nd Generation releases. For example, the gasmask cylinders supplied in this set only have one end supplied as a separate part, whilst the 2nd Generation originals were supplied with both ends as separate parts. Also we're not supplied with such things as opened ammunition pouches or pistol holsters, and all canteens and flasks are supplied with cups moulded in place. Originally we were offered opened pouches, and flasks and canteens with separate cups and lids.

The weapons supplied in the set consist of four Kar 98K rifles, two MG34's, three MP40's, a Gewehr 41 and a Sturmgewehr 44. These are not 2nd Generation weapons in that although slide moulds have been used to produce the sprue, only the MG34's have pre-drilled barrels and there are no separate bolts etc., that we would expect with 2nd Generation weapons.

Now the figures. As mentioned earlier, we're supplied with two large sprues, both of which are identical. On each of the sprues there are six figures, therefore we can make twelve seated figures. Well....with a bit of jiggery pokery and some extra arms also included in the kit! The extra arms are included on one of the smaller separate sprues. Two pairs in fact, and these magically transform the six pairs of figures into twelve very distinct and individual figures. Oh alright....not really. Still....at least they've tried, and if you throw in the odd arm from your spares box you should be able to do things with them. As also mentioned, all the figures are as you would expect, seated. The poses range from sitting up straight, holding a rifle, to leaning slightly forward, perhaps wondering why there's a doppelganger behind him?

All the various parts are cleanly moulded, with sharp cooling lines in their torso's. In addition, each of the figures has the front portions of its tunic below the belt, supplied in two separate parts. All figures are supplied with sidecaps that are moulded separately to the supplied heads.

Conclusion
Hmm...I've been looking forward to seeing these, and we badly need them to crew the Sd.Kfz.7, but I'm a little disappointed in that I sort of feel that we've been offered two crews of six rather than one crew of twelve? There's potential in the set, as most modellers will have spare arms etc., in abundance, and how many different poses can there be with twelve seated figures anyway? Also...one last gripe....to make up for the lack of arms and different heads, Dragon should have thrown in a sprues with a load of Kar 98K rifles on it....it would have gone a long way to making people think they had got their money's worth!

- Vinnie Branigan