Based on the Sd.Kfz.250, the Sd.Kfz.252 filled the purpose of delivering ammunition to front line tanks where the vehicles served the Sturmartillerie (StuG) batteries on both fronts. For extra carrying capacity, the Sd.Kfz.252 also towed the Sd.Ah.32/1 trailer. A total of 413 vehicles were manufactured and were eventually replaced by the Sd.Kfz.250/6. This new kit from Dragon Models represents the Sd.Kfz.252 leichte Gepanzerte Munitionskraftwagen including the Sd.Ha.32/1 Trailer.
Contents
18 Plastic Sprues including lower chassis
1 Clear Plastic Sprue
2 Bags of Individual Link Track parts
2 Fret Photo-etched parts
1 Length of Twisted Wire
1 Decal Sheet
Instruction Booklet
Review
Being a fan of World War 2 German half-tracks I was excited when this kit was announced, in my memory the first time in plastic. Opening the box, the excitement continued, a box full of the standard Grey plastic sprues from Dragon, some photo-etched parts, clear plastic, and more.
Starting to look at the plastic, some of the sprues I recognized from previous Dragon Sd.Kfz.250/251 kits. But that is not a bad thing, as having built a few of these in the past, the parts are well done. The molded detail is well done, including some very well done fine parts.
Then there are newly molded parts too, mainly to represent the distinct body of the Sd. Kfz.252. Again the parts look very well molded. There are some ejector marks on the inside of roof part, closed up will remain unnoticed, but if you plan to leave it open, these are easily dealt with. There are also bins of ammunition molded with interior details as one piece to allow the modeller to represent an open ammunition bin, and there are TWO extra rounds of 7.5cm ammunition. A little chincy in my opinion.
The parts for the trailer, the parts and molding also look very well done. I do believe these parts come from previously released Sd.Kfz.10 kits, and I don't recall ever seeing a complaint. The ammunition rack for the interior is about 25% filled with rounds, and Dragon has provided a photo-etched fret to represent the fuse end of the rounds for extra details.
The kit does include two sprues of some nice extra parts to have, including infantry gear and weapons. What I found a little amusing, was that on the part diagram on the instruction, if shows that many of these parts are not used, including on the weapon sprue where ONE MP-40 is used. But these sprues will be definite nice additions to the spare parts stash.
Having a look at the instructions, very typical Dragon, and I highly recommend you check parts numbers and dry fit during the build process. The follow of the instructions is again typical of building a Sd.Kfz.250.
Construction starts with the running gear, including the overlapping road wheels. The kit includes Dragon Magic Track very familiar to Dragon Sd.Kfz.250/251 variants. The track parts are packed in two separate bags, and while small, with care they build into very nice looking track for the halftrack.
The engine is also included, and the hatches on the front are positionable, thus allowing the modeller to show this off if they desire. The engine is decently detailed, but the engine compartment is lacking, but with some reference material and a few bits of wire and plastic could be made into a masterpiece.
The crew and ammunition storage compartment is also included, thus allowing the builder to leave the hatches open. I was a little shocked to see that Dragon even threw in a driver figure. The instrument panel is molded with some great looking detail, as well as the radio, unfortunately Dragon did not include any decals for the dials. Also include are clear parts to represent the view blocks, which is a nice touch, and can add to the model.
The trailer assembly looks straight forward, with the option to leave it open to show off the partially filled rack of 7.5cm ammunition. A nice addition, as mentioned above, is the photo-etched fuse end of the rounds.
Paint and Markings are included for four vehicles. Three of which are in the German Dunkel Grau for service on the Eastern Front. These include vehicles for Abt.243, Abt.226, and Grobdeutschland Infantry Division. The fourth vehicle is a Dunkel Gelb and green camouflage from an Unidentified Unit.
The decals look to be very nice, and are printed by Cartograf. One drawback some modelers may have, is that none of the license plates are complete. The decal sheet provides the plate white background and then individual numbers. This could be a little cumbersome getting it to all line up.
Overview
Overall I am very impressed with this new Sd.Kfz.252 kit from Dragon Models. The use of well done older kit parts and new molded parts should allow a modeler to build a nice looking model. The inclusion of some details like weapon, individual equipment, and a driver figure are a nice touch, unfortunately it would have been nice to include some extra loose ammunition rounds. While the decals are well printed, the use of individual numbering may discourage some builders. I would highly recommend this kit, and I will be starting a build log very soon on Armorama, so keep an eye out, and watch it being built.
SUMMARY
Highs: Much awaited subject, nice moldings and lots of extras.Lows: Little tight on spare ammunition, license plate decals may be a little challenging.Verdict: Great looking model of the Sd.Kfz.252, highly recommended.
Our Thanks to Dragon Models! This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.
I am an IT Consultant and father, with a passion for plastic models. I mostly prefer 1/35 Armor and 1/48 Aircraft. My main interests are anything Canadian, as well as WW2 German and British Armor and Aircraft. I have been building models since I was a young kid, got away from it for awhile, but r...
Just ordered one of these the other day and am eagerly awaiting its arrival after only, oh, a decade or so of waiting! To say that I'm pleased is mildly put! Reviews like this are SO appreciated by builders like me who hate falling into poor instruction pitfalls that Dragon is so good at. Its almost as if they're concerned about the cost of an extra page or two of paper that would make the instructions clearer. For what a kit like this goes for it would be nice if Dragon at least proofed the instructions and maybe made the instruction drawings LARGER!
I had an observation that I wanted to add here: why is the box-top artwork different than that depicted in the catalog? I was so startled to see this different artwork that I actually thought that Dragon had already released another variant! Sad but true...
Just completed building the 252 and, after building lots of Dragon's armor kits over the last 10 years or so I must say that this one was a disappointment. The instructions were frequently incorrect (parts mislabeled or omitted entirely from the instructions). Additionally, I made the mistake that parts labeled as "not being used" in the instructions was correct. Nope! nd, as mentioned in another review...the ammunition storage for the sd kfz 250 itself was wrong; i.e., rounds were stored vertically; not horizontally.
There are more mistakes with the kit, though.
If you study Panzer Tracts 15-1, you'll notice that there are two different sub-versions of version A: one is the standard Panzeraufbau 250E and the other is the Panzeraufbau 250/Z made by Böhler-Werke in Austria. (There's a 3rd sub-version, but this was the 0-Serie prototype.)
The easiest way to tell these apart are the headlights: the former has them in front of the fenders, the latter has them on top of the fenders, mounted on the engine housing.
Other differences are a) the shape of the rear armor plates (only applies to Sd.Kfz. 250 and 253) and b) the angle of the driver's front armor.
Now looking at the 252, you know immediately that it's based on the 250/Z when you look at the headlights. So I looked at the angle of the driver's armored plate and noticed it's angled at 30 degrees (250E), not 21 degrees as it should be for the 250/Z. Also, the vision ports don't have the 2 slits of the 250/Z.
Another glaring mistake is the joint between engine housing and crew compartment: it's raised, whereas all other 250/253 Dragon kits had it correctly recessed.
The last glaring mistake is the shape of the stowage box on the right side, between the front fender and the track guards. This has the shape of the 250E, where the toolbox was integrated. The 250/Z, however, hat a smaller stowage box that is flush with the fenders. The toolbox was separate on the track guard behind it.
The puzzling thing to is that Dragon knew all these differences between 250E and 250/Z, because the kits that came before this one were all correct!
Apart from the drive sprocket issue, of course.
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