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In-Box Review
135
Sd.Kfz 250/9 NEU
Sd.Kfz 250/9 NEU 2 cm Reconnaissance
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by: Joe Rion [ DISPATCHER ]

Introduction

The Sd. Kfz 250 NEU was a redesigned vehicle to save material and assembly time. As the 250 series was to be discontinued in favor of the 251 series, I really wonder why they produced a NEU version instead of just switching over. This offering by Dragon, kit # 6316, represents a new premium edition of the Sd. Kfz 250/9 recon vehicle. This kit is based on Dragon's original 250 #6100, and the 250/9 #6106, which were manufactured in the mid 1990's. The NEU version Premium kit has carried over some sprues from the old kit, and added new sprue's with upgraded or newly tooled parts.

Contents

This is the first Dragon kit I've encountered that each sprue is not individually bagged, with some bags containing two or more sprues. There are also several small sprues included in the kit. The kit is packaged in a sturdy slip top box with a nice color box top showing the 250/9 NEU in action. The bottom of the box also offers views of the new and improved parts.

Included in the kit are the following:
• 14 sprues molded in light grey styrene
• Clear Sprue
• 2 Frets of PE
• Bag containing metal parts
• Bag of Magic Tracks
• Two sheets of decals printed by Cartograf of Italy
• Instruction and finishing guide
Note -The 2 cm gun on sprue J arrived damaged on my sample, I’ll be contacting Dragon Care to see how they will handle this.

Review

There are a lot of changes made in this kit from the original offerings from Dragon, all for the better. The kit has a new one piece lower hull molded with the slide mold technology. The engine bay now has an included motor and radiator for those who want to depict an open engine bay. New drive sprockets and road wheels are better molded than the older ones. The tires are now five separate pieces each, the sliced pieces constructed sandwich style, a nice improvement over the two piece wheels. Dragon has also included Magic Tracks, rather than the indy links that needed to be cut from the sprue (with many a track pad never to be found again!) These Magic Tracks seem to be easier to build, with the added benefit of being built workable with a little care. The tracks still have some knock out marks, but should clean up easily.

Generation 2 crew accessories are included for inside the fighting compartment. Along with the equipment there is some PE for mounting the equipment inside the vehicle. Other PE includes equipment racks, ammo racks, ammo bin covers and a full mesh grenade screen for the turret. Brass width indicators are also included to replace the plastic ones in the box. Clear parts include vision blocks that can be built opened or closed. The vision block visors on the outside hull have had problems in the past, and I have not taken a test fitting as of yet, and there are clear visors from the 251 kit included.

The inclusion of a transmission for this kit was a great upgrade. There is also a small additional instruction sheet for the placement of the part. The outside body now has the option of open or closed storage bin doors. There is an adequate supply of tools, so there will be some extra for the spares box. The supplied tools for this kit are doubled, half having molded on tool clamps, with the other half having none. There are no tool clamps on the PE fret, so unless you have some extra PE tool clamps left over from another project the molded on tool clamp tools are the way to go.

Painting schemes include 5 options, all in the 1944 west front area. Unit markings include the following:

• 116 Pz Div France 1944
• Pz Aufkl. Abt 2, 2 Pz Div France 1944
• Pz Aufkl. Abt 2, 2 Pz Div France 1944
• Pz Aufkl. Abt 6 , 2 Pz Div France 1944
• Pz. Aufkl. Abt 26, 26 Pz, Div 1944

The Cartograf decals unit markings are on one sheet, and multiple numbers on the other. The Unit markings are well executed.

Conclusion

This kit is definitely an improvement on the old 250 series kits produced by Dragon. The newly tooled parts are a great improvement over the older versions. The original 250 kits had the workable tracks, but I was unable to keep from losing the track pads, the magic tracks are a plus over the older version. The tracks have knockout marks on the bottom, but the offending marks can be removed easily with a hobby knife. The kit also has some other knockout marks, although they are on the unseen side of parts.

The 28 steps of the exploded view style instructions are good, but care must be taken to keep from putting in parts that are just for the Sd. Kfz 250/1 kit. As usual, checking references is recommended. There is an extra step thrown in for the inclusion of the transmission (marked step 11) that is not on the main instruction sheet, so be sure to remember to add that at the proper time. There was no excess flash, and the molding lines are small and easily done away with. Part 10 on sprue J in my kit has a bent barrel that will have to be replaced. The lack of a driver figure was a bit of a disappointment, but with the other upgrades it's a fair swap. The improvements in this kit are many and should be welcomed by the modeling community.

A Build Log has been started on the Forums to evaluate the kit construction.
SUMMARY
Highs: This premium kit includes an engine & radiator, transmission and Gen 2 crew equipment. The improved parts will be a big help in the building of this kit.
Lows: Bent barrel on sprue J part 10. Many parts on many sprues to keep track of.
Verdict: This kit is a great improvement over the older 250 kits. New parts should make for a better build.
Percentage Rating
80%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 6316
  PUBLISHED: Jun 28, 2009
  NATIONALITY: Germany
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 78.16%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 86.16%

Our Thanks to Dragon USA!
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.

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About Joe Rion (dispatcher)
FROM: ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES

I model in 1/35th scale. I do German WW2 tanks, softskins and other equipment.

Copyright ©2021 text by Joe Rion [ DISPATCHER ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Bryan, I haven't contacted them as yet. I don't have any idea where to look for Dragon care. I have started to build this little beast but I'm not in a hurry. I'll get the build online soon. The barrel might be rebent but I want to have a replacement on the way before I try that. The bend has that color to it like it's going to break at any time. This kit has lots of head skratching for those who love mysteries. Joe
JUN 28, 2009 - 05:04 AM
here's the link for dragoncare I'm developing a fascination for these vehicles but the price for this in my LHS is €55 which is too much for my pocket at the moment
JUN 28, 2009 - 05:22 AM
Thanks for this one Joe! It's good to see that DML corrected the missing transmission from the 250/1 Neu Premium but it doesn't look like they fixed the visor issue. I've exchanged emails with a friend on another forum who has built this one and he reported that the fit issue is still there due to the use of the 251 clear visors. Still, at least they addressed one of the issues with the first round of Premiums so that's an improvement at least! Sorry to hear about the barrel, Dragoncare should be able to set you "straight" with a replacement hopefully. Looking forward to seeing this one get built.
JUN 28, 2009 - 05:29 AM
Pat, thanks for the link it will come in handy. I believe the damage to the part came about because so many small sprues were in one bag. Bill, the fix is real good for the transmission, and looks good also. I believe I will use the older parts on the original 250 NEU kits for the visor. I have the 250/1 & 250/8 so I might as well have all three looking the same. I can save the 251 visor parts for the 251 kits. Joe
JUN 28, 2009 - 07:57 AM
Just for everyone's info I just entered a ticket in Dragon care 2:15 pm sunday June 28. Let's see how long this takes, where is that blogger dude when you need him. this would be a fine time for him to become useful. Joe
JUN 28, 2009 - 08:17 AM
An update on the bent part. Dragon Care e mailed me Monday asking for a picture of the offending part. I sent a picture on Monday evening. Looks like they are on the job. Joe
JUL 01, 2009 - 01:08 PM
Update on the bent part. Recieed e mail from Dragon Care that I should recieve a new part in 5 to 7 days. Joe
JUL 02, 2009 - 02:08 PM
Good deal, Joe. I've dealt with DragonCare 3 times, and have had the replacements within 5 days from initial email to delivered (of course I'm in the same state!) Glad this worked out for you
JUL 02, 2009 - 02:46 PM
This is the final update on the problem part. I recieved from Dragon Care a package with the replacement part. I had never had this kind of good service before looking for kit parts. I think Dragon care will do whatever it can to make problems go away. The part was a day or so later than expected, but what is a day or so to get the parts you need. My appreciation goes out to Armando who worked to get this problem solved The first picture is of the package and the second is the part.
JUL 17, 2009 - 01:47 PM
   
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