Good news from Takom as they include "ADLER" & "IGEL" plus two others to the making choices of their new 35th scale Sd.Kfz 250/3 halftrack kit. We look at them in our preview...
Preview update: Colour profiles added to Takom's new Sd.Kfz.201/1 kit...
Sd.Kfz.250/3 "GREIF" Rommel's command half-track
From Takom
Kit No# 2194
1/35th scale
5 marking choices
Two figures included
Grey Injection moulded plastic + cable + Photo-etch parts...
Price: $42 USD from @Hobbylink Japan
The Subject: Erwin Rommel's "Greif" Sd.Kfz250/8 halftrack...
The "Desert Fox" had plenty of notable command vehicles during his time in command of the Afrika Korps. One of the most notable was the Sd.Kfz.250/3 halftrack named "GREIF" (English: 'Griffin'). This was a standard vehicle upgraded if you will with not only the regular western desert extra jerry cans and stowage, but with all of the radios and signal gear & the radio aerial frame that Rommel needed to communicate with his units in the line and the rear (if he was up front as in all the propaganda of the time showed).
Rommel amidst advancing units in his Sd.Kfz. 250/3 command vehicle "GREIF"
Saying that it was just a standard halftrack wasn't really correct then, as "Greif" featured an Sd.Kfz.250/Z Panzeraufbau armoured superstructure that had unique characteristics such as a vision port in the rear door and a different overhanging shape at the rear.
Although there were also photos of the similar command vehicles; "ADLER" (Eagle) and "IGEL" (Hedgehog), GREIF was the one that was most captured by propaganda reels, mostly shot in late spring/early summer of 1942, around the time of the Battle of Gazala, and the final assault on Tobruk (26 May to 21 June 1942).
The racks of jerry cans were a distinctive theme of recon and long distance halftracks. We noticed that this halftrack had it's rubber trackpads either worn off or removed. A common thing with these halftracks in the western desert.
Shown below is "IGEL" - "GREIF" "ADLER" and "IGEL" all were Sd.Kfz.250/3 from the same later Sd.Kfz.250Z production batch, with identical post-production jerrycan racks as you can see in this photo.
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"ADLER" (Eagle) is also included in this kit. This photo is from tracklink / taptalk where there is a great article on these half-tracks...
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This new kit from Takom:
This kit is a continuation of their Sd.Kfz.250 kits, this one has all of the features that would match up with "GREIF" - thought there are five marking choices in total , hopefully the others in this group :-). Take a look at some of the CADs below..
The new kit's details in CAD: the front and rear views of the vehicle, showing the small amount of photo-etch in a gold colour.
The impressive array of radios for the vehicle is shown here,
In the kit there are also two 1/35th scale figures included. The driver and Erwin Rommel himself. This is a good base to start from, as modellers will want to add their own figures anyway to be "unique" :-)
A lot of features/ options are offered in this kit. They are shown in both red and blue. From photos, you can see these options at different times, so it is great for Takom to add these. Alternate tyres, stowage, bags, a blanket, that cable and backpacks are included, sculpted digitally by the designer Jason Wong.
There is photo-etch included for the kit, showing grilles, straps, brackets & number plate amongst other parts. A cable is included for the front which matches the photos we have of the vehicle.
Apparently there are workable tracks for this kit - but whether you would want to actually turn them is something else.
The main reason for workable tracks is the positional suspension that has some range of movement..
Here you see the five profiles included in this boxing, with the three Afrika Korps famous command version plus two other in German grey...
That is all we have on this one for now - keep tuned for more info on the kits soon...
You can see more about Takom's kits on their website or on their Facebook page.