Bronco Models 1/35 T17E2 Staghound AA Armoured Car Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The Staghound was a family of armored cars operated by the armed forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II. The design for the Staghound was American and produced in the United States to support the allied war effort.

The Staghound started off as the Chevrolet T17E1, which was undergoing evaluation against the Ford T17 in mid-1941 to address a requirement for an armored scout vehicle. Both designs ultimately lost out to the M8 Greyhound, but the Chevrolet design was adopted by the British Army and designated Staghound.

The anti-aircraft variant of the Staghound was based upon the same T17E1 chasis and main hull, but the turret was replaced with an open-top type that was armed with two Browning .50 caliber machine guns that allowed for quick traverse and elevation tracking of threat aircraft.

Bronco Models has released a new-tool Staghound armored car. This kit, like previous Bronco kits, is nicely detailed and yet a straightforward build. Molded in dark green styrene, this kit is presented on seven parts trees, plus a single tree of clear parts, one tree of black rubber ammo belts, one tree of light gray styrene bolt heads, and two frets of photo-etched details.

One difference between this kit and the previously reviewed Staghound Mk.III, the Mk.III had no interior details. While this kit has no drivers compartment, Bronco developed a nicely detailed turret basket interior with ammo storage and requisite detailing to allow for something worthwhile to view through that open-top turret.

The hatches and side access doors are all separately molded and positionable, so if you are going to do an interior, grab your references and get started, as construction of the stock kit begins with the assembly of the box body hull. The suspension and drive train are mounted directly to the hull rather than a separate chassis.

As with the previous release, this kit pays serious attention to the various brackets and stowage details on the hull as well as the pioneering tools and other kit that mount to those brackets. Two large stowage boxes are mounted to either side of the hull, complete with fire extinguisher bottles. The upper stowage access doors are molded separately and can be positioned open, though you'll need to add interior shelving to the box stowage units.

Assembly of the AA turret starts with the electrically-powered twin-gun frame and gun mounts. The detailing here reveals that the gun mechanism is quite similar to the gun turret installed on bomber aircraft as well. Once the powered gun mounts are assembled, the turret basket with ammo bins and the armor shields come together to complete this turret.

Markings are provided for the following three examples:

• Royal Canadian Dragoons, Italy, 1944
• INNS of Court Regt, 1 Corps, France, June 1944
• 11th Hussars, Normandy, June 1944

Bronco Models continues to turn out some impressive models and this one is no exception. These kits are definitely an AMS modeler's delight.

This kit is highly recommended!

My sincere thanks to Stevens International for this review sample!