Academy 1/35 Sd.Kfz.251/1 Ausf.C Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The Sonderkraftfahrzeug (Sd.Kfz.) 251 was a halftrack designed by Hanomag during the preparations prior to World War II. Developed from the Sd.Kfz.11 transport carrier, the Sd.Kfz.251 featured an enclosed armor shell that protected the crew of two plus up to 10 passengers. The type was produced by seven companies throughout WWII with over 15,000 examples. The Sd.Kfz.251/1 was the basic troop transport that also featured an open top to allow for easy egress out of the vehicle or to throw hand grenades from behind cover. The vehicle was armed with a single MG 35 or MG 42 near the front to provide covering fire for the dismounting troops and possibly a second mount in the rear for anti-aircraft defense.

Here is Academy's Sd.Kfz.251/1 Ausf.C kit which is nicely done. Molded in tan styrene, the kit is presented on four parts trees (duplicate trees not shown) plus one tree of gray parts (figures) and four trees of black parts (individual track links). Among the features and options presented in this kit:

• Nice interior with two crew seats and side-facing bench seats that double as storage boxes
• Positionable crew window/viewports (front and side)
• Radio and other gear for internal stowage
• Positionable rear clamshell doors
• Detailed suspension
• Two-part individual track links

Color profiles and decals for seven subjects are included:

• Unidentifed, eastern front, 1942
• 21 Pz.Div., Tunisia 1943
• 16 Pz.Div., Eastern Front, 1942/43
• 14 Pz.Div., Easter Front, 1942
• Pz.Grenadier Lehr Regt 901, Normany 1944
• Unidentified, eastern front, 1942
• 24 Pz.Div.

Academy did an impressive job with this release and I suspect we'll see other variants of the Sd.Kfz.251 series in the future. In the meantime, have some fun with this kit as it is laid out quite nicely.

My sincere thanks to MRC for this review sample!