Roden 1/72 Sd.Kfz.234/3 Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The German armored cars were an instrumental part of the success of the Wehrmacht throughout the war. The eight-wheeled cars had good mobility and were able to keep up with the tanks and troops on the field, not only serving as the radio communications links to other units on the field, but they also carried good firepower as well.

With the success of the Sd.Kfz.234/2 Puma, the chassis was considered optimum for replacing the Sd.Kfz.233 Stummel. Designated as Sd.Kfz.234/3, this adaptation of the 8-Rad incorporated a 75mm K51 L/24 gun. Only 88 of these vehicles were completed before production was disrupted by allied bombing. Most of these were assigned to the 116th Panzer Division in Normandy. At least one of these vehicles was captured by the British Army and the vehicle is on display at the Bovington Museum in southern England.

The kit is molded in styrene, with the hull, turret and chassis parts molded in tan and the suspension and wheels molded in black. The kit is presented on four trees in all and the detailing is quite nice (the duplicate black tree is not shown).

Assembly begins with the chassis Four sets of wheels and suspension assemblies come next with each assembly showing an interesting approach to shock absorbing between the two wheels of each assembly.

The K51 gun comes next and it is mounted into a cradle on the upper hull. The armor atop the hull keeps the vehicle's profile as low as possible with the crew operating the gun from inside the main hull..

Markings are for a vehicle in service with the 116th Panzer Division.

Roden has turned out another beauty with this. At the suggested retail price, this kit is definitely a great buy!

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!