In Box Review of Hobby Boss 1/35th Scale
German Sd.Kfz. 254 Tracked Armoured Scout Car
Kit no. 82491
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2012
I paid $45.05 for my kit at a local hobby shop that went out of business.
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2012
I paid $45.05 for my kit at a local hobby shop that went out of business.
HISTORY:
The Sd.Kfz. 254 was a German fully tracked armoured scout car employed by Wehrmacht during World War II. From 1936, the vehicle was developed under the designation RR-7 by the Saurer company as an artillery tractor for the Austrian army. Testing was completed and in 1937, an order was placed for the tractors and they were manufactured in 1938. About 12 vehicles were made prior to Anschluss (the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938).
Manufacture of the vehicle continued after the Anschluss. Records indicate that a total of 140 units were built with the new designation RK-7 (Räder-Kettenfahrgestell), although they were named as Sd.Kfz. 254 by the Wehrmacht. The vehicle featured a wheel-track layout and a diesel motor. The wheels were lowered when it was used on roads and retracted for tracked movement cross-country. A number saw service with the Afrika Korps, serving as artillery observation vehicles after being fitted with a radio and rail antenna.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Tracked/wheeled armoured scout car
Place of origin: Federal State of Austria
Used by: Austria, Nazi Germany
No. built: 140
Variants: artillery observation vehicle
Mass: 6.4 tonnes
Length: 4.56 m
Width : 2.02 m, 2.20 m on wheels
Height: 1.88 m
Crew: 7
Armor: 6 - 15 mm
Main armament: 1 x MG34 7.92 mm machine gun
Engine: Saurer CRDv 4cyl, diesel of 70 PS
Operational range: 500 km on wheels
Maximum speed: 60 km/h
The Sd.Kfz. 254 was a German fully tracked armoured scout car employed by Wehrmacht during World War II. From 1936, the vehicle was developed under the designation RR-7 by the Saurer company as an artillery tractor for the Austrian army. Testing was completed and in 1937, an order was placed for the tractors and they were manufactured in 1938. About 12 vehicles were made prior to Anschluss (the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938).
Manufacture of the vehicle continued after the Anschluss. Records indicate that a total of 140 units were built with the new designation RK-7 (Räder-Kettenfahrgestell), although they were named as Sd.Kfz. 254 by the Wehrmacht. The vehicle featured a wheel-track layout and a diesel motor. The wheels were lowered when it was used on roads and retracted for tracked movement cross-country. A number saw service with the Afrika Korps, serving as artillery observation vehicles after being fitted with a radio and rail antenna.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Tracked/wheeled armoured scout car
Place of origin: Federal State of Austria
Used by: Austria, Nazi Germany
No. built: 140
Variants: artillery observation vehicle
Mass: 6.4 tonnes
Length: 4.56 m
Width : 2.02 m, 2.20 m on wheels
Height: 1.88 m
Crew: 7
Armor: 6 - 15 mm
Main armament: 1 x MG34 7.92 mm machine gun
Engine: Saurer CRDv 4cyl, diesel of 70 PS
Operational range: 500 km on wheels
Maximum speed: 60 km/h
THE KIT:
Hobby Boss is an old prolific plastic model kit manufacturer, based in China.
They make all manner of plastic model kit subjects in the popular scales.
This kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The cover art shows a color illustration of an Sd.Kfz. 254 moving down a dirt road, by a wood picket fence. There is a large building with 3 steeples on it in the background.
Behind the Sd.Kfz. 254 there is a German Sd.Kfz. 232 armoured car. Both vehicles are overall dark-yellow.
The Sd.Kfz. 254 has a skeletal white German cross on its side, a white illustration of a skeleton wielding a sword and on roller skates on the left side of the nose. One the right side of the nose there is a yellow circle with a vertical bar in the center, over a white tactical insignia.
Low on the front is a white license plate with black no. WH-800929 on it. The two man crew are standing and looking out the top. They both wear field-gray uniforms, with cloth side caps. One man is wearing earphones.
Standing behind the Sd.Kfz. 254 ar 2 men. One is an officer in an field-gray overcoat, billed officer’s hat and black jack boots. He is talking to an infantryman, who wears a field-gray uniform and steel helmet. He is armed with a sub machine-gun and has ammo pouches for it on his belt. He wears jack boots also. He is pointing with his left arm.
The upper right corner of the box art says that the kit makes up to be 123.8mm long (close to 5”) and is 64.8mm wide (almost 3”).
The lower left corner of the box art says the kit is for 14+ of age modelers.
One side-panel of the box shows a color side view of the Sd.Kfz. 254 that is overall dark-yellow, with a black and white German cross on its sides. A color illustration of the brass PE fret that is included in the kit. A white sticker that says the kit is distributed by MMD Squadron, over a paragraph in Chinese.
The product is not a toy. The product is suitable for ages over 14 only. In multiple languages, including English. Warning! Not for children under 3 years due to small parts. Main-material PS plastic.
Hobby Boss is an old prolific plastic model kit manufacturer, based in China.
They make all manner of plastic model kit subjects in the popular scales.
This kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The cover art shows a color illustration of an Sd.Kfz. 254 moving down a dirt road, by a wood picket fence. There is a large building with 3 steeples on it in the background.
Behind the Sd.Kfz. 254 there is a German Sd.Kfz. 232 armoured car. Both vehicles are overall dark-yellow.
The Sd.Kfz. 254 has a skeletal white German cross on its side, a white illustration of a skeleton wielding a sword and on roller skates on the left side of the nose. One the right side of the nose there is a yellow circle with a vertical bar in the center, over a white tactical insignia.
Low on the front is a white license plate with black no. WH-800929 on it. The two man crew are standing and looking out the top. They both wear field-gray uniforms, with cloth side caps. One man is wearing earphones.
Standing behind the Sd.Kfz. 254 ar 2 men. One is an officer in an field-gray overcoat, billed officer’s hat and black jack boots. He is talking to an infantryman, who wears a field-gray uniform and steel helmet. He is armed with a sub machine-gun and has ammo pouches for it on his belt. He wears jack boots also. He is pointing with his left arm.
The upper right corner of the box art says that the kit makes up to be 123.8mm long (close to 5”) and is 64.8mm wide (almost 3”).
The lower left corner of the box art says the kit is for 14+ of age modelers.
One side-panel of the box shows a color side view of the Sd.Kfz. 254 that is overall dark-yellow, with a black and white German cross on its sides. A color illustration of the brass PE fret that is included in the kit. A white sticker that says the kit is distributed by MMD Squadron, over a paragraph in Chinese.
The product is not a toy. The product is suitable for ages over 14 only. In multiple languages, including English. Warning! Not for children under 3 years due to small parts. Main-material PS plastic.
The other side-panel of the box shows a color 2-view of a Sd.Kfz. 254 that is overall field-gray, with a white skeletal German cross on its sides. Followed by a one-paragraph history of the car in English. Kit made in China.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
This kit holds 8 tan trees and 12 brown ones, a loose tan hull tub and top part, black rubber tires, a brass PE fret and the decal sheet in 10 sealed clear cello bags.
The instructions consist of a staple-bound booklet of 16 pages in 7 ½” x 10 ½” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the cover art.
Over PLEASE READ BEFORE OPERATION, international assembly symbol explanations and decal application instructions in English and Chinese.
Page 2 is the parts-trees illustrations.
Page 3 on through to page 16 gives a grand total of 14 assembly steps.
However, I count 37 steps that are shown.
Trees are alphabetized.
Tan letter A tree holds: the sides, floor, top, axle etc. (21 parts)
This kit holds 8 tan trees and 12 brown ones, a loose tan hull tub and top part, black rubber tires, a brass PE fret and the decal sheet in 10 sealed clear cello bags.
The instructions consist of a staple-bound booklet of 16 pages in 7 ½” x 10 ½” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the cover art.
Over PLEASE READ BEFORE OPERATION, international assembly symbol explanations and decal application instructions in English and Chinese.
Page 2 is the parts-trees illustrations.
Page 3 on through to page 16 gives a grand total of 14 assembly steps.
However, I count 37 steps that are shown.
Trees are alphabetized.
Tan letter A tree holds: the sides, floor, top, axle etc. (21 parts)
Tan letter B tree holds antenna parts etc. (55 parts)
There are 2 identical tan letter C trees. They hold: wheels, drive sprockets etc. (29 parts ea.)
There are 4 identical tan letter D trees. They hold: more wheels etc. (18 parts ea.)
There are 12 identical brown letter E parts. They hold individual track links (27 parts ea.)
The loose tan hull tub and top are next (1 part ea.)
The brass PE fret holds 32 parts for the light support brackets, rear cover, wheel supports, etc.
There are 4 black rubber tires.
The decal sheet is the last part.
There is a slick-coated sheet, printed in color on both sides, that is a marking and painting guide. It shows a 5 view on one side that is the box art scheme (already described above).
The other side shows another 5-view of the Sd.Kfz. 254 in the dark-yellow scheme It has a black and white German cross high on the sides, a white palm-tree and swastika emblem on the front end of the sides, repeated on its back with a white tactical symbol on the left and white license plate with black no. WH-616663 on the front and the rear.
No units are named.
The other side shows another 5-view of the Sd.Kfz. 254 in the dark-yellow scheme It has a black and white German cross high on the sides, a white palm-tree and swastika emblem on the front end of the sides, repeated on its back with a white tactical symbol on the left and white license plate with black no. WH-616663 on the front and the rear.
No units are named.
A flyer for World of Tanks is included in the box.
There are no clear parts or figures included in the kit.
The detail is very good.
Recommended.
The detail is very good.
Recommended.