In Box Review of Trumpeter 1/35th Scale
German Sd.Kfz. 7 KM m 11 Mittlere Zugkraftwagen 8t
(Late version)
Item No. 01507
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2009
MSRP: $ 38.99 at 1001 Hobbies or $45.49 at Sprue Bros or $49.50 at Kit Linx and at 12 locations overseas on the web.
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2009
MSRP: $ 38.99 at 1001 Hobbies or $45.49 at Sprue Bros or $49.50 at Kit Linx and at 12 locations overseas on the web.
HISTORY:
The Sd.Kfz. 7 was a half-track military vehicle used by the German Wehrmacht Heer, Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS during the Second World War. Sd.Kfz. is an abbreviation of the German word Sonderkraftfahrzeug, "special purpose vehicle". A longer designation is Sd.Kfz. 7 mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t, "medium towing motor vehicle 8t".
Development of the Sd.Kfz. 7 can be traced back to a 1934 Wehrmacht requirement for an eight-tonne (7.87 tons) half-track. Various trial vehicles were built by Krauss-Maffei from 1934 to 1938. The production vehicle first appeared in 1938 and was intended to be used mainly as the tractor for the 8.8 cm FlaK gun and the 15 cm sFH 18 150 mm howitzer. Production was stopped in 1944.
The vehicle was made by Krauss-Maffei in Munich, the Saurer Werke in Vienna and the Borgward works at Bremen. Because of its heavy power, it often found use as a recovery vehicle.
The vehicle could carry gun crews of up to 12 men in theatre-type seats. Under the seats was storage room for various tools, and the whole vehicle was spacious enough to carry their kit. The rear of the vehicle housed an enclosed compartment for storage of ammunition, though a second ammunition carrier was desirable.
The tractor could tow loads up to 8,000 kg (17,600 lb) in weight. Most were fitted with a winch that could pull up to 3450 kg.[1] It had a payload of 1800 kg. The windscreen was able to fold down and a canvas roof could be erected. A number were also constructed with a hard top, but this was less common in service.
A later simplified type appeared with a timber frame truck-type layout, the ammunition being stored behind the driver's station and the gun crew having space on wooden benches behind.
The running gear consisted of two front wheels with hydro-pneumatic tires for steering and a track each side with 14 road wheels—7 per side, overlapping and interleaved in the common Schachtellaufwerk design for German half-tracks—on each side of the vehicle; a drive sprocket was located at the front of each track system.
Minor variations on the track and road wheel design and manufacture took place throughout the course of service, some being combined in the field as repairs took place. In 1943, the Maybach HL 62 engine was replaced with a Maybach HL64.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Half-track artillery tractor
Place of origin: Nazi Germany
In service: 1938 - 1945 (Nazi Germany)
Used by: Nazi Germany, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia (postwar), Allies (postwar)
Wars: World War II
Designer: Krauss-Maffei
Designed: 1934
Manufacturer: Krauss-Maffei, Borgward, Österreichische Saurer-Werke AG, Breda (Breda 61)
Unit cost: 36,000 Reichsmark
Produced :1938 - 1944
No. built: 12,187
Variants: Sd.Kfz. 7/1, Sd.Kfz. 7/2, Feuerleitpanzer auf Zugkraftwagen 8t, Breda 61
Mass: 11.53 tonnes
Length: 6.85 m (22 ft 6 in)
Width: 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in)
Height: 2.62 m (8 ft 7 in)
Crew: 1 driver
Passengers: 11
Engine: Maybach HL 62 TUK, six-cylinder petrol of 135 PS, (133 hp, 99 kW)
Power/weight: 12.1 hp/tonne
Payload capacity: 1,800 kg
Suspension: Torsion bar
Fuel capacity: 215 liters
Operational range: 250 km (160 mi) on roads, 120 km (75 mi) off-road
Maximum speed: 50 km/h (31 mph) on roads
The Sd.Kfz. 7 was a half-track military vehicle used by the German Wehrmacht Heer, Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS during the Second World War. Sd.Kfz. is an abbreviation of the German word Sonderkraftfahrzeug, "special purpose vehicle". A longer designation is Sd.Kfz. 7 mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t, "medium towing motor vehicle 8t".
Development of the Sd.Kfz. 7 can be traced back to a 1934 Wehrmacht requirement for an eight-tonne (7.87 tons) half-track. Various trial vehicles were built by Krauss-Maffei from 1934 to 1938. The production vehicle first appeared in 1938 and was intended to be used mainly as the tractor for the 8.8 cm FlaK gun and the 15 cm sFH 18 150 mm howitzer. Production was stopped in 1944.
The vehicle was made by Krauss-Maffei in Munich, the Saurer Werke in Vienna and the Borgward works at Bremen. Because of its heavy power, it often found use as a recovery vehicle.
The vehicle could carry gun crews of up to 12 men in theatre-type seats. Under the seats was storage room for various tools, and the whole vehicle was spacious enough to carry their kit. The rear of the vehicle housed an enclosed compartment for storage of ammunition, though a second ammunition carrier was desirable.
The tractor could tow loads up to 8,000 kg (17,600 lb) in weight. Most were fitted with a winch that could pull up to 3450 kg.[1] It had a payload of 1800 kg. The windscreen was able to fold down and a canvas roof could be erected. A number were also constructed with a hard top, but this was less common in service.
A later simplified type appeared with a timber frame truck-type layout, the ammunition being stored behind the driver's station and the gun crew having space on wooden benches behind.
The running gear consisted of two front wheels with hydro-pneumatic tires for steering and a track each side with 14 road wheels—7 per side, overlapping and interleaved in the common Schachtellaufwerk design for German half-tracks—on each side of the vehicle; a drive sprocket was located at the front of each track system.
Minor variations on the track and road wheel design and manufacture took place throughout the course of service, some being combined in the field as repairs took place. In 1943, the Maybach HL 62 engine was replaced with a Maybach HL64.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Half-track artillery tractor
Place of origin: Nazi Germany
In service: 1938 - 1945 (Nazi Germany)
Used by: Nazi Germany, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia (postwar), Allies (postwar)
Wars: World War II
Designer: Krauss-Maffei
Designed: 1934
Manufacturer: Krauss-Maffei, Borgward, Österreichische Saurer-Werke AG, Breda (Breda 61)
Unit cost: 36,000 Reichsmark
Produced :1938 - 1944
No. built: 12,187
Variants: Sd.Kfz. 7/1, Sd.Kfz. 7/2, Feuerleitpanzer auf Zugkraftwagen 8t, Breda 61
Mass: 11.53 tonnes
Length: 6.85 m (22 ft 6 in)
Width: 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in)
Height: 2.62 m (8 ft 7 in)
Crew: 1 driver
Passengers: 11
Engine: Maybach HL 62 TUK, six-cylinder petrol of 135 PS, (133 hp, 99 kW)
Power/weight: 12.1 hp/tonne
Payload capacity: 1,800 kg
Suspension: Torsion bar
Fuel capacity: 215 liters
Operational range: 250 km (160 mi) on roads, 120 km (75 mi) off-road
Maximum speed: 50 km/h (31 mph) on roads
THE KIT:
Trumpeter is an old prolific model company based in Macau, China. They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a color illustration of the Sd.Kfz. 7 parked next to a warehouse. Two men are loading jerry cans into the truck. A third man is standing on the warehouse steps, holding the railing and looking on. Laying on the ground behind one of the men loading the truck is 2 panzerfaust rocket launchers. There are 3 German propaganda posters on the walls of the warehouse.
The men all wear field-grey uniforms. Two of the men wear black jack boots and billed cloth field caps. The man in the truck is bare-headed.
The Sd.Kfz. 7 is overall earth-yellow with no markings shown.
Underneath the title of the kit there are dimensions given for the model made up – Length: 186mm (7 ¾”), Width: 68.5mm (2 ¾”), Height: 78.2mm (3”).
One corner of the box art says: Detailed scale kit for adult model klt model collectors. Actual model may vary from images on the box. WARNING! Not for children under 3 years of age due to small parts.
One side-panel of the box has a one-paragraph history of the Sd.Kfz. 7 in English and Chinese, followed by illustrations of the two PE frets in the kit and a color side-view illustration of the truck in the box art scheme, shown with the canvas roof removed. Kit made in China, CR 2009, Trumpeter’s street address in Macau, China and their web address is provided.
Trumpeter is an old prolific model company based in Macau, China. They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a color illustration of the Sd.Kfz. 7 parked next to a warehouse. Two men are loading jerry cans into the truck. A third man is standing on the warehouse steps, holding the railing and looking on. Laying on the ground behind one of the men loading the truck is 2 panzerfaust rocket launchers. There are 3 German propaganda posters on the walls of the warehouse.
The men all wear field-grey uniforms. Two of the men wear black jack boots and billed cloth field caps. The man in the truck is bare-headed.
The Sd.Kfz. 7 is overall earth-yellow with no markings shown.
Underneath the title of the kit there are dimensions given for the model made up – Length: 186mm (7 ¾”), Width: 68.5mm (2 ¾”), Height: 78.2mm (3”).
One corner of the box art says: Detailed scale kit for adult model klt model collectors. Actual model may vary from images on the box. WARNING! Not for children under 3 years of age due to small parts.
One side-panel of the box has a one-paragraph history of the Sd.Kfz. 7 in English and Chinese, followed by illustrations of the two PE frets in the kit and a color side-view illustration of the truck in the box art scheme, shown with the canvas roof removed. Kit made in China, CR 2009, Trumpeter’s street address in Macau, China and their web address is provided.
The other side-panel shows 6 color photos of the model made up in the cover art scheme. Main material is PS plastic. This product is suitable for ages over 13 only, in multiple languages, including English.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
The kit holds 10 pale-grey trees, the pale-grey canvas cargo area roof part, 6 olive-drab trees, 2 PE frets, 3 black rubber tires, a length of white string and wire, a die cut plastic sheet that is the windshield and the decal sheet.
Only the white string, wire and the tires are in cello bags. Everything else is not.
The kit holds 10 pale-grey trees, the pale-grey canvas cargo area roof part, 6 olive-drab trees, 2 PE frets, 3 black rubber tires, a length of white string and wire, a die cut plastic sheet that is the windshield and the decal sheet.
Only the white string, wire and the tires are in cello bags. Everything else is not.
There are 2 instructions sheets. The main one consists of a staple-bound booklet of 24 pages in 7 ¾” x 10 ½” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white side-view of the Sd.Kfz. 7, over READ BEFORE ASSEMBLY instructions, international assembly symbol explanations and decal application instructions in English and Chinese.
Page 2 is the parts-trees illustrations.
Page 3 through to page 24 give a grand total of a whopping 33 assembly steps. Wow! That’s a LOT!!
The second instructions is a the same size as the main instructions. It is a painting and marking guide printed on just one side in color on slick-coated paper. It shows a 5-view of the Sd.Kfz. 7 in the box art scheme. It further shows it carrying white license plates with black lettering on the front and left rear bumper with license no. WH-598923 on them.
Trees are alphabetized.
However Trumpeter uses two-letter designations, beginning with letter W for several trees. Strange!!
Pale-grey letter A tree holds: The chassis frame parts, steering wheel, grill parts, engine fan, final transfer covers etc. (48 parts).
Page 1 begins with a black and white side-view of the Sd.Kfz. 7, over READ BEFORE ASSEMBLY instructions, international assembly symbol explanations and decal application instructions in English and Chinese.
Page 2 is the parts-trees illustrations.
Page 3 through to page 24 give a grand total of a whopping 33 assembly steps. Wow! That’s a LOT!!
The second instructions is a the same size as the main instructions. It is a painting and marking guide printed on just one side in color on slick-coated paper. It shows a 5-view of the Sd.Kfz. 7 in the box art scheme. It further shows it carrying white license plates with black lettering on the front and left rear bumper with license no. WH-598923 on them.
Trees are alphabetized.
However Trumpeter uses two-letter designations, beginning with letter W for several trees. Strange!!
Pale-grey letter A tree holds: The chassis frame parts, steering wheel, grill parts, engine fan, final transfer covers etc. (48 parts).
There are 2 identical pale-grey letter B trees. They hold: road wheels, drive sprocket, jerry cans, leaf springs, tools etc. (64 parts).
There is no letter C tree
There is no letter C tree
Pale-grey letter D tree holds: the fuel tank, transmission, muffler and exhaust parts, notek lamp, leaf springs, chassis cross-members etc. (60 parts).
Pale-grey letter E tree holds: engine, transmission, exhaust pipes, engine crank etc. (37 parts).
Note the oddly alphabetized on the following parts.
Note the oddly alphabetized on the following parts.
Medium-grey WA tree holds: front fenders, hood, bench seat, shovels etc. (21 parts).
Medium-grey WB tree holds: road wheels, hood side panels, battery etc. (31 parts).
Medium-grey WC tree holds: cargo area parts etc., (38 parts).
Medium-grey WD tree holds: tools, the cabin’s canvas roof, cabin doors, dashboard, side rails etc. (35 parts).
Medium -grey tree WE hold the frame for the canvas top assembly. (19 parts)
A one piece canvas top is included in the kit.
There are 6 identical olive-drab trees that hold individual track links (68 parts ea.)
Next are the 2 brass PE frets. Strangely, these too are labeled with 2 letter W designations.
WA fret holds 32 parts for safety plate, supports, etc.
WA fret holds 32 parts for safety plate, supports, etc.
WB fret holds 46 parts for the sides and other fittings.
The three black rubber tires (one is a spare), the length of white string and fine wire and the die-cut sheet of clear plastic for the windshield complete the kits' contents.
The decal sheet completes the kit.
The windshield part is missing from the kit. I measured the windshield frame and then cut a windshield out of some clear plastic sheet and added it to complete the kit.
There are no figures or cargo included in the kit. A seated driver, at least should have been included and some equipment for the bare cargo area too.
Detail is excellent.
Highly recommended.
There are no figures or cargo included in the kit. A seated driver, at least should have been included and some equipment for the bare cargo area too.
Detail is excellent.
Highly recommended.