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ICM
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Sd.Kfz.222 German Light Armored Vehicle |
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| Kit #: 72411 |
Review by
- Al Magnus
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ICM
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Sd.Kfz.222 German Light Armored Vehicle |
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| Kit #: 72411 |
Review by
- Al Magnus
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Inside the box are two photo-etched metal (brass or copper) parts for the engine screen and anti-grenade screens and
another 57 plastic parts molded in a butterscotch/caramel colour spread over two sprues for the remainder of the kit. There is a decal sheet and an instruction sheet.
The decal sheet is a common one shared with all the ICM armoured car kits based on the Sd.Kfz.222 series (Sd.Kfz.222/223/260/261).
From this sheet you use markings for two Sd.Kfz.222s:
Overall this is very nice kit and the etched anti-grenade and engine shields are a nice touch. There were some ejector pin marks to deal
with and a few shrinkage spots, the largest and most onerous being the set that were found around the outside of the turret (part B2). But like most kits there are a few issues that I felt needed some attention. All of the kit parts for the body are molded with a slight orange peel like finish which I disliked. From what I could see of
Sd.Kfz.222 pictures this finish is totally inappropriate in this scale. Besides a smooth surface would provide a better finish for painting and decaling so I
carefully sanded as much of the model as I could trying not to obliterate any of the detail molded onto the hull. If I had been more observant though I would
have noticed the four small L shaped bumps on the hull should have been removed with the sandpaper. These are there for the radio versions of this kit. I wanted to open up the anti-grenade shields but doing so would expose the fact that this kit comes with absolutely no interior.
Granted you can't see much through the tiny opening even with the shields open but a few items would make it look a little more business like. Since I didn't feel
like spending money on an aftermarket interior from Goffy (price plus postage would at least double the cost of the kit) I decided to do some minimal interior work
on my own. First off was the addition of a seat and steering wheel for the driver. Then I added a simple bulkhead to the rear of the fighting
compartment to block the view into the rear of the vehicle.
The next item to received attention was the gun mount which is totally incorrect as supplied in the kit. The gun mount should be
a pedestal type. What ICM provides for a gun mount is a cross member that runs across the inside of the turret from front to back. Open anti-grenade screens would make
the incorrect mount obvious, so I built a pedestal style mount from pieces of styrene tubing and rod plus a couple of spare seats from a
Hasegawa Sd.Kfz.234/2 kit that I hadn't used. I used pictures of the real thing plus some photos of the Goffy set as my guide. I didn't spend a lot of time on detailing
the mount since you see little of it once it's inserted into the body. The backside of the large stowage bin mounted on the left body (part A30) is hollow and you can see into it from the back when
it is mounted to the hull. Add a couple of small strips of plastic sheet to cover the opening. Other than the aforementioned changes all I did for detailing was
to drill out the gun barrel, add fender markers, an antenna wire cut from a guitar string plus a jerry can and bracket (fashioned from scrap brass) to the left
rear body panel. Decals are excellent, in register, opaque and settle down readily with an application of Microsol. This is a real gem of a kit that goes together without much fuss with the majority of the parts joining
without any difficulty. There is next to no flash or seams to deal with and the decal sheet is excellent.
Only the lack of an interior and the incorrect gun mount detract from its overall quality and accuracy.
For another take on this kit, check out Rob Haelterman's construction review of this kit. Review sample purchased by the author. |
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Article Last Updated: 20 August 2009 |
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