Sd.Kfz.251/1 Ausf.C + Wurfrahmen 40
Sd.Kfz.251/9 Ausf.C

1. Packaging

Side opening cardboard box. (While most Revell releases in the past have had side opening boxes, some kits can sometimes be found with top opening boxes too). Inside, the sprues are packaged in (a) plastic bag(s).

2. Version

Kit 03173 is the Sd.Kfz.251/1 Ausf.C mit Wurfrahmen 40, aka "Stuka zu Fuss". This vehicle has also been released by Dragon (even though they mislabeled it as a /2).
Kit 03177 is the first version of the "Stummel". This vehicle has, to my knowledge, never been released in injection plastic before. With some minor surgery its gun and mount can be adapted to an Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf.D kit (e.g. Dragon's) to make an early Sd.Kfz.251/9 Ausf.D. (The late versions had a raised gun mount, and this has been released by Hasegawa.)

3. The sprues

Quality of casting is very good, as we are used to from Revell. Each box contains 4 sprues. Three of them are common to both kits.

Sprue A is for the major components. The axles for the suspensions are separate parts, so you can assemble the running gear and glue them to the hull afterwards. Unfortunately, Revell missed the slight staggering between the axles on the left and right side. The rear halves of the roadwheels are one piece, which is actually a good thing, as it assures alignment. You can see very little of these when the suspension is done, so the slight simplification is no big deal. Unfortunately, this also means that all the wheels are in the same position, with one of the holes at the 12 o'clock position for every wheel, which would be very rare for the real vehicle. (Note that this is the exact same lay-out as for Dragon's Sd.Kfz.251 kits.)
The rear hull doors are separate pieces, so you can leave them open if desired, but the engine hatches are closed.

Sprue B is for the running gear. You get very nice L&L tracks and separate outer roadwheels (unlike in Dragon's kits, where they are still nice but where the second row is interconnected). The front wheels come in two halves, and while the thread pattern is nice, it might get marred by the assembly process.

Sprue C is for the small bits. You get a reasonable amount of them, which allows for a basic interior. The major omission for that interior is the weaponry: the MP40, Kar98k and their racks are not there. The visors are all closed, but are nicely done. The two MG42s are also satisfactory, but I have my doubts about choosing for MG42s for an Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf.C, especially for the marking options that are proposed. I believe the MG34 would have been a far safer choice. A nice touch is the choice Revell leaves you for the swing arms that allow the rear doors to open. I had never paid any attention to this, but apparently these had a telescopic part. For that reason Revell gives separate options for open and closed doors (something Dragon doesn't).
Note that the slits in the visors are not represented.

a) Sd.Kfz.251/1 Stuka zu Fuss

The last sprue in this kit is for the Wurfrahmen and rockets. In all respects these are nicely done. They are simpler than Dragon's, but probably much less fiddly to assemble.

Note that by leaving these parts of, you can obtain an "ordinary" /1.

b) Sd.Kfz.251/9

In this kit the last sprue contains all that is needed to convert the vehicle into a /9: gun and mount, boxes that replace (part of) the benches, and a new roof plate. At first sight this assembly looks very nice. As you still get the original roof, you will still be able to build this kit as an ordinary /1 and use the remaining parts to convert an Ausf.D kit, so nothing is lost.

4. Painting, decals and markings

a) Sd.Kfz.251/1 Stuka zu Fuss

Revell offers two marking options

1) Pz.Div. Grossdeutschland, Russia 1942. Vehicle name "Imme". 3-tone camo.
I have my doubts about this one, as the 3-tone camo only appeared early in 1943.
The vehicle numbers are "232" in red with a white outline. The font that Revell chose is a bit different from that most often seen on German AFVs, so I would need photographic evidence of this particular vehicle to judge its accuracy. What is nice is that the Balkenkreuz and number for the rear door comes in two halves so you have no trouble if you choose to open the doors.

2) 11. Pz.Div., Russia 1941. Dark Grey.
This is the same unit and color scheme that Dragon offers. In Revell's version the crosses are not so narrow and you get more markings. (Dragon's kit of this particular vehicle has a notoriously poor offering of markings for this vehicle, especially compared with other of their Sd.Kfz.251 kits. For this marking option it only gives the Balkenkreuze, for instance.) Even with more markings, the official insignia of the unit (the split circle) is not given, which is a very rare omission with the 11 Pz.Div. (The unofficial "ghost" insignia is given, though.)
This, together with the notoriously poor track record of Revell when it comes to accurate markings, leads Timothy Lau (who is very actively researching the accuracy of all model kits) to believe that these markings are loosely inspired by a Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf.B of the unit, which can be seen here.

(Note: All suggested paints in the manual are from the Revell range.)

The licence plates look a bit different than what I am used to, in that the numbers in the rear licence plates are relatively small, leaving a relative large amount of white backing.
A nice touch that comes with these decals are the tyre pressure markings for the front fenders, the data stencils for the outside and a number of decals for the vehicle's interior (e.g. dashboard).

b) Sd.Kfz.251/9

Again, you get two options, but this time Revell has been very sloppy.

1) 8. schwere Panzergrenadierkompanie Afrikakorbs [sic] 1943. Overall sand, red "1144".
First of all, it's strange that a German company cannot spell Afrikakorps correctly; secondly, by only giving us the company, we know almost nothing, as we are clueless about either the regiment or the division. Looking closely at the decals, you see that the divisional insignia is that for... 2 Pz.Div., which (as far as I know) never fought in Afrika. Also, I feel that the style of numerals is more something for a late war setting, which seems to be confirmed by the boxtop which shows this vehicle amongst deciduous trees, so very atypical for Northern Africa. Time to call in the aftermarket decals or change the paint scheme. Incidentally, a well known Sd.Kfz.251/9 Ausf.D (registration number SS12458) from Das Reich wore the tactical number red "1144" and same unusual style of Balkenkreuz. (Note that the boxtop shows a black Balkenkreuz, while the decals sheet has black with thin white outline.) Furthermore Das Reich was also called the 2nd SS Panzer, so you feel where I am going with this... (Thanks to Ernest Foster for the extra info.)

2) 5. schwere Panzeraufklärungskompanie, Russia 1943. Overall Panzergrau, black "523". Looking at the divisional insignia on the decal sheet it appears to be the insignia 9 Pz.Div. used in 1940... when this vehicle did not yet exist. Time to call in... yes... the aftermarket decals. The black numerals, even though they have a thin white outline, would also be barely visible and I would be surprised if these were actually carried on the real vehicle.
(Again, Ernest Foster adds some extra info: The book "Panzers in the Bocage" by Karl Berne has a color illustration of an SdKfz 251/9 Ausf. C "523" with missing front mudguards and additional side armor (a field mod by the crew). The style of the number is not completely the same and the vehicle is shown in 3-color camouflage, but without supporting photographs. It might have been the inspiration for Revell. If so then the author of the book claims that the placement of the numbers on the body is similar to other halftracks of SS Panzer Grenadier Reg. 26.)

Incidentally my kit contained the same decal sheet twice. I am not complaining.

5. Manual

The manuals are very clear, as we are used to from Revell.

Assembled vehicle as shown on the side of the box. Top: 03173; bottom: 03177.

6. Conclusion

This is a very nice kit, far better than the Esci/Italeri kit, but not as finely moulded and detailed as Dragon's kit, so the choice is mainly based on the price/quality ratio and availability.

Article Last Updated: 17 April 2010