German Sd.Kfz. 234/3 «Stummel», Heavy Armoured Car (75 mm StuK 37)
Milicast 1:76 Scale Vehicle Review
The heavy armoured car painted in a two-colour camouflage pattern with olive green disruptive stripes over the dark yellow base colour. The vehicle is from the collection of Patrick Storto.
Contents
- Sd.Kfz. 234/3 s.Pz.Späh.Wg.
Evaluation
Scale model with excellent detail.
Good choice of subject, the Sd.Kfz. 234/3 is unique in this scale.
Intermediate level of difficulty, 47 parts.
Very good casting quality. There was no problem with airholes or resin bubbles. A few rivets were cast as pinholes, but the reviewer did not consider this a significant problem.
The kit is reminiscent of the Matchbox Sd.Kfz. 234/2 (Puma), but closer inspection reveals more accurate detailing in the resin kit.
The illustrated instructions were helpful, but not always clear in regards to the exact positioning of some parts. The open fighting compartment is difficult to model correctly without reference to a photo of the vehicle’s interior.
Good value for money.
Compatible with Fujimi, Matchbox, Nitto, and VAC-U-CAST.
The gunner’s seat required some work, it may not have been cast correctly.
The front roof plate seemed much to big, and the reviewer decided to replace it with a piece of sheet plastic.
The gun mounting had to be filed and adjusted to achieve a good fit.
The wheels proved difficult to align with one another, and some fidgeting was required. The model turned out a bit wobbly at first, but the situation was easily corrected by rubbing the vehicle over fine sandpaper until the bottom surfaces of the wheels were even.
Decals are not included, they will have to be scrounged from another kit, stenciled or painted by hand.
Scale model kits of open-topped fighting vehicles really call for crew figures to complete the scene. Milicast offers separate vehicle crew figures in this scale, and it might have been a good idea to include them in the kit.
The finished kit is a solid and well crafted model of the Sd.Kfz. 234/3 armoured car, a valuable addition to any model collection.
Patrick Storto