1/35 (Sd.Kfz.234/1) A lot of firsts!

[GazVickers]

Morning chaps.

Well as the title states there's going to be a few firsts in this thread.

I've chosen the Tamiya 1/35th German Heavy Armoured Car Sd.Kfz.234/1 for my first build of the GB. This will be my first vehicle build as well as my first entry to a GB or SIG.

Well here goes.

The Sd.Kfz. 234 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234, or Special Purpose Vehicle 234), was a family of armoured cars designed and built in Germany during World War II. The vehicles were lightly armoured, armed with a 20, 50 or 75 mm main gun, and powered by a Tatra V12 diesel engine.

Armoured wheeled vehicles were developed early in Germany, since they were not subject to the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty. The Sd.Kfz. 234 belonged to the ARK series (type designation of the chassis) and was the successor to the earlier Sd.Kfz. 231/232/233 (8-Rad), which belonged to the GS series.

The combat experience of fast-moving, hard-hitting wheeled reconnaissance vehicles during the Wehrmacht's early invasions of Poland and France impressed German military officials, but indicated some deficiencies in existing designs. A new armoured car project was thus undertaken in August 1940, incorporating several lessons from the Wehrmacht's own external operations. The latest Büssing-NAG Sd.Kfz. 232 variant, the Sd.Kfz. 234 was designed later that year. It was to have a monocoque chassis with eight wheels, and an air-cooled engine for use in North Africa.

Chassis were built by Büssing-NAG in Leipzig-Wahren, while armoured bodies were provided by Deutsche Edelstahlwerke of Krefeld and turrets by Daimler Benz in Berlin-Marienfelde and Schichau of Elbing, with engines from Ringhoffer-Tatra-Werke AG of Nesseldorf.





Tatra 103 engine, Panzermuseum Munster, Germany
The vehicle had eight-wheel steering and was able to quickly change direction thanks to a second, rear-facing, driver's seat; the transmission had six forward and reverse gears, with traction over the eight wheels. Power was provided by an air-cooled Tatra 103 diesel engine.

The first and possibly best known version was the Sd.Kfz. 234/2; it had a turret armed with a 5cm L/60 gun, which was originally intended for the VK 1602 Leopard light tank. It was produced from late 1943 to mid 1944. This variant was replaced in production by the second version, the Sd.Kfz. 234/1, which had a simpler open turret (Hängelafette 38)[9] armed with a 2 cm KwK 38 gun; it was manufactured from mid 1944 to early 1945.





5 cm KwK 39/1 used in a SdKfz 234/2, Panzermuseum Munster
The SdKfz 234/3, produced simultaneously with the 234/1, served as a support vehicle for the reconnaissance vehicles. It had an open-topped superstructure, in which a short-barreled 7.5cm K51 L/24 gun was installed. This gun was intended for use against "soft" targets; however, when using a hollow charge shell, the penetration power exceeded that of the 5cm L/60 gun. This variant was produced from mid 1944 to the end of 1944, before switching production to the 234/4.

The final variant produced was the Sd.Kfz. 234/4, which replaced the L/24 gun with the 7.5cm L/46 PaK 40. This was yet another attempt to increase the mobility of this anti-tank gun; however, the 234 chassis was stretched to its limits, and it carried limited ammunition (twelve rounds) due to lack of storage space. This variant was manufactured from the end of 1944 to the end of hostilities in 1945.










As you can see the model is still bagged and boxed, so later on today I'll be taking the parts for a good wash and dry before commencing the build proper.

I hope you enjoy following and that I don't make to much of a mess of things.

Here's to the build, ISM and Air-Craft.net for putting this whole thing on.

Happy building

Gaz.

[SteveAFV]

Nice choice!

[GazVickers]

Well now that the kids are back in school work proper has commenced.

First off is the suspension and running gear, there are a few seems and some flash to remove but nothing to severe and easily sorted with these bad boys.






As always with Tamiya the instructions are pretty simple to follow.



Progress is coming along nicely for now and I'm eagerly awaiting a few paints to arrive over the next day or so, once they get here I should be flying along. Here's a few more pic's of where I'm up to as of yesterday.