Italeri 1/72
Sd.Kfz.232 6 Rad German Armored Car

Background

The Sd.Kfz.232 6 Rad armored scout car was produced in the 1930s for the German Army. Only a limited number were ever produced, yet the experience gained with these vehicles made them a valuable stepping stone towards the development of later models.

The Sd.Kfz.232 was used right up until the early stages of WWII when it was replaced by more modern, efficient armored cars. It featured a three-axle chassis with double rear tires, light amour and a 20mm cannon. The unique towel rack frame above the turret is an HF radio antenna.

The Kit

Italeri released this all-new-tooled kit in 1/35 scale in May 2005. It was a nice bit of engineering to provide the detail that came out of that box, which was more recently re-released with a resin interior set included. Now we have the kit again, this time in 1/72 scale while retaining the same nice detailing of its 1/35 cousin.

Inside the kit is a single tree of dark gray styrene parts, the decal sheet and the instructions. According to the kit specifications, there are 59 parts in this kit which, in 1/72 scale, makes for a nicely detailed model without a bunch of over-engineered details.

The access hatches to the crew compartment are molded closed in this kit, as are the top and side access panels to the engine. The vehicle top and bottom body halves are assembled with the wheels and suspension added next.

The fenders, stowage boxes and pioneering tools are installed, followed by the turret. As with the 1/35 scale kit, the towel rack antenna can be glued into place, though that would fix the position of the turret. The kit does replicate the swivel point for the turret-to-antenna frame nicely, so you can leave this point unglued if you can carefully move the completed model about.

As with the 1/35 releases, markings are included for:

• A 232 of the 2nd Panzer Division – France 1940
• A 232 of the 3rd Panzer Division – France 1940
• A 232 of an unknown unit – Poland 1939
• A 232 of an unknown training unit – Germany 1937

As this vehicle's use was limited to early war operations, it wore a standard panzer gray overall color scheme.

Conclusion

This will build up into a nice rendition of this unique-looking early-war armored car. Whether for war gaming or the contest table, this project will definitely be an eye catcher. Recommended!

My sincere thanks to Testors and the DLV Company for this review sample!