Hobby Boss 1/35 EBR-10 Wheeled Reconnaissance Vehicle Kit First Look

By Dave Manter

First Look

The Panhard EBR was a French armored car produced from 1950 to 1960. It is estimated that total production was 1200 units. The armored car was designed at the Atelier de Construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1946 to meet a requirement for an air-portable vehicle to support paratroopers. The first prototype ran in 1948. The uncommon two part oscillating turret is set to the middle of the vehicle and holds the commander and gunner. The original 75mm gun was modeled on the German L/71 Panther gun. All tires were bullet proof.

The kit consist of 11 sprues of tan plastic, the upper and lower hulls, top and bottom of the turret, 8 rubber tires and a sheet of photo etch. Decals are provided for one vehicle.

All parts are molded very well and no flash is present. One really nice feature of this kit is that the main gun is molded in 1 piece, including the muzzle brake! The photo etch sheet contains some of the smallest parts that I have seen, so be prepared!

Construction begins with the hull and looks to be pretty straight forward. The 2 middle tires are molded in rubber, but are metal on the actual vehicle. No problem as the just need to be painted accordingly. Another really nice feature of this kit is that the turret can be built with or without the canvas covering. Detail on this part is really nice and it will look great under a coat of paint.

The instructions are well laid out and construction should be pretty quick on this one. I see no problems at all.

HobbyBoss should be congratulated for tackling some very obscure vehicles. This one certainly qualifies!

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!