discussion Andy's Tamiya 1/48 SdKfz 232

[Guest]

Having a go at this strange looking beast

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As always I know very little about the subject starting out but the huge antenna gives a clue to it's use as a radio / recon vehicle. Most unusual is the fact that it had a driver situated at both ends, so it could be driven in either direction. Let's hope they never had an argument or it could turn in a push me pull you!

Sprue picture as required:

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No many parts and they look very well moulded, so hopefully I won't stuff it up too much!

Started by assembling the 4 parts that make up the main hull. They fitted together almost perfectly so will need very little sanding. I still need to find some decent reference pictures but since they were large armour plates welded together I'm wondering whether there would be evidence of that at the joints, rather than being so sharp.

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Suspension is nicely detailed, and again, went together easily. Further sanding of the glue joints will be needed once they have hardened up.

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I like how the wheels go together so there is no visible glue seam, just a tiny moulding line down the centre of the tyre which cleaned up no problem.

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And dry fitted. They all touch the floor so must have gotten something right! The instructions would have you cement them on now but of course I'll leave that until after painting.

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And I got three of the wheel arch / fender sections complete before Ruby (murray) arrived for tea.

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I was pondering how to mark them up to make sure I didn't fit them on the wrong corner, but then remembered this was Tamiya. All of the mounting tabs & slots are slightly different so even I can't get it wrong (famous last words!)

Will continue on tomorrow and am already wondering about paint. The instructions do give a camo option but I'll be sticking with the grey. The decision is whether to go with Mr Color or try my luck with Model Air again. I've had much better results with the solvent paints but since they never fully cure like water based acrylics do it makes any subsequent brush touch ups a risky business. Will mull it over some more as it's still a way off yet.

 

[spanner570]

Good grief Andy, one day's work and you get this far.

Excellent stuff.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice choice Andy. If you’re doing Seydlitz there are several images on the net....I don’t think the plates showed weld lines on the outside, but I might be wrong. I would, however, check references before adding them....the 231 and 232 are basically the same vehicle apart from the radio fitment so images of either would be suitable.

 

[Guest]

As always I know very little about the subject starting out but the huge antenna gives a clue to it's use as a radio / recon vehicle. Most unusual is the fact that it had a driver situated at both ends, so it could be driven in either direction. Let's hope they never had an argument or it could turn in a push me pull you!

In brief, this is the long-range radio version of the German first-generation eight-wheeled armoured car — you could leave the aerial off and it’d be an Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-rad) reconnaissance vehicle instead of a 232 radio vehicle. They were used in the early years of the war, including in Africa, but were then replaced by the later generation like @Graeme C. is building.

I still need to find some decent reference pictures but since they were large armour plates welded together I'm wondering whether there would be evidence of that at the joints, rather than being so sharp.

Chances are the welds were ground off neatly. These early German armoured vehicles were built to quite high standards, which is one of the reasons for the later ones that replaced them.

 

[Guest]

Good grief Andy, one day's work and you get this far.

Excellent stuff.

Thanks Ron. The fit is so good that it pretty much falls together, making swift progress easy. I'm sure I'll make up for it by spending forever weathering, as that's still a black art to me!

Nice choice Andy. If you’re doing Seydlitz there are several images on the net....I don’t think the plates showed weld lines on the outside, but I might be wrong. I would, however, check references before adding them....the 231 and 232 are basically the same vehicle apart from the radio fitment so images of either would be suitable.

Thanks Tim. The only reference I can find for Seydlitz is a ship? Will spend some time looking for more pictures today though. The vast majority I found yesterday were all other models rather than the real thing :smiling5:

In brief, this is the long-range radio version of the German first-generation eight-wheeled armoured car — you could leave the aerial off and it’d be an Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-rad) reconnaissance vehicle instead of a 232 radio vehicle. They were used in the early years of the war, including in Africa, but were then replaced by the later generation like @Graeme C. is building.


Chances are the welds were ground off neatly. These early German armoured vehicles were built to quite high standards, which is one of the reasons for the later ones that replaced them.

Cheers Jakko. The box information and Wiki got me that far, but your thoughts on the weld seams would make sense. I haven't seen any evidence of welds in the few pictures I've seen so far, but wasn't sure if that was just down the their low quality.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Andy, SMS Seydlitz was an Imperial German battle cruiser that was severely damaged at Jutland, and was almost certainly the ship this armoured car was named after......
To find images, just look for “SKDFZ 232 images”, not “Seydlitz” images. That particular car was photographed several times, and the images readily come up.....

 

[Tim Marlow]

There you go, but there are others.....

 

[Guest]

Morning Andy.
I'll join the gang, impressed with the suspension fitting, as I normally mess any attempts at this up.

 

[Guest]

Hi Andy, SMS Seydlitz was an Imperial German battle cruiser that was severely damaged at Jutland, and was almost certainly the ship this armoured car was named after......

Or it could be named after:—

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Wilhelm_von_Seydlitz

Who was one of Frederick the Great’s best generals.

 

[Guest]

Ah, I understand now. Thanks Tim.

A bit of searching turned up this page which has plenty of pictures to go on. No close up walkarounds of a restored one with a modern camera yet, but enough detail for me :smiling3:

Thanks John, good to have you here, and there's plenty of time for me to mess it up yet :smiling5:

 

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
One day late and its built. Looks good. Typical Tamiya.
Jim

 

[Si Benson]

Hi Andy,
These things are odd looking beasts.

But when you look at vehicles like the stryker you can see similarities. Looks like you well on the way....panzer grey?

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jim, still a fair bit to do but I've got a free afternoon so should see plenty more progress later. Managed to get an almighty gluey fingerprint on it this morning so walked away for a while :smiling5:

Yes Si, the camo did tempt me for a while but I'll be sticking with the grey scheme.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
A glue finger mark is a b****r. It will probably sand out ok but leave it to dry completely before sanding.
Jim

 

[Guest]

The body is pretty much assembled now so the turret is next on the list.

Tiny exhaust pipes were already moulded with a hollow (left) but I opened them out a bit and drilled right through (right)

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And fitted with their shrouds. The fit looks poor but all the other pictures I've seen look the same.

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From the side. Those wire light guards were a bit tricky. Very flimsy and 4 points of contact. Directly below is the area of fender that got the glue-finger treatment. Thankfully it's pretty much all sanded out, there's just a bit left near the hatch that I can probably hide later on.

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Front, showing the additional armour plate

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Will be hard to paint those tools but there was no way to fit them afterwards

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Rear with the optional spare wheel carrier (wheel to be added later)

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And one for scale.

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[scottie3158]

Andy,
That's a cracking build mate your off to a great start.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Paul, time to get the crayons out and colour her in now :smiling5:

Turret fell together although the framework for the antenna needed a bit of persuasion. Drilled out both barrels. The MG is only 0.7mm OD so needed a very fine drill and a steady hand.



No wonder this guy looks so down in the mouth, he knows what's coming! Sorely tempted to close the hatch and leave him in the box, but I suppose I've got to try painting a figure sooner or later. Might as well start with this poor, legless chap.



Left some of the delicate pieces on the sprue for ease of painting. I've removed as many attachment points as possible and cleaned up where I can.

 

[Guest]

Great stuff Andy.

There is some footage of this actual vehicle negotiating a steep and narrow street in Athens on one of the World at War episodes. You can clearly see the 'Seydlitz' markings.

 

[Guest]

Drilled out both barrels. The MG is only 0.7mm OD so needed a very fine drill and a steady hand.

Scale inner diameter should be about 0.17 mm That fine, a reasonable trick is to push the end of a needle into the end of the barrel to make a small impression.

 

[spanner570]

Andy, just take your time.....