Manufacturer: Italeri, available from Testor, 620 Buckbee St., Rockford, IL 61104-4891, 815-962-6654
Kit: No. 370
Scale: 1/35
Price: $35
Comments: : Injection molded, 394 parts (1 vinyl screen), decals
Pros: Good exterior detail, interesting subject
Cons: No engine or figures, gun assembly tricky, vague parts locations in instructions
The Germans used more styles of half-tracks than any other combatant of World War II. Half-tracks helped German infantry keep pace with the panzers. Entering service in late 1943, the SWS was one of a later-war series of simplified half-tracks. Only 1,000 of these vehicles were built, but several different versions saw service, including a cargo version, and armored versions mounting a rocket launcher or a Flak gun.
Italeri's latest release is their third based on the SWS chassis, and mounts the Flak 43 anti-aircraft gun. The kit features an armored cab, link-and-length plastic injected tracks, and poseable front wheels. No engine or figures are provided with the kit. Italeri has issued the Flak 43 gun before as a separate kit.
Decals are well printed and markings are provided for two vehicles. A nice touch that has appeared in recent Italeri German armor kits is the decals for the license plates. The plate decal is printed blank, with a supply of individual numbers. While this makes decaling a little more difficult, you can create any license plate number you wish.
Take your time assembling the chassis; quite a few parts have to be trapped between the two side rails. It's important that the chassis is square and level, so after gluing, I left my chassis assembly to dry on a sheet of glass with a weight on top. I did not add the running gear to the chassis as described in steps 3-6, preferring to wait until everything was painted.
If you take your time the front wheels will pivot and the steering linkages will actually work. The winch really shouldn't be included on the Flak-armed version.
The cab is a pretty simple assembly. You have a choice of two styles of side window hatches. The upper hatches can be glued into either the closed or open position. I assembled the cab according to the instructions, but did not glue the upper half to the lower half until after painting. I also left off the tools on the fenders, the seat backs, the steering wheel, and shift levers until final assembly.
The rear bed is quick and easy. You have the option of open or closed ammo bins in the rear. If you decide to build the bed with the screen sides up, make sure you build the gun in the stowed position, or it will not fit. Cut the screen for the side panels carefully - little extra is provided. The screen adhered well to the side panels with Weld-On 3.
The gun is well-detailed and accurate but difficult to assemble. Part positions are vague in the instructions, and their location on the kit is neither strong nor clear. If parts are not lined up perfectly early on in assembly, you'll have problems later adding the gun shield. The gun can be built in either the stowed or firing position. You are also given the option of two styles of gunsights. Clips of ammo and some empty casings are provided. Although the shell-catching frame is supplied with the kit, it is not used in this version. The gun shield is a little off center, and the shell catcher bin (40A, 41A) bumps into the base in places.
Painting started with airbrushing the interior of the cab with Floquil panzer interior buff (not white as the instructions suggest). The exterior of all of the parts was sprayed with a custom mix of Tamiya acrylics to replicate panzer yellow. Polly Scale panzer olive and panzer red-brown make up the camouflage.
The injected molded tracks are molded in lengths with individual track links to make the bends around the drive sprockets and idler wheel. They fit well but are a bit tricky to install and there is little room for error. I used Testor semi-liquid adhesive to give me time to position the tracks as needed.
Finally all of the subassemblies were brought together. I had to remove the small square protrusion on the ammo clips to allow them to fit in the rear storage bin.
I spent about 18 hours on my SWS half-track, about average for a vehicle of this type. The finished model matched exactly the dimensions in John Milsom's German Half-Tracked Vehicles of World War 2. For the most part the kit was easy to build, but the difficulties with the gun, and the tricky track assembly, require some experience to overcome. Italeri has done German armor enthusiasts a big favor by releasing these late war half-track kits.