Takom has again gone off the grid by releasing a model that no one thought would ever be seen in plastic. This articulated Swedish transport is used by numerous nations. The “S” after 206 indicates the armored personnel variant capable of carrying 12 troops — four in the front unit and eight in the rear.
The kit includes a fairly complete interior, with detailed doors and hatches, but no engine. The four tracks and power cables connecting the units are supplied as vinyl that can be attached with plastic cement.
Overall fit was good and the only filler I used was to correct some overly aggressive parts cleanup on my part. There are a few ejector-pin marks to be eliminated, otherwise, they will be visible through the windows and hatches.
Out of the box, you’re given a choice to replicate one of two Spanish or an Italian vehicle. The two Spanish vehicles are armed with a machine gun in the roof of the front unit and use a different roof part. The Spanish units also have extra floodlights up front. These build choices are shown at the end of the directions, so make your decision early in the construction process.
The directions have you build the suspension for both units, connecting them to their respective floor pans, and joining the two units together. This causes excessive tension on the articulation unit when finishing each unit’s upper section. Instead, assemble each unit separately, leaving the articulation unit as a separate subassembly, all to be connected once the vehicle is painted and weathered.
Single road wheels are mounted on thin suspension arms (part B17) which have little support. This is especially true for the rear road wheels that also act as return rollers. When adding the stiff, vinyl tracks, there’s a lot of pressure on these suspension arms. They gave way on mine, so I super glued them back together as best as I could. If I build this model again, I will install styrene rod between the rear suspension arms, adding strength but remaining largely invisible. These tracks were left off for painting.
The articulation unit is a work of art that actually moves in multiple directions with the use of pistons (as long as you are careful with the glue). However, it is delicate and I could have used an extra set of hands during assembly.
The troop seats are designed to be shown only in the stowed position.
Decal gauges all but disappear on the black dashboard.
The headlights and their fittings are molded in clear styrene; I painted the backs then masked the lenses before painting the vehicle. The side mirrors are also clear, so I painted the back with chrome, then painted the assemblies with the camouflage color. The resulting mirrors are quite convincing.
To match the khaki green on Spanish vehicles, I mixed equal parts Tamiya khaki drab, olive green, and green with a little buff for highlights. The decals silvered a little, probably because the surface was not as glossy as it should have been.
The complexity and fragility of the suspension units pushed assembly of my Bandvagn to 33 hours. The rest of the model was trouble-free and the aftermarket is already offering optional road wheels and weapon stations. It would be nice to see liveries for civilian operators, especially firefighting vehicles!
Note: A version of this review appeared in the December 2018 issue.