A welcome update, the new Tamiya 1/35 scale Schwimmwagen Type 166 (Wide Wheel Version) plastic model kit retains the charm of the original (first produced in 1998) while adding modern details, new figures, and wide wheels. This kit includes parts from the original Type 166 kit along with two new sprues that include brand new figures (one standing, the other seated), wheels and tires, and small details, like a shovel, oar, panzerfaust, MG 34, and an optional covered windshield.
You start the build with the lower hull and torsion bar suspension. Being a classic Tamiya kit, the tub hull is a single piece, and the full suspension is built from four parts: the front transfer case with drive shafts, front torsion beam, and the two rear swing arms. The detail on these parts holds up great and looks right at home with the new wheels and tires.
Tamiya engineered the new wheels and tires as all-plastic affairs. You attach a ring to the main wheel and surround the whole thing with five keyed tread parts that lock into location. The tire tread pieces are under gated, so they attach to the sprue on the underside of the tire, hiding the gate and reducing cleanup. It sounds complicated to explain, but the wheels and tires assemble easily, and not having to clean seam lines on the tread detail actually makes them build pretty quickly.
Most of the interior parts are from the original Schwimmwagen kit and go together smoothly and quickly. The details on these hold up to modern standards. You can pose the lid to the engine bay open or closed, and the engine within comes fully detailed. I left the upper hull, lower hull, and interior as separate subassemblies for painting.
Tamiya provides color callouts in its instructions for its lacquer and acrylic paints. I chose to use the lacquer colors for the main parts, Dark Yellow 2 (No. LP-55), Dark Green 2 (No. LP-56), and Red Brown 2 (No. LP-57). For the smaller details and cloth parts, I used a mix of Pro Acryl, Vallejo, and AK Interactive acrylic paints.
I built my Schwimmwagen with the new covered window and a closed engine bay. For me, one of the biggest draws to this updated kit was the figures. I absolutely love these vignette-in-a-box type of kits. I am already working on a small diorama display base for the Schwimmwagen, and the pose of the driver looking to the side and slightly up makes it very versatile; he can easily be looking up and talking to someone in a tank or leaning over the side of a halftrack. I foresee these little amphibious cars popping up in a lot of dioramas in the future.
The new Tamiya 1/35 scale Schwimmwagen Type 166 (Wide Wheel Version) plastic model kit is the perfect balance of an easier build with crisp, modern figures and details. The low part count and Tamiya’s famous engineering for a quick, stress-free build should appeal widely to newer modelers looking for a small, straightforward build. But it offers all the detail an experienced modeler would expect, allowing them to quickly add an interesting vehicle to their collection, vignette, or diorama.