Sd.Kfz.232 6 Rad
with resin and etched parts
Italeri Kit No. 6445
1:35th Scale
First Look Review by Terry Ashley
As the plastic parts for this kit are the same as in kit 6433, I will refer you to that review and concentrate here on the added resin and etched parts as if they were an update set.
Added to the 161 plastic parts are 38 parts in light cream resin with 3 etched parts and a small photo film sheet for the instrument dials with the quality of the resin being as good as you will see today with just the usual casting blocks to be removed.
As we saw from the original kit all the hull hatches are already separate parts which makes showing off the interior very easy with the only alterations being to cut off the hatch hinges and glue them at an angle to show the hatches open.
The main interior part is the full length fighting compartment floor which includes nice tread plate pattern and this fits snugly inside the lower hull tub. There is a raised section in the middle of the plastic lower hull and while the resin floor has an indentation for this you still need to trim the floor extension a little for the floor to sit nice and flat.
Detail parts include separate foot pedals and gear levers at the front with characteristic angled steering wheel and two part crew seat while at the back is the foot pedals and rear facing steering wheel with another two part crew seat.
The instrument panel is in etched metal with the photo film dials and this is simply glued to the resin support with the panel/bulkhead attached to the floor.
At the front is a nicely detailed engine made up of the upper three quarters of the engine block with additional parts for the main engine accessories and this is attached to the lower hull above the moulded on lower engine/sump section. An additional fan panel with etched coaming is provided for the back of the kit radiator which is retained and fitted as per instructions. The engine and radiator are easily seen through the top and side engine bay hatches when open and should make for some nice detail.
There are additional resin parts for the inside hull sidewalls and a few water bottles to add with the instructions showing the approximate location of the parts.
The hull top fits in place as with the original kit without any alterations so long as the resin radiator parts are fitted precisely to the kit radiator part.
The only exterior part is an uncovered spare wheel to use in place of the covered plastic wheel of the kit and you simple add this to the spare wheel rack without alteration.
The instructions are the same as the first kit only updated to show the inclusion of the resin parts and the decals are also the same as the first kit.
Conclusion:
You get the same overall nice kit as the first release along with your own
update set in the one box with the resin parts giving a good basis for the
hull interior and nicely detailed engine with the separate hull hatches making
showing off the interior very easy.
Highly recommended.
References:
Thanks to Italeri for the review kit.
Page Created September 10, 2005