Sd.Kfz.251/7 Ausf.C Sturmbrücke
Pioneer Assault Bridges
AFV Club1:35 Kit No. AF 35077
First Look Review by Terry Ashley
The kit consists of 318 parts in olive drab plastic, 12 in clear plastic and a set of soft vinyl tracks, the decal and instruction sheets plus a bonus resin figure. All of the parts are from the initial Ausf.C Kit #AF35078 which in turn had many parts are from the previous Ausf.D kits with a new sprue V for the Pioneer Bridges and equipment.
The standard of moulding is again excellent with virtually no pin marks to be seen, this is especially noticeable on the hull sides, real hull panel and doors which have details on both sides but with some minor pin marks where they can’t be avoided. The details included on the parts is also very good with nice bolt head details on the hull and fenders as well as nicely rendered weld seams on the forward hull/engine compartment and the excellent tread plate pattern on the interior floor panels.
Lower Hull/Suspension:
The lower chassis part has the engine oil pan included on the undersides and
the central hump with the tread plate pattern on the top with separate rear
floor section to allow good definition.
The hull sides have the internal panelling used to fix the various different version fittings with the gap between the hull side and panels represented by small indentations along the top of the hull sides while the rear hull section is a further separate part which allows for the correct upper hull overhang to be represented as well as well defined bolt head details. The underside rear hull panel is another separate part to allow the inclusion of all the bolt and panel line details.
The road wheels being from the previous kits have the same excellent details including the spot welds around the rims and on the drive sprocket the correct offset of the drive teeth while the front tyres have excellent tread pattern as well as good hub details on the wheels.
On the outside of the side hull panels are the fender attachment flanges, the lower hull sides have excellent details on the axle mountings as well as recessed location of the bump stops with all the axles as separate parts which will allow you to animate the suspension if you wish?
Hull Interior:
This is especially well detailed with the front bulkhead having a separate
instrument panel with engraved dials as well as separate driver’s foot
pedals and gear levers and the distinctive slanted steering wheel plus separate
radio and rack.
The two excellent crew seats with two part lower sections and the back rests
with superb cushion detail on one side and the distinctive spring pattern on
the back and as mentioned no pin marks to spoil the detail.
The forward hull panel has separate vision port covers with each internal visor having three parts including the new clear vision block for excellent detail definition; the two side vision slits also have two part internal armoured glass housings in clear plastic as well as hull cut-outs for the side vision ports.
The forward top hull section is a separate part with separate bullet splash guard while on the underside of this is a separate panel with two padded head guards and front grab handle while you are given two excellent weapons in the MG42 to mount in the small gun shield which is about the only part with pin marks evident, but these are very small and easily dealt with and the MG34 usually mounted on the rear hull swivel mount, both these have superb details included.
Moving back there are the two hull section bolted flanges as separate parts again for good detail definition and there are the rifle racks with very nice Kar98s and the crew seats and back rests are very well done and while there is a choice of leather cushions or later wooden slat benches on the sprues you should use the leather cushions for the Ausf.C and there is also the separate grab handle railing along the inside of the upper hull sides.
The rear doors are both separate with the large Ausf.C type hinges in three parts each and are the correct size with nice details that can be positioned in the open or closed position as you wish, while there is the fire extinguisher and ammo racks on the inner rear walls.
Additional parts are provided for the Engineer equipment with the two large storage boxes that replace the rear crew seats with a selection of mines, ammo boxes and wooden boxes with the mine packs made up of three parts each for nice details.
Upper Hull/Exterior:
The upper hull is a full length moulding with the rear hull panel separate
and features some very subtle but nice bolt head and weld seam details with
separate engine bay doors as well a choice of separate welded or cast armoured
intake covers which gives a subtle but nice choice and a separate one piece
nose plate.
The side fenders are separate parts and also have very nice bolt head and panel details with the two Ausf.C style head lights as well as three part upper exhaust system and separate closed fender storage boxes as well as the pioneer tools carried on the fenders and rear tail light assembly and plastic width indicators.
The large 8 ton bridge sections are in separate lower and upper sections with details on both sides and are also of the correct length and width with excellent surface details as well as separate side lifting handles. The hull side mounted brackets have separate top sections with added detail for if you don’t show the bridge sections in place.
The Tracks:
These are the same soft vinyl tracks from the earlier kits and have quite good
details for the medium, although you may want to update to one of the separate
individual track sets available.
Decals:
The decal sheet is well printed with thin carrier film and provides markings
for four vehicles;
Bonus Figure:
Included is a bonus resin figure from Hobby Fan for a crewman wearing the later
war reversible parka and steel helmet with excellent details included on
the parts.
Conclusion:
This is another excellent kit from AFV Club that incorporates many excellent
details from the previous Ausf.C kit such as the running gear and interior
details plus the most accurate depiction of the 8 ton bridge sections yet in
a plastic kit all add to the overall excellent level of details on the kit.
Highly recommended.
The comparison review with the Dragon Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf.C has been updated as well as a comparison review of the Sd.Kfz.251/7 Ausf.C Pionierpanzerwagen also added for the Pioneer sections to show different details.
Also see reviews of the two track sets AF35069 Sd.Kfz.251 Track Late model and AF35070 Sd.Kfz.251 Track Latest model
The Sprues:
 SdKfz251 Ground Power Special GALILEO Publishing Co.,Ltd |
 Schutzenpanzer (Armored Personnel Carrier) Ryton Publications ISBN: 1930571291 |
 Sd.Kfz.251 1939 to 1942 Panzer Tracts No.15-2 Covers /1 to /10 |
 Sd Kfz 251 Tank Power Vol.VI Wydawnictwo Militaria No.215 ISBN: 83-7219-215-4 |
 Sdkfz251 Osprey New Vanguard 25 |
 German Halftracks 1909-1945 Spielberger Book 6 |
 SdKfz251 Wydawnictwo Militaria No.12 ISBN: 83-86209-06-2 |
 SdKfz251 in action Squadron Signal #2021 |
 SdKfz 251 Militaria in Detail 001 ISBN: 83-7219-061-5 |
Kit courtesy of my Credit Card and the excellent service from Rainbow Ten.
Page Created October 22, 2005