German Hanomag Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Halftrack

The original Hanomag was the mainstay of German transport and modifications for many roles. I chose the first of the series for a diorama incorporating the Italeri Smoke Projector or infamous Nebelwerfer which was a very potent weapon used against the Allies. Crew served by Tamiya figures from the 75mm Anti Tank Gun set I was able to re-create a loading scene and the Hanomag as the vehicle to tow and supply the Nebelwerfer. As with the 251/9 and other 251 variants the tracks and road wheels go together quite well when you follow the sequence in the directions. This kit has been re-issued over time as far back as I can remember and along with over 50 military models finds its home.

I think anyone building armor in the WWII arena is bound to come across one of these. This is a fun and relatively simple build all together, however there were some areas that I found to be lacking. First the front fenders and side skirts seemed to be a bit ill fitting. This could of been due to the tooling or maybe just a bad mold? The interior could of been done a bit better, maybe it is just due to the fact that it is not a highly technical model, but my investigation into this vehicle during the build showed some very cool features that I feel could have been easily incorporated in the kit. Don't get me wrong, it was a great and fun build. I just had higher hopes I guess. Maybe I will try again but this time invest into some of the large quantity of aftermarket items out there.

Good straight forward build. I feel like a little bit more detail would be nice in some places such as interior and undercarriage. The decals also included two sets of numbers 0-9 so you could pretty much build any half track you could ever see. Also if you get a little creative with some dirt, foliage and a lighter to melt and bend the fenders, You can take this model to a whole new level.