Tamiya’s ever growing line of 1/48 armor kits has added one of the most produced armored figting vehicles of the Second World War, the Panzerkampfwagon IV, with this release being the ausf H version. The kit is molded in Tamiya’s standard desert yellow plastic. The tracks are plastic link and length type, and the only multi-media in the kit is two steel weights for the lower hull. Originally Tamiya 1/48 armor kits came with die cast metal lower hulls, but that has been replaced with a plastic hull in this release, with the two weights being a compromise. There is no zimmerit texture on the hull parts, a necessity for a German armor kit of this time frame. Tamiya recommends either buying their zimmerit tools and applying your own, or using the self adhesive vinyl zimmerit that they produce. I chose the latter for my build.

The latest in Tamiya’s range of 1/48th scale military vehicles is what the firm lists as a “British 7ton Armored Car Mk.IV”, while the correct designation is in fact “Armoured Car, Humber Mk.IV”, so I presume the lawyers found that “Humber” was a protected trademark and Tamiya didn’t want to pay for the privilege of using it! These vehicles were to be found all over Italy and NW Europe in British, Canadian, Polish, etc. units, as well as training units in the UK, from 1943 onwards.

Gone are the days when Tamiya incorporated a cast metal hull piece or lumps of metal to attach to the hull interior of their 48th scale military vehicle range. This kit includes only injection molded plastic parts of a dark green color, plus a small decal sheet. No cast metal, no photo etched, no clear injection plastic parts. Detail is good for this scale and there are no visible ejection pin marks that need removing, nor any flash on the parts.

History

The Panzer II was widely used in early campaigns of WWII such as the invasion of Poland, the Low Countries, and France. The main armament of most Panzer II variants was the 2cm Kw.K30 L/55 cannon, and a coaxial MG34, although the main gun was ineffective in the anti-tank role. One interesting conversion of the Panzer II was its use as an artillery observation vehicle (Beobachtungswagen). The armament was retained, and its most obvious external recognition feature was the fitting of a frame antenna on the rear deck. These Pz.Beob.Wg vehicles were successfully used in the target acquisition and artillery fire observation roles, primarily with self-propelled gun units. (sourced from the DragonUSA website).

The Ampersand Group, Inc. and David Doyle in conjunction with Hobbylink Japan have published another book on U.S. Army Half-tracks in the Military Modeling Series. Part 2 is a continuation of their previous book, Part 1, with Part 2 covering half-tracked multiple gun motor carriages and gun motor carriages.

What you get is an 8-1/2" x 11" glossy hardbound book covering 448 pages with high resolution black and white glossy, detailed historical photos covering the different variants of the half-track based vehicle. The book is divided into 8 chapters with Addendums, Appendix and a Bibliography:

This is another great book in Ampersand’s Visual History Series by prolific author David Doyle. The hard cover book is almost entirely photographs, with a brief introduction and text captions on the photos.

The book’s introduction describes the development history of the Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track starting with the Sd. Kfz 11, which would form the basis for the later half-tracks. Production of the Sd.Kfz. 251 started in 1939 as the Ausf. A, followed by the Ausf. B in September 1939, and the Ausf. C in January 1940. A new body style was developed December 1942, designated the Ausf. D, that would become the most numerous of the variants.

Manny variations of the Sd. Kfz 251 were developed as modifications of the basic Sd. Kfz 251 vehicle. These variations are included in the book: