Sd.Kfz.251 engine compartment set

With the addition of Hasegawa’s very nice Sd.Kfz. 251 halftrack kits the Extra Tech company from the Czech Republic offers us this well detailed engine in resin and etched brass. The Maybach HL42TUKRRM was a straight 6-cylinder, 4.17 litre gasoline (petrol) fueled engine that gave 100 hp and powered Germany’s Sd.Kfz 251 Schützenpanzerwagen from initial development till the end in 1945. My references indicate it was a reliable powerplant and easy to maintain with the large engine deck hatch of the Sd.Kfz. 251 halftrack. This engine kit is designed for the 1/72 scale Hasegawa 251 kits, though with a little work I think it can be made to fit in the 1/72 ESCI/Italeri Revell and Dragon Sd.Kfz. 251 kits.
Good news is that the HL42 engine was also used in the Sd.Kfz.251’s smaller cousin, the Sd.Kfz. 250, and in the Sd.Kfz. 11 3-ton halftrack tractor. This opens up the engine kit to be used in the Italeri Sd.Kfz. 11, in Italeri/ESCI’s Sd.Kfz. 250 kits, or in Ace’s Sd.Kfz. 250, 252 or 253 models, or Tracks & Troop’s Sd.Kfz.250 "neu" kits. [Tracks & Troops also offers a HL42 engine set, #TT009, for their Sd.Kfz. 250 Neue Art halftrack that perhaps could also be modified for use in these model kits.]

The kit instructions come on a two-sided sheet of paper. One side shows the resin and etched-brass parts included along with a painting guide. This scan is of the assembly instructions. The instructions appear very clear in showing where all those little brass parts go and the assembly steps. In using it in a Dragon Sd.Kfz. 251 Ausf. D model, I found some modification of the kit's engine area was necessary to better fit Extra Tech’s parts. The Dragon kit already comes with the engine access doors open but we’ll need to cut off the lip around the opening.

Below you see the parts in this set. At far left is Extra Tech’s resin HL42 engine [part A1], to its right is the radiator and twin cooling fans [part A2], and then four additional resin parts. Missing is the engine exhaust pipe to the exterior muffler, fan belts, and the coolant hose from the muffler to the engine block.

The etched brass fret contains almost 40 parts for the engine compartment and engine. Parts B1 & B2 are new engine deck doors with hinges [parts B3]. Parts B16 & B17 are internal sides for the engine compartment. Unfortunately the engine compartment doors are a tad short for the Dragon kit and the Dragon doors are too thick; so new doors will have to be made from thin sheet styrene. Part B21 is actual wiring for the engine area. Parts 4 & 5 make up the two six-bladed fans that go in the circular areas of the radiator. Parts 3 are the hinges for the engine compartment doors.

My references and the kit instructions are not clear as to the exact colors of the engine, various parts and engine compartment. I have seen the engine compartment painted in primer red brown, and for post 1942 vehicles painted in the vehicle exterior Dunkelgelb color. The engine appears to be commonly gloss black or gloss dark gray. The kit instructions describe many parts as green, which seems atypical to me.

Article Last Updated: 07 October 2009