SdKfz140/1
Kit No. 349 Review by Simon Barnes

After production of the PzKpfw II Luchs ended for being too complicated and costly, the need for a fully tracked reconnaissance vehicle was filled by adapting basic Pz.Kpfw 38 (t) chassis that had been returned to be rebuilt or refurbished. 70 vehicles had their turrets removed and a new superstructure fitted. 50 of these vehicles were fitted with the 2 cm Hangelafette 38 turret the same as used on the Sd.Kfz 234/1 armoured car.

The basic tank hull is included this is the same as the tank kits.

A new sprue for the superstructure and the hangelafette, the gun is adequate but not great, I replaced the barrel on mine with a turned brass and it improved it 100%

The tracks and suspension are the same as the initial vehicles, on mine there was still a problem with the spacing between the inner and outer halves of the sprockets and idler, they need a spacer between them to get a proper fit on the tracks

The PE fret includes the grenade screens for the turret, although it is nice to have it as PE and not plastic, the Mesh is too widely spaced and out of proportion for the vehicle, it would be like having 1 inch metal strips above your head.

The decal sheet is somewhat smaller than other UM releases, this could be because only 50 of these vehicles actually saw service, two were fitted with a 75mm PaK and the others had no turrets. only one variant is shown in the instructions.

With the exception of the mesh it is a nice kit and scales out well to the dimensions and drawings I have.

References

PzKpfw 38(t) in action Squadron/Signal No 19

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Last Modified: 14 Oct 2006