Ace 1/72 3.7cm Pak 35/36 auf Sd.Kfz 10
KIT #: 72281
PRICE: $14.95 at www.scale-model-kits.com
DECALS: Three options
REVIEWER: Scott Van Aken
NOTES: Includes two photo etch frets

HISTORY

The Sd.Kfz. 10 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug - special motorized vehicle) was a German half-track that saw very widespread use in World War II. Its main role was as a prime mover for small towed guns such as the 2 cm FlaK 30, the 7.5 cm leIG, or the 3.7 cm PaK 36 anti-tank gun. It could carry eight troops in addition to towing a gun or trailer.

The basic engineering for all the German half-tracks was developed during the Weimar-era by the Reichswehr's Military Automotive Department, but final design and testing was farmed out to commercial firms with the understanding that production would be shared with multiple companies. Demag was chosen to develop the smallest of the German half-tracks and spent the years between 1934 and 1938 perfecting the design through a series of prototypes.

The chassis formed the basis for the Sd.Kfz. 250 light armored personnel carrier. Approximately 14,000 were produced between 1938 and 1945, making it one of the most widely produced German tactical vehicles of the war. It participated in the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, the Balkans Campaign and fought on both the Western Front and the Eastern Front, in North Africa and in Italy.

The vehicle was modified for a variety of purposes, one of them was to have the Pak 35/36 anti-tank gun installed in the passenger compartment. Some of these modified vehicles were up-armored with additional protection on the front and the cab, to name a few locales.
THE KIT

Typical of Ace's low pressure injection molding, the surface detailing is quite nicely done with decent detail level. The kit parts do suffer somewhat from light flash and I did find several sink areas, some of which, like on the back of the front tires, will be difficult to handle, but overall, it isn't anything really major.

What you get is basically the standard Sd Kfz 10 with additional bits for the 37mm gun. Now the original set up of this vehicle had the Pak 35, trails and all, installed in the rear bed. The wheels were not attached and the gun was mounted on a cross member. This variant had the stock gun shield. The up-armored version, had just the gun mounted on this cross member with a larger gun shield. The up-armored version also had an armored cab covering instead of the usual open one and a large plate steel covering for the front end. It is this version that is shown on the box art. The kit comes with the old style 'rubber band' tracks that are joined by heating the attachment tabs. Two etched brass, or perhaps they are etched copper, frets are very nicely done and appropriate for the medium. The more square one is specifically for the up-armored variant.

The instructions are quite well done with crisply drawn steps. One has to pay close attention to what goes with what version. It is all shown, but there is a lot on the page. There are a number of detail drawings to show how the bits fit. The decal sheet provides markings for three vehicles, all in panzer grey. All are from units in Russia with the up-armored version being used with the Kleist Army in the Ukraine in 1941. The other two are from an unidentified unit and the other with Guderian in 1941. A note is that there are apparently photos of these vehicles at the ACE web site www.acemodel.com.ua.
CONCLUSIONS

I've built several Ace models and while they take a bit more prep than some, will build into very nice models. If your a 1/72 armor fan, then you should add this one to your list of things to do.

REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sd.Kfz._10

Thanks to www.scale-model-kits.com where you can get this and many other goodies at a discount.

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