The Sd.kfz 222 is part of a family of light armored cars thatstarted with the 221. Prototypes of this series were initially developed around1937 and were produced until 1942. However these useful vehicles were used untilthe end of the war. The main difference between the 221 and the 222 was in theweapon carried. The 221 had a a seven sided open topped turret with a single7.92mm machine gun. Later in the war, a 2.3 cm anti-tank rifle replaced themachine gun. The 222 (and subject of this kit) had a ten sided open toppedturret with a 20mm anti-tank gun in addition to the machine gun.

All of these vehicles were based on a Horch/Auto Union chassiswhich had either a 3.5 liter, 75 hp engine (Ausf A) or later production had a3.8 liter 81 hp engine (Ausf B). Both had the engine in the rear. The chassishad a four wheel drive, fully independent suspension. Initially, they also hadfour wheel steering, but this was removed later as it proved to be unnecessary.The differentials were full locking ensuring that all four wheels were able toprovide traction.

The hull was welded steel plate with a door on either side. Theopen top was covered by a framework with steel mesh (obviously to prevent theodd hand grenade from being dropped inside). Elevation and azimuth of the turretwere manually controlled via small hand wheels. 

This kit is a bit different for me. I bought this one for aridiculously low price as the previous owner had already started it. In fact thebasic chassis had already been finished. Of the 10 steps in the constructionsheet, most of the first three had been done for me. While all the pieces werethere, this person obviously didn't believe in parts preparation as none of themold seams had been removed from the assembled parts. Neither had any ejectorpin holes been filled in the assembled bits. 

The parts themselves were in dark grey plastic. There is alength of string for the towing cable and a sheet of mesh that needs to be cutfor the steel screening. The instructions are first rate as one expects fromTamiya. There is a pattern in there so you can cut the mesh to the right size.There is also a small decal sheet for a couple of different cars; one in Europeand one in North Africa.

First step for me was to clean up what had already beenbuilt. This involved much scraping and some filling. Once this was done, Ineeded to find a similar paint, as the lower chassis had been painted as well.Following the advice of a store owner, I got a tin of Humbrol paint. It was notpanzer grey, but uniform grey that the fellow had given me, as it was too green.Another trip to the store got a tin of something more dark and more blue thatpretty well matched what was already there. 

Rather than respray for a second time, I decided to do someconstruction. The fit of the parts is very good, though there are some moldrelease pin holes that do need filler. One needs to remember that this is not anew kit and the mold was developed at least 20 years ago. However the partsremaining were nice a crisp, though the mold lines were more pronounced than ona brand new mold.

I had decided not to install the wheels until the last step sodidn't install them or the tie rods to them at this time. The wheels do turn andthe mechanism by which they do this is rather well thought out. Once the wheelswere assembled, they were painted panzer grey and then the tires painted withAeromaster tire grey.

The gun mount and seats were next. Again, a simple job of gluingwith no real problems. This assembly was painted panzer grey except the seatswhich were painted RLM 79 sand, as the instructions suggested khaki and that wasthe closest I had to it. This assembly was drybrushed with steel and then setaside. What to paint the interior was a real quandary. Really not much is inthere kit-wise, except the gun. I knew that enclosed vehicles were painted whiteor light beige, but knew nothing about open topped armored cars. I decided topaint it panzer grey since there is no real interior and nothing else to see.

Once that was done, the gun was installed and the top glued inplace. You cannot insert the gun mount after the top of the hull is in place.The top of the hull was prepainted before gluing as was the low turret. Once thehull was complete, the other bits and pieces such as spare tire, fenders andsuch were glued in place. I left off most of the small bits until finalconstruction. I knew that if I didn't, I'd break something off!

After the hull was basically complete, I went to work on theturret and the mesh screen. This was not as difficult as first envisioned.I used the kit diagrams and set the provided plastic mesh over it. Using acurved blade, it was easy enough to rock the blade over the plastic mesh and cutit. Less than half the mesh was used to make the initial bits so there is plentyfor mistakes. Once all the bits were cut, they were attached using superglue.After they were painted, they were glued in the closed position (mostly to hidethe nearly empty interior). Some of the final additions were the exhaust pipes,the rest of the steering gear (minus wheels), some canister thingies on thefront and a few other odds and ends on the turret sides. 

To paraphrase Henry Ford, you can have it any color you want aslong as it is dark grey or desert tan. This one was painted dark grey. The onlycolor in it other than decals are the wood handle for the shovel and the khakiseats inside. I know nearly zilch about the markings on these things so choseone of the several options that was given in the instruction sheet.

This kit was painted quite frequently as things were added on toit. Once the wheels were painted, they were left off until the final stage toprevent overspray from marring the tire paint. An antenna was made fromstretched sprue and that was it for construction. Once the decals had dried, thekit was sprayed with a matte clear to seal them in.

Really, a very nice little kit. Probably perfect for thebeginner into semi-detailed military vehicles, and a nice change of pace for me.It is also nice that it isn't $40 dollars and doesn't have ten thousand piecesto it. While the armor experts probably can tell me a dozen things wrong withthe kit, I liked it and can recommend it without hesitation. The only trickypart is the screening.

Review copy courtesy of me and my wallet!! If any of youmanufacturers or shop owners want to send products for review and building,please contact me.