Review

By 1944, the Germans were being pushed back on all fronts. They were desperate to turn the tide of the war. Hitler gave the command to mount an anti-tank gun on all able chassis. One of these was the Sd. Kfz. 251 personnel carrier. The PaK 40 was the weapon designated to be installed. Appearing in December of 1944, this vehicle was given the designation Sd. Kfz. 251/22.

To reproduce the Sd. Kfz. 251/22 in 1/35 scale, I used the CMD conversion set mounted to the Tamiya Sd. Kfz. 251 kit. I started with building the Pak 40. CMD did and excellent job in replicating this gun. The shield is photo etched so that the spaced double shield is accurately represented. I detailed mine further with rivets from Tichy train group and bolts from Grandt line.

The gun barrel is turned aluminum, with a cast resin muzzle brake. This is molded in two pieces, so it takes a lot of sanding and putty work. I then went to work on the chassis, but I left the road wheels and tires off for ease of painting. The tracks were the late war all steel version from Friulmodel.

The interior of the vehicle starts with adding the CMD floor. It fits in perfectly and I had no problems fitting the Tamiya parts to it. The mounting walls had to be made of plastic card, so take care when cutting them to size. I used Grandt line bolts to detail them. The gun mount itself it a little tricky, and I found mine to be a little too wide. Be mindful of the need to fit the ammo bins when installing the mount. The replacement resin upper hull is a work of art, but it is delicate. Take care when fitting it as not to crack it. I painted mine in a sharp edged 3 color camo scheme, using both Vallejo and Tamiya paints. The figures are from Warriors.

Photo Courtesy of Squadron/Signal Publications