Review: Warlord Games SdKfz250 (Alte)

 

Heyhey, it's been a while since I last did a review of a kit. So let's get back on this by taking a closer look at Warlord Games' plastic Sd.Kfz.250 (Alte).

History

The Sonderkraftfahrzeug 250, a half-track armoured vehicle, was introduced in 1942 with armoured recon units. The armour was just thick enough (7mm on the sides, 12mm to the front) to protect the crew and passengers from small arms fire and shrapnel. The initial use was to carry small infantry recon groups into the field; basically like a shrunken-down Sd.Kfz.251. Just like its bigger brother, it was armed with either one or two machine guns.

Sd.Kfz.250/11 in Ukraine

Soon the Sd.Kfz.250 was used in various other roles due to the ruggedness and speed of the vehicle (performance in mud was a different matter). All in all I found  up to 14 different roles for this vehicle, ranging from the aforementioned troop carrier over armoured recon vehicle, mortar carrier, ammunition carrier, command/radio vehicle to light anti-tank vehicle (the term 'tank hunter' might be a bit lofty). It's safe to assume that it was used as a towing vehicle as needed as well of course. On top of that there were field modificatons, including strapping a 5cm Pak38 to the vehicle, which sounds equally complicated and impressive.

The Box

Warlord Games are spoiling us with loads of different variants of the Sd.Kfz.250 in plastic. There's three different boxes, all covering versions based on the older variant (the "(Alte)" in the name of the boxes).

Each of these boxes includes the basic Sd.Kfz.250/1 (armoured troop carrier version). The box which I have here also allows us to build the Sd.Kfz.250/9 and /11 versions. The latter is armed with a schwere Panzerbüchse (designated 'heavy anti-tank rifle',but more like an anti-tank gun really), the former got a turret nicked off of a Sd.Kfz.222 put on top, sporting a 2cm auto cannon and a co-axial MG.

Sd.Kfz.250/9

This was the first to be released of the three boxes of the Sd.Kfz.250. The second box, apart from Sd.Kfz.250/1 variant (see above) lets us build the Sd.Kfz.250/3 command variant with big frame antenna. Just like Rommel's famous vehicle nicknamed "Greif" in North Africa. The kit actually includes a Rommel figure too. The third variant in this box is Sd.Kfz.250/10, featuring a 3,7cm Pak 35/36.

The third box allows us to build either Sd.Kfz.250/1, Sd.Kfz.250/7 (mortar carrier) or Sd.Kfz.250/4 (a funky thing which never actually saw production with a twin-MG on an anti-air mount).

Back to our box right here. Box art is lovely as always (Warlord Games are good at that). The back displays the different variants:

The main vehicle is on two sprues (bagged in plastic, interestingly and probably unnecessarily)....

   

...the additional bits for the two extra variants (anti-rank rifle and autocannon turret) are on a third sprue:

In addition to this, we get a small, but very nice decal sheet (only downside is that numbers beyond two are on there just once each), stats cards for Bolt Action players and those smoke-and-fire-markers they've been including for a bunch of years now.

Also: Very good full-colour assembly instructions. 

Assembly

Assembly is very straightforward, parts fit perfectly fine. No numbering on the sprues themselves, just a picture of the sprues at the start of the assembly instructions with numbers for each part on there. Not a perfect solution, but it's manageable.

The front of the assembly instructions has some historical info on the vehicle, which I very much appreciate. Apparently there's a rather amusing little error on there.

The measurements are spot-on for 1/56th scale. Of course that's a little small for 28mm figures (not to mention the added size by bases on infantry. Which of course can be mitigated by basing the vehicle as well, but let's not open that can of worms. ;-) ), but most of us got used to that look by now. I made my peace with it a few years ago.

Notable bits: There are no driver/commander figures; the seats are just empty. Possibly it's because the figures would have to be tiny compared to other 28mm figures due to the aforementioned discrepancy between 1/56th scale and 28mm size. Either way, no biggie; Especially if any gunners (or indeed a big old armoured turret) are in place, there's barely a way you could see any drivers anyway.

MG34 gunners on the main vehicle sprue. 
You can stick them in different vehicles as well,
or replace the bipod with a deployed one and
put them in a foxhole or window.

Big thumbs up for the crew figures coice, by the way. Two different gunners for the Sd.Kfz.250/1 front MG (no way to use both to man the front and rear MGs without some converting), in summer and winter uniform. The anti-tank rifle variant comes with two gun crew, one pair in summer uniform, and another pair in winter uniform. By switching out some arms, those could also be turned into soldiers standing guard or as a little diorama, if you have no need for them on the vehicle.

Crew figures from the "variants" sprue. Very useful. Also pictured:
The carriage for the schwere Panzerbüchse

Also the 'anti-tank rifle' variant also correctly includes the gun's carriage on the back of the vehicle; technically you could assemble it as used on the ground; a crew from leftover bits on plastic infantry boxes should be easy to build as well. Just in case. ;-)

There isn't much in the way of stowage, apart from a rolled-up tarpaulin (the same you get on the Sd.Kfz.251 sprues) and a jerry can to put on the back. You also get a choice of 'bare' headlights and ones with slitted covers (to enable movement by night with minimal risk of air detection). The usual tools and whatnot you find strapped to German tanks are cast onto the model, and look perfectly OK.

Painting

The assembly instructions list a variety of paint schemes for the vehicle; I did  a panzer grey one for a change.

Verdict

I love the look of the older Sd.Kfz.250. Great little vehicle. Having all these variants available in plastic is pretty darned neat. Armoured recon is a very interesting topic in itself, and given the scale of most 28mm platoon-level wargames, these fit the theme well.

There is a universally accepted fact of life: Sticking an Sd.Kfz.222 turret on top of anything makes it cooler. It's true for the Pz.38(t) (Aufklärungspanzer 38(t)!), the Sd.Kfz.234/1, the Sd.Kfz.222 itself (what a cool vehicle that is to begin with!) and of course it goes for the Sd.Kfz.250 as well. 

Aufklärungspanzer 38(t)  
(Source: https://www.panzer-modell.de/referenz/fotoecke/fotoecke-03.htm)

However, the schwere Panzerbüchse variant is also tempting, if only for the excellent crew figures.

Of course the question now is: "can we maybe do all three?". It should be doable. The MGs and gunner for the Sd.Kfz.250/1 can be slotted in. The Sd.Kfz.250/9 basically is a topper you just put on. The trickiest bit probably would be the Sd.Kfz.250/11 crew, which would require magnets or pins. So you'll end up with quite a lot of loose parts, but technically it's possible.

What ever you do with it, it's a lovely kit.

Right, I hope you enjoyed the review and found it interesting. If you have any questions, comments or indeed commission enquiries, feel free to let me know via the comments section, the Battle Brush Studios Facebook page, on Instagram or via e-mail.