1:35th scale
By Bill Curtis (November 2010)
Zvezda has to be congratulated for picking this vehicle to produce in model form. As one on the mainstays of the Wehrmacht transport organisation it is surprising that it has not been done sooner. Having built some earlier kits by this manufacturer I was pleasantly surprised by the level of detail and the quality of the moulding. This kit has much potential as it can be built as is or used as the basis of a number of conversions, such as carrying A/A guns, field kitchens and workshops.
The box has an artist impression on the front and repeated on the ends of the rather tin card box which is shrink wrapped. The box contains 6 sprues in a tan plastic and a further clear sprue for the windows and light lenses. A small decal sheet is included for two vehicles one being for the 62nd Inf Div Kharkov 1942 and the other being 24th Inf Div on the western front in 1944. The instruction sheet is well layed out with a diagram of the trees with the parts numbered for ease of location.
The assembly is done in exploded view drawings which appear clear to follow. The final part being the paint schemes for the two vehicles, one in a mono tone medium grey (Kharkov) and a three tone finish for the western front. The Chassis paint is shown as black but I have been unable to find this on my references and would in the case of the earlier 42 vehicle paint it the same as the chassis.
Overview of parts
The first stage of the build is the engine which looks a real gem and would be a shame to hide away under the bonnet as it includes the engine block, air filters, manifold, air compressor, fuel filter, generator and fan with pulley. All that is required to finish it is the addition of the fuel pipes and some careful painting .
The chassis is another well detailed sub assemble with braking system, exhaust springs with no mould seams, in fact a lot will not be seen if placed in normal parked mode.
Wheels are made with the hubs and tyre in plastic. The hubs being attached to the axles and the wheels assembled and painted separately.
The tyre tread is not to a pattern that I have seen in pictures of the actual vehicle but should paint up well. Perhaps an aftermarket manufacturer will come up with some replacements.
The cargo bed is very well rendered with no sink marks and the wood grain is pretty good as is all the fittings like the brackets and latches. The one failing is there are no tie downs for the tarpaulin. This will need to be rectified.
The cab and engine compartment is a little soft in detail although all items are there if a little simplistic especially the instrument dials. The floor and back of the cab have sink marks which will need to be removed.
The window “glass” is pretty thick but if the cab is to be closed should be ok but if the windows are to be shown partially open then they will need replacing with thinner items. The engine can be shown open or closed and the clips for the engine panels all come as separate items, which can be fitted either hooked up or positioned hanging down. Headlamps can be made with open “glass” or as blackout fittings.
The kit comes with two figures, one driver and a bare topped mechanic. The driver is ok and the mechanic is posed with a nice touch as he is shown with his trouser braces hanging down. It will be interesting to see how the figures assemble and paint up.
The decals are a weak point of the kit and do not conform to the rest of the quality of this kit. Decal number three has numbers on which the 5 is a different size to the rest. The divisional signs show only one of each and it was normal marking to have one at the front and one on the back of the vehicle, so other decals will need to be found.
Summary
Looking at the parts shows this is a good kit and stands up very well and possibly better than some other transport vehicle kits. There are items which let it down like the cab, decal sheet and the lack of tie downs but nothing that cannot be fixed by the average modeller. This should build into a very good model of the Mercedes-Benz L 4500 A straight from the box.
With the possibility of conversions we can look forward to Zvezda bringing out further releases which may have correction for the negative points.