Panzer-Artillerie II »Wespe«

Recensione del Modello Matchbox in Scala 1:76

Wespe painted in a trecolore camouflage pattern introduced in 1943, con brown and olive green disruptive stripes over the dark yellow base colour. Many patterns existed, depending on local terrain conditions. The disruptive colours consisted of thick camouflage paste diluted con water, oil o fuel. The pattern could be washed off con gasoline if the vehicle had to be camouflaged differently. The colours were either sprayed o painted on. If paint brushes were unavailable, the colours could be applied con a broom o rag. Some standard patterns were applied at the factory already, using templates, e they differed from the patterns applied by units in the field.

Contenuto

• Leichte Panzerhaubitze Wespe
• Ufficiale e Crew Member
• Diorama Base

Valutazione

• Excellent choice of subject, the 10.5 cm leichte Panzerhaubitze was a key fire support vehicle of Panzer e Panzergrenadier divisions. Wespe even served as a tank destroyer in emergency situations.
• Scale model con good detail. The interior detailing is well done, except that the floor of the fighting compartment does not show the typical grating. The rear wall should be left off until the compartment has been painted, the parts can be difficult to reach otherwise. The exterior of the Wespe is not cluttered enough to suggest a vehicle on campaign, there is still plenty of room to add blanket rolls ed altri oggetti of personal gear.
• Intermediate level of difficulty: 58 parts. The running gear consists of 25 parts, hull e superstructure require 26 parts, the diorama base has cinque parts e due soldatini. The parts went together very well, e there was minimal flash.
• The Wespe carries a radio, but there is no mounting bracket for the antenna. This part should be attached inside the compartment, just forward of the radio. The bracket needs to be angled to eliminate the slope of the armour plate, pointing the antenna straight up.
• The kit includes decalcomanie of the 17. e 21. Panzer-Division, the latter serving in Africa. Unfortunately, there are no tactical markings of the armoured artiglieria branch of service.
• Compatibile con Airfix, Fujimi, Nitto, e VAC-U-CAST.

• The tracks should not be fitted as early as section 2 of the manual suggests. Allow the running gear to dry overnight, otherwise the tight-fitting tracks will pull the drive sprockets out of alignment.
• The rolled tarp attached to the right rear of the Wespe hull should actually be a muffler con an exhaust pipe leading into it.
• The painting instructions for a Wespe of the 17. Panzer-Division are obviously in error, they are dated "Moscow 1941", despite the fact that Wespe did not enter service until 1943. The camouflage pattern of earth brown over panzergrey may be correct for elements of the 17. PD at the time, but Wespe would have been painted in a 1943 camouflage pattern of Schokoladenbraun and/or Olivgrün disruptive stripes over the Dunkelgelb base colour. The same error places the vehicle con 21. Panzer-Division in "Tripoli 1942". If Wespe fought nel Nordafrica at all, it probably did not arrive until the 1943 Tunisian campaign.
• The due soldatini included in this kit are dressed in Afrikakorps uniform, they are unsuitable for a vehicle deployed on the Eastern Front. The same is true of the palm tree which decorates the diorama base, although the base itself could be used to represent other theatres of operation.
• The officer figure is not a Wespe crew member, the man looks like a battery commander who would not normally be serving a gun. One solution is to paint the figure as a Fallschirmjäger NCO wearing tropical uniform e the Meier-Mütze. Tropical uniform was worn nell’Europa during the summer months. Fallschirmjäger units served in the fanteria role in the latter part of the war, e they were issued self-propelled guns.
• La scatola cover e painting instructions show the Wespe correctly fitted with due subdued headlights, but the model has only one.
• The Tarnlicht is missing. veicoli militari tedeschi carried a special light for night driving when the subdued headlights could not be used for reasons of security. This light was standard issue, ed it was fitted to veicoli catturati as well as confiscated civilian veicoli serving in the Wehrmacht. It’s amazing that a standard item like this is not always included in plastic model kits. Matchbox includes the Tarnlicht with some, but not all of its veicoli tedeschi.
• The fuel cannisters are too large, e they are not of the famous Jerrycan design. German 20 liter fuel cannisters were a standard item, they should be the same shape e design in every model kit. Millions of Jerrycans were produced, e there would have been no Blitzkrieg without them. Unfortunately, Matchbox offers a different type of "Jerrycan" in every model kit, sometimes due different cannisters in the same box even. Clearly, this additional design effort is a waste of time e creative energy, ed it significantly reduces the authenticity of the kit. Not only did the Germans standardize their fuel cannisters, other nations copied the popular Jerrycan. Most allied vehicle crews were happy to use captured Jerrycans instead of their own flimsy fuel cannisters. Because Jerrycans were identical in shape e design, they were marked to differentiate benzine, diesel, engine oil, coolant e potable water cannisters.
• The mitragliatrice leggera mounted on the superstructure is not loaded, an unfortunate oversight. These weapons were either fitted with a small drum magazine o they had belted ammunition. If the weapon is mounted on the superstructure at all, it should be loaded e ready for action, otherwise the crew would probably have taken the mitragliatrice leggera down e stowed it.

The Matchbox kit of the Wespe is unique in this scale, it’s a must-have for modellers, giocatori wargame, e collezionisti. Open-topped veicoli corazzato da combattimento are very interesting to model, they can be detailed inside, e there is enough room for crew members ed a variety of equipaggiamento personale not normally seen on other veicoli. The Wespe is relatively easy to build, and fun to paint.

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– Pubblicato: 1997 – Aggiornato: 02.09.2007
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