Kubelwagen & Schwimmwagen Enhancement sets (4)

for Tamiya's 1/35 scale kits

Trakz
(A Division of the VLS Corporation)

Reviewed by Brett Green

Trakz has recently released four new sets destined for Tamiya's 1/35 scale Kubelwagen and Schwimmwagen kits.

All four sets are beautifully cast and will add a touch of individuality to these little vehciles.

Specifically, they are:

Item TX 0099 - Schwimmwagen Canvas Cover

Niether Tamiya's 1/35 scale Schwimmwagen nor Kubelwagen are supplied with an erected canvas hood. Trakz has now addressed this shortcoming.

This is a simple, one-piece resin hood for the Schwimmwagen kit. The canvas "drape" looks quite convincing, and clips are cast in place along the rear and sides of the cover.

The casting block has a thin connector along the length of the top rear corner of the hood. This should be simple to remove. The "window" at the rear of the cover is flashed over, but these windows were often almost opaque, so some modellers might decide to leave the resin in place.

There is a light seam line along the sides of the cover that will need a few minutes' attention with a sharp hobby knife but otherwise casting quality is terrific.

Item TX 0100 - Schwimmwagen Accessory Set

More detail for Tamiya's 1/35 scale Scwhimmwagen. This time we have a new furled cover (looking somewhat more convincing than the kit part); an all-weather cover for the windscreen and covered headlights.

This is a simple set that will make your Schwimmer look a little different

Item TX 0102 - Kubelwagen Canvas Cover

This Kubelwagen cover shares many of the same features as the Schwimmwagen item.  The canvas "drape" looks quite convincing, and clips are cast in place along the rear and sides of the cover.

Most impressively, the cover includes tubular frame detail on the inside of the part.

The casting block has a thin connector along the length of the top rear corner of the hood. This should be simple to remove. The "windows" at the rear of the cover are flashed over, but these were often almost opaque, so some modellers might decide to leave the resin in place.

There is a prominent seam line along the top of one side of the cover that will need a few minutes' attention with a sharp hobby knife but otherwise casting quality is terrific.

Item TX 0104 - Kubelwagen Accessory Set

This set supplies a furled hood, all-weather cover for the windscreen; covered headlights and four replacement doors.

The insides of the doors in the Tamiya Kubelwagen kit suffer from some prominent ejector pin marks. The replacement resin doors avoid this problem. In addition, each door features a small stowage bag on the inside.

All Recommended.

Thanks to VLS for the review samples

These and other VLS products may be viewed at Model Mecca, the VLS Website

Review Copyright © 2004 by Brett Green
Page Created 03 June, 2004
Last updated 03 June, 2004

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