ICM- Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf. B

WWII German Armoured Command Vehicle

History

The Sd.Kfz 247 or Schwerer geländegängiger gepanzerter Personenkraftwagen ("heavy all-terrain armoured motor vehicle") was an command armoured car used by the Wehrmacht. Unarmed, this open topped car crewed by six men was not intended as a fighting vehicle, but as a command vehicle for motorcycle and motorized reconnaissance early in the war. With 58 being built over the period of 1941-1942, this four-wheeled version of the original six-wheeled Ausf. A was powered by an 81hp Horch 3.5L petrol engine with a maximum speed of 80 km/h (50mph) and a range of 400km (250 mi). This variant was largely employed on the Eastern Front and possibly in Normandy in 1944. It is also quite an unusual looking beast which is most of the appeal for me to build this new ICM release.

What´s Inside the Box

The kit comes in a sturdy box with hinged lid and thinner cover box as is the norm for ICM kits of late and contains five gray plastic sprues, a clear sprue, four vinyl tires, and the decal sheet. Everything plastic was contained within one large plastic bag loosely, so take care when opening as in my case there was a loose part that had come off of one of the sprues...check the bag carefully before disposing of it. Detail is crisp and excellent, with minimal sink marks on interior surfaces- mostly unseen on the build model. The few instances where you might see them (inside of fenders and inside faces of the open-top crew compartment) look to be easy to access to remove them. Let´s look in detail...

Sprue A contains most of the larger parts of the kit- top car body, compartment floor with excellent diamond tread detail, bulkheads, instrument panel, doors and hatches, and a storage box.

Sprue B consists of fenders, lower hull sides, covered spare tire, partial engine, radio rack with beautifully detailed radios, seats, radiator, jack, fire extinguisher, and shovel.

Sprue C contains parts for the ladder-type lower frame, engine detail parts, drivers controls like steering wheel, pedals, and levers...

Sprue E (X2) contains more parts for the lower frame and the engine, suspension and wheel springs, wheels, and many fiddly bits.

Sprue D contains the clear parts (of which you will only use the headlight lenses) and there is also a sprue of vinyl tires- they work fine out of the box, but FC Model Trend makes a great aftermarket set that includes weighted and extra wheels that have tire detail the kit set is missing. 

The A4 format instruction manual is quite nice- with color schemes and front cover in color...

Markings

The kit includes marking for four schemes-- three Eastern Front schemes in Panzer Grey, and one scheme from France 1944 in Dark Yellow. The decal scheme is glossy and looks to be in great register.

Conclusion

ICM looks to have quite a nice kit here of a rarely seen German command vehicle. The quality of the parts look great and the ladder-style chassis looks to be not as involved as normal with the ICM vehicles, and the included engine detail would look fine if you decided to open the hatch to show it off. It is a truly bizarre looking piece- reminiscent of Tesla´s upcoming Cybertruck that I have seen pictures of. There are 112 steps to construction, but having started the kit yesterday, I was at step 24 within an hour of sitting and starting to cut plastic. These steps bring you to the point of a completed chassis and engine- I am at the point where I decide to paint it gray or dark yellow....which shall I choose? Stay tuned....

Highly Recommended for Beginner to Advanced builders, pending full build.

Thanks goes out to ICM for this review kit.

Reviewed by Michael Reeves

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