Germany created a number of successful schwerer Panzerspahwagen (“heavy armored reconnaissance vehicles”) to support its forces. In fact, a whole family of vehicles was based on the Sd.Kfz.231 8-Rad (“eight-wheel”) design. This type of heavy armored car was ordered in 1934, and one of its special features was its chassis that featured 8-wheel drive and 8-wheel steering. This chassis was produced by Bussing-NAG and it offered good cross-country mobility. There were dual driver’s controls, which meant the vehicle could drive rapidly in either direction if it came under attack. The 8.3-ton Sd.Kfz.231 was built from 1936 through till May 1942, with some 607 vehicles produced in all (including the closely related Sd.Kfz.232). The Sd.Kfz.231 had a hexagonal-shaped turret mounting a 2cm KwK 30 cannon plus one MG34 machine gun.
Dragon earlier released a brand new 1/72 scale plastic kit of the Sd.Kfz.232, which differed in that it was fitted with more powerful radios and a large frame antenna. Now the Armor Pro series is offering the standard Sd.Kfz.231 8-Rad. The upper and lower hull sections are made as one-piece slide-molded elements. Indeed, the upper hull is completely new, as is the hexagonal-shaped turret. Logically, most other parts stem from the earlier well-detailed Sd.Kfz.232 model. This armored car design was composed of many irregularly shaped and angled plates, so the kit obviously requires extremely precise tolerances when it fits together. Thanks to the use of CAD drawings and high-tech molding techniques, the vehicle’s parts fit together flawlessly. The unique shape of this classic German 8x8 armored vehicle is beautifully captured by Dragon.
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