SdKfz 251/1 Ausf D - Project CLOSED!

[Rubicon Models]

This is another version of the SdKfz 251/16 Flammpanzerwagen as suggested by Pinky.  We have gone through several reference material, seems like there are several versions of the flame projectors and gun shields, some with long barrel and some with short ones.  This is further supported by historical photos and by various assembled 1/35 models available on the internet.  The Flammpanzerwagen is available on both the Ausf C & D.



We will put this aside until all 3D drawings for the 251 expansion kits are done!

[Rubicon Models]

More add-on weaponry...

[Pinky]

Nice - I especially like the ammo stowage.  This weapon would be well suited to the alte SdKfz 250 - the SdKfz 250/11 was armed with one.  The Panzerbusche 41 got rarer as the war progressed due to a shortage of tungsten, but a few SdKfz 251s seem to have been fitted with them.

[Rubicon Models]

Nice - I especially like the ammo stowage.  This weapon would be well suited to the alte SdKfz 250 - the SdKfz 250/11 was armed with one.  The Panzerbusche 41 got rarer as the war progressed due to a shortage of tungsten, but a few SdKfz 251s seem to have been fitted with them.

This is very true.  Some 251s, especially on the 251/7 (both Ausf C & D) have them; some are installed on standard 251/1 as well.  We have drawn the ammo stowage in an ambiguous way so that they could be used for various weapons - AT gun, mortar, standard ammo, and the like.  We will include them sparingly on our 251 expansion kits.

[Pinky]

Good idea making the ammo storage generic.

I have a couple of photos of a Panzerbusche mounted on what looks like a standard Ausf D in Normandy.

[Rubicon Models]

After many man-hours of hard work, we have finally accumulated a good number of SdKfz 251 variants in our digital library.  As mentioned earlier, we have plan to release a SdKfz 251/1 Ausf C some time next year. Some of these variants will also be compatible to the new plastic kit too!


















Enjoy!!

[Yaquir]

Great!

[Laffe]

Looks very interesting!

[bull-nut]

that 80mm mortar looks nice, can it be built dismounted as well or is it only usable within the vehicle?
Also, will any of these upgrades be compatible with the forthcoming SdKFz 250 kit? I think the 80mm mortar and 7.5cm L24 howitzer were mounted on the smaller chassis as well.

[Pinky]

How many of those can you fit into one kit?  Personally, I think the Panzerbusche 41 is the least interesting  addition (maybe save that for the SdKfz 250?).  The /9 and the /22 are the most appealing to me.

[Rubicon Models]

that 80mm mortar looks nice, can it be built dismounted as well or is it only usable within the vehicle?

If sprue space permits, we will include at least one dismount mortar with the kit so that you can use it with your infantry.

Also, will any of these upgrades be compatible with the forthcoming SdKFz 250 kit? I think the 80mm mortar and 7.5cm L24 howitzer were mounted on the smaller chassis as well.

That's the plan!  There are at least 3 variants that we can use on the SdKfz 250 kit - (1) Mortar, (2) sPzB 41, (3) 37mm PaK 36.  Not sure about the Kanone 51 on the SdKfz 250 Alte, it was only available on the Neu version.

[Rubicon Models]

How many of those can you fit into one kit?  Personally, I think the Panzerbusche 41 is the least interesting  addition (maybe save that for the SdKfz 250?).  The /9 and the /22 are the most appealing to me.

It really depends on the number of parts per variant.  We do have some strategic planning needed to do as to what goes to which sprue.  At present, we do see the possibility of 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 kits.  Reason behind it was to save time and money redoing the moulds.  Wanted to group variants based on vehicles - SdKfz 251D / SdKfz 251C / SdKfz 250.

Right now is still too early to decide as this is still on the drawing board.  We do have some 3D prototypes done, but will wait until all proposed variants are done, then we will start looking at them all!!

[aphillathehun]

I would really like to see a 251/17:

http://www.wehrmacht-history.com/images/heer/sd.kfz.251/sd.kfz.251-17-d-1.jpg

[Rubicon Models]

I would really like to see a 251/17:

For those who are not familiar with the variant, the SdKfz 251/17 Schützenpanzerwagen (2 cm) is an anti-aircraft vehicle armed with a 2cm KwK38 on a pedestal mounting with a small armored turret to protect the gunner.  Late war, it was issued as a platoon commander's vehicle to replace the SdKfz 251/10.

To decide what variants go into an expansion kit, we have to look into various aspects - usefulness in game, number of parts, and ease of integration.

The SdKfz 251/17 requires major rework of the SdKfz 251D chassis, something that we have not the time to do at the moment.  But we still have plans to release a few more variants at a later date.  May be we can include it together with the SdKfz 251/21 Schützenpanzerwagen (Drilling MG151s) later!

[Rubicon Models]

There had been A LOT of things being done for the past two weeks at the studio.  We have three sets of mould done for the A15 Crusader, the M5/M8, and the M3/M3A1; then we have started some new Q4 projects, and several Q3/Q4 projects had been moved into 3D prototyping.

Here are some SdKfz 251 Variants 3D prototypes from last weeks 3D drawings:























NOTE: These are just prototypes and are subject to modifications based on production requirements.  SdKfz 251/2 Mortar Carrier prototype not yet available for display.

Comments are welcome!!