The SdKfz. 234/1 was a fast recon vehicle armed with the KwK38 L/55 20mm as a main gun and an MG42 as secondary armament. Approximately 220 were built before the wars end making the most produced of the 234 series. The 234 series all shared the same chassis, which was powered by a Tatra 103 diesel engine that could carry the 234/1 to an effective range of 375 miles at a top speed of 80kph. A unique feature of the 234 series was the Claw transmission with 6 forward and 6 reverse speeds and the vehicles dual driving positions allowing it to travel forwards or backwards at top speed.

The Kit

Having reviewed the Hasegawa 234/2 when it came out some of this text is a rehash since the two kits share everything except the new turret.

The box contains 6 sprues of light gray Hasegawa plastic. Detail is crisp with no flash. Sprue attachment points are relatively small and in good locations. There are no release marks in areas that will be seen except part D7, but these are easily sanded away. The modeler is given two types of wheel and tire, an early type as well as a late type, but only two of the late types are provided. These are called for in the instructions, but more on that later. The wheels and tires are molded separately and this is a very nice touch indeed; it makes painting very easy. There is also a fair amount of interior detail, a nice plated floor and transmission as well as both drivers’ positions, turret seats and a really nice little radio. The tools are molded on the hull, something I wish Hasegawa had not done, but the jerry cans, fire extinguishers, jack, as well as some of the other upper hull bits are separate.

It should be noted that the mudguards have the tools molded on by virtue of sliding molds.

The decal sheet is OK. Two sets of plate numbers are provided but only one called for in the markings and painting guide. A full range of numbers in black and red is included as well as several different unit markings. There are only national markings for one vehicle. The decals themselves are thick and the national markings are out of register bad enough that it is fairly noticeable. The markings are intended for a vehicle from Pz.Aufkl, Abt.4 4. Pz. Div, Poland, 1945.

The instructions are very complete and concise.

Assembly

The kit goes together with extreme ease and is well designed. First up is the interior followed by the lower hull and suspension parts. These assemble well, but the join for the leaf springs and the lower hull will require a little filler because of the kits engineering. With the lower hull/suspension finished the upper hull can be attached. Alignment points on the front and rear make this an easy task and the slight overhang of armor on either side is normal for the 234. At this point I put on the fenders and all the small bits that would be there for base paint such as headlights and the tool boxes, but I left off the jerry cans, fire extinguishers, and jack until later. The wheel hubs are designed so the wheels can be positioned, a nice touch. With the hull assembly drying I assembled the turret. This is straightforward and everything fits well. The turret is the kit’s Achilles heel. I was able to compare the kit parts to pictures of the real thing and the interior detail is good for the scale but Hasegawa molded the anti-grenade screens solid. This leaves you with a lot of work. You can painstakingly try to drill and cut out the screens from the frames, or build the vehicle with the frames closed and use a very heavy in the mesh. Neither option is satisfactory. I plan on switching out my Hasegawa turret for the Roden one. With everything assembled and prepped for paint I turned my attention to the tires, wheels and jerry cans. One interesting thing to note is the standard wheels have lightening holes depicted as raised detail while the less common two holes type are recessed. I wish Hasegawa had made both types with the recessed holes. On a good note the hubs do have the proper 10 bolts.

Painting & Markings

I could come across very few pictures on the 234/1 and so I chose to model the version on the box top. This is a late war three color hard edge scheme for the vehicle from Pz.Aufkl, Abt.4 4. Pz. Div, Poland, 1945. To make this I painted the base dark yellow and used the instructions as a guide for applying my Silly Putty masking. The paint guides are in 1/72 so this is very convenient and a fairly easy job. After the first mask I sprayed the red brown, followed by more Silly Putty and then the olive green. I then glossed and applied decals and painted small details before adding an oil wash and a flat coat. I followed this with a couple filters (mostly sand and leather) and another flat coat to seal everything in. Finally a graphite rub and some dry brushing was applied followed by a small amount of thinner and MMP powder mix on the tires and wheels.

Recommendation

I enjoyed building Hasegawa’s 234/1. My only complaints are with the wheels and the turret. The wheels are forgivable but the turret really has to go and is for all intents and purposes useless out of the box if you want a model that doesn’t have a very toy like appearance. I really think Hasegawa could have and should have done better here. Small scale modelers expect more these days from a kit and Hasegawa will have to change to keep up with some of the other manufacturers. There is no easy way to deal with the turret, but the lower and upper hulls are very, very good in detail and accuracy. In my opinion the best thing to do is cross the lower part of the Hasegawa kit with the Roden turret and you will have a very nice 234/1 for your collection.

Thanks go to Dragon USA, via Saul Garcia, for the review sample.

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