Kit Review: Profiline 1/72 scale Accurate Static Model Series Kits: No. 7003, Steyr Type 1500 Cargo Truck - =93Einheitsfuerherhaus=94; 55 parts; retail price US$22 No. 7004, Steyr Type 1500 Funkkraftwagen - =93Einheitsfuerherhaus=94; 52 parts; retail price US$22 No. 7003, Steyr Type 1500 Krankenwagen - =93Einheitsfuerherhaus=94; 56 parts; retail price US$22
Advantages: first time this vehicle has been kitted in styrene or in this scale; choice of vehicles provides for creation of a =93train=94 for combat vehicles
Disadvantages: somewhat simplified by contemporary standards
Rating: Recommended
Recommendation: for all small scale German fans and dioramists
Other than the occasional foray into the Opel Blitz or light vehicles like the VW Kuebelwagen, German softskin vehicles as 1/72 scale kits are pretty much impossible to find in injected molded styrene. As a result, modelers either have to make do with the kits they can scrounge up, scratchbuild, or use resin.
This is a shame, as the Germans =96 like the Americans and British =96 had an entire family of classes of vehicles which shared components to speed production. These came mostly in 1.5 metric ton, 3 metric ton and 5 metric ton class trucks, either 4 x 2 or 4 x 4, with a variety of bodies and functions. As the war progressed, they first went from steel cabs to wooden cabs and finally to =93einheits=94 or standardized parts for easy assembly by cottage industries. These included simple cabs which in design were throwbacks to the 1920s, but they did provide a modicum of protection from the elements on the Russian front.
Now we have a new line of vehicles coming from Profiline, a new Czech manufacturer. These are their first three military vehicle efforts =96 their first two kits in 1/72 (7001 and 7002) were Czech gliders. Their first efforts all use the Steyr 1500 4 x 4 chassis with the =93Einheits=94 cab; they are a low side side-loader (what a British railway fan would call a =93three plank body=94); a box body for radio work (Funkenwagen) and an ambulance (Krankenwagen).
All three kits share three common sprues: the cab, the chassis and running gear, and the hood/front fenders and wheels. Steyrs were a bit different from other vehicles in that the front wheels are normal in appearance but the rear ones are =93reversed=94 with the domed side facing the brake drum.
The kits all share a simplified drive line, but each axle comes with separate brake drums. The front axle, engine oil pan, and tie rods come as a single component. The drive shafts are linked together, and there is a two-piece exhaust system (the Steyr used an 85 HP V-8 for power). But the =93Notek=94 light is simplified and hard to locate on the sprues. The interior comes with only a steering wheel, dashboard and seats.
The bodies are all unique, and the two box bodies come with the proper number of acetate windows. Profiline has printed the cut lines on the acetate to make it easier to cut and mount them in the right spots. Neither the radio body nor the ambulance comes with an interior nor do any of the kits offer separate doors.
Markings and finishing are extremely generic: paint =93Wehrmacht=94 sand and add licence plates, but the ones provided are generic with a =93number jungle=94 and no indication of what a correct number for a Steyr would be! The most complete one is that of the ambulance with all of the red crosses needed. All of them have a small weight placard for the left front door.
Overall these are nicely done, however, and for a diorama or wargamer are a great addition to a very sparse field. The next kits coming from Profiline are an ambulance with the earlier wooden cab and a cargo truck with wooden cab and what the British would call a =93seven plank=94 high body.
Thanks to Ed Sexton of MRC for the review samples.
Cookie Sewell