62 Model Military International - September 2019KIT PREVIEW Italeri 1:35 Sd.Kfz. 10 Demag D7 • Kit No. 6561
The Demag D7 was a
German WWII light half-
tracked vehicle that was
developed as a prime
mover for small towed guns
such as the 2cm Flak, 3.7cm
PaK 36 anti-tank gun etc. as well
as for transporting troops. The
chassis also formed the basis for
the Sd.Kfz. 250 light armoured
personnel carrier.
Powered by a Maybach HL42
TRKM engine it could reach speeds
of up to 40mph (65kph) on roads.
Over 14,000 were produced
between 1938 and 1945 and it
appeared on all fronts during WW2.
This is yet another golden goldie
from the Italeri catalogue, as this
kit has been around since the late
1990s in one form or another and
for your money you get three
sprues in dark grey polystyrene, a
rather useful set of German WWII
paratroops (originally moulded by
Masterbox) and a small decal sheet.
Again for a kit of its age
moulding quality is good with
remarkably little flash present on
parts and any mould-pin marks are
located in hard to see areas.
Detailing is typical of a 1990s
vintage kit with solid ventilation
grills on the bonnet (hood) and
raised detail representing the dialson the instrument panel, however
Italeri supplies decals for these in
the kit, you just need to scrape off
the instrument faces. The canvas
hood is pretty well done and should
look good after a coat of paint.
The tracks are link and length
and from my memory of building
the Sd.Kfz. 10/5 way back when
they went together pretty well,
however I later learned that the
drive sprocket is too big and that
the tracks are shown the wrong way
around so be warned. If you have a
spare Dragon 250 kicking around
then the running gear from that
would make a good replacement. At
the very least aftermarket tracks
could be fitted as the kit ones don’t
have much detail.
Speaking of the running gear,
Italeri would have you fit the
tracks and wheels to the hull sides
(parts 44 and 45A) then fit these
to the hull. Personally I would dry
fit the wheels to these parts, glue
the tracks on and leave them to
set for a day. After which you can
remove the tracks and wheels as
sub-assemblies and glue the side
pieces to the hull, doing it this way
will make painting easier.
As stated above the German
paras are originally from
Masterbox and these are prettygood figures. Even the bread bags
are individually moulded unlike
those on a generic set that all look
the same. Detailing is good and
the only real nit-pick is the lack of
tread on the soles of the boots. All
figures are depicted wearing jump
smocks which could be in field grey
or splinter camouflage.
Back to the Demag and three
colour schemes are provided for,
all of which are Luftwaffe vehicles
due to the WL codes on the licence
plates. One scheme is a three tone
one of red brown/ olive green on
a dark yellow base, version B is
an overall dark grey and the final
one is in overall dark yellow. All
colours listed are from Italeri’s own
paint range with Federal Standard
numbers listed too.
As with a lot of Italeri kits,
this one provides a solid base to
improve on and with the addition
of aftermarket goodies it can look
really good. However, you have to
ask yourself whether the extra cost
is worth it especially when there
are more recent kits available
and with better detail such as the
Dragon Demag D7. ■Thanks to The Hobby Company
Limited for the review sample
http://www.hobbyco.netDEMAG REDUX
Andy King
takes a peek
at the classic
Italeri 1:35
scale Sd.Kfz.10
Demag D7, now
re-released
with a set of
Masterbox
paratroopers.
History adapted from Wikipedia.Kit decals. The very nice Fallschirmjager figures are from Masterbox.The see-through front grille is a nice touch.Side engine covers.The windscreen wipers are moulded to the
surrounds.Basic detail underneath the body.Some of the road wheels.Link and length tracks are quite reasonable.The instructions show these the wrong way
around, so take care!