Italeri 1/72nd Sd. Kfz. 234/2 "Puma"
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Background
 While
this was the third 1/72nd Puma released, I think it surpasses both the
others (Hasegawa and Roden) in terms of ease of assembly. Even though
I built this kit not using the "wargamer's parts" (see my First
Look) it was still easier to build than what the other two appear
to be. In addition, the level of detail on the Italeri kit is much nicer
than Roden, and is close to being - if not better - as good as Hasegawa.
Construction
As I mentioned in my First Look, you need to decide if you plan on building
this quickly - maybe to wargame with - or if you plan on trying to make
this into a "regular" shelf/contest model. It's crucial because
Italeri has parts to make the build easier if you want it finished quickly.
I went for the "shelf" model, and this choice offers a more
detailed set of suspension.
  This
is where construction starts, adding the suspension pieces to the lower
hull. There are four leaf springs - two per side - and eight main suspension
units, one per each tire. All are very nicely detailed and unlike both
the Roden and Hasegawa kits (especially the Roden) the suspension units
are all one piece with nothing separate to add. One word of caution. Be
sure to remove any mold marks from these units since after painting any
surface irregularities are obvious. After all suspension pieces are added
then the hull halves can be glued together. However, even though the instructions
have you add them now, I left the wheels off until last.
  Now
I added the fenders, followed by everything that goes on them. Yes, I
did add everything and painted by hand later what I wanted to be different
colors. Makes it a bit easier, I think. I drilled out the ends of the
exhausts (parts 21A and 22A) but I think the actual exhaust pipes are
a little small. They should probably be replaced with tubing a bit larger.
Since I wanted to keep this model out of the box, I left it as-is. It's
great that Italeri supplies most (all but two) of the pioneer equipent
as separate pieces. It definitely brings up the quality a notch from the
other two Puma kits.
I then assembled the turret, after drilling - and cutting - out the
barrel and muzzle brake. I would have drilled out the machine gun, but
the last of my smallest bits broke so I had to settle for a hole-less
gun. It's small enough that it's barely noticeable. (This is one area
Roden excels at compared with the Italeri and Hasegawa kits. Their machine
guns are injected works of art and really look like a machine gun once
painted, washed and dry-brushed.) I also drilled out the grenade launchers
as these more molded solid. Once that was accomplished these and the rest
of the pieces were added to the model.
 One
really bad item with the Italeri kit are the tires - they are hollow on
the backside. Noticeable if you sit the model by itself or on a base that
one can see some of the underside. My solution was to cut out round pieces
of plastic to fill in. I actually had to make "donuts" since
I needed to have a hole for what could be considered brake drums to slide
in. I accomplished this by using a standard, meant-for-paper three-hole-punch
and a drill for the center. Worked almost perfectly, but unfortunately
during the build process I lost the measurements for these "donuts".
Sorry.
Ironies of ironies I lost one of the tires also during the build process.
Thankfully, a friend of mine cast a new one for me out of resin using
the kit pieces. However, it was a couple of months after I lost the tire
that I was able to get the new one cast. An unfortunate hold up to finishing
this model.
Painting
  Originally
I was going to use the Iwata Eclipse I have to paint one of the more complex
paint schemes. However, since I wanted to finish this model as fast as
possible (HA!) I went with the overall Dunkelgelb. The paint was from
Vallejo (#978 Dark Yellow) and sprayed like a dream. However, this was
the first time I didn't go through my usual model washing, and it was
something I regret not doing. I rubbed paint off during normal handling
which was extremely frustrating. In any event, once painting was complete
then the usual oil washes and dry-brushing with lightend paint commenced.
Once I had that to a level I liked, at the end I finished with pastel
chalks. Decals went on really well and I had no problems with them at
all.
The base is a simple affair, albeit not finished. A standard pine base
- stained and varnished - with Celluclay as the "land", painted.
The "rocks" are actually a model railroad product used as "ballast"
between the ties. I want to finish it with some type of grass.
Conclusion
  Aside
from losing the tire that pushed me back a couple of months (along with
some personal issues) I could have had this model built a lot sooner.
Alas, it's not in my nature to finish a model quickly so I should just
resign myself to fate and accept the inevitable.
Be that as it may, the Italeri Puma is a great kit. Not as complex as
Roden (nor Hasegawa in some regards) with a higher level of detail. If
I wanted a 1/72nd Puma to superdetail then I would probably start with
the Hasegawa kit and any and all brass that went along with it.  However,
if I wanted a Puma relatively quickly and highly detailed out of the box,
then the Italeri kit is it. In fact, you could probably add some of the
brass meant for the Hasegawa kit and still have a stunner on your hands.
Now that Attack has released replacement wheels for the Puma in general
- and  assuming
they work with this kit (I haven't seen them yet) - then the dilemma with
the wheels is solved.
The key here is my level of enjoyment was relatively high with this
kit. That definitely is a good sign and helped with the finishing. Too
many models turn more into "chores" than a relaxing hobby and
thankfully this wasn't one of them.
My thanks to Testors for the review
kit and to R&K Productions
for the Vallejo paint (sprayed with my trusty Iwata Revolution). My sincere
thanks also to James Bond for helping me out of a major pickle. |
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