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In-Box Review
148
Kübelwagen & Luftwaffe Figures

by: Rowan Baylis [ MERLIN ]

The ubiquitous Kübelwagen, Germany's equivalent of the Jeep, was a common sight on Luftwaffe airfields. While armour modellers have long enjoyed modern, finely detailed kits of the Kübelwagen, anyone building 1/48 scale aircraft has been forced to make do with Bandai's 30 year old kit (currently available from Fuman). Tamiya has just changed all that with the release of a fantastic new model.



The Kit
The parts are beautifully moulded in sand-coloured plastic and, as you'd expect from Tamiya, there isn't a trace of flash. The detail is quite amazing.; the corrugated skin of the body is represented inside and out. Unfortunately, there are some ejector-pin marks on the inner surfaces of the doors, which will be visible when the model's built. The marks are very light, so removing them shouldn't be difficult.

The seats and folded canvas roof are very convincing, but it's disappointing that a raised roof wasn't included too. Detail on the small parts such as the dashboard is really outstanding, and the windscreen is crystal clear.

Figures
As a bonus, Tamiya include two Luftwaffe figures. The sculpting here is excellent and there are no sink-marks on them.

Decals
A small set of decals includes marking for 4 vehicles, plus arm rank-badges for the figures.

Conclusion
This is an oustanding model, which completely eclipses the old Bandai kit. True, Bandai include an engine plus a raised roof, but the overall quality pales in comparison with Tamiya's new kit. The box states this is "1/48 scale military miniature vehicle series No.1"; if future releases are up to this standard, aircraft modellers have a lot to look forward to.

Click here for additional images for this review.

SUMMARY
  MOULDING:90%
  FIGURES:90%
Percentage Rating
90%
  Scale: 1:48
  Mfg. ID: 32501
  Suggested Retail: £9.99
  Related Link: Tamiya
  PUBLISHED: Jan 18, 2004
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 88.37%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 83.24%

About Rowan Baylis (Merlin)
FROM: NO REGIONAL SELECTED, UNITED KINGDOM

I've been modelling for about 40 years, on and off. While I'm happy to build anything, my interests lie primarily in 1/48 scale aircraft. I mostly concentrate on WW2 subjects, although I'm also interested in WW1, Golden Age aviation and the early Jet Age - and have even been known to build the occas...

Copyright ©2021 text by Rowan Baylis [ MERLIN ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.


   
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Photos
Click image to enlarge
  • Kubel_box
  • Kubel_Parts1
  • Kubel_Parts2
  • Kubel_tarp
  • Kubel_wheel
  • Kubel_dash
  • Kubel_clear
  • Kubel_Fig1
  • Kubel_Fig2
  • Kubel_decal
  • Kubel_paint
  • Kubel_figpaint
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