Panzerwerfer 42 AUF Maultier

The use of multiple rocket by the German Armed Forces during World War II was quite extensive due to low cost and high efficiency of these arms systems. The main inconvenience of these vehicles was scarce mobility which made them vulnerable to enemy counter attacks. Thus, this mobile version of a 150mm rocket launcher type 42 was mounted on a half -track Sd.Kfz 42 Maultier, which guaranteed high mobility in off-road conditions. The vehicle was equipped with armor to protect it's crew.

Construction of the Panzerwerfer 42 model begins with the lower hull. The suspension goes together well. This particular model was based on the Carden-Loyd suspension with four holed road wheels. The sides and floor are joined together and the individual torsion-bar suspension road wheels' arms are attached along with idler wheels' mounts. The wheels and tracks are assembled next. ( I waited till the model was completely assembled before adding the tracks). The tracks are one piece molded rubber. Note:(be careful not to pull too hard due to the fragile nature of these particular tracks).

The next steps involve assembly of the forward suspension. The front wheels on the Panzerwerfer 42 were not powered but there are plenty parts which make up the suspension. The tires are one piece rubber and basically can be pushed onto the rims, which are in two pieces.

After the suspension and front wheels have been assembled and glued to the lower hull, the instructions call for assembly of the engine. This kit provides a pretty detailed little motor and the hood can be left in an open or closed position. Once the engine assembly steps were completed, the instructions call for assembly of the spare fuel canisters, which are not the nicest ones I have seen, but since I was building this kit out of the box, I did not worry about upgrading with a pair of Verlinden resin canisters. This kit offers a decent bit of interior detail, but does not rate on the same level as the DML kits. The kit provides a drivers seat, a commanders seat, steering wheel, a gear shift, and a dash board. The next step is assembly of the port rocket stowage. The Panzerwerfer 42 stowed 10 15c rockets inboard and 10 rockets were loaded in the rocket barrels. The kit only provides four spare rocket tubes but does supply 10 rockets which can be inserted in the tubes.

Once the interior was assembled the next steps call for assembly of the fenders and stowage bins, which do not open but offer some small details such as padlocks and rivets. Focus is now on the upper hull, which does not offer allot of detailed parts, mainly a few handles, a pick and a shovel, a running light and the front headlights. The hatches can all be left either open or closed but do not offer much detail. Note: Once you finish with the upper hull and the lower hull, you may want to paint the interior, since once you glue the upper hull to the lower hull, you will not have access to paint the interior. I painted the interior and the details and then started construction of the turret and rocket tubes. The turret and carriage offer some details, with the elevating ram, traveling lock, sighting visor, and the RA35 sight. The turret interior details include a turret traverse wheel, RA35 sight mount, and elevation hand wheel.

When the general assembly was finished, I masked the interior so I was careful not to get any over spray on the interior which had already been painted with Tamiya flat white enamel, and I sprayed the exterior with Tamiya Desert Yellow. (I usually paint interiors and exteriors with an airbrush, but since I had no access to my trusty Aztec, I went ahead and used spray paint). Once I had finished the turret construction I painted the inside of the turret and the traverse wheel as well as the elevation wheel and sight. The sight is French blue, and the wheels are black, with red knobs. After leaving the kit to dry overnight, I gave it a second coat of the desert yellow and allowed it to dry for another 24 hours. I used a mixture of raw umber and gold ochre oils to wash the entire vehicle, and then drybrushed it with a mixture of desert yellow and flat white. Each day for about three days I drybrushed it with a lighter color, until I got the desired look. I used a mixture of smoke gray and flat earth to add smoke residue to the rocket launcher barrels and then carefully dry brushed the ends with a bit of chrome silver. I painted the rubber on the road wheels flat black and carefully drybrushed them with a light gray to give the rubber a worn look. The final painting was done to the tracks, which I painted gun metal gray, with a some chrome silver dry brushing to the links.

The decals I chose, were to go with the desert yellow paint scheme. This vehicle could depict a vehicle which served on the Western Front, (which I chose) or one that served on the Russian Front. Since I did not have my airbrush, I opted for the single color scheme and applied the decals to suit it.

The kit went together quite well and did not have any fit problems. Flash was minimal, and all in all for the price, this kit offers a medium amount of detail. I hope to have some photos of it soon and recommend it as a kit for beginners as well as intermediate modelers.

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