Tamiya 1/35 Sd.Kfz 222

The suspension went together pretty well. It's a bit simplified.

The turret went together well. This kit has the turned metal barrel...and she's a beauty. I really expected to be cutting off the old plastic barrel and glue the metal one in its place, but Tamiya redid the gun ...so no cutting...and the metal barrel slips onto a nice mounting pin. You really could forego the super glue...the fit is that good. Well done.

Assembled. I did replace the kit's jerry cans. They are the older, simplified solid handle cans. The kit comes with one sprue from Tamiya's Jerry Can and Barrel Set. I had some cans already assembled so I snagged a few of those, fashioned racks from styrene strip, and bam...replacements. The replacement PE mesh for the turret was a bit of a let-down. I thought the pieces would replace the old nylon sections and drop in on the old plastic frame....wrong. The PE mesh folds into shape....one piece for each side. It's simplified...which works with my aversion to PE...but it sort of looks pretty basic.

Found a less humid day to try to paint. It's been hot and rainy here so the humidity has been...bad. I wouldn't even try shooting any gloss finish paint at the moment. That's not entirely true...I tried something and it worked...it just took alot of prep and set-up....but that's off topic a bit.

Painted she got three stages of light weathering. I lightly used graphite on certain areas for simulated wear. I didn't want the thing to look heavily used and overly abused. I did muddy it up using three "dirt" colors. A reddish brown, dark tan, and lastly sand. I then gave it a dusting. Markings are for a GD vehicle. Some thing I've noticed is Tamiya has moved away from the GD helm emblem in newer and re-do kits. I had some and...so good to go.

And put aside for the big build....which I should get started on. Already cut a few base boards to possibly use.

All in all, the kit is still a good one. I wouldn't use it as the focal piece of a diorama....she's just too limited and there's some better, more detailed options out there. Tamiya did it right with the retool for the metal barrel. I really had expected to cut and swap. The PE mesh turret covers are a bit basic...but assemble really easy. With a bit of work some detail could be added. If I wanted a spot-on 222 I'd spend a few extra dollars and go with the Hobby Boss or ICM kits.