Part 1: First Look

MSRP: $32.95 Website: www.tamiyausa.com The Kommandeurwagen was employed by the German armies to move their high-ranking officers around the battlefield in order to affect their strategy of blitzkrieg. Produced by the Austrian firm Steyr, it was based on the Steyr 1500A/01, a light truck. It was powered by an eight-cylinder 85 hp gasoline engine. It was capable of 100 km/h on paved roads and had excellent off-road mobility. The Kommandeurwagen version was designed for comfort and could transport five passengers. Furnished to provide comfort for the officers, the split right front seat could be reclined into a bed. It was widely used from Russia to Africa. The kit consists of a cast metal frame (primed for painting), three sprues cast in German Yellow polystyrene, one clear sprue and a decal sheet. Sprue A consists of 37 parts, (five are the driver figure). Sprue D consists of 19 parts. Sprue E contains 29 parts (five are the officer figure). Sprue F consists of six parts (windshield, four side windows, rear window). The clear parts are bagged separately to protect them from scratches. The decal sheet is printed in four colors (red, white, black and gold) with three sets of license plates (two Wehrmacht, one Luftwaffe), eight command flags/pennants, and the gauges for the instrument panel. Two screws are included to attach the metal chassis and the plastic parts. The instruction sheet is typical for Tamiya kits, containing 14 exploded views for construction. Two suggested paint scheme diagrams are provided, one in camouflage, one in Panzer Gray. A brief history of the vehicle is given (in four languages).

The detail is excellent and all molded detail is very crisp. Especially striking is the hood - all grill areas are very well depicted. The builder has two options for the top, up or down. Both are well depicted. The tread pattern on the tires is well detailed. Ejector pin marks are mostly on the inside (hidden) or bottom surfaces. The body has a couple mold seams on the upper surfaces, easily removed but at first look appear to be molded-on detail. First dry-fitting of a few parts resulted in very good fit between parts. The side windows are sandwiched between the inner (parts D16 & 17) and outer (parts D14 and 15) door panels. On the negative side, the metal chassis seems a bit unnecessary, but isn't too difficult to manage. The two screws go through the floor pan (part D8), through the metal chassis and into the drive train (part A19). The screws are hidden by the body after construction. The hood and trunk lid are molded separately, but there is insufficient detail to pose them open. Overall, this kit is a very nice replica of this vehicle. The detail is excellent for this scale, in spite of being relatively simple and straight-forward. I look forward to completing it soon. Thanks to Dave Morrissette and Tamiya America for the sample.

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