DANGEROUS KITTEN - Sd.Kfz. 234/2

 

I decide to build Puma because of some kind of sentiment - it was one of my first plastic kits I built. Now was the time to do it again but with proper experience and good idea which needed to be realize. So here I wanted to present the vehicle operated in France during the summer of 1944. I had two good-looking figures and set of photo etched foliage which bring the kit to be similar to the real vehicles we can see on the war propaganda movies. The diversity of the aftermarket products allowed me to create quite correct miniature but the most important was to build nice eyecatcher!

There were 4 versions of the 234 series, with different armament and some small structural variations but it could be said that Puma was the most powerful armed wheeled reconnaissance vehicle during World War II and because of the name, the most popular.

The Germans produced 101 vehicles of this version.

                          

What is the most interesting from the modeler's point of view are:

1.Field modifications:

- large box  on the left rear mudguard;

- wooden ammunition box on the right front mudguard. It was keep on the place by U shaped holders. The crew used it for additional ammunition for the gun and to stowage some tools and personal stuff;

- hooks on the turret to attach the foliage keeping wire;

- additional handle on the front hatch.

2. Tires:

- hexagonal which were seen in very early vehicles;

- zig-zag type 1 and zig-zag type 2 which were the most popular;

- late type (provided in the kit) which was seen in the vehicles produced after December 1944;

- allied tires and some civilian patterns.

3. Painting and markings

- the camo was applied by the units because the vehicles were deployed only in dark yellow. It was painted as the broad bands or thin strips;

- the winter camo was probably applied too but there is only one example of whitewashed vehicle;

- crosses on all turret sides. They were painted by the units. The sides ones can be in different positions but the centre of the turret was the usual position.

- the numbers mostly were black or red with white border. Some vehicles carried numbers on the front mudguards;

- the divisional insignias were not common but if presented they were painted on the left front hull;

- the license plates were painted before the vehicles delivering. On the front and rear of the hull, as the white rectangle with black border and numbers.

- the other markings painted in the factory: the tires pressure (on the mudguard over every wheel -4 atü), weight and class (the rectangle on the left side of the hull), speed limit (on both sides of the hull to the front - 35 Km).

  FIGURES - I used Miniart's German Tank Crew figures but the heads were replaced for resin ones. The headphones' wires were added the same as some PE parts. Both figures were painted with acrylics and reached with Archer's dry decals.