Masterbox German Military Car Typ 170V Tourenwagen

This is Masterbox's latest release and is a journey back to a full vehicle kit which has been a long time coming . The vehicle is a Mercedes Type 170 V convertible , but as so often happens , the model company is prohibited from using the vehicle brand or they will be heavily penalised by the company in paying licensing rights , yes that is why Opel Blitz & Jeep etc are not used by kit manufacturers anymore .




This classic German vehicle was built initially as a civilian vehicle but as war loomed the vehicle was adapted for all manner of military use and used by all branches of service in all theaters . Vehicles could be seen in civilian colours (many were requisitioned for military use) as well as German grey , whitewashed , sand for desert use & of course any combination of late war three toned schemes .

The kit comes on four grey sprues with a clear sprue containing the glass parts , a generous decal sheet and 5 rubber wheels. A large double sided sheet unfolds to cover all areas of assembly as well as specifications and a brief history in multiple languages . Assembly is broken down into three sections , engine , chassis and body .


Engine and chassis pieces , the first of the options of either early or late fuel tanks .


Rims and Chassis parts as well as the parts for the Bonnet , optional again is the concertina bonnet , to be shown open revealing a very completely detailed engine bay.


All doors are able to be shown open or closed also which is a very welcome addition . The kit has brackets for rifle stowage and the rifles included .


The main body as well as the hood , again the option for the convertible top in the up or down position


The glass pieces for the windscreen , for the top up option , for side windows option (either with or without the top up) and headlights with option for blackout covers . The generous decal sheet offers four Heer , two Luftwaffe , two marine and one feldpolizei options as well as tyre inflation and guage decals . Possibly the only contentious issue is the tyres moulded in Rubber but I am sure there will be many aftermarket resin options to choose with in time .

A very complete kit of a vehicle which was used in large numbers but not represented in 1:35 scale plastic until now . This kit is bound to be popular with a large amount of options and signs of some variants in the Masterbox engine room too . I am trying to think how I will build my first option , perhaps with the top down and the interior loaded with personal gear as well as some souvenired wine bottles no doubt ! Highly recommended and many thanks to Alexander , Mary and Marina from Masterbox for the review sample !

Jenny

I think Staff cars and civilian cars really need to be addressed! It's great to see Masterbox carrying on with their different subjects! Now all you need to do is a diorama with some French resistance ambushing the staff car

Jaymes

Masterbox already do a set of an outcome of just that situation that would be perfect with this , maybe some bullet holes in the panels and windshield and even a downed tree , a trick often used by partisans to make vehicles stop

Jenny

Great review Jenny.
Love the extent of detail covered.
I can think of about 100 different ways I could build and display this little gem.
Thanks again.
I guess if rubber wheels is the worst thing this little guy has against it, they will be flying off the shelves at the local hobby shops and on line.
Shawn

Hi Jenny, great review. Masterbox have some great stuff!

With the tyres, I was wondering what the problem was. Is it that rubber is hard to clean up, or the quality of the items themselves?

Thanks
JT

The rubber tends to deteriorate over time , apparently it eats the plastic . I have heard that kits in stashes can be entirely ruined and built kits also . Personally I would prefer to use resin and not bother about it . It is for this reason that a lot of manufacturers are using hard plastic or laminates of plastic for them .

Jenny

Oh, right. That's interesting, I didn't know that.

Thanks!

JT

The tyres on the old Tamiya LRDG truck had a pretty bad rep for ruining wheels fairly quickly for some reason. My old one was destroyed by them, so the current one is sitting unfinished with naked wheels till I can find replacements. Im not a fan of "real rubber" tyres also because the tread patterns are usually pretty naff and if they have more than one sprue connection youre bound to have at least one crappy spot on every tyre. Apart from that I wouldnt mind getting a couple of these. With the variety of German soft-skins now available its much easier to make an interesting diorama.

Hi Folks

Despite me desperately trying to avoid Axis subjects these days, I'm going to have to get one of these.
The potential uses in dioramas are exhaustive to say the least.

It never ceases to amaze me how the model industry is pushing in so many directions with new products. The number of subjects in the "I wish they made that" category is getting smaller by the day.

Simon