In the beginning, Sd.Kfz 2 “Kettenkrad”, was developed as light means of transport for airborne troops. It was a small vehicle with the front similar to a motorcycle, characterized by its handlebars and its central wheel and by a rear designed to feature 6 wheels tracked structure.
The Kettenkrad could transport 2 passengers, additionally to the driver, or transport goods and ammunitions.
It could reach a top speed of 70 km/h thanks to its OHV inline-four Opel water-cooling engine, the same featured on Opel Olympia car. Through its tow hook, it was able to drag up to 450 kg of goods as antitank cannons of moderate size. The Kettenkrad resulted to be perfect in carrying loads and people on uneven grounds, as those sandy in North Africa or muddy ones is Russian Steppe. Later, since 1944 onwards, it was used on runways for the handling of jet fighters Messerschmitt Me 262 and jet bombers Arado A-234. Kit model number 7404.
Period: Second World War
Country: Germany
Skill: 5
Model Dim.: 32,9 cm
Box Dim.: 560 x 280 x 115 mm
Working suspensions – Openable lids – Highly detailed engine – Highly detailed decals sheet –
Running tracks – Toolset
Building the Italeri 1/9 Kettenkrad
Let’s start saying that this the latest rebox of the 1975 ESCI model kit. Although the model is old it has managed to keep the plastic details quite well. Some parts are particularly fragile those that have to do with the handlebar and the headlight bracket, so you should be very careful when you are going to mount it. Dry fitting is highly recommended as you assemble the body of the model as it is possible to find warped parts and have to make corrections. In my case, the kit had quite a few problems with the fit, where I had to fill and adjust to make it decent.
The painting process was quite easy, it was started with a Tamiya red hull and then for the base color use dark yellow, desert yellow and flat white from Tamiya to obtain the desired shade. Then seal the model with Testors dull coat. I forgot to seal with gloss for the decals, which resulted in silvering on some of these.
Lessons learned with each project, it is always important to review the steps to avoid complications in the painting process. Finally, the decals were applied and some weathering was done on the chains. Sticko silver dots were used for some lights and chrome pencil for the headlight. The only heavy weathered part was the engine that was completed with AMMO OF MIG JIMENEZ products.
