Long-time readers might have noticed that Second World War German subjects don‘t get much notice on this blog, and neither do F-18s, Phantoms, Spitfires, or P-38s. If you’re looking for the Top 40 of modeling, it’s not likely to be found here.
Sprue Pie With Frets is more like college radio—more indy, more punk, maybe some bootleg, but always striving for the remarkable.
Occasionally the Top 40 is remarkable, like this Modeling News preview of Heavy Hobby’s new 1/72 Sd.Kfz. 251 kits. What’s remarkable? Heavy Hobby has added 3D-printed aftermarket components to the major hull components of Dragon’s injection-molded Sd.Kfz. 251 kit.
Noteworthy here is another example of what is hopefully an emerging trend in 1/72 armor kits: conventional injection molded tooling supplemented by key 3D printed parts, all in one box. Heavy Hobby has packaged the whole project as a unified kit, which Eduard and others have done with aftermarket photoetch and resin parts in one kit box for aircraft subjects for a while now.
However, 3D printing is uniquely suited to address a recurring weakness in 1/72 armor and soft skin kits: craptastic tracks and wheels. The Plastic Model Mojo guys and I have gone back and forth on the topic of 3D printed tracks in 1/72 kits. In small scales, the entire assembly of tracks, road wheels, and even sprockets and idlers can be reproduced in one contiguous assembly using 3D printing. Meanwhile, 1/72 wheels and tires can also be properly rendered using 3D printing.
Heavy Hobby’s Sd.Kfz. 251 kits show the way for strategic inclusion of 3D printed running gear in 1/72 armor kits. Not only has Heavy Hobby shortcut an often tedious stage of construction, they have replaced it with parts that are appropriately scaled, squarely aligned, and strong—an improvement all around.
How long will it be before Trumpeter, HobbyBoss, Dragon, and (fingers crossed) Revell are routinely including 3D printed wheels and track assemblies in their new 1/72 kits?
Sprue Pie With Frets 