Schwimmwagen Type 166 Germany

Plastic kit from TAMIYA, for the asembly of a German military vehicle of WWII, on 1/35 scale. Includes sprues with plastic parts, assembly instructions and decals.

The Volkswagen Schwimmwagen (literally "swimming car") was an amphibious four-wheel drive off-road vehicle, used extensively by German ground forces during the Second World War. The Schwimmwagen is the most numerous mass-produced amphibious car in history. Prototyped as the Type 128, it entered full scale production as the Type 166 in 1941 for the Wehrmacht. Volkswagen Schwimmwagens used the engine and mechanicals of the VW Type 86 four-wheel drive prototype of the Kübelwagen. When crossing a body of water a screw propeller could be lowered down from the rear deck/engine cover. When in place a simple coupling provided drive straight from an extension of the engine's crankshaft. This meant that screw propulsion always drove forward. The Schwimmwagen had a top speed of 10 km/h (6 mph) in the water. For reversing in the water there was the choice of using the standard equipment paddle or running the land drive in reverse, allowing the wheel-rotation to slowly take the vehicle back. The front wheels doubled up as rudders, so steering was done with the steering wheel both on land and on water. 15,584 Type 166 Schwimmwagen were produced from 1941 through 1944.