Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251/1 Ausf.A with German Infantry

Plastic kit from ICM, for the assembly of an German armoured vehicle of WW II, in 1/35 scale. Includes sprues with plastic parts, assembly instructions, clear parts, figures, vinyl tracks, rubber tires and decals.

The Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was a WW II German armored fighting vehicle designed by the Hanomag company, based on its earlier, unarmored Sd.Kfz. 11 vehicle. The Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the Panzergrenadier (German mechanized infantry) into battle. Sd.Kfz. 251s were the most widely produced German half-tracks of the war, with at least 15,252 vehicles and variants produced by seven manufacturers.

Some sources state that the Sd.Kfz. 251 was commonly referred to simply as "Hanomags" by both German and Allied soldiers after the manufacturer of the vehicle; this has been questioned, and may have been only a postwar label. German officers referred to them as SPW (Schützenpanzerwagen, or armored infantry vehicle) in their daily orders and memoirs. There were four main model modifications (Ausführung A through D), which formed the basis for at least 22 variants.The first two models (ausf A and B) were produced in small numbers from 1939. Ausf A and B models can be identified by the structure of the nose armor, which comprised two trapezoidal armor panels - the lower of which had an engine cooling vent.