SdKfz 251 Armoured Half Track

The Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was an armored fighting vehicle designed and first built by Nazi Germany’s Hanomag company during World War II.

The largest, most common, and best armored of the wartime half-tracks, the Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the panzergrenadiers of the German mechanized infantry corps into battle. Widely known simply as “Hanomags” by both German and Allied forces, they were widely produced throughout the war, with over 15,252 vehicles and variants produced in total by various manufacturers.

Like some of my other models I am unsure of the manufacturer of this one. I think though it was SDD.

I added the MG.

I am going to use this as a testbed for my German paint scheme and I will then probably add it into some scenery.

So I gave the model a white undercoat.

This photo compares the metal SdKfz 251 with the resin/metal version from Flames of War.

As you can see there is not only more detail of the FoW model, but the detail is crisper and more defined. The plastic tracks certainly help here as does using resin for the main body.

The next stage was to give the underbody a dark brown basecoat.

This will add shadow to the underneath of the model.

The model was then given a basecoat of Warpaint German Armour.

So trying out a camo technique and I don’t have an airbrush, so decided to use a stipple effect. What I did was take an old paintbrush and cut off the bristles leaving a quarter inch. This brush is then used to stipple on the camouflage pattern.

I used Reflective Green (890) and Chocolate Brown (872).

I am quite pleased with the effect and once the model is washed I think it will look better.

Though the official German manual during the war told how the camo pattern was to be applied, it said the raw paint mixture was to be mixed with petrol and sprayed onto the vehicles. Reality and short supplies of petrol meant that more often the camo pattern was “painted” onto the vehicles, sometimes with brushes and sometimes with rags.

I do like the effect that the airbrush gives these models, I am not sure if I have the requisite skill to do it justice on small models like this.

The next stage was to paint the tyres and tracks and I used German Grey (995). I then gave the models a wash using Devlan Mud wash from Games Workshop.

Quite pleased with the end result, though I think I might have used a lighter or thinner wash next time.

I painted the MG with German Grey (995) and dry brushed the model with Middlestone (882).

Here is the SdKfz 251 in my photographic scenery.

Well that’s how I am going to leave the model, it probably won’t be used in a game, but may end up as part of a piece of scenery. I am going to use the same process on my other Late War German vehicles.