Jim Shirley Productions SdKfz 251 and The Howling Cow

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Dear Community,

I would like to informally introduce my latest venture into model building frustration, an ancient (possibly the first) attempt by a model company to create the Sd.Kfz. 251 in 1/16 scale. This would be the resin kit from Jim Shirley Productions. The kit is long out of print (maybe rightly so) and hard to find today though I don't really think there'd be much of a market for it since the latest releases by Das Werk and Trumpeter. So, what follows is not a construction report as such, but rather a brief pictorial report of the evolution of what was initially intended to be a standard Hanomag half-track, then into a Stuka Zu Fuss, but where, along the way, there encroached something of the Cold-War Czech 810 near look-a-like of the famed Sd.Kfz 251; hence my composite 'Nephew of Dr. Frankenstein.' Despite the kit's faults and my own inability to correct them, the kit is not really that bad. It's also about as heavy as some RC tank chassis with attached running gear.

The Jim Shirley Productions 251 long precedes the latest entries into the field by Das Werk and Trumpeter. While it lacks the refinements of these injection molded kits, it does contain other nice details. That the kit components were completely intact after all the years when I got it. That was something of small victory, at least to those of us obsessed by such things.

Here is the kit at the beginning:

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There were a few issues to contend with, but they were relatively easy to overcome:

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The base of the model is very heavy, almost as heavy as some RC tanks standing on their wheels and tracks. Fitting the parts was a long process of sanding, filing, and filling and making a number of compromises along the way, but things started to take shape.

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Gaps seen in dry fitting the upper and lower hulls were, surprisingly, easily closed using the wife's hair dryer while pressing the separated parts together slowly and with patience.

All along the way, I knew that fitting the road wheels was going to be the most difficult part of building this nice kit, We'll pick up around that point next. To be continued:

By the way, chaps, in reviewing the pictures, I need to apologize up front as to their enormous size. I don't know how to correct that, so I beg your indulgence on the point

[Manu-Military]

This kit must be at least 30 years old. He used to advertise in the Pat Stansell Military Miniatures in Review magasine published by Ampersand Publishing Company.
JS also issued an M1 Abrams in th is large scale.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Oh, yes! I am watching! This will be a great static build. I am impressed by the hair-dryer trick, something in all the years of modeling I had not tried, even though I keep a hair-dryer right at the modeling table.

[SCHWEREPANZER]

The resin molded wheels of this beast are actually very well done with good detail. However, in the end, I was unable to use any of them. The problem can immediately be seen in the absence of any realistic way to insert the road wheel 'axle arms' to the anemic swing arms which also pass for non-existent' 'torsion bars' in the lower hull. There was no way to reduce the diameter of the 'arms' or enlarge the opening in the 'swing arms' without also breaking the extremely delicate hull mounting points... or boring deep enough into the small holes to allow for the very heavy resin lower hull to stand on its own running gear. You can see that the opening for the idler is already broken. But, since there was never any thought to converting this beast into an RC model, I fell back on an alternative solution, mounting a composite track/road wheel assembly en masse to the lower structure. Unfortunately, as I do not possess a 3d printer, I had to rely the method I used on a previously built Sd.Kfz. 250/8 printed kit, some of which can be seen in one of the photos below. That required me to ask a vendor in China to create a composite set of wheels and tracks that would allow the proper fit.

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And it is at this point, dear reader, where the Nephew of Dr. Frankenstein was born. The sharp eyed among you will no doubt see the incorrect drive sprocket on the composite track/road wheel assembly. At least it is incorrect for the Sd.Kfz 251. It is not incorrect for the Czech Model 810 Cold War near Hanomag look-a-like. I know it goes against the grain, but it was that or nothing at all from my recalcitrant vendor. However, I was determined to complete this fast becoming albatross given the inordinate amount of time already put into the model. Except for the incorrect sprocket, I was otherwise actually quite pleased with the composite assembly.

Here, the attached and painted/weathered track/road wheel assemblies mounted on an assembled and painted upper and lower hull. I offer my apologies here for failing to take photos of the steps leading to the camo pattern which I shamelessly copied as best I could from a model I had seen before.

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The troop carrier becomes The howling Cow, next.

Thanks for looking in.

[SCHWEREPANZER]

There are at least three 3D printed conversion kits I am aware of for the Stuka Zu Fuss, Schwerere Wurfrahmen 40. Each has its plusses and minuses with the minuses simply in small parts omitted. Some of these parts could be handmade easily enough, but the parts bin helped to rectify some of the missing parts problems. The chosen version of the SZF was the one from Fertigungs Werk16. Even here, however, the locking lever and stability brackets at the bottom of the rocket crates had to be manufactured. Here is the almost final product, absent the brackets to connect the left and right sides of the lauch mechanisms, electric firing cord and numerals for the rockets.

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[HERMAN BIX]

Just extraordinary work
The crates look so real I swear they are made of actual wood !

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Ghasp, SCHWEREPANZER! Now there's another masterpiece here on RCTW. I have one of the Stuka zu Fuß in 1/18, and always thought they were amazingly crazy designs. When a rocket was fired off, where was anyone safe from being broiled? Is even the driver safe tucked up under the cowl?

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the very kind comments. The only other Jim Shirley 251 I am aware of is one shown in the Utube presentation by Robert McGuire, whose fame (notoriety?) is title holder of having the largest selection of WWII German armor models on the planet. Sadly, and for reasons unknown, his utube presentations are no longer available. The JSP kit has many drawback and really can't compare to the modern Das Werk or Trumpeter kits of the 251, but somehow she made up okay.

Thanks again, good Dr. Prof. and congrats Major General Bix on your 'promotion.' Major General Bix doesn't quite have the ring of Brig. Bix, but hey a promotion is a promotion.

[Rob59]

I like it very much!
You did a good job, great camo and weathering too.
The rocket launch system is perfect too.
I do have the 251 from Das Werk still untouched in the box, and pre-ordered the grey 251 from Torro which should arrive Februari 2025.
Rob.

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Hey Rob,

Thanks for the kind words. Am now awaiting some specialized decals for the rockets to finish it off. Soon I hope.

I missed out on the first batch of Torro Hanomags which sold out in minutes. I didn't know that Torro was taking pre-orders for the February release. Will try to figure out how to go about doing that. Thanks for the tip.

Ralph