Leichter Panzerspähwagen Sd.Kfz.222 rebuild

[Adrian Harris]

> but I would suspect that the original got stuck off road on occasions.

Apparently the reason for the development of the Sd.Kfz 250 family of half tracks.

Adrian.

[mark lawson]

Martin, I can claim no credit for the paintwork on the Panzeraufbau which is still in standard form only after Munster will I start the detail work.
Peter, I did exactly what you have described on the diffs but with 100000 diff oil, Munster has very fine powder like dust which in places is about 30-40mm deep I want to see if this causes any problems but I will be following suit and using the 300000 diff oil on my return.

The original vehicle was very poor off road and used roads as often as possible going off road only when there was no other choice they had many failures of suspension and transmission units armoured cars were still in there development stages during WWII most were based on car chassis with an armoured body or light trucks, the Germans finally succeeded with the 8 wheel series or acht-Rad Sd.Kfz.234

[mark lawson]

While the weather has been nice over the weekend I took the Panzerspähwagen out into the garden for some pictures complete with x2 dolly’s I have put together for the crew the commander in the Sumpftarnung is a Feldwebel the other in the reed green denims, the Panzerspähwagen has divisional markings of Panzer-Aufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung 130 by the Normandy campaign Panzer-Aufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung 130 was using Sd.Kfz.234/2 Puma, I have found pictures of Panzer-Aufklärungs-Lehr with Sd.Kfz.222 but these must have been handed in when they received the Puma.

[mark lawson]

Recent test on the 222 to get the diffs working

[Paul Cutler]

Looking good on the work, I like the video.

[mark lawson]

Since I have done the video I have tested the 222 several times over rough ground and in mud nothing stops the 222 now it will go anywhere and differential slippage doesn’t cause any problem even with one wheel off the ground it still has traction even at the slowest of speeds, now I can turn my attentions to the upper body.

[mark lawson]

Unfortunately during recent tests I didn’t take any action shots of the 222 traversing hills, uneven ground and mud but I have a few after the event pictures in my workshop.



So works commences on the Panzerspähwagen with the Panzeraufbau completely stripped down and in the process of being prepared ready for reassembly and brazing the Panzeraufbau to give more strength, to strip the paint down to bare metal I use standard thinners this works rather well.

[mark lawson]

With the Panzeraufbau from the Panzerspähwagen re-assembled I wanted to make this more rigid especially where there are no brackets to bolt sections together so I decided to add strength the only way was to braze the Panzeraufbau sections this also helps with the weld lines

Another feature I wanted to improve was the radius on the folds I wanted them to have sharp edges for this I applied some resin then sanded this down to give a smooth surface and my sharp edges , the I started to apply some weld lines using one of my usual techniques.



I also added an alloy plate to the front this shows the increased armour on the front plate for the 5 series Sd.Kfz.222




Then with a fresh coat of red oxide primer applied I started to add some missing detail such as the bullet guards and the water filler cap then added some bolt detail.




More detail will be added as and when I have more spare time.

[mark lawson]

It’s been awhile since I show any updated pictures of the build, recently I have been working on the headlamps and mounting brackets along with the width markers and Notek lamp with guard all these parts are self-made apart from the Armourpax Notek which I modified so I could install an LED,
The driver’s vision ports have been reshaped and the slits opened, I have added a shovel from Mike Stannard with my own front bracket.
The rear part has had hinges and detail added as in a later 5 Series vehicle.
The side stowage bins have been modified complete with hinges, catches and ne lids.
The drivers doors have had hinges added and stowage bins I just need to add new locking catches
Armourpax tetra extinguisher has been added along with the lower mudguard step

[mark lawson]

Forgot to mention Headlamps come from MM Panzer http://www.mmpanzer.estranky.sk/fotoalbum/sd-kfz-7-1/ Michael is not the cheapest supplier but I can recommend him.

[mark lawson]

Latest update on my Sd.Kfz.222 Panzerspähwagen, recently I have been working on a few time consuming updates one being completing the front mudguards this included the semaphore indicators and the stowage bins built into the front mudguards, all bolt and rivet details were added along with catches for the bins these are now complete and ready for me to move onto the next part for detailing.

[Frank Breitenbach]

Hello Mark
Fantastic Job! Nice to see that your report is going on.
Please can you explain how do you make the welding lines. They are very good!
Regards
Frank

[ATTILA KISS]

It is wery cool ! Those bronze hinges are 3D printed ??

[mark lawson]

Frank für Sie Ich werde ein Lern-YouTube-Video zu machen.

Attila, yes the hinges have very slight printing marks from the master a bit of paint and you won’t be able to see them these hinges really are well made.

[John Fitzsimons]

Where did you get the Headlight lens. I have modigied my lights but the lens is a problem.