VW Typ 166 "Schwimmwagen"

I have always been fascinated by the German "Schwimmwagen". Despite the fact that I simply like the frog-like shape of this amphibian the "Schwimmwagen" was a brilliant combination of the simple and reliable technical principles of the VW-"Kuebelwagen" on the one hand and highly progressive technical capabilities on the other - something that was rather rare at German WW II equipment. That is why I was really happy when I got my hands on Eduard´s new 1/16 model of this fabulous machine.

Here you find further images on this project.

I knew I could not spend too much time on finishing it. So I thought of building the "Schwimmwagen" straight from the box and - to avoid any further research - paint it following one of the two options suggested by the full-colour painting guide. At first síght this plan seemed to work as the overall impression of the kit is nice. Unfortunately I had to notice at a second sight that the kit does at least not fully realize the potential of detail of this once so called "super-scale". Hence in the end this project proved more time consuming than I had planned (as usual, isn´t it?).

A more detailed description was published in April 2006 in issue 126 of the "Tamiya Model Magazine International", another article in the May/June issue 2006 of the German "Kit Militär-Modell Journal". The latter was reprinted in the Italian "Steel Art" Magazine in Issue 34, Octobre 2006. In addition an article on this model has been published in vol. 96/October 2007 of the Japanese "Armour Modelling" magazine.

Verwendete Kits:
Eduard
6106	VW 166 Schwimmwagen
Tamiya
36301	Wehrmacht Tank Crewman
36307	WW II Wehrmacht Infantryman (On Maneuver)