Another Tamiya kit review, and this time it’s the Kübelwagen Type 82 kit first released in 1997. Many of the Tamiya kits I have built and reviewed up to now have been part of their first generation of 1/35 vehicles, produced in the 1970s and 80s.
This one is a little different – by the time this kit was released, Tamiya had more than 20 years of experience in producing 1/35 military kits and I’ll interested to compare this second generation kit with earlier offerings to see if it’s notably different and/or better.
This wasn’t the first Tamiya Kübelwagen in this scale – their original offering (3506) appeared back in 1970 and was one of the first in the then-new Military Miniatures series. The original wasn’t great but this is a new tool kit that was completely revised and I’m looking forward to this one, partly because it appears to be a simple little kit, and partly because I have always been rather impressed by the Kübelwagen. Let me explain why…
History
My work background was in engineering and I have always been fascinated by design. As you’ll know if you have read some of my other reviews, I’m not at all certain that some German AFV designs of World War Two were particularly great – later tanks in particular tended to be heavy, over-complex, over-large and over-engineered and some were all of these things. But there is one piece of German vehicle design from World War Two that has always struck me as absolute genius – the humble, tiny and often overlooked VW Kübelwagen (Bucket Car).
The first iteration, a Type 62 Kübelwagen
Any effective military vehicle must be rugged and reliable and sufficiently simple that it can be easily maintained and repaired in the field. The Kübelwagen achieved all these things. It had a simple air-cooled, four-cylinder engine that was relatively low powered, improving reliability. Taking drive from the rear-mounted engine to the rear wheels via a limited-slip transmission was also simple and, combined with very light weight, gave this vehicle cross country performance that equalled that of many contemporary 4-wheel drive vehicles and even tracked AFVs. One of the reasons for this was that instead of a conventional chassis, this used a simple pressed-steel floorpan that provided adequate rigidity and gave the Kübelwagen a smooth underside that allowed it to “sledge” over deep mud, snow and sand.
A Type 82 Kübelwagen of the Military Police on the Eastern Front, 1943
Derived from designs for what would become the VW Beetle, the first Kübelwagen was the Type 62, introduced in 1938. Minor modifications led to the Type 82, introduced in early 1940 and that model (which is depicted in this kit) remained in production with few changes throughout the war. Despite the low power produced by its engine (less than 24 bhp on early versions of the Type 82) it could still reach a top speed of close to 50mph (80km/h) on flat ground due to its light weight – the Kübelwagen weighed over 350kg less than its Allied equivalent, the Willys Jeep!
A Type 82 Kübelwagen in France, 1944
There was no one feature that made this vehicle outstanding, but rather a combination of light weight, simple design, reliability, cross-country performance that surprised even its designers and ease of use made this an indispensable part of German operations in every theatre of World War Two. More than 50,000 examples were manufactured during the war and used as everything from command cars to emergency casualty evacuation vehicles.
A restored Type 82 Kübelwagen
What’s in the Box?
Inside the top opening box you’ll find two sprues moulded in light brown plastic plus the floorpan, a transparent windscreen, decals and instructions.
Detail on things like the fabric covered seats and the folded hood are very nicely done indeed.
The floorpan is a single moulding that incorporates the internal wooden slats on the floor.
All parts of the bodywork are very sharply moulded though there are a few light ejector marks on the interior of the doors.
The wheels and tyres look pretty good too.
The parts that make up the driver figure are nicely sculpted and he is provided in a relaxed pose, though no decals are provided for unform insignia.
The windscreen is a single piece of thin, die-cut transparent plastic. The hood can only be shown in the folded position, so no side windows are included.
Decals are provided for vehicles from five different units, four from the Wehrmacht and one from the Luftwaffe.
Four different colour schemes are suggested on the box sides and in the instructions, showing the Kübelwagen in all dark grey, all dark yellow, with a single colour camo scheme and with a two colour brown and green scheme over base dark yellow.
Would You Want One?
I can’t really see why not. The mouldings here are commendably sharp, there is no flash at all, accuracy looks good and this kit is available for not a great deal of cash. It isn’t perfect: no engine parts are included, though the sump, transmission and exhausts which are visible beneath the rear are provided, and there is no decal for the speedometer on the rudimentary instrument panel.
Tamiya feature this kit in several variations, mainly involving different figures though they also released in 1997 the Kübelwagen Engine Maintenance Set (35220) and that set includes all the parts you need to complete the engine in your 1/35 Kübelwagen. They also do an Afrika Korps version with an appropriate figure and balloon tyres. However they produced one kit in 2012, WWII Russian Commanders & Staff Car (25153), that I believe may feature the old-mould Kübelwagen from 1970 rather than this newer version.
If you don’t fancy one of the Tamiya versions, then Italeri offer a 1/35 Kübelwagen that includes a figure of Rommel. This was first released back in 1976 (when the company was called Italaerei) and it isn’t bad, but neither is it up to the standard of more recent offerings. Hasegawa/Bego produced a 1/35 Kübelwagen in 1993 (though I believe this kit has also appeared as a re-box by Dragon) and several versions are available. Some versions include the option to show the hood up or stowed and also include PE parts. It’s a good kit, but the mouldings just don’t seem to be quite as sharp as the 1997 Tamiya version.
The newest version of the Kübelwagen Type 82 in 1/35 comes from Chinese manufacturer Hero Hobby. This kit was first released in 2016 and it isn’t bad. However, things like the seat coverings and the folded hood don’t seem to be as well done as the Tamiya version from 1997. So, if you do want to build a 1/35 Kübelwagen, perhaps surprisingly, this 25-year-old Tamiya offering is still as good as any and better than some.
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Model Kit World 
Isn’t this the VW Thing? Looks similar.
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The VW Type 181 was produced for the West German Army in the 1960s as a replacement for the Kubelwagen, and it is very similar though not identical. Over 50,000 were manufactured and used by many NATO forces. It was also sold on the civilian market as the Thing in the US and as the Trekker and the Safari in other markets.
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Pretty cool.
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