Tamiya 1/35 Schwimmwagen Type 166 (35224) Build Review

I begin the build with the engine compartment. This is basically a separate section that drops into place in the rear hull and I want to see how it looks – if it’s OK, I’ll leave the rear access hatch open. If not. it will be closed. After building and painting, I think it looks OK – there are relatively few parts here, but they’re sharply moulded and seem to provide a reasonable representation of the Schwimmwagen engine, so I’ll be leaving the engine compartment hatch open.

I continue as per the instructions by adding the suspension and drive to the lower hull.

I then add the completed engine and interior into the lower hull.

I then start work on the upper hull, and that involves glueing pieces of plastic mesh to curved parts of the bodywork. The instructions do include templates for the mesh, which is helpful and there’s plenty of spare mesh if you do get it wrong. I used superglue and, as usual, I found it remarkably easy to glue my fingers to the bits of mesh, to the plastic parts and to each other but fiendishly difficult to get the small bits of mesh fixed in approximately the right place.

The rest of construction of the upper hull is less stressful and doesn’t involve gluing myself to items of furniture or to my cat. I then join the upper and lower hull. Fit is great and the joint between the upper and lower halves follows the ridge along the side of the vehicle, so it’s completely hidden. Just as in the Kubelwagen though, a decal for the tiny speedometer would have been helpful.

Next, I add some parts to the hull and then I give it several thinned coats of Dark Sand.

Then, I give it all a two-tone camo scheme and add some dry-brushed highlights and some light chipping.

Then, I add the decals and the wheels and give it all a coat of varnish and a dark brown oil wash.

Then, I add the remaining bits and pieces to the hull.

And that’s pretty much the construction of this Tamiya Schwimmwagen done. It’s all straightforward, there is virtually no flash and fit is generally great – no filler was used here at all. The only part that isn’t in place yet is the steering wheel – you have to leave that off until the driver is in position, and I work on him next.

The figure seems reasonably sculpted, assembles easily and fits in position, though I can’t help but feel that a soft cap rather than a steel helmet might have been a nice option – he looks pretty relaxed. I paint the figure, place him in position, add the steering wheel and a dusting of pastels and that’s this Schwimmwagen done.

After Action Report

Just like the Tamiya Kubelwagen I did recently, this was a simple, straightforward build and I feel that it builds into a decent representation of the Schwimmwagen. OK, there are probably small items you could add, and some stowage items would make it look even better, but what you get here is pretty decent.

There really isn’t anything challenging here in terms of construction and you end up with something that, IMHO, looks pretty much like the original. It has enough detail to be convincing but comes without the tiny parts that can make the build (for me at least) frustrating.

I like the fact that the engine is provided here, unlike the Kubelwagen kit, though, just like in that kit, a decal for the speedometer would have been nice and additional stowage items would have helped to make the interior look busy. Despite those minor issues, if you want to build a 1/35 Schwimmwagen, I can heartily recommend this one. Just don’t be tempted to take it in the bath to see if it floats…

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Tamiya 1/35 Schwimmwagen Type 166 (35224) In-Box Review and History

I recently built a Tamiya Kubelwagen, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience – a simple, quick build with great fit and it ended up looking reasonable. So I thought I’d give the Kubelwagen’s amphibious cousin from Tamiya a try: the Type 166 Schwimmwagen.

Just like the Kubelwagen, Tamiya first released a 1/35 Schwimmwagen all the way back in 1970 (it was the third in the Military Miniatures series) and, to be honest, it wasn’t great in terms of either accuracy or detail. But then, in 1998, one year after the new Kubelwagen, they released this new Schwimmwagen kit and the word is that it’s pretty decent.

One of the things I like about these older Tamiya kits, in addition to great fit and clean mouldings, is that they’re now available for very little cash. This one cost me just €15, less than you’d pay for most contemporary 1/72 scale kits. So it’s certainly cheap, but is it any good?

History

Like the Kubelwagen the Schwimmwagen was produced by VW, but about the only thing these two vehicles share is the same flat-four, air cooled engine. The need for a light amphibious vehicle had become apparent to the Wehrmacht before the beginning of World War Two and VW began to investigate of producing a vehicle similar to the Kubelwagen but with amphibious capability.

A Type 128 Schwimmwagen

The first effort was the Type 128, based on a modified Kubelwagen chassis but featuring a welded tub hull. Around 100 were produced, but these weren’t a great success – the hull proved prone to cracking if the vehicle if it was used off-road which obviously wasn’t ideal in a vehicle designed to float. This led to the development of a new version with better torsional rigidity and a shorter wheelbase (40cm shorter than the Kubelwagen) which became the Type 166.

A Type 166 Schwimmwagen on the eastern front

This was much more robust and over 15,000 would be built in total from 1941 until virtually the end of the war. The Schwimmwagen featured four wheel drive (in 1^st gear only) and a small propellor, driven directly from the transmission that could be folded down for use in water. There was no steering in water other than using the front wheels as rudimentary rudders and an oar was provided as standard equipment with the Schwimmwagen to aid in steering.

A group of Schwimmwagen demonstrate their amphibious capabilities

Just like the Kubelwagen, the Schwimmwagen was reliable and rugged, easy to maintain and had great off-road (and amphibious…) capability. Officially, this was the Type 166 Schwimmwagen (Floating Car), but to most of the troops who used it, this was known as the Frosche (frog). This versatile vehicle was used as a recon vehicle, staff car and command car on virtually every theatre in which German troops were engaged from 1941 including, apparently, North Africa and Tunisia, though I don’t suppose it did much schwimming there….      

A Schwimmwagen on the eastern front shows off its off-road capability

What’s in the Box?

Inside the usual Tamiya top-opening box you’ll find two sprues and the hull moulded in light brown plastic, a transparent die-cut plastic windscreen, a square of black plastic mesh (for making the intake screens), decals and instructions.

Detail seem to be standard for Tamiya its, i.e., crisp, sharp mouldings, no flash at all and though there are a few ejector marks, they all seem to be placed where they won’t be seen on the finished model.

Here, unlike the Tamiya Kubelwagen, you get a complete engine and ancillaries and an engine compartment cover that is a separate part and can be shown open– hurrah!

The wheels and tyres are moulded as single parts but look adequately detailed.

The floor slats have suitable wood texture.

The figure looks sharply moulded.

Even the sporty-looking seats seem nicely modelled.

Decals are provided for five vehicles, all from the Wehrmacht.

A sixth set of decals, for a vehicle from Schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 101 in Normandy in 1944 is mentioned in the instructions, but they aren’t included – they seem to have been cut off the decal sheet. I presume that the SS runes (which appear on the numberplates for that vehicle) are now also proscribed symbols. Suitable colour schemes are shown on the instructions and on the box sides.

Would You Want One?

Like most Tamiya kits I have seen, this looks great in the box. It may be more than 25 years old but all the mouldings are as sharp and clean as many more recent kits. OK, it looks rather like a bathtub on wheels and there could be more detail and stowage itesm (though several PE and detail sets are available for this kit) but to me, this looks like a decent kit of the Schwimmwagen. If you do fancy something different, there are, as far as I know, just three alternatives in 1/35.

The Italeri Schwimmwagen was released in 1977 and despite its age, it isn’t bad at all. It comes with a hood that can be shown up (the Tamiya version only has the hood folded), three figures (including a civilian woman) and a bicycle with not terribly convincing spokes.  The AFV Club Schwimmwagen covers the earlier and less common Type 128. This kit was released in 2013 and it’s pretty good, with lots of detail, PE parts and vinyl tyres though it doesn’t include an engine.  

The most recent 1/35 kit of this vehicle comes from Hero Hobby and it was released in 2016. Just like their Kubelwagen, it isn’t bad, but the mouldings just don’t seem to be quite as sharp as those offered by Tamiya. If you fancy a 1/35 Schwimmwagen with reasonable detail, this 1998 Tamiya offering still seems to be a reasonable choice. And if you want one with an engine, this is probably the kit to go for!

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