Famo
Kit Reviews
History
The Famo was the largest half tracked tractor produced for the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. During the interwar period Wehrmacht planners had projected the introduction of multiple weight classes of halftrack to fulfill the many transport roles of a modern army. These classes were a 1-ton, 3 ton, 5 ton, 8 ton, 12 ton and 18 ton class respectively. The largest of these were the 18-ton Famos. The Famo was designed to tow and recover tanks and to serve as prime movers for the heaviest of the Wehrmacht’s artillery. Later in the war, with the introduction of the Tiger and Panther tanks, even the massive Famos proved inadequate in the tank recovery role. There are well known photos of three Famos in series towing a single Tiger I. Specialized armored recovery vehicles, epitomized by the Bergepanther, had to be produced to supplement the Famos. Special crane variants of the Famo were also produced. The Famo proved to be an extremely useful vehicle, so much so that there were never enough available to Wehrmacht units.
Kits Available
Until recently there were no injection-molded kits of the Famo. Expensive resin kits were available in 1/76th scale from Milicast and 1/72nd scale from Planet. Now we have the choice of two excellent kits in 1/72nd scale – the Revell Germany kit and the Trumpeter kit. Both will produce fantastic models of this important halftrack. The Revell Germany kit depicts an early F3 variant while the Trumpeter kit is an intermediate F3. Thus both are useful for depicting the massive Famo.
Trumpeter Famo Construction Review
When opening the box, the shear number of parts overwhelms the modeler. There are one hundred parts for the tracks alone. The parts have little flash and very few sink holes; however, there are many ejector pin marks. Nevertheless, these are almost always in hidden locations. The parts are characterized by great detail but are sometimes fragile as a result. Construction of the kit begins with the chassis. Here construction was straightforward except when it came time to attach the chassis cross members to the chassis sides. It appears Trumpeter has engineered the square protrusion attachment points too large for the crosspieces. I chose to remove the protrusions and assembled per the instructions. Ensure the alignment of the chassis is true if you remove the protrusions. The construction now proceeded smoothly. I chose to keep the engine, exhausts and road wheels separate for the painting stage. When gluing the front wheel assembly to the chassis, make sure it is far enough forward so the front wheels are centered in the wheel wells. I had to correct this during construction. I also added a piece to the front part of the transmission to compensate for this adjusted forward spacing. Although the number of track parts seems overwhelming, the track construction proceeded without problems. The jig provided for track assembly is of great assistance in this endeavor. Don’t expect the tracks to be completed in only an hour though. The rest of the kit assembly was straightforward. Take special care when attaching the bodywork assemblies to the chassis to ensure a square assembly. Putty work was required on the fenders after assembly. I hollowed out parts B20 to accept MV Products lenses. Brass wire was bent per kit instructions and added to the kit for tarp bows. The kit was painted in Modelmaster dunkelgelb and over sprayed in thin lines with Tamiya red brown and green. Kit markings were used and depict a Famo of the 237th StuG Brigade in Russia during 1943. Stowage is from various sources – ESCI, Leva, Preiser, and Revell. Wooden beams are balsa, appropriately stained.
Conclusion
In my opinion this kit has the edge over the Revell Famo. It is definitely more complex; however, it is in this very complexity that makes the kit a more detailed and accurate model. While the tracks are very complex, they build into very accurate replicas of the real thing. The engine is also more complex and complete. On first impression, I think the Trumpeter Famo is definitely superior but takes an experienced and patient modeler, while the Revell Famo will definitely build up faster. As noted in the review above, the Trumpeter Famo has some construction problems. One big advantage of the Revell kit is in the painting instructions. While the Trumpeter Famo uses color codes, it has no paint table. Nevertheless, since I have not yet built the Revell Famo but only compared the two in the box, I have to be tentative in my final judgment. The Tumpeter kit even has a little humor. If you read the side of the kit box it states “This car has many kinds of becoming type vehicles.” If spite of the rather poor English translation, the kit builds into an impressive model of the Famo.
Reference
Hettler, Nicolaus. Nuts & Bolts Vol. 12 Schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18 Ton and Variants Famo “Bulle” (Sd Kfz 9). Uelzen, Germany: Nuts & Bolts.