COBI Sd.Kfz. 222 Set 2657

COBI's Sd.Kfz. 222 is a 1:28 model built from 502 blocks, 17 cm long, with a rotating open turret carrying a 2 cm gun, rubber wheels that turn, and an opening turret for the included figure of a German lieutenant with binoculars.

The wire basket on top

The turret of an Sd.Kfz. 222 has no roof, and what covers it instead is a hinged frame of wire mesh. That is not a weight-saving measure. It is a grenade screen.

An armoured car with an open turret is at its most vulnerable in a town, where somebody in an upper window can simply drop a grenade into it. The mesh was light enough not to matter and strong enough that a hand grenade landing on it bounced off and detonated outside. The crew could still see, and the gun could still be elevated high enough to shoot at aircraft or at windows above street level — which is the other reason the top was left open.

The armour elsewhere was 8 mm at the front and sides, 5 mm on top and rear: enough for rifle fire and shell splinters, nothing more. That was the deal. The 222 was a reconnaissance vehicle, four-wheel drive, 80 km/h, and its job was to find the enemy and report, not to survive being found.

Specifications

Pieces: 502 · Figures: 1 · Scale: 1:28
Model dimensions: 17 × 7 × 8 cm (6.7 × 2.8 × 3.1 in)