COBI VW typ 82 Kübelwagen Set 2402

COBI's VW Typ 82 Kübelwagen is a 1:35 model of the German army's light utility car in the desert paint of the Afrika Korps, built from 195 blocks. A detailed engine sits under the rear hood, and a DAK soldier with an MP 40 and a face scarf, a palm tree, a rock, a barrel and a nameplate complete the scene. All markings are printed, not stickers.

Named after its seats

The name is not an insult. It comes from Kübelsitzwagen, bucket-seat car — the early military cars of the 1920s and 1930s had deep, tub-shaped seats that held soldiers in place over rough ground, and the army shortened the word to Kübelwagen. By the time Volkswagen built the Type 82, the seats were ordinary, but the name had stuck.

Underneath, it was Ferdinand Porsche's Beetle: the same air-cooled rear engine and the same platform, with a flat-sided open body and gear reductions in the rear hubs that raised the car and gave it more pulling power at low speed. It had no four-wheel drive, but it was light enough for a few men to lift out of trouble, and the rear-mounted engine kept weight over the driven wheels — which is why it coped with the sand of North Africa better than heavier vehicles did.

In the COBI range

Set 2403 is the amphibious Schwimmwagen built from the same components, and set 2401 the Kettenkrad. Sets 2034 and 2050 are Afrika Korps figure packs that suit this model.

Specifications

Pieces: 195 · Figures: 1 · Scale: 1:35 · No stickers
Model dimensions: 13 × 6 cm (5.1 × 2.4 in)