ExtraTECH Ltd.

Podstranskoa, 627 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Kit #72022

Š kodaRadschlepper Ost RSO

Porsche Type 175

ŠKODARSO - RADSCHLEPPER OST (konstrukce Ferdinand Porsche - Porschetype 175) BAUJAHR 1942 - 1944

Stephen Brezinski,Portland, Maine USA

A Wee Bit of Vehicle History For TheModeler

This German World War 2 era vehicle started life in responseto the need for an off-road tractor and supply vehicle built forthe mud and poor roads of the Eastern (Ost) Front. RadschlepperOst (RSO for short) translates to "wheeled tractorEast" The vehicle was designed by the famous Dr. FerdinandPorsche of Volkswagen and of the Elefant panzerjäger fame, andis not one of Dr. Porsche’s best accomplishments. Thevehicle was initially rejected though Hitler is reported to haveordered 200 built anyway. Production ceased at 100 though and Iunderstand few or none served on the Ost front (the front it wasdesigned for), several in the 1944 Ardennes Offensive. I surmisethat the all-steel wheels would have made for a veryuncomfortable ride. One source I read stated it performed poorlyon icy roads.

Many may already be familiar with the other German RSOtractor that was much more of a success and more numerous: thetracked Steyr RSO, or Raupenschlepper OST (Crawling Tractor,East), available in 1/72 scale by Modelkrak. The RSO of thisreview as represented by ExtraTECH in 1/72 scale and was atracked vehicle of four four-wheel-drive roadwheels. The onlyother model kit of this vehicle I am aware of is from TP Models,#TP7273, also in resin.

The Kit

• The kit comes in 24 well-molded tan resin parts, and about 42 etched brass parts. Doug Chaltry wrote a preview of this kit where I refer you for a breakdown of the parts. Removing the pour plugs and clean up was not difficult. Most parts could be scored with a razor saw or knife and snapped off. I noted no air bubbles and the edges were crisp.
• There is also a clear sheet with outlines for all six windows and dashboard dials.
• The all-steel wheels look like the metal tread is a bit shallow but is not unreasonable.

Instructions & Assembly

As seen above, the instructions I think are superb, about thebest of any resin manufacturer I have seen. My commendations toExtraTECH for this. The instructions even tell you where to cutoff the pour plugs.

Despite only 100 being built, in the photos of three or fourdifferent vehicle I have noted some variations, such as exactplacement of the steps and such. I would not worry if your modeldoes not exactly match the photos.

I used cyanoacrylate (Super) glue for assembling all theparts. But be careful with placement of the parts as super gluesets very quickly! 5-minute epoxy or white glue may be better insome instances for selected parts.

Note that the rear wheels (parts A6) are wider than the front(parts A7). The tread pattern points down and inside when lookingat the vehicle head on. The wheels have the bolts molded to bothsides of the wheel. I found the inside bolts needed to be shavedoff for the wheel to sit flush to the hub.

The detail on the outside of the wood bed is excellent, thoughunfortunately this detail is missing on the inside of the bed. Wecan either scribe the wood plank lines in and add the boltdetail, add a tarp (canvas) over the bed using the brass supportsincluded on the etched fret, or pack the bed up with cargo orfigures.

Yes, the vehicle muffler mounts on the cab roof. Perhaps thiskeeps it from fouling with mud and snow?

Overall fit was very, very good. Little filling and sandingwas needed.

The brass parts were clearly marked, and bent into shape well.A clear film backs the etched-brass dashboard with the dialmarkings on the film. Visibility into the cab is difficult whendone; I should have saved this piece for an open-top truck whereit could be better seen!

The flat etched-brass grab handles may be replaced by brasswire bent to match the kit parts. Matching holes will need to bedrilled in the cab and fenders for the handles.

My windows were installed with Kristal Klear, a whiteglue-like material that sets clear and matches the refractiveindex of the window plastic (i.e. dries so we cannot easily seeit on the plastic). If you lower the side windows so as to bettersee the cab, make note that the windows appear to only lowerhalfway due to the small size of the doors.

Based on photos, I think the etched-brass rear ladder is toolong and is better shortened by one rung.

Painting & Markings

After washing and allowing drying the clear windows weremasked with Tamiya masking tape. The Tamiya Panzer Yellow and Buff acrylic paint colors were blended to achieve agood scale-effect color and thinned with alcohol to a consistencyof milk. With 15 psig on the regulator three very light coats ofpaint were applied, waiting about five minutes drying timebetween coats. At this stage its important to hold the airbrushclose (about 2 to 4 cm maximum) so the paint does not dry in theair and form a rough spotty, orange-peal like surface.

The camouflage scheme was added next using Vallejo acrylics,again thinned well but with tap water. For a fine soft-edgepattern the airbrush nozzle was held no more than 1 cm, usingboth hands to be as steady as possible.

After the paint had dried for about a half-hour a coat ofsatin finish varnish sealed the paint for the upcomingweathering.

The model comes with water-slide decals for three differentvehicles. Besides license plates with the decals, there are twosets of vehicle specification-stencils commonly seen on the doorsof Wehrmacht trucks. These markings are rarely offered and itsgreat there is an extra set for your next truck. The decalsapplied well with a little gloss-coat down first and settingsolution, then another gloss coat to seal & protect thedecals.

Following a gentle washing in warm water and dish detergent,an acrylic dullcoat was applied. Weathering followed with a lightcoat of dust colored paint. Eventually more weathering will beapplied when the model is affixed to a diorama base.

Conclusions

For a novice to building in resin, a kit like this would be agreat place to start due to the good directions, easy clean-upand good fit of the parts. The window installation may provedifficult to many though, a hard part with all small scalesoftskins

My great thanks to Doug "Everglades" Chaltry, and to ExtraTECH Limited for thiskit.

References

I did not find a lot of information on this vehicle,particularly compared to other German WW2 vehicles. Besides thewebsites below you may have luck with a web search on Skoda RSO.

http://www.ipclub.ru/arsenal/angar/WWII/army/germany/gerarmors/SkodaRSO.htm A Russian language website with nice line drawings.

http://members.rogers.com/gparada/votw/spec.htm Achtung Panzer website. A good site on vehicle history.

http://www.modelltreff.de/gallerie/modelle/skodarso/Gallery_SkodaRSO.html Modeling website.