Tamiya’s German KS600 motorcycle & sidecar in 35th size

From Tamiya

Kit No# 384

1/35th scale

Pl We look at the contents in today’s review…

In-boxed: German KS600 Motorcycle & Sidecar

DecalsFrom Tamiya

Motorcycle Length: 71mm (2.8 in) / Width: 47mm (1.9 in)

Tamiya’s German KS600 Motorcycle & Sidecar kit…

In saying that it was all the way back in 1972 when Tamiya released the BMW R75 with side car, so an upgrade was probably long overdue for a vehicle as common and versatile as the side car was on the battlefields of WW2.

German soldiers of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler on a Zundapp type KS 600 motorcycle in Berlagebrug, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

This new release is the Zundapp KS600, with the boxing coming with the inclusion of three figures. This box is typical Tamiya with the beautifully drawn drawing and a white background.

The vehicle was used throughout the period of the war and was seen in both the German Grey finish during the early stages and then later in the Dark Yellow.

Typically, it would be the details on the license plates that would be the only give away as to the early vs late versions.

The kit promises a signpost with a few road signs, but I was a little disappointed to see the road signs needed to be just cut out of the side of the cardboard box. I’d recently reviewed the MiniArt kit of German road signs and was hoping Tamiya may have followed suit with the moulded timber blades overlaid with full colour decals…but that was not to be.

The instructions come in the usual Tamiya style with easy-to-follow line drawings which include call outs for the Tamiya paint colours.

Assembly of the sidecar is completed over 10 steps with the 11th step showing the assembled figures with extensive colour call outs.

There are 64 parts included over two sprues for the Bike and Sidecar, so there is a reasonable amount of assembly required for such a small vehicle.

Sprue A is essentially all of the bike parts…

…and Sprue B the side car. The bike and sidecar are on separate sprues, which I think is a good idea. They are just so chunky and overscale.

The other element that left me feeling a bit flat was the sculpting of the saddlebags…

…It feels a little lazy or for lack of a better word, safe.010010 They are just so chunky and overscale.

The other element that left me feeling a bit flat was the sculpting of the saddlebags….

…It just feels a bit lazy or for want of a better word…safe.

The three figures and the signpost come on one sprue.
The sculping and rendering of the soldiers’ uniforms is quite extraordinary for injection moulded figures and continues the trend of these recent release Tamiya figure sets.

I’m currently painting and reviewing the Machine Gun crew that was released around the same time as this set, and I think the facial sculpts in this set are slightly better than those. There is no replacement for an aftermarket heads to take these figures to a higher level. It would have been a nice addition and a missed opportunity by Tamiya, only giving us markings for the bike.SOL Resin Factory onlineConclusion

It sounds like I am being overly critical, but I’m trying to point out some of the areas I think this kit could have been improved. I know it sounds like I am being overly critical, but this kit could have been improved in many ways. It’s Tamiya and you know it will be awesome…it just feels like there is room for improvement, while the kit seems too’safe. The kit looks great, but it could be better. It feels too safe. It’s amazing how much the in-scale bags and spokes make a difference. ModelUnfortunately this set from SOL

is pretty necessary for this kit..
I can tend to get ahead of myself and understand that some of those finer details may not be as important to some as they would be to others. This is going to be a matter of your own expectations and, I would guess, the level at which you feel comfortable. There is no doubt that this release will be very well received and popular. I’m glad I have it in the stash and once I cross paths with the SOL upgrade set, I’ll be looking for any excuse I can to get this on the workbench.