A Kit Review

by Russell Hunter

Tamiya German Motorcycle Orderly Set

(DKW NZ350 With Orderly And Military Policeman.)

1/35 Military Miniature Series
        60mm in length and consisting of over 20 finely moulded parts, this model offers the most accurate and up-to-date version of this classic German wartime motorcycle. The model is well-engineered featuring steerable front wheel, accurate engine detail and rear mounted side bags for stowage. However there is still plenty of room for super detailing for those who choose, as the kit is missing brake cables, fuel lines and spark plug detail (a possible VP kit?).
Once the clean up and construction are finished the painting can begin. These vehicles wore a dark yellow base-coat upon which was brushed or sprayed various shades of green or brown according to the theatre of war. In winter the bikes might have received a whitewash coating over the dark yellow base.

I chose to paint my bike in the normal factory applied dark yellow base with emphasis instead being placed on appropriate weathering and detail for the engine and working parts. The engine block was painted using various metallic shades and heavily washed with black paint. The tyres were painted in standard flat black. Once this was done the weathering began, the fun part in a model such as this. I chose to heavily chip the surface of my bike and achieved this by using a 50/50 mixture of black and white paint applied with a sharp, good quality brush. The model finally received a dark wash and light dusting over with pastels to appear “dusty” after a long road trip. The rider was constructed and painted for use on the bike, which proved easy, as the figure is the same high quality as the rest of the kit. He was painted in typical German camouflage colours and glued onto the bike using Selly’s Supa Glue.

Although I chose not to use the M.P, the bike and orderly proved to be an excellent inclusion to my current diorama and comes highly recommended for those searching to create an interesting scene at a reasonable price.

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