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1/48th Steyr Type 2000A 2cm Flak.38 AA Gun Carrier ConversionBack in late 2008, I decided to build a particular variant of a Steyr truck with a

Flak38 on the back. Parts came from a variety of sources including: Tamiya - SteyrType 1500A/01 (#32549), CMK - Steyr 1500 Cargo Truck (No. 8032), Hauler -Steyr 2000A Pritsche (HLX 48224),Hauler - Steyr 1500 Detail Set (HLX 48214),Verlinden - 2cm Flak38A AA Gun (2232) and plenty of scratch-building with

Evergreen styrene. Additional information camefrom Wings and Wheels Publication “Steyr1500A in Detail”. I wanted to closely followLeadWarrior’s 1/35th scaleSteyr Type 2000A 2cm.Flak.38 AA Gun Carrier asshown in one of the photos.There is precedence for thisparticular type of mating. Asyou can see in the only twosurviving pictures, the bed ofthe truck looks like theHaulervariant, but the gun isdefinitely a 3cm variant knownas a MK 103 gun. Since thisvariant exists, I am taking aleap of faith that theLeadWarrior, and thus my

variant, may have existed. As my friend Bruce Culver says, “Neverunderestimate a German Engineer with a blow torchand some metal!”

The first stage of this conversion was to scratch-build the lower frame. The one supplied with theTamiya kit is very minimal at best and being metal,is not very easily improved upon. This wouldn’tmatter so much with the kit made OOB, but sinceI am opening up the sides by putting a bed with awooden box on the back, all the bottom features willbe seen. Here begins my quest for the ultimateframe!

To start with, measurements had to be madeof the existing Tamiya frame, including all therelevant attachment points to the plastic body.

Anatomy of a Build Series - 1

LW 35029 WWW.LEADWARRIOR.COM INFO@LEADWARRIOR.COM COPYRIGHT 2007

LEADWARRIORHISTORICAL MINIATURE Ebay: LEADWARRIOR

INFO@LEADWARRIOR.COM

WWW.LEADWARRIOR.COM

LW 35029

STEYR Type 2000A

Austria’s all wheel drive Steyr 1500A was one of the many personnel/transport vehicles which was designed to meet Whermacht requirement for standard army 1,5 ton truck. Presented in 1941, the Steyr was used as troop transport in all the war theaters. A total of more than 20,000 were built, in a wide range of variants Tamiya presents basic and command versions. The chassis of Steyr 1500A and it’s reinforced variant Steyr 2000A were also used for Fire trucks, Omnibus (Leadwarrior kit Lw35026), Ambulance (Leadwarrior kit Lw35025), universal “Funk-Koffer”, and different types of cargo carriers. The initial variant of cargo truck on Steyr 1500A chassis had opened driver’s compartment combined with wooden trunk (Leadwarrior kit Lw35023). Later Steyr 2000A cargo trucks with full-metal cabin and reinforced rear springs were introduced, utilising standard frame shassis (Leadwarrior kit Lw35027), or long frame shassis (Leadwarrior kit Lw35024). That later variant had standard wheels base, but additional frame section was added to support longer flatbed cargo platform.

In second half of WWII, due to superiority of Allies in the air, Germany faced an urgent need in Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft vehicles. Beside many official developments, utilizing panzers and halftraks chassis (see Leadwarrior kits Lw35014, Lw35022), there was a wide range of troop improvisations made by infantry units using all sort of vehicles and guns. This kit presents the conversion of Steyr 2000A long-frame cargo truck chassis to carry 2cm. Flak.38 AA Gun. The complete gun including the field carriage was mounted. This way the gun could be used in the static position, while the vehicle could be used for supply purposes.

(Later the official variant of this vehicle was introduced. It utilized the same Steyr 2000A chassis, but instead of 2cm. Flak.38 the 3cm. Flak.108/38 mounted on pedestal was used.)

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TAMIYA Steyr Type 1500A ( kit #35225 )

And Dragon / Italeri / Tristar / Tamiya Flak.38 AA Gun

49 RESIN PARTS

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From there, actual pictures and schematicswere combed through to provide thenecessary lightening hole arrangement forthe hollow box frame. These holes were usedon the real truck as a weight-saving measure,and, since these will be seen in this openframe model, they must be correctlyportrayed. The accompanying illustrationsshow the measurements I made with allpertinent features.

It should be noted that I took some time topuzzle out how I would make the frame “appear” tobe made out of a box-like set up. In reality, theframe sides were hollow to 1) save on weight (an allmetal frame would be too heavy), and 2) to allowfor the various plumbing of wires and tubing to be

secured. Since I had no desire to actually build side boxes, I opted for a differentapproach. I built each side from two pieces of styrene. The first and inside partcontained the lightening holes with a bit of reaming to “simulate” the openness ofthe hollow sides. The second and outer piece finished the side so the holes wouldonly be seen from the inside. The reamed side was placed face in to the outer piece.Once both sections were created, they were joined together with the appropriatecross-members to create a solid frame to build upon.

The next step in the process was to finish the rear end byscratch-building the last two cross-members. According to plans,

the outer member was just a copy of the inner one. Patience and a great deal of trial-and-error were the keys to my success.

At this point, I was a bit perplexed as to how to make the two sets of double springsneeded for the rear suspension. Isearched for similar arrangements inmany kits so as to save myself fromcreating them, but in the end, I did justthat…out of styrene with a brass topplate. The brass was used to create thenecessary bend in the larger bottomsections that the styrene strips would follow up on. Thiswas important to me so that the proper look of sprungsprings would be achieved. With that done, I then hadto scratch the pockets that the lower springs would sit

in, as well as the bumper stops for theupper springs. Each pocket was createdfrom five separate pieces of styrene. Thebumper stops were made from channelwith a separate strip of styrene downthe middle.

.217 .1

.2355 .3093 .3093

.08

.06

.06

3.6

1.272

1.005DRIVE TRAIN SLOT

3.829

1.942CENTER OF MIDDLE X-MEMBER

2.0174

1.912

2.499

2.59

2.5682

3.160CENTER OF SPRING

.105

4

.105

4

.105

4

.105

4

.105

4

.105

4

.105

4

.114

2

.114

2

.114

2

.098

1

.128

4

.135

5

= .08

= .0359

= .0212

3.118

.04

.156 .08

BEN

DS

INFR

AM

ESI

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= Tamyia attachment points

= .020 x .156 Styrene

= Cross members

= .040 x .156 Styrene

= New rear frame

= Lightening holes

.586

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Proposed Total Length of Frame = 4.2663 inches.

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Other improvements made because of the openness of this variant included filling in sectionsof the differential housing and adding a large nut to the back of it to simulate the fluid drain hole.Test fitting was done all along the way so as to ensure that the Tamiya drive train would mate upto the scratch-built frame without any sloppiness. I was very happy with my results and you can

see in the pictures that everything did indeedcome together very nicely! Chalk one up forcareful measurements.

Now came the cab and interior portions.Please note that the tan pieces are from the baseTamiya kit, the gray ones are from the Haulerkit, and, unfortunately, the CMK kit could notbe used except as a template because of somewarpage that occurred. In the end, the CMK kitprovided the necessary patterns for the bed andsome of the photoetch used along the sides. TheHauler kit provided the necessary extra set ofrear wheels, the

cabin floor (to replace the Tamiya one – differing configuration)and the side doors. These kit side doors closely follow theMK 103Steyr set-up, but I wanted square doors as in the LeadWarrior kitso some extra modification needed to be done.

The cabin was pieced together using dimensions taken fromthe Tamiya kit for proper placement of the seats and center console

box. As you can see, I made my own

plastic jig for this. The sides were cut down to create the squarelook for the doors and the doors themselves created fromstyrene with additional side bracing. It was around this pointthat the Hauler photoetch set for the Steyr came into play asthe dashboard was swapped out for the brass version and thefoot pedals were used as well. Just as a side note, I had usedsome wiring for the back of the gauges, but in the end, itwould not be seen; c’est la vie! The final piece was the backof the cab which I created in styrene as well.

Once the cab area was addressed I mated it to the chassiswith the addition of the tworear wheels from theHaulerkit. With this done, the sideexhaust system was fixedin place by the additionof a couple of scratch-built attachment points.Also, the two brass sidesupport rails (I believe

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they were used for the up/down movement of the front suspension) were fixed in place towards the front end. I wasn’t sure if I neededthese, but a side view of the chassis and cab showed a lack of detail in this areawould be seen by the casual viewer.

My attention was now firmly fixed on the bed andthe Verlinden Flak38 that would be going into it. Asstated before, the CMK resin bed was slightlywarped and unusable by me except as a template.It shows 13 boards across, but I decided with thecurrent dimensions (1.670” wide x 2.677” long)that 14 Evergreen .04 x .125 (#142) boards withan Evergreen .04 x .04 (#142) border wouldbetter suit my needs. Building on the floor, thesides and back were created from 3 planks each ofthe same .04 x .125 (#142). With the back bedcompleted, it needed to be mated to the chassis.The LeadWarrior instruction sheet gave me theproper template guides for the bed risers and crossstabilizing pieces, with two of the stabilizers beingthe shorter versions (to lock into the bed risers)and the other two the higher ones located closer

to the cab portion. I also drew inspiration fromthe LeadWarrior instructions to create thebench seat in an upright position next to thecab portion. The side locking photoetch piecesalong with some brass channel completed thefinal touches on the back bed/box.

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The Verlinden Flak38 was a bit of a disappointmentfor me. Being the only game in town at the time, I had nochoice but to use it. I found the kit sorely lacking in detailssuch as the rivets in the front shield, side grab handles, thetop braces used to hold the shields, the spade at the backend, and thin diameter barrel. The seat may still need to bereplaced as even in 1/48th scale it is unbelievably small.Also, there are two internal rods on either side of the gunplatform that are used to hold the whole thing on supportsaffixed to the bed. These need to be replaced with brass rod. I found a brass barrel for the gun, so theresin part was cut off. One other item I changed out was the side shelf used for spare magazines. I used

a brass photoetch .50 caliber box as the basisfor it instead of the resin version supplied.

Apart from all that, the gun wenttogether following the instructions.

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The supports that go in the bed for the Flak38 were comprised of three different parts – 2 of styrene and one of brass rod. Thetemplate for the star-shaped ring is shown. This was glued to a round base and the edges were chamfered. The brass rod came as adelightful surprise to me. I was trying to figure out what was the best way to create the grooves that run around the shaft when by

shear chance, it sorted itself out. My tube cutter started to apply a thread to the outsideand when I noticed it, I had enoughthreaded to do the job! Four supports areneeded; one on either side towards the cab,and two joined together for the back. Thecompletion of the supports came after Ifiled a groove for the guns internal rods tosit in.

Using the LeadWarrior instructionsheet as a template again, I created a spare2cm barrel case. After all, I need somethingto go in the back for that lived in look!

Finishing touches includedadding the additional photoetchdetails (such as door handles), theseat backs, and spare wheel holder

under the bed. I have, todate, finished about 95% ofthis build. Aside frompriming and painting, I havethe driver’s side door to placeand do not yet know if I willhave it closed or open, with

the driver out of the vehicle.Also, the spare wheel is notfixed in place yet and oncepainted will be set in andthe second bracket added.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!- Ken Kolenovsky

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