IBG Ford Maultier with Flak 38 Build in 1/72 Scale

This is the 2019 release from IBG of the Ford Maultier halftrack with a 2 cm Flak 38 gun in the cargo bed, one of four boxings of their cargo trucks. The Maultier (Mule) was designated Sd.Kfz. 3, and was a half-track conversion of a standard cargo truck. This was a factory modification which replaced the rear wheeled running gear with tracks and suspension from a Panzer I to increase mobility.

There are several sprues inside the top-opening box, IBG has taken the route of providing all the sprues from their standard truck kit and adding the additional parts necessary for the Maultier. The sprues pictured are the parts necessary for the cab, bed, and frame. The larger PE fret is for the Flak 38, the smaller is for the vehicle itself.

The sprue to the left is the standard truck frame and suspension. Everything you need to build a standard truck is included, so this is a versatile boxing. The center sprue contains parts for the Flak 38. On the right are two sprues for the caterpillar tracks. The track itself is link and length, and fortunately there are spare individual track links included.

Here is the assembled Flak 38, it is one of the nicer renditions of this gun in the scale. There are plastic parts provided for the gun shields if you don’t want to work with the PE. I decided to try the PE first and see if it worked out, but it was nice to have the plastic parts available if it didn’t.

I built the frame and suspension up as a separate assembly. Much of this detail is not visible on the finished model, IBG has taken the path of maximized detail and scale fidelity over ease of assembly. The caterpillar treads and suspension are fragile, so care is needed when working with them.

I kept the cab and bed separate all the way through painting so I could get at all the nooks and crannies. The “sled” piece is the mounting for the Flak 38, it is designed to fit into the bed to convert a standard cargo carrier into a mobile flak platform. The sled is provided with PE grab irons but I replaced them on my kit with beading wire.

I mixed Panzer Gray from Black and Intermediate Blue, and used Mr. Color Sand Yellow straight from the bottle for the camouflage squiggles. The Flak 38 got a solid coat of Sand Yellow.

I masked off the areas swept by the windshield wipers before weathering. I also drilled out the headlights, the insides will be painted silver and Micro Krystal Klear will provide the lenses. The kit license decals were for Heer (Army) vehicles, but flak units were part of the Luftwaffe so I sourced some appropriate tags from the spares box.

Here’s a shot of the finished vehicle. This is a nice kit, although it has a lot of detail which cannot be seen on the completed model. My preference would be for more robust and simplified engineering to increase ease of assembly and strength of the model. I would not recommend the Maultier version for wargamers because of its fragility, but if the kit was built with the wheeled suspension it should prove strong enough.

Completed photos here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/01/30/ibg-ford-maultier-with-flak-38-in-1-72-scale/