RSO/01 with Trailer Sd.Anh. Ost 1/5t

MiniArt, 1/35 scale

Reviewed by Zack Sex

FirstLook   

It is perhaps surprising just how popular the Steyr RSO has been over the years as a 1/35 scale kit. Like many of you, I have at least two Italeri RSOs lurking at the very back of my stash mountain. They are not bad kits, but they definitely need new tracks – now there’s an idea for MiniArt Models!

The Italeri offerings were subsequently superseded by the more sophisticated releases from Dragon, which produced a number of RSO variants, including pressed-steel cab, flat-cab, PaK and Flak gun versions. Tamiya also released a reboxed Italeri RSO, with some additional parts and extras, in 2004.

Around the same time, Ukrainian company MiniArt came onto the scene with a vast and ever-growing selection of kits, detail sets and figures. More recently, MiniArt has embarked on its own extensive RSO family, covering several different configurations. These have included the pressed-steel cab and flat-cab versions, the PaK 40 variant, an RSO with a field kitchen, and versions with a wooden shelter. There have also been a number of other interesting combinations, culminating, for now, in this latest release, which pairs the RSO/01 with the Sd.Anh. Ost 1.5 t trailer.

These kits provide the modeller with an abundance of detail, supplemented by a small amount of photo-etched metal. However, MiniArt’s Herculean efforts in the RSO department have been somewhat overshadowed by Tamiya’s announcement of an entirely new RSO/01. Tamiya’s kit features a beautifully rendered canvas cover and a driver figure, and is scheduled for release in October 2026.

For sheer buildability, it is hard to argue with Tamiya. However, what MiniArt offers with this and its other RSO kits is a much more detailed plunge into the individual variants, allowing the modeller to create a vehicle that is firmly positioned in a particular time and place in history.

Yes, they take more time to build than a standard kit, but if one remembers back to the days of our youth – I’m in my mid-fifties now – when we were lucky to see one or two new releases a year, we would have gone crazy for an RSO with an Ost trailer, complete with this level of detail.

I found the construction of the RSO and trailer fairly straightforward, although, of course, dry-fitting and careful cutting and sanding of parts were essential. As with many of MiniArt’s more detailed kits, taking your time and checking the fit before committing to glue will pay dividends.

Another aspect of MiniArt’s kits that I particularly appreciate is the wonderful colour profiles of the vehicles. The illustrations by Volodymyr Booth, showing the subjects in plan, elevation and end views, are really excellent and provide a genuine helping hand when it comes to painting and finishing the various vehicles.

In summing up, I’m certainly not suggesting that there is only one RSO road to go down. Both Tamiya and MiniArt’s RSOs offer plenty of appeal, but MiniArt’s secret sauce is the way its kits offer the modeller the possibility of creating a very specific 1/35 scale scenario.

That extends beyond the vehicle itself. MiniArt provides the props, figures and accessories that can turn the model into a complete diorama, with the RSO becoming one actor on a carefully constructed stage. The company’s extensive range of figures, buildings, accessories and diorama subjects is an important part of the overall MiniArt package.

So perhaps the answer is to pick up a pair of RSOs – a Tamiya one and a MiniArt offering – and see for yourself.

They may approach the subject from different directions, but both demonstrate why this rather humble German tracked tractor continues to have such enduring appeal to scale modellers.

Purchased by the reviewer