TAMIYA'S 1/35TH SCALE DKW
NZ350 GERMAN MOTOCYCLE

PRICE: $5.00

By Ray Mehlberger

HISTORY

The German motorcycle company DKW was established in 1919 and earned international acclaim in the thirties as a producer of finely crafted two-stroke racing motorcycles. It was during this period that the reconnaissance division of the German Wehrmacht focused on mechanization, and was accelerating the deployment of motorcycles At first, the Wehrmacht did not express a whole lot of interest in the two-stroke engine produced by DKW. But, by 1938, however they decided to adopt the 11 hp. single cylinder, two-stroke engine equipped on the DKW NZ350 medium cycle.

In 1940, production began on the NZ 350/1 version, specially modified for the Wehrmacht. This new model featured a cast iron engine block, centrifugal air filter, and strengthening braces in the frame to add a luggage carrier.

Although it proved unsuitable for cross-country use, the light weight and easy handling made it an ideal as a courier cycle in Europe, North Africa, and Russia well into WWII.

WHAT'S IN THE BAG:

Yep! You read that right, 'bag'!! Tamiya markets this new little kit in a cello bag and I found it hanging on a hook on a carousel at the local hobby shop.

The kit consists of one sprue of medium gray parts with a grand total of 21 pieces includesd.

A small decal sheet gives you three different Wehrmacht license plate numbers for the front and rear of the bike and a decal for the speedometer gauge.

Unfortunately no rider figure is provided.

The instruction sheet is a bifold narrow sheet in Japanese and English. It gives four easy steps for assembly.

This little kit is very nicely molded and they got the spokes in the wheels very petite. This is a nice little motorcycle to add to the BMW R-75 and the Zundapp KS-750 that have previously been done by other companies in this scale, and this new release is welcomed by me.

This is surely to sell a bunch - being inexpensive as it is and a breeze to assemble while you are watching TV some evening.