"Staff Cars for Rapid Fire" Topic

Hi All, in the early war Blitzkrieg organisations, a lot of units feature "staff cars".

I think these are generally conscripted civilian cars. While I have sourced some for my 1940 British, I am at a loss for where to get some for my 20mm chaps.

Any suggestions?

For the Germans, the ubiquitous Kubelwagen might be a good starting point – should be available from a number of manufacturers both in plastic and resin (any preferences?).

Hi GB, Thanks for the suggestion. I did think about the Kubelwagen, but it gives more of a mid-war onwards, organised vibe.

I was hoping for a slightly less organised/getting started fee to the units.

Of course if I can't get something civilian, then it will be kwagens all the way. 😁

I have to add that I am not too familiar with Rapid Fire organisations, but in case you are doing an infantry battalion you probably should not be fielding any staff cars in the first place. While there were a couple of trucks to be found in the battalion, these were part of the battalion trains (alongside numerous horse drawn wagons). Battalion commander and his immediate retinue were rather provided with riding horses for personal transport.

In late 1943 German leg infantry battalions got a staff car. Until then they had horses.

Oxford Diecast has a number of 1930s cars in their range

There are various die-cast toys which will do, Frontline also do various 20mm cars in resin.

Thanks chaps.

I've used Oxford for my British cars, but the Frontline sound useful… Thanks!

In this case "staff car" is a generic term. Generally, from company level and up, the commander has some kind of vehicle that he uses to quickly move from one place to another. For the Americans, it was the jeep. Some may have used a small truck of some kind. You're not going to find automobiles in tactical units. Maybe at the division level, depending on the Army. Of course, once the fighting starts, and my jeep is destroyed, maybe I'll commandeer someone's Mercedes, or an enemy vehicle.

I am at a loss for where to get some for my 20mm chaps.

Which nationality of 'chaps' are you having difficulty with?

In the book I think you're referring to, the French and British have transport listed as 'staff cars'. The Germans have 'car', 'light car', 'medium car' and 'heavy car'. No 'staff car' as such.

Where the French have a 'staff car', the image is clearly that of a Citroen Traction Avant. Models of this vehicle are available from a few sources. You say you have sourced models for the British.

As you might imagine, the Germans had a standardised approach to vehicle built specifically for the armed forces. Look for models described as Light, Medium, or Heavy Uniform Pkw.

The Wehrmacht also made use of tens of thousands of 'civilian' cars, even before the war broke out. The manufacturers included Adler, Auto-Union, BMW, Borgward, Daimler-Benz, Hanomag, Opel, Steyr, Stoewer, Fiat, Ford, and others.

Try to find a copy of "Cars of the Wehrmacht" by Reinhard Frank if you're interested in fielding some distinctive cars for your commanders.

Some staff cars here! link