The Raupenschlepper Ost (RSO) was a lightweight artillery tractor, conceived in response to the savage Eastern Front conditions and performance of German half-tracked vehicles in dealing with it. Introduced in 1942, the RSO was initially designed to perform a prime mover and artillery tractor role, though in reality served many wide and varied roles, simply because it traversed the landscape better than most other light vehicles on offer. Looking past the instructions that in my opinion appear a little light on detail, (unusual for Dragon) the Raupenschlepper Ost (RSOJ/01 from Dragon (item 6691) is a really enjoyable kit to build. The model utilises parts from previously released variants of the vehicle, some parts such as roadwheels and drive sprockets are starting showing their age now compared to recent releases. The pressed steel cab denotes the initial RSO/01 variant. Models to follow this were much simpler in construction including armour plating, rear mounted PaK 40 and later in the war, even a variant made from wood (Einheits). The rear deck of the vehicle offers plenty of stowage opportunity, and this is what I am going to explore in this build.
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