On both the Western and Eastern Fronts, Germany relied heavily on an extensive rail network to keep its war machine supplied and reinforced. Endless convoys of trains carried armored vehicles and trucks, ammunition, soldiers, food and miscellaneous supplies towards the frontlines. However, these vital train lines were vulnerable to attack from the air as well as the activities of partisans and resistance movements. On the Eastern Front in particular, partisans could play havoc with supply lines in occupied areas, and attacks on trains and railway lines were commonplace. To counter such disruptive activities, Germany produced a variety of specialist rail vehicles to take on the partisans. One such vehicle was the Schwerer Panzerspahwagen (s.Sp.) Artilleriewagen.

Cyber Hobby is releasing a 1/35 scale Artilleriewagen as an Orange Box item. This particular vehicle featured a turret taken from a Panzer III that was placed on an armored hull fitted with railcar wheels. This turret had a short-barreled 7.5cm Kw.K L/24 gun that could take on partisans with high explosive rounds. There were also multiple machineguns fitted for all-round defense. Combined with its armored plates, this firepower made the Artilleriewagen a formidable opponent for any partisan group hoping to take on a supply train. As an Orange Box item, the kit also includes a set of crew figures readymade to populate the vehicle and turret. Orange Box is renowned for its value for money, and so the kit contains a length of railway track and associated embankment too. As with popularly received railway items such as flatbed and gondola railcars that have already been released by Orange Box, this latest vehicle allows modelers to make their trains longer and more powerfully armed!