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The M4 High-Speed Tractor was an artillery tractor used by the USArmy during the 2nd World War. The tractor used M4 Sherman tracks, roadwheels and drive sprocket. Two main variants were produced, one to tow a 90mm anti-aircraft gun (approx 2400 built) and the other to tow a 155mm gun or 8-inch howitzer (approx 3000 built) The rear passenger compartment carried the gun crew and other equipment and ammunition carried at the rear. I will be building this out of the box. That begs the question, what’s in the box?

Joining in with this little guy with an odd design twist for a recon tank having armour thickness (80mm front with sides and rear at 50mm) approaching that of the Tiger I tank. Not sure if the nick name Tiger Cub was historically used, so just may be a modern term. The added weight did slow down road speed to maximum 31 km/h (19 mph). It's armament was the standard layout of the Panzer II, though the 2cm gun was an improved version with a faster rate of fire. some links of interest: https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/panzer-ii-ausf-j/ https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/germany/tanks-2-3/panzer2j/ kit contents: Couple aftermarket items, photo etch and metal track links: regards, Jack

OK, so here's my first upload effort. Was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this kit as my usual subjects are 1/72 modern or 1/48 WW2 aircraft. Currently unweathered (the kit, definitely not me!) I've ordered some oil paints and will make my first attempts when those arrive. I thought it was on the whole a good kit with most parts fitting well and no filling required. There is a lot of internal engine detail hidden beneath the hatches. In the end I couldn't fit all of it in, possibly due to my errors, so I permanently fixed the hatches shut. I also found that the turret wouldn't turn, obstructed by an internal bulkhead so carried out a little surgery to free it up. Again may be down to my errors. There appeared to be scope to maintain up and down movement in the wheels, though in the end it was necessary to glue things in place so that only one wheel pair now moves. The instructions weren't at all clear what was intended here. Enough whingeing, I'm quite happy with the result and will have a go at the Tamiya Chieftain in due course. Any thoughts welcome! Bigger images now inserted. Thanks to all for advice! Trevor

Latin American theme continues with this Peruvian Tucano which was used against Ecuador during the Cenepa War in 1995. DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

Here is my Mitsubishi A5M2b “Claude” built for the Salty Sea Dog group build. The A5M was the world’s first monoplane shipboard fighter. This model represents the aircraft of Lt Tamotsu Yokoyama of the Soryu fighter squadron in November 1939. Hobby Boss easy build kit finished with Vallejo white aluminium and dull aluminium, Tamiya gloss red and AK IJN cowling blue-black. Thanks for looking. AW

Panther Ausf.G Late (84552) 1:35 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd The Panther was Germany's answer to the surprise appearance of the Russian T-34 after they finally reacted to the invasion that was Operation Barbarossa. Although the project had been in gestation some time before, they took some design cues from the T-34 in the shape of the sloped armour, resulting in the Panther that was intended to fill the gap between the Panzer.IV and the (then) new Panzer VI Tiger. It was eventually supposed to replace both the Pz.IV and the earlier Pz.III that was really showing its age, but in reality it often fought alongside the Panzer IV. It was planned as a lighter, more manoeuvrable tank than the Tiger, and was fitted with a high velocity gun from the outset, which gave it enormous penetrating power that was only equalled later by the 17-pounder the British fitted to the American Sherman to make it into the more lethal Firefly. The sloped frontal armour gave it an increased effective armour thickness, but this was not so true of the side armour, which was comparatively weak, and this area became the preferred target of engaging allied tanks, especially in urban combat where this was a telling issue. Like most German WWII tanks it was filled with advanced engineering and therefore complex to produce, so suffered in terms of volume output, and this led to it being rushed into service with a long tick-list of issues still to resolve. Later production solved most of these initial gremlins, but loses in the interim were high with many being abandoned after breakdown during combat. Confusingly, the Ausf.D was the first to enter production, with the Ausf.A following later in 1943, replacing attrition of the less reliable Ausf.Ds until they themselves were superseded by the Ausf.G, which became the final major variant with increased ammo storage, simplified design to ease production, and further improvements to reliability, although this was never fully cured with a high rate of attrition persisting due to mechanical issues, some of which resulted in catastrophic fires. The Kit This is a reboxing with different parts of a range of Panther kits from Hobby Boss that began unexpectedly with a Flakpanther Ausf.D and grew from there, increasing the range of parts available as the series expanded. This boxing arrives in a standard Hobby Boss top-opening box, and inside are twenty sprues plus four separate hull and turret parts in sand-coloured styrene, five sprues of brown track links, a clear sprue, two sheets of Photo-Etch (PE), a length of braided copper cable, the decal sheet, instruction booklet and A3 colour painting and decaling sheet folded inside it. Detail is good, as we’ve come to expect from HB Panther kits, and the individual links give you the opportunity for some well-detailed tracks with realistic sag if you put them together sensibly. The addition of a partial interior is also good to see at this price-point. Construction begins with the lower hull, which is detailed with suspension parts and a pair of final drive bell-housings at the front, plus the small roller that prevents track throwing. A long zig-zagging plate is inserted flat against the floor inside, then the internal ladder structure is built-up from two full-length ribs and a set of six cross-braces, plus a few detail parts. The torsion bar suspension units are slipped through the holes in the ribs from both sides, and capped off with twin sockets before the whole assembly is clipped into the lower hull on several slots in the floor. A couple of detail parts and panels are laid into the floor, and the whole area is painted in red-brown primer, as this kit has a well-detailed partial interior. With the hull inverted, the many swing-arms and axles are fitted into the holes in the side of the hull, and once dry they are dressed with interleaved road wheels, some in pairs, others in singles, taking care to put them on the axles in order so that they sit properly. The idler wheels and drive sprockets finish off the running gear, then it’s time for the tracks. Each track link is held on the sprue by five sprue gates, and has a pair of guide horns glued to the inner face on a pair of shallow slots, then are joined together with liquid glue in runs of 88 links. The track runs can be created in one-sitting each and wrapped around the wheels while the glue is still soft, taping and wedging them into position to give the correct sag when the glue finishes curing. Detail on each link is excellent, and although there are a total of seven sprue gates to deal with per link, there are no ejector-pins or sink marks to be seen, so if you use a good pair of single-edge nippers and sand them carefully while settled in front of your favourite TV show, the time should fly by. The rear bulkhead of the Panther is detailed with armoured exhaust protectors, plus a pair of tubular exhaust stacks with rearward pointing exits at the top, made from two halves each. These are inserted into the armour, then the two different stowage boxes plus a well-detailed jack are added, along with the small Notek convoy light on a bracket under one of the exhausts. A couple of towing eyes are inserted into the raised circular access hatch in the centre of the bulkhead with a pin slotted between them, then the bulkhead is glued into the rear of the hull, adding a pair of towing shackles to the torch-cut sidewall ends. This kit doesn’t include the full interior, and it is blank aft of where the engine firewall would be, but you do get a handsomely appointed transmission, clutch and drive-shafts, which are assembled and dropped into the front of the hull, connected by a pair of hoses that disappear into the underpinnings. A control linkage is assembled with levers and end-caps, and attached to the top of the transmission, then a power take-off shaft and turret rotation mechanism are inserted behind the transmission, locating on a rectangular plate in the centre of the hull. The upper hull is next, laminating an inner panel to the sloped glacis plate, adding a clear periscope for the driver, and making a few holes in the deck for later use. The bow-mounted machine gun is a complex assembly that is built-up over several steps, with scrap diagrams showing how it should look before and after it is inserted into the ball-mount and the top cap is added above the sight that allows the gunner’s head to assist with moving the weapon. The ball is inserted into the kugelblende from behind, and is locked in place with an insert. On the exterior the forward crew hatch insert is prepared with the hatches on the outside and hinges on the inside, then it is dropped into the hole in the front deck, adding armoured protectors over the periscopes, the domed exterior armour to the kugelblende, headlight on its mount on the port fender, and a combination of PE and styrene brackets on the sloped hull sides. At the rear is the raised heater with PE “pizza slices” to adjust the amount of heat that escapes and this has a PE grille over the top, fitting on the port side of the engine deck, with a cast circular vent on the opposite side, and the engine access hatch between them. The various grilles and louvres are covered over by a set of PE grilles to keep grenades and dirt out, with a choice of open or closed louvres placed over them. Pioneer tools, spare track links and schürzen rails are fixed on the hull sides, the latter held in place by folded PE brackets. A travel-lock is made up and applied to the deck between the two front hatches, a few lifting eyes are added to the engine deck, plus handles on the hatches, brackets and other small parts on the sides to hold some of the pioneer tools in situ. The upper and lower hulls are then mated so that the pair of towing cable with styrene eyes and 115mm of braided cable between them can be laid over the deck, mounting on brackets at the rear and looped through the towing shackles at the front. The PE schürzen panels each have rectangular washers applied to stiffen the mounting holes before they are hung from the paired brackets on the sides of the hull, bending the ends of the brackets toward the rear to hold the sheets in position. These plates did get beaten up and knocked off despite this however, so there’s plenty of opportunity to customise the installation, starting with them hung at an 8° angle from vertical. The turret is similarly well appointed, with a full depiction of the basket, starting with the two-part floor and the boxed support at the rear, which has a seat hanging off the right and the rotation mechanism at the front, another seat with foot controls, the front supports and a lip around the pedals to prevent jamming caused by objects becoming lodged under them. A can is glued to the floor on the right, then the turret floor is mated with the basket and the rotation controls are fixed around the edge of the ring. A shallow lip is added around the sides, then the mantlet is made up, including the sighting gear, coaxial machine gun and the internal mantlet structure, with the hole for the barrel shroud. The assembly is locked between the inner panel and curved outer mantlet, then has the breech and protective framework fitted behind. The turret rear has a circular hatch in it, with a choice of posing it open or closed, scrap diagrams showing how it should fit in each position. The commander’s cupola has seven clear periscopes inserted from below, with styrene surrounds keeping them in place, then closing the assembly with the lower half and adding adjustment wheel and armoured covers on the top, which have the machine gun ring welded to the top. At the front is a PE blade sight that is folded up from a diamond-shaped part. The turret roof and sides are moulded as one part, to which the rear is glued, and a clear periscope and vent are applied to the inside. The mantlet with breech assembly are fixed to the front, and the floor with basket close the area, finishing off by adding the commander’s cupola and the external mantlet, taking care that the coax machine gun muzzle goes through the hole in the mantlet. The main gun is moulded as a single part, and thanks to sliding moulds, the detail on the muzzle brake is good, locking into the mantlet on a keyed base. A pair of pegs insert in holes on the sides of the mantlet, a mushroom vent is applied to the roof, and the shell ejection port is installed near the back of the roof. A PE cover is folded up and inserted between the mantlet and turret roof, with scrap diagrams showing the correct profile of the part once properly folded from above and the side. The roof periscope gets an armoured cover, and a grab-handle is glued over the rear hatch, with three lifting eyes added front and rear. As this is a late edition, it is fitted with infrared vision gear, mounted on a complex platform in front of the cupola, then installing an infrared searchlight and sight side-by-side on it, then adding an MG34 to the platform, gluing a yoke to support the end of the barrel at the front. Finally, the commander’s lift-up-and-rotate hatch is made up and inserted into the hole in the side of the cupola, and the model is completed by dropping the turret into the ring on the hull. Markings There are an unusually generous six decal options on the sheet, but only the first option has views of the camouflage from all sides. The rest have front and left profiles, so you may need to do some research to complete them accurately. As usual though, there is no detail on when, with whom or where the subjects served, but from the box you can build one of the following: The decal sheet is filled with vehicle numbers and the occasional cross, plus a few dials for the interior, and is printed with good register, sharpness, and colour density. Conclusion This is a well-detailed late Panther, and includes plenty of extras, including a partial interior. Although it lacks niceties such as seats for the drivers and machine gunners or an engine compartment, it does have a full turret, so some hatches can be left open without fear of blank styrene being visible. The inclusion of late-war night sights is a welcome addition, and will appeal to many, as will the price. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I finished this 1/72 Hobby Boss P-38 Lightning last month as part of the P-38 STGB and really enjoyed the group build and my first experience building a P-38. I have been wanting to share an RFI here. She is also part of my "Last Legs Ponies" project, modeling American World War II fighters that ended their service lives in the air forces of countries bordering the Caribbean (one per country). Originally this started with P-51 Mustangs (hence the "ponies") and two of these join the P-38 in photos below. Nicaragua did fly some P-51s, but I wanted to diversify and so chose the P-38 to represent Nicaragua. These P-38s were apparently originally "Ms" (two-seat night fighters) converted back to "Ls," so the cockpit is an "L" cockpit, for example, but I believe the "M" radar pod fairing (not to mention the glossy all-black camouflage) are left overs from its days as an "M." Here is the only picture I have ever found of the original: Which believe it or not made it onto a postage stamp! https://touchstamps.com/Stamp/Details/521603/plane-type-p-38 I borrowed the radar pod fairing and air intakes (Hobby Boss missed these, somehow) from a Dragon P-38M kit, but did not correct a few other Hobby Boss errors (e.g., I believe there should be a landing light in the left wing). Marking decals are from Aztec and I used many of the stencils from the Dragon P-38M. Here she is with a couple of Caribbean neighbour P-51Ds (Dominican Republic [camo] and Costa Rica [aluminum]): WIP is here if interested:

Bergepanzer BPz3 Buffalo ARV (84565) 1:35 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd # The Büffel as it is known as in its native Germany, is an Armoured Recovery Vehicle based upon the chassis and lower hull of the well-liked Leopard 2E Main Battle Tank, which itself is a variant of the 2A6. Most of the hull is identical or similar to its progenitor, but the turret is missing, replaced by a crane, a winch and a bulldozer blade that allows it to retrieve damaged or immobilised tanks from the battlefield even if the fighting is still ongoing thanks to its armour. It is also equipped with an MG3 machine gun for self-defence purposes, a set of smoke grenade launchers to hide itself and its charge from those that wish it harm. It is powered by a large 12-cylinder diesel engine from MTU Friedrichshafen, a division of Rolls-Royce, that outputs almost 1,500bhp that allows it to travel at good speed across all sorts of terrain, but also to pull its immobilised compatriots, whether they were retrieving Leopards or PzH2000 SPGs, or anything up to a similar tonnage. The BPz3 was a joint project between Rheinmetall Landsysteme of Germany who produced an initial 75 for the Bundeswehr and a further 25 for the Netherlands, where its name lost its umlaut over the U in translation. It was also sold to other countries including Canada where it is known as the L2-ARV, and Spain where it is known as the Leopard 2ER Búfalo, with Switzerland a surprisingly large 25 export, and Sweden taking a number on charge after adapting them to their specific needs to improve armour and customise their electronic systems. For service in Afghanistan, the German vehicles and some Canadian machines were upgraded with new high quality vision systems by Karl Zeiss for the drivers that would give them 24/7 visibility, no matter what the conditions. The crane is electrically driven, and can operate independent of the power-pack, so even the unusual sight of a Buffalo replacing its own broken engine isn’t outside the bounds of possibility, presuming they have enough electrical charge in the vehicle. At time of writing, the type is in the middle of another extensive upgrade programme to give it more capability on the interconnected battlefield. The Kit This is a partial retool of the 2015 release from Hobby Boss, adding a substantial number of new parts to depict the differences between the Buffalo and the original Canadian variant that was tooled. The kit arrives in a typically sturdy top-opening box with a painting of a Buffalo at work on another tank, and inside are twelve sprues and two hull halves in sand-coloured styrene, a small sprue in black, a clear sprue, two trees of poly-caps, a length of braided wire, two Photo-Etch (PE) sheets of parts, two flexible black lengths of track, the decal sheet and the black and white instruction booklet that has the colour painting guide between the centre pages. Detail is good throughout, as we’ve come to expect from Hobby Boss’s armour models for the most part, although there is some thought that the hull is around 4mm narrower than it should be, but that’s a question for your micrometre, not mine. Construction begins with the lower hull, which has the suspension and return roller details added while the road wheels are prepared, consisting of fourteen pairs of main wheels, two drive sprockets and two idler wheels, all of which have a poly-cap sandwiched between the two halves. Once the swingarms with stub-axles are glued in place, the road wheels can be pushed into place for removal during painting if required, thanks to the temporary nature of the flexible polythene sleeves. Quickly, the bulldoze blade is built from large, bulky parts, adding the supports and pivots, plus a large towing eye at the front of the blade. It is joined to the hull by a pair of large pins that you can leave unglued if you wish to move it later. The track runs are of the “rubber-band” style, but have good detail throughout, and you are advised that they will accept standard plastic glue and paints during creation. There is an overlap of two links on each run, and once the glue is dry they are slipped over the running gear so that attention can turn to the partial interior that is included. The interior is begun by taking a floor panel with upstands around much of the sides, and detailing it with three crew stations and their copious equipment and comfortable seats. The completed lower half (there is more to come) is glued into the bottom of the hull along with an insert against the lower glacis plate, and at the same time the rear bulkhead with towing eyes and shackles are put in place along with the convoy-light shield that has a PE bracket over it. The “more to come” begins with the upper hull half, which first receives an insert over the front that has two holes in it, and creates the roof of the casemate in which the crew sit. A very detailed insert is made up into a four-sided assembly into which a lot of equipment is placed over the space of five steps, including tools and even some decals. That is glued into the casemate and backed up with a box and some brackets, then more equipment and wall panels are dotted around the left side of the casemate after being detailed in rather busy steps around the main diagrams. Similarly, the right side is built around a long insert with five steps that increase the level of detail exponentially, and includes PE and styrene parts as well as some decals for stencils and dials. The driver’s console with lazy D-shaped steering wheel is inserted into the glacis plate, then the assembly is turned over to detail the exterior, including some spare track links from the black sprue, and additional towing eyes that are mounted on the back of the casemate. Ice cleats are placed on the flatter areas of the deck in groups, light clusters, grenade launcher packs, hooks and a pair of coils in braces, as well as all manner of small parts are all dotted around the upper hull, in diagrams that are again somewhat chaotic, so it might be an idea to cross them out once you’ve completed each little section. The numerous hatches around the casemate are prepared with handles on both sides, and can be left open if you wish to show the insides, and one has a large retraction mechanism embedded in the open door. The driver’s hatch is given clear vision blocks before it is inserted into the hole, and at the rear the bulkhead with hanging mudflaps, and short mudflaps at the front bracket the hull. The two hull halves are joined together, and more detail is used to clutter up the engine deck with its moulded-in cooling fan grilles that includes pioneer tools and other equipment that would be useful. The side skirts on the left side are moulded as a main run with a separate rear part around the drive sprocket area that are repeated in mirror-image on the right, and back on the engine deck a substantial frame is built up from a substantial number of parts, including some fine PE brackets, attaching to two blocks on the middle of the deck and raised slots on the rear of the casemate. Additional towing bars and equipment boxes are festooned on the diminishing free space on the engine deck, with another raised platform that contains spare wheels and other tools/parts, additional rear-facing grenade launchers, and two large honeycomb platforms that sit over the twin cooling vents, with enough room to allow them to do their job. The remaining hatch is for the commander/gunner, and has a ring of six vision blocks, central laminated hatch, periscope and a remote variant of the MG3 machine gun on a crane-like mount, with the finished assembly dropped into the hole in the top if the casemate. Much bracketry is fitted around the rear bulkhead, and a short arm is locked in place on the right side of the deck, then the main crane is started. Built around a single three-sided jib, the hydraulic lift cylinder is mounted at one end within the three sides, then closed over by the forth side, with a V-shaped cut-out to allow the movement of it and its ram, which is attached to a two-part topper with the turntable beneath it, mating by inserting the ram into the cylinder and positioning the pivot-points at the bottom of the jib with those on the base so that pins can be inserted without glue. Even the crane doesn’t escape the application of tools, with several items on both sides, plus more details and of course the block and tackle that performs the heavy lifting. The pulleys are assembled with brass wire linking them, so some care will be needed, gluing the outer parts and the lifting hook in position, then locating the top pulley into the end of the jib, securing it with a pin from each side, again without glue. Another two towing rods are built with eyes glued to the ends and located on the rear bulkhead by a pair of clamps, rear view mirror, and towing cable that is cut from the brass wire to a length of 115mm and tipped with styrene towing eyes and draped across the engine deck. Markings There are two options available from the sheet, both wearing the same three-tone green/black/brown NATO camouflage. There are instructions to decal the two jibs, the decals for the main jib being on the instruction booklet, while the smaller one on the engine deck is in colour on the main sheet. From the sheet you can build one of the following: As usual with Hobby Boss, there’s no description or era of the subject matter, so a bit of Googling will be in order if you’d like to know a little more about your model. The decals are well-printed, in good register and sharpness, and are suitable to the task in hand. The instrument decals for the interior equipment with dials has a grey background, although much of the interior is painted white or NATO green. Again, Google is your friend. Conclusion It’s a well-detailed model of a niche, but extremely important vehicle in the Bundeswehr and other operators, with a lot of attention that has been paid to the interior, as well as the exterior. You don’t get the engine, but that’s not a big deal. Highly recommended. They’re out of stock presently at Creative, but check back soon as it has been a popular subject. Review sample courtesy of

Soviet (9P117M1) Launcher w/R17 Rocket of 9K72 Missile Complex ‘Elbrus’ Scud B (82939) 1:72 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd The Scud B is perhaps one of the best-known Soviet era short-range ballistic missile thanks in part to its uses with the former Iraqi dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, carrying explosive and possibly poison or nerve-agent a relatively short range, mainly to terrorise their enemies. In Soviet service it was carried by several types of mobile transporter erector systems, one of which is the 9P117 that was a basic chassis used for many weapons platforms, as it is a highly mobile, 8x8 platform that has a forward cab for the driving crew, and another mid-mounted crew compartment. The missile was laid centrally along the length of the chassis, facilitated by recesses in the superstructure, and two separate front cabs to accommodate the tip of the missile and its protective framework. Originally put into service as the Scud A in the 50s – a design that was at least partially inspired by the WWII V2, the later Scud B moved on in terms of capability, and again through the C and to D variants that improved the type’s performance incrementally. Powered by a diesel engine that was buried between the two forward cabs, the eight powered wheels made it a competent off-roader, allowing it to carry out its assignment as a mobile missile system that would be hard to pin-down, able to move to a new location, erect the missile and support it with recoil stanchions, compute the trajectory in the central cab where the electronics are located, launch was either controlled from the centre compartment or after moving the crew to a safe distance from the hot blast of the rocket motor. Then they could pack up and move again, reloading with a fresh missile along the way, getting away before the enemy could draw a bead on them and retaliate with missile, artillery or air bombardment. They have been gradually phased out from service since the collapse of the Soviet Union, to be replaced by more modern, mobile systems such as the 9K720 Iskander, which although it closely resembles its ancestor in many way, it is a more flexible, accurate and lethal system. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling in this scale from Hobby Boss, although their parent Trumpeter have produced one in 1:35. The kit arrives in a medium-sized top-opening box, and within are ten sprues, a chassis part, and a single loose panel in sand-coloured styrene, a clear sprue, eight flexible black tyres in their own bag, decal sheet, instruction booklet in black and white, plus a glossy full colour painting and decaling sheet slipped in between. Detail is excellent throughout, and the single part chassis is extremely well-done, making full use of sliding moulds to provide impressive detail. Construction begins with the afore mentioned chassis, which has the sloped front guard moulded-in, as well as the pivot-points for the eight wheels. Initially, the transfer boxes and drive-shafts are built up and are inserted into the hollow centre of the chassis along with cross-braces, actuator rods, tanks and hydraulic cylinders, followed by the creation of two sets of four hubs with stub axles inserted in the centre for insertion into the chassis over the next few steps. Starting at the front, the two front hubs, tyres and suspension arms are slotted into place, closely followed by the rear pair, both with steering linkages that pass through spaces in the chassis. The same process is carried out for the rear four wheels, minus the steering linkages, as only the front four are steered. The superstructure is then begun, starting with the big lift at the back that erects the missile, locking into lugs in the chassis rails, with an M-shaped support on a W-form cross-brace, then a pair of side panniers are installed over the rear four wheels, a rack of cylinders on two supports, and the rear chassis bulkhead, with a scrap diagram showing the correct location of the bulkhead. More stowage and boxes are dotted around the rear, and the stabilising legs are fixed hanging over the rear of the chassis, with thick pivots extending back from the rear. There are three sections of superstructure, two of which are crewed, the other is the site for equipment, and it’s the last of the three that is made first on a floor that receives detail parts before it is covered over by the undulating roof, with sections of the wall added underneath with pipework threading through it. At the front the twin cabs are each made from a sloped floor with two seats added to them, plus the inner wall of the cab that has a small window inserted, a steering wheel on the driver’s side, with more equipment in the opposite cab. The cab shell is inverted to install the glazing from within, and a twin-fanned radiator is inserted into the rear, then the two cabs in their respective areas. Additional detail is fitted under the cab and over it, including the clear front lights either side of the radiator grille, then the centre compartment is built in a similar manner, starting with windows, adding brackets and equipment, the larger electronics boxes having decals to improve the detail, and finally the floor is glued to the underside to finish it off. The missile is a straight-forward assembly, consisting of the two main halves, to which the perpendicular fins and rocket motor with steering vanes are inserted into the rear of the body. The cradle for the missile is arranged around the single part that outlines the missile, and has grab-handles, supports and the complex stand for the base of the missile that is clipped into place without glue to allow it to pivot. The missile and a pair of bracing travel locks near the nose finish off that assembly, then it‘s just a case of installing the three superstructure assemblies, followed by the missile once the glue on the others have dried, so the movement doesn’t unsettle the join between it and the chassis. A pair of wing mirrors are the last parts to be added to the sides of the two cabs. Markings Two decal options are the usual for Hobby Boss, but this kit includes decals for four, although there are only two drawings for the last two, as they have the same colour/pattern all over. You are also given details of the when and where they saw service, which is another surprise, but a nice one. There is also a series of drawings to assist you with painting the missile itself. From the box you can build one of the following: Czech Army Afghanistan Army, Kabul, 2005 Iraqi Army, Gulf War, 1991 Iraqi Army, Iran-Iraq War, 1980-88 Hobby Boss decals are printed anonymously, and are sometimes a weak-point of their kits, but this sheet should be more than sufficient for the task in hand, having good registration, sharpness, and colour density. The many instrument dial decals are printed on a clear backing that saves you from having to perform colour matching, which is always welcome. Conclusion This is a very nicely presented and well-detailed kit of the Scud B’s carrier from Hobby Boss, and with a diverse range of decal options, it should appeal to a wide audience. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

French R35 Tank with FCM Turret (83894) 1:35 HobbyBoss via Creative Models Ltd Designed by Renault, The R35 was an interwar light infantry tank used by the French army in their unsuccessful defence of their homeland at the beginning of WWII, after which it remained in service with the German forces as a beutepanzer, where it was either used in second line service, modified or heavily converted to a makeshift gun carriage and used as a self-propelled howitzer. It was originally intended as a replacement for the diminutive FT-17, but due to the sloth in re-training their crews, they were still ill-prepared even on the eve of war. When Germany pounced, there were almost a thousand R35s in service, although they had been found unreliable, poorly armed to battle other tanks, and with too little armour. All the remaining vehicles were taken on charge by the Germans and more than a little tinkering with cutting torches began. Some had their turrets removed to use as small gun emplacements, while others were thoroughly butchered to become tank destroyers, although in doing so the original chassis was horribly overloaded, leading to slow, breakdown prone vehicles such as this, that must have been loathed by their crews. The turrets from the similarly unimpressive FCM tank, that was originally equipped with a pair of machine guns in much the same way as the German Panzer I, one was later removed in favour of a 37mm cannon, mounted in a turret that was intended to become the standard design for all French light tanks, despite a number of problems. By the end of the war only a small number were left that were used by the French until they were replaced with more capable tanks. The Kit This is a cross-tooling from Hobby Boss, utilising existing sprues to create a new subject. There are a substantial number of options that make use of the basic chassis, which HB have naturally exploited to the maximum as you'd expect. The kit arrives in a fairly small box with a divider keeping the sprues from rattling about and damaging the hull and other smaller parts. Inside are eight sprues plus the upper hull in sand coloured styrene; two sprues in a brown styrene containing the tracks; a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a tiny decal sheet, separate colour painting guide and black and white instruction manual. It shares many sprues with the previous editions of the R35, so if you’ve seen our reviews or possess some of the other options, there will be much that is familiar on the sprues, and there’s plenty of detail to be seen, including an engine, transmission and much of the interior of this diminutive oddity. The engine is first to be constructed, with a two-part block that is heavily detailed with additional parts, a great many of which are tiny, which results in a very nicely depicted and detailed motor for your R35 chassis. Work then commences on integrating the engine with the lower hull, beginning with the sand-cast rear bulkhead, which has the idler tensioning devices, a pair of hatches, an undocumented spare wheel that pops up and disappears in later diagrams, and towing hook added, after which the radiator, cooling fan and ducting are assembled with the power-take-off wheel projecting from the rear of the box. The hull itself is made up from two side panels and a floor, into which the radiator housing, a PE bracing plate over a styrene former and driver controls are added. The sides are fitted out with three return-rollers and a final drive housing per side, and four bogies with two wheels per unit and a big suspension spring are built up. Two more solo bogies, two drive sprockets and two idler wheels are also constructed, and are installed on the suspension mounting points on the hull sides. At the same time the driver's seat, fuel tank and engine-mount bulkhead are ensconced within the hull, and the rear bulkhead closes up the rear. After adding a few more driver controls and their linkages, plus a turret base plate, the drive-train is dropped into the hull, with a transmission housing added to the front, and thick drive-shafts link the sprockets to complete the drive-train. Given their small size in 1:35, HB have decided to go down the link and length route with the tracks, and I can't say I blame them. The straight track runs are made up from six parts with a few links in between the curved lower sections, and twelve individual links at each end. Each of the individual links have three sprue gates, while the lengths have additional overflow tabs that ensure against short-shot links, and also double as ejector-pin positions, saving the delicate detail from marring. Unless you're going to the trouble of using metal replacements, these should do you proud with a bit of sympathetic painting and weathering. Give them a final rub with an artist's pencil to impart a metallic sheen where they get worn by the wheels, and you'll never know they weren't metal. With the tracks in place, the full-length fenders are added, along with a little stowage and a big bottle-jack on the right rear. The upper hull is detailed inside with the driver's instrument panel, plus a choice of actuator for his vision hatch, which can be posed open or closed. The final drive inspection hatch is added along with some PE parts, as is the lower part of the driver's hatch, with the upper section added in the open or closed position, depending on your choice. The upper hull is then closed up and a host of pioneer tools are threaded through their tie-down blocks to be added to the sides of the hull together with the silencer/muffler and exhaust, the feeder pipe for which comes from the rear of the vehicle. A small armoured cover is placed over the exhaust exit on the rear, and a small hand-crank on a stiffened plate is installed vertically on the right of the engine deck. This edition comes with an anti-topple assembly at the rear reminiscent of the FT-17, with a curved underside and angular supports above, a splayed frame on the underside, and a long starter handle projecting through it. On top is the spare road wheel that was shown in a diagram earlier, probably a victim of copy and paste syndrome, because the C-shaped mounting point on the rear of the tank is shown bare while the assembly is attached to the rear, and would probably baulk the installation of the ironwork at this stage if it had been glued in place as originally suggested. The small angular turret from the FCM tank is moulded as a shell that has the rear hatch added along with the hinge and vision port, with side view ports installed along with a few grab-handles, before the main gun assembly is slotted into its mantlet and inserted in that gap at the front of the turret, after which the embarrassingly short barrel tips are added to give the impression of a hollow muzzle. The turret is then completed by the addition of the floor with integrated turret ring that locks into place on its bayonet lugs, completing the build. Markings There is just one option in the box for this kit, and as usual HB are stoically mute on its origin and time in service. From the box you can build the following from the box: The sheet is absolutely minute but sufficient to do the job, and as there are only three decals on the sheet, the identifying text takes up most of the space on the sheet. Conclusion It's a small tank that's almost cute in 1:35, with plenty of detail included in the box. If the alternative turret interests you, you should be pretty happy with what's in the box. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

#24/2022 So, after Harvard and Saab 17, here´s my dad´s third and last Swedish subject for now. As with all HB/Trumpeter kits the HB Lansen has its shape and accuracy issues but it looks like a Lansen. The only thing my dad did was engraving some missing detail in front of the fin. The Saab Lansen had its first flight in 1952, the last ones were retired in 1997. The lansen was used as attack, fighter, recon, training, target tug an electronoc warfare aircraft. With the HB kit you can build a "B" fighter or an "E" ECM aircraft. Funny thing is, HB didn´t add any ordnance for the B but some for the E, HB added decals for the B but not for the E... Painted in different shades of MRP-215 Swedish Army Olive Drab 325, underside painted with MRP-009 White Aluminium. Moose Republic Decals used, added some seatbelts. Build thread here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235115293-viking-spear148-saab-j32b-lansen-svenska-flygvapnet/ Model shows the last built Lansen which spent most of its life with Försökscentralen (FC), the Swedish Airforce test center. DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0005 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0006 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0007 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0008 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0011 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0012 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0013 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0014 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0015 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0016 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0019 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0020 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0021 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0022 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0023 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0024 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0025 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0027 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0028 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr Swedish Connection DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr SAAB Connection DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr and my parents classic Saab 96 2-stroke back in the 70ies DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

Hi folks, Looking forward to this GB - it will be nice to have this running alongside my Meteor GB entry so I can go back and forward between the two. So here's my entry - something a bit more unusual - the Soviet BA-10 Armoured Car from Hobby Boss. I don't think there's one in the running so far (although I think I've spotted a BA-6) 👍 So, obligatory box art and sprue pics below: I haven't decided on which of the paint schemes I'd like to do yet, although I do know it will be one of the Soviet schemes and not the German one. Please let me know if anyone has a preference and I could always go with the general consensus 👍 Good luck to everyone with their builds - looks like it's going to be a really interesting GB and looking forward to seeing the results in the gallery at the end Best wishes Kris

German Flakpanzer V Ausf.A (84535) 1:35 Hobby Boss via The Flakpanzer V was a derivative of the Panther main battle tank that was developed by Rheinmetall and utilised a pair of 3.7cm Flak guns with 1,500 rounds between them that were mounted in an enclosed turret with sufficient elevation to allow the gunner to target aircraft successfully. The vehicle in this form was another paper or wooden Panzer because at the end of the war, the project had been cancelled with only a mock-up utilising a Panther D chassis and a wooden turret completed in 1944. The project commenced in 1943, initially considering a pair of 20mm cannons, then it was proposed to increase the size of the weapons to 3.7cm and eventually to 55mm in due course, as the feeling was that just as 20mm flak cannons were falling out of favour for being too light-weight, eventually the 37mm would suffer the same fate. The project was shut down following the D-Day invasion and Allied incursion into previously secure territory, partly because the Panther chassis were needed for the front-line, but also because the 37mm guns were already considered unfit for development. Before cancellation however, it was given the name Coelian. The Kit This is a partial retool of the original Flakpanther kit from Hobby Boss that was released in 2012 with a single flak cannon open on the deck, which has seen numerous reboxings with new parts over the intervening years, and now enters the realms of the paper/wooden panzer with this latest alteration. The kit arrives in a top-opening box with an interesting painting of an in-service machine with a pair of crew figures on top, although these aren’t included in the box. Inside are ten sprues in sand-coloured styrene and three separate hull/turret parts in the same colour, nineteen sprues in brown, two sheets of Photo-Etch (PE), a decal sheet, black and white instruction booklet and an A4 sheet of colour profiles in panzer grey. Detail is good and the part-count is high, moreso due to the individual link tracks that accompany the kit. Construction begins with the lower hull, which receives twin rows of torsion suspension tubes, plus axle sheaths that are first mounted on a rail for each side, then are slipped through the exits on the sides of the hull from the inside, to have the actual bars fed through with the swing-arms moulded into the ends. The idler axles are pushed into holes in the rear, and the armoured final drive covers are first added at the front, then have the housings with guide wheel and other suspension parts completing the fitting. The Panther spread its weight with interleaved wheels, the under sets in singles, the outer in pairs, which are slipped over the axles in order along with the three-part idler wheels and drive sprockets to complete the running gear in preparation for the tracks. Each track link has four sprue gates and has two separate guide-horns glued in place before they are linked together into runs of eighty-eight, which will require glue to hold them together. It’s best to make them into runs and drape them around the road wheels while the glue is still soft, securing them in place with tape, foam and anything else you can find to help. The sprue gates are on concave edges of the links, but with a circular needle file or motor tool on low speed, it’s the work of moments to deal with them. With the tracks in place, the fenders are fixed on tabs that mate with slots in the top of the lower hull, have the front mud guards added, making up the rear bulkhead to finish off, which has the usual twin exhausts with PE stabiliser brackets, angular stowage boxes, jack, and access hatches added to complete it. The upper hull has vision blocks inserted from below at the front, then with the part right-side-up, the forward hatch insert and swinging hatches, then the engine hatch with insert on the engine deck, followed by the circular grilles and rectangular radiator grilles with PE mesh over them, mushroom vents, lifting hooks and grab-handles are all installed. On the sloping sides of the hull the pioneer tools on frames, barrel cleaning rod tube and spare track link racks are placed all over any open area. At the front, the glacis plate has a single headlight, driver’s hatch, and notable by its absence, no kugelblende, as the bow machine gun had been deleted on this variant. The two hull halves are brought together, and have optional width indicator lollipops on the fenders, and tiny wingnuts across the join. The hull is completed by adding the towing shackles at the rear and gluing six hangers under the sponsors to accept the PE schurzen, which are in four sections, allowing you to bend, remove or dent them as you see fit to add a little individualism to your model. The turret is the last assembly to be made, and starts with the enclosure that covers the breeches of the 37mm cannons, with two holes in the forward end, and pegs in the bulbous rear, which mount on a pair of tapering trunnions inside the turret part, which is a complete moulding of the upper structure that is completed by adding the floor with moulded-in bayonet lugs and rear access hatch plus the two barrels, both of which have tapering hollow muzzles thanks to a bit of handy slide moulding. The perforations on the sides could be drilled out if you have the bits and patience, and there are depressions there to guide you if you’re feeling brave. On the top of the turret are two circular hatches, another that has a square cover laid over it, three mushroom vents and a shell ejection port on the centre rear with separate hatch. The commander’s hatch is relatively simple, but has a wide binocular targeting mechanism that is mounted over the hatch, which begs the question “how would you open the hatch with that in position?”. The turret and hull are joined by bringing them together and twisting to lock them in position. Markings There was only one of these wicked-looking beasts made, and that was partly made of wood. The prototype was painted Panzer Grey, so if you’re going for accuracy that’s the colour. If you’ve a mind to create a what-if or what might have been though, you have plenty of examples of late war camouflage out there, so have at it. From the box you can build the following: The scanner has made the red code digits appear slightly pink. They aren't in reality. Decals aren’t usually Hobby Boss’s strongest point, but these will be suitable for the job, as the sheet consists of three rows of digits plus a few spare zeroes, and two pairs of crosses in different sizes. The inclusion of the red digits will come in handy for anyone planning to go off-piste. Conclusion The Coelian is an interesting off-shoot of the successful Panther lineage that was still-born due to circumstances, but this is a nice modern tooling with plenty of detail. Add some figures, stowage to personalise it and place it in a small urban or factory diorama, and it will draw plenty of attention. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Greetings Friends! I recently finished this model and was disappointed in my build, but just decided to post anyway... I was having health issues and so this one dragged out and I just decided to finish it up quick. I had tremendous decal struggles and there is quite a bit of silvering that no amount of solvent could eliminate fully. Then like a dummy, I glopped extra glue on the underside when attaching flaps! All in all a job that I really wrecked! Oh well... This Hobby Boss kit built well but is very inaccurate and so I got a Fusion Resin correction kit for the nose and the prop. Now it looks like a Ta152C, with the cockpit slid back from where it is in a Dora, gives it a unique appearance as does the Mercedes Engine with the supercharger scoop on the port side. I had to cut the tip of nose off but the Fusion resin parts fitted great and look great Highly recommend! More of my problems is the Fusion exhaust pipes fell inside the model in a tiny hole! So had to use the bad kit exhausts. A build I rather forget! I painted with Mr. Color RLM75/83 on Top over RLM76 and natural Metal underside, using the excellent Super Silver and Super Iron Mr. Color metallizer paints. This is real as the Germans were running low on RLM76 and photos of these Ta152C's show partial underside in NMF. I was sick and still painted it but didn't do well with the green. I just rushed to get it done. Decals are Eagle Strike Ta152C and Aeromaster Wing Walks. I had a devil of a time with the decals, they kept popping off the surface despite nice Tamiya gloss coat and solvaset... The last pic shows the unique wood grain flaps. The Eagle strike sheet gives you these decals, and they look different... Here it is...

As all good things come in three, after the Harvard and the Saab 17, here´s my dad´s third and last Swedish subject in a row. Gonna do a Lansen, using the Hobby Boss kit. As usual with HB kits, shapes and dimensions aren´t completely correct in several areas but it looks like a Lansen, costs only half the money of the Tarangus kit and is easier to build Regarding the markings, gonn use Moose Republic decals (Swedish company, printed by Cartograf) but don´t know which scheme it will be. DSC_0008 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr the kit includes only decals for the front IB, the rear one has to be painted. There are also decals for the sidewall instruments but my dad decided to paint all the other instruments will use the kit seats DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

My "Last Legs Ponies" project is modeling American fighters on their last legs in the Caribbean (started with Mustangs, hence the "ponies"), with an entry for each country. For Nicaragua I am modeling a P-38, and she will be my entry for this GB. Kit will be Hobby Boss . . . . . . with decals from Aztec. Excited to get going! My biggest fears are a) getting the nose weight right and b) finding air intakes which for some reason Hobby Boss has failed to include.

CH-47D Chinook (81773) 1:48 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd The CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor heavy lift helicopter, developed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol since 1962. Its incredible longevity is testament to the quality, flexibility and robustness of the original design. Over 1,200 examples have been produced, and the type has seen frontline service in conflicts such as the Vietnam War, the Falklands Conflict in British service, both Gulf Wars and Afghanistan where its utility was so much in evidence that many airframes became worn out as a result. In its capacious loading area, the Chinook could lift a 24,000lb payload or carry anywhere between 33 and 55 troops. The CH-47D was fitted with more powerful engines than its predecessors, adding an additional 2,000lbs to its internal or external carriage capacity. It is often used to carry 105mm howitzers, associated equipment and crew, as well as the usual troop transport role, with improved avionics leading to a production run of just over 20 years, with moderate overseas sales, and served alongside the comparable MH-47D that was used primarily by Special Forces with in-flight refuelling capability amongst other alterations to suit its cloak-and-dagger role. The Kit This is a re-boxing of their 2021 tooling of the CH-47A with new parts to represent the improvements made to the airframe between initial variant and the late 70s upgrade. It arrives in their standard top-opening box with a painting of the aircraft on the front, plus some profiles and 3D CAD renderings on the sides. Inside the box are nine sprues in grey styrene, three clear sprues, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, decal sheet, instruction booklet in black and white, plus a colour painting guide printed on both sides of a glossy sheet of paper. Detail is good throughout, and if you have seen the original release, you’ll recognise many of the parts in the box. Construction begins weirdly with the fire extinguisher from the rear of the cockpit, which is mounted on an L-shaped base, then fixed in the rear of the cockpit floor on a pair of pegs, along with twin rudders, cyclic and collective sticks, then the main instrument panel with integrated centre console, all of which have white dial decals applied after painting. The seats have cushions added, a grab-handle on the top and a frame at the back, then they too are joined to the cab area of the interior floor, which is a very nicely detailed single part. There is a tunnel between the cockpit and load compartment, which is made up from a number of parts, the visible areas of which have diamond quilting engraved into the surface, plus equipment boxes on some of them. The completed sub-assembly is then joined to the floor aft of the raised crew area, and a door in the floor is also added from underneath. More racks of avionics are added in the tunnel between the two areas that will be visible from the load area, but notionally sectioned off by a pair of C-shaped rails. The fuselage halves both have quilting moulded into the insides, and the rear part also has raised ribbing, all of which is painted aircraft grey, and after they are joined together the circular side windows are installed from inside, with the choice of domed viewing ports for the rear two on each side. Two small PE grilles are also fitted inside the rear rotor tower, and some holes are cut out before the two halves are joined later. Another of those fire extinguishers is made up and glued into the rear of the port fuselage half, an L-shaped ribbed hose is inserted into the starboard cockpit, and another ribbed assembly is inserted into the rear rotor tower, then the fuselage is closed up around the interior, whilst adding the quilted roof as you close up. There are two powerful turbine engines turning the blades of the Chinook, and these are both made up with a pleasing amount of detail, including some PE grilles inserted from inside of the cowlings and forward filters along the way, which increases realism over the usual plastic rendition. The completed assemblies are fixed to the fuselage sides in recesses, and the additional fuel tanks are detailed with internal bulkheads and inserts before being glued to the side of the fuselage along with a long high-frequency rail antenna that runs down much of the length of the fuselage. The starboard side door at the front of the fuselage is also added, with the step and optional window panel fixed to the aperture by two hinges. The rear of the fuselage is open at the moment, until the rear tail is glued into position after detailing it with some small parts in preparation for the rear access ramp later. While the fuselage is inverted the underside is dotted with aerials, a tear-drop shaped fairing or front shackle, plus two more shackles further back, the optional floor hatch cover and a beacon just forward of the hatch. The front wheels are each two parts, applied to a T-shaped strut made from three parts each, and inserted into the cut-outs in the fuel tank sponsons, which have two covers with clear lights inserted. The rear wheels hang out of the back of the sponsons, and are suspended on horizontal struts with braces and a pivot to allow the wheels to swivel. More aerials are fixed to the underside, a small PE grille and two clear lights are attached to the rear of the rotor tower, and the load ramp is made up with a choice of two slightly different options. They share many of the same parts, but have a different lip to accommodate the two styles of fold-up sections, of which there are three in each option. With the detailed floor added to the top, it is joined to the fuselage and secured at the correct angle by adding a pair of stuts to the sides. To finish off the fuselage, the windscreen has a pair of holes drilled into it (carefully) to accept a pair of probes and two other small parts before it is glued onto the front of the cab. A long avionics tunnel stretches between the front and rear rotor towers on the D, locked in place by a series of pins and holes in the top of the fuselage, with a clear curved window in the front of the rear rotor tower. For a helicopter with twin rotors, the blades are a big part of its appeal, both from an aerodynamics point of view because it cancels out the torque of the single-rotor design that necessitates a tail-rotor, but also because they’re massive, broad and highly visible on the finished model, making the distinctive rotor-slap that garnered the Chinook the nickname ‘Wokka’ in some quarters. The two rotor sets are identical, starting with a tapered drive shaft onto which the various layers of the rotor-head lower are slid, with the three-blade boss laid onto the circular head to be joined by the blades, followed by the rotor-top that locks them in place. Each blade has the prototypical droop moulded-in, an insert under its root to thicken the area to scale, and has a small actuator for the pitch-control trapped between the two halves. The two blade units are dropped into the holes in the top of the rotor turrets and should be able to rotate unless you’ve made a mess with the glue. You may elect to leave them completely loose to ease transport if you take it to shows on occasion. The last two parts are the windscreen wipers, with a small inset diagram showing their correct location on the two sides of the front screen. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet, and in Hobby Boss’s usual style there’s little information about them, other than which decals goes where, and colours in Gunze codes. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are well-enough printed to carry out the task, and consist mostly of stencils and walkway markings for the top of the fuselage, with a couple of US Army markings and the serials. The main differences are the yellow rotor tips and the tail codes. Conclusion Chinooks are great, and this is a well-detailed modern tooling of the type in my favourite scale. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Fieseler Fi-156C-3/Trop Storch (80181) 1:35 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd The Storch was designed in the mid-1930s as a liaison aircraft, and was incredibly successful due to its amazing short-field landing and take-off performance, almost vertical if you had a suitable headwind. It was also a competent observation aircraft too, thanks to its high wing and almost 360o visibility that was accomplished by fixing the wings to a strong but slim tubular framework. It was however surprisingly heavy and its long wingspan made ground-handling less easy, despite its benefits whilst in the air. The C was the most common variant with almost 3,000 made, and many of them were made in occupied France and Czechoslovakia due to Fieseler’s other commitments. The Storch (German for Stork) was also involved in some notable incidents during the war, notably the rescue of Mussolini by the Nazis after he was removed from power. They were also made by other countries during and following WWII, with the final one going out of service in the 50s, with a number being used by Allied commanders and forces against their former owners. There are still a number of Storches in the sky today due to their unusual look and the fact that they are relatively simple to maintain courtesy of their low-tech approach to engineering. The Kit This is a re-release from Hobby Boss of the former Trimaster tooling of this iconic (I say that a lot because it’s true of many aircraft) little aircraft, which originally reached the shelves in 2007 in the slightly off-beat scale of 1:35. It’s 1:35 because the Storch could land all over the place, near the front or otherwise, so they can be placed next to models in the dominant AFV scale without having to force the scale by inventive placement of the various elements. The range of 1:35 aircraft kits is still small, but growing due to the efforts of a number of companies, but whether modellers will someday be able to model entirely in 1:35 whether they build AFVs or aircraft remains to be seen. The kit arrives in a black-themed box with yellow trimmings, which is a quick way of identifying former Trimaster kits from Hobby Boss generally. Inside is a smaller glued-in cardboard box to protect the more delicate parts, with a total of eight sand-coloured sprues of various sizes, a clear sprue and a separate slide-moulded canopy, two sub-sprues in sandy styrene that have four parts with metal rods co-moulded at the centre to give your model some needed strength once completed. Two soft black rubbery tyres, a large decal sheet, pre-cut masking material (not pictured), grey-scale instruction booklet and separate colour profiles to assist with painting and decaling. Detail is excellent given the vintage of the kit, which sounds silly, but 2007 is now 15 years ago – depressing, isn’t it? There’s no need to worry though, as the detail is plenty good enough by today’s standards, with plenty of engraved and raised detail on every part. The canopy and those metal rods are the most impressive portions of the kit, but that’s because they’re just more fun than the other bits. Construction begins with the cockpit, which revolves around the flat floor section, onto which two different seats, the rear one on an optional pivot, control columns, foot bars, rudder pedals and rear bulkhead with spare mags for the machine gun and its mount applied before it is glued to the rear. It is covered over by a number of tubular framework parts that would perform a structural function on the real thing, but styrene is strong enough for the kit’s needs. A full engine is included on the sprues, comprising 21 parts for the engine and exhausts, with more on the firewall to depict the ancillaries. To prepare for closing up the fuselage, there are a number of small parts added to the sidewalls, and a choice of sandy styrene or clear instrument panels, the latter having a backing plate onto which you can apply the instrument panel to allow the dials to show through if you manage not to obliterate the clear dials whilst you’re painting the panel. The aforementioned firewall has five parts fixed to it, then it is glued into the starboard fuselage half, and at the rear there is a choice of a standard tail-wheel with the strut and wheel moulded as one, or another with the other option having a ski surrounding the wheel. The cockpit and engine are fixed in place, the engine remaining uncovered initially unless you opt to install the cowling panels, which include four sections and an external part that looks like an oil cooler. The prop is two-bladed, and has some stencil decals to apply after you have painted it, then at the rear the rudder is added, then joined by the elevators that have separate fins, supports and additional rectangular foils underneath. The canopy is moulded as a (mostly) single part, with separate access door and the rear gunner’s rotating circular window, which is an impressive piece of kit, except my sample had a very slight wave-front line across the top of the part, but that shouldn’t be too obvious once painted and weathered, as it looks like a thin hair. Incidentally, there are a set of pre-cut masks included in the box, which can help you speed up that process if you’re a bit phobic, or even if you’re not. The part is joined by the aforementioned additional sections, plus a three-part lower facet that gives the crew a slightly better downward view, as it allows the canopy to overhang the fuselage sides by a valuable few inches, like a faceted ‘blown’ canopy, improving situational awareness further. There are a couple of styrene parts, and an MG15 with separate magazine and spent brass bag that slides through the rotating window that allows the gunner to operate relatively comfortably without getting too cold. The canopy is then glued over the cockpit aperture, taking care not to damage the styrene framework that slides inside. After fitting the gun, a ring sight is glued to the end of the barrel. Now the other fun part – the leggy landing gear struts with their co-moulded metal rods that are bent to shape at the factory so they fit well. You have a choice of gear leg length, the shorter one has the styrene part 6mm shorter than the long one. The metal section poking out of the top of each type is slightly different to allow the wheels to continue to sit square on the ground. They hook into holes in the side of the canopy top, and are braced by two V-shaped styrene sections. It’s worth noting that the canopy also has a pair of brackets on the side that help locate the wings later on, or now as the instructions advise. We’ve already mentioned the Storch's ample wingspan, and this is clear when you nip these parts off the sprues. Each wing is made from two halves with an extra part for the leading-edge slats, then a veritable forest of additional small parts to replicate the control arms, lights and actuators that are clearly visible on the separate aileron. Each wing also has another V-shaped support that slots into a hole in the side of the fuselage once you clip the wing to the brackets on the canopy. There was a pitot probe amongst the myriad parts of the port wing, so the only thing left to do is join the two halves of the external fuel tank together and attach it to the underside of the fuselage. Markings Hobby Boss aren’t renowned for copious decal options, but this kit is an exception having VI, sorry six options on the large sheet. As usual however, there’s little information on the sheets, but the roundels should give you a clue, as follows: Luftwaffe Aufklärungsgruppe 14, North Africa from March 1941 until April 1942 Luftwaffe Grünherzgeschwader“ JG 54 W.Nr. 5563 coded SB+UG assigned to the Stab of the I Gruppe at Malmi in Sept. 1942. Italian Comando Aeronautica Albania, Tirana 1941 Morane-Saulnier MS.500 Criquet of the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) Československé vojenské letectvo (Czechoslovak Air Force) Wojska Lotnicze (Polish Air Force) The decals are well-printed, although the upside-down ones confused me slightly when putting it on the scanner, as did the spelling of Hobby Boos. The green of the Grunhertz logo is possibly a little light, but overall they are in good register, sharpness and colour density, with a decal for the instrument panel that includes the background grey colouring. Conclusion It’s not a brand-new tooling, but the detail is good, and it can sit on your shelf next to your AFVs without looking oversized. There’s something appealing about the Storch, and this kit captures the look and construction style of the type. It’s also pretty fairly priced if you need another excuse to buy one. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Coyote Tactical Support Vehicle - TSV (84522) 1:35 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd When the British forces in Afghanistan were forced to use their lightly armoured WMIK and Snatch Land Rovers in an arena where Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were the norm, they were found to be wanting, disintegrating under the blast of explosives that were sufficient to cripple a main battle tank. Losses of men and machines led to a search for a new, more mine-resistant and generally increasingly rugged vehicle to replace the older types. The Jackal was developed as a replacement to the Land Rover WMIK by Devon based Supacat, with improved load carriage, armament and range, as well as a powerful engine to give it enough torque to tackle difficult obstacles and a high maximum speed on roads as well as excellent off-road performance. Conceived as a deep-penetration recce platform and convoy escort, it provides a better weapons platform with an extensive 500-mile range, whilst adding crew protection and maximum speed of almost 50mph on rough ground. In an effort to improve upon the Snatch Land Rover's poor IED resilience, the Jackal is fitted with armoured panels beneath the crew compartment, and shock-absorbing armoured seats to protect the crew further. Of course, nothing is totally effective, and some fatalities have occurred on active duty in Afghanistan. This in turn led to the Jackal 2, which built upon the successes of its progenitor, and learned from its weaknesses. The Coyote is an extended wheelbase variant of the Jackal 2, with an additional powered axle to give it better load carrying ability, whilst providing the same off-road traction, and the two vehicles are used in support of each other, in a complementary manner to carry sufficient supplies and arms for particular assignments. Due to its ability to carry almost four-ton on its load bed, the Coyote is also capable of acting as a light artillery tractor if the need arises. It is also capable of defending itself, with a centrally mounted Browning M2 50cal machine gun and a GMPG “Jimpy” in the front, plus whatever personal weapons the crew can bring to bear from their seating locations. The Kit This is an additive retool from Hobby Boss, based upon their Jackal 1 kit, which I’m reliably informed is actually a Jackal 2, while their Jackal 2 kit is actually the Jackal 1. Go figure. At least we know, and they have based this on their Jackal 1 kit, so it is using Jackal 2 hardware. Confused? Me too, but that’s a good thing. The kit arrives in one of their large top-opening boxes, and inside are ten sprues and two hull halves in sand-coloured styrene, a clear sprue, seven flexible black tyres, six frets of Photo-Etch (PE), a small decal sheet, the instruction booklet in black and white, plus a separate page of glossy colour profiles for painting and decaling. Like their earlier kits, this is a well-detailed offering with a high parts count, a new, longer hull, additional sprues for the extra wheels, axles and extra fuel can racks in the cargo area, plus parts for the new .50cal main weapon where the Jackal had a 40mm grenade launcher. Construction begins with detailing the upper and lower hull parts with styrene and PE parts before joining them together in preparation for further work. A test-fit of the two parts shows that they fit together very well, so shouldn’t cause any problems, as you can probably see in the above test-fit. The vehicle’s six suspension units are then made up over a number of steps, adding the inner wheel arches made of a lamination of PE and styrene parts. Additional flaps and struts are fitted before making up the six road wheels from their two-part hubs and flexible tyres, which slot onto the suspension arms, with a pair of PE and styrene running boards between the front and rear axle pairs, plus additional mudflaps behind the front wheels. Righting the vehicle, the crew cab is outfitted with a rack of ammunition cans for the co-pilot’s GMPG, and two C-shaped grab-handles/roll-cage components plus the two seats, which are made up from eight parts each, with an armoured panel underneath and to the rear. The dash is built around the front bulkhead, with instruments and driver controls and a LOT more ammo cans, a grab-handle for the gunner, and steering wheel with stalks for the driver on the right side of the vehicle (in both senses of the word). There are a couple of instruments on the left side-rail, and HB have included some decals for these and for the main instrument panel, the latter having its front bumper/fender and light clusters in large tubular cages made up and fixed to the front, joined by a piece of PSP (Perforated Steel Planking), vents on the top of the coaming, plus an aerial base and a pair of foot steps and door hinge-points under and in the front of the crew access cut-outs. An equipment stack is built up and placed between the two humps behind the crew seats, then another large palette is fitted with pioneer tools at the rear, and a quartet of ammo boxes for the hungry .50cal. Two more seats with moulded-in straps are made up and attached where the rear bed rises to form the load area, and a roll-over bar with armoured inserts is set behind the rear seats to protect and separate the areas. Behind this a pair of large stowage boxes are installed, the upper one with a sloped rear side, and both are covered by another section of the anti-roll cage that is also a surface to mount an antenna palette later on. More anti-roll bars are placed to the sides of the ammo stowage are, which is also where the .50cal gunner stands to operate his weapon. The last remaining flexible tyre is slipped over the final hub, then is fixed to an armoured shield on a triangular mount with turnbuckle, which in turn is fitted to a pivoting set of triangular roll-bars, with a similar set that holds a shelf-unit with yet more ammo cans on the opposite side. The sides of the vehicle are armoured up with additional sheets that are shaped to fit, and have various small parts fixed to their exterior during the procedure, after which it’s time to make up the masses of jerry cans that hold extra fuel for extended range. Four racks are made up with twenty-four cans in total in racks of six, with a U-shaped bracket between each rack, all of which have small details added, while the racks are fitted with two triangular PE internal supports each to give the structure more strength. The rear of the vehicle is studded with various shackles and lights, and on each corner a set of smoke grenade launchers are build and installed along with an antenna base, with more grenade launchers added to the front corners during the making of the front bumper, just under the rear-view mirrors that are fixed later. Also at the front, a T-shaped roll-bar assembly is glued over the crew, with the front section angled down to mate with the front of the vehicle. Just behind this bar is another C-shaped roll-over bar, and behind that in turn is the ring-mount for the .50cal, which is mounted on four legs in a similar way to a roof-rack on a civilian car, complete with clamps at the bottom of the legs. The .50cal Browning is a well-detailed sub-assembly with a high part-count, including a sight, a complex mounting system, plus an in-use ammo box with a spring-mounted mechanism to hold down the link as it leaves the box to prevent strumming and subsequent feed issues, with a ready-round box on a plinth on the ring, which also has a custom seat for the gunner that allows him to lean back whilst operating his weapon. The GMPG is equally well-detailed, although with fewer parts due to its size and simpler mount, but it has a twin-box mount for ammo, and a PE handle that does a similar job of holding the ammo in check during firing. The assembly is dropped into the toothed ring mounted on the centre of the Coyote, and the afore mentioned antenna palette is detailed with the various short antennae and glued to the two rectangular points on the aft roll-cage section. Time for some desert paint. Markings As is common with Hobby Boss, there are two decal options, but zero information as to where and when they were seen in service. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are standard fare for HB, with decent registration, colour density and sharpness, although some of the dial decals are slightly off-centre. Painting the dials on the dash black and trimming the decals very carefully should result in a good finish. Conclusion Another piece of modern British light armour that will please more than a few Britmodellers, and thanks to it being based on the correct incorrectly named Jackal, it should build into a decent replica. They’re proving popular, so get one while you can, as stocks are diminishing already. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

#14/2022 After the USN Skyraider, this is my dad´s second Korean War build this year. Hobby Boss kit, painted with a mix of Gunze H307 FS36320 Gray and H334 Barley Gray BS4800. Horizontal antenna wires with EZ Line, vertical one with fishing line. The kit has better molding quality, fit and cockpit detail than the Ark Model kit and for sure easier to build than the Mikromir kit. Build thread here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235109468-korean-war148-lavochkin-la-11-fang-peoples-liberation-army-air-force/ Besides with the MiG-15, this is another case of Soviets in disguise. After WW2, Soviet air units supported the Chinese communists to eliminate the nationalist Chinese forces. Afterwards they also fought in the Korean War, wearing Red Chinese or North Korean markings. If the info is true, this aircraft was flown by N.Guzhov, 1st Sqn 351st IAP PVO, scoring two kills in the Shanghai region. The unit flew La-11 from 1948 to 1952. DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0005 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0006 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0012 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0016 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0005 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0018 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0019 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0020 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0021 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0022 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0023 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0024 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0025 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

From March 2022 until the middle of May, Ukrainian Army Aviation organized multiple sorties of Mi-8 helicopters with supplies and relief personnel to support Ukrainian defenders besieged at the huge Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. Using a force of 16 Mil-17 Hip helicopters, a total of 7 daring missions were flown under Russian fire from Dnipro airport into Mariupol in order to re-supply the Azovstal defenders. The Mil-17 Hips were stripped of armaments and other systems to reduce their weight and make room for food, MANPADS, anti-tank missiles and satellite communications terminals to be taken to the defenders. Wounded Ukrainian personnel were airlifted out for the return journey. This is the Hobby Boss Mil-Mi-17 kit, with a few small changes and decals from the spares box: FredT

an my dad starts another one for the Korean War theme don´t know yet which scheme to do DSC_0007 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

This is the Hobby Boss kit of Richard Vogt's gloriously asymmetrical design for Blohm & Voss. About 20 Bv141Bs were built, intended for short-range reconnaissance and ground support roles. The production details are murky and many airframes are unaccounted for. Competition for the BMW 801A engine meant that production was halted in 1942. The kit contains decals for two 141Bs - call-sign NC+RA, which was photographed while undergoing testing but seems never to have flown operationally; and GK+GH, a later airframe photographed by the US Army in a wrecked condition at the end of the war. I've built the former, which was numbered Bv 141 V10 or Bv 141B 02. I used the kit decals, but ignored the painting instructions, which called for a dark grey interior and RLM65/02/71 exterior. I went with RLM02 interior, which seemed more likely for the date of manufacture, and RLM 65/70/71 camouflage, which fits better with the low-contrast appearance of photographs. (Reference images from Richard A. Franks's Bv 141 Technical Guide.) The kit goes together well and was a pleasant build, the main error being that the propeller is the wrong way round - a particularly glaring error for an aircraft which was designed to be asymmetrical in part to counter the engine torque. Fortunately, True Details make a replacement propeller. I also used the (very nice) Eduard PE detail set, and paint masks from Montex (for the interior) and Eduard (exterior). Paints are Colourcoats from Sovereign Hobbies, weathering a mix of TrueColor Liquid Pigment and Tamiya powders, and Plastikote sealer from a rattle can. These aircraft seemed to get pretty grubby/faded: I was a little more understated with my own attempt at weathering, trying to reproduce this sort of appearance: I did some minor scratch building as detailed in the WiP thread: Here's the result:

Good day, I have been always fond of the USAF Thunderbird #4 Slot position ( also #7 spare ) F-16D. When Hobby Boss released one in 1/72 scale, I jumped at the chance to grab one. Here is a brief recap of my thoughts of this kit……… 1. Simple and straightforward construction. Few parts 2. Nice recessed panel line details. Basic cockpit. 3. Decals were problematic. The decals were prone to tearing and out of shape. The most glaring issues were found on the red nose, undersurface blue bird motif, and tail. I ended up painting the sections that were ruined and tried to get the most important aspects correct. 4. Very lightly weathered with light grey wash and pencils. 5. The exhaust nozzle was an experiment with powders. I used silver powder over grey primer and worked it in with a Q-Tip swab. After a number of applications, I then applied some black wash to the grooves between the petals. I also added a very light dusting of gold and purple for slight staining from the heat build up but that worked it`s way off before and during clear coats. 6. Poor fit of the exhaust section to the fuselage, radome / nose section, and the lower fuselage and wing joint. 7. The centerline tank was added from an Academy F-16 as it was not included. I would recommend this kit to all skill levels due to the ease of construction and it would be a good starter kit for a novice however the decals do require a significant amount of effort. Thank you in advance, Mike First up, the real #4…………

I've put the finishing touches to this 1/32nd scale B-24 over the Bank Holiday weekend and took advantage of some spring sunshine to take some pictures of the completed model outside in natural light. I've been working on this on and off for a year or so, and it has been the ideal project to pick up and do a bit to as and when I felt like it. This model doesn't get the best press but I must say I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. You can spend a fortune on after-market improvements if you wish, but other than some seat belts, resin wheels and gun barrels, this is how it comes in the box. The interior is crammed with detail and took a long time to complete - excellent value for your money when you compare it to the price of the other 1/32nd 'heavies' on the market. Fit was excellent throughout and the only filler used was to deal with a small gap along the underside of the nose where, I believe, I hadn't got the interior aligned as perfectly as I could. The turrets, however, are a weak point of the kit. It's been well documented that the rear turret (and forward turret on the J-version) have a very visible seam right down the middle. Aftermarket replacements are currently sold out so instead I used the kit rear turret and painted the mating surfaces black before gluing and this has made the unsightly join a little less conspicuous. For some reason Hobby Boss put heavy framing on the upper turret which doesn't exist on any B-24 turret I've seen, so this was sanded off and the dome given a good polish so it now better represents the Martin turret fitted to this model of Liberator. I didn't want to risk putting the colossal amount of nose weight into this as I was using the kit's plastic landing gear (which is perfectly strong enough to cope with the weight of the 'un-weighted' model) so I made a tail strut as was so often put in place when B-24s are parked on the ground. The kit doesn't come with the most inspiring of schemes for an olive drab B-24, so I did a bit of research on 'Satan's Angels' and painted the model to represent this aircraft as it would have looked in the autumn of 1943 with the group insignia on the tail and the short-lived red surround to the stars and bars. This aircraft was actually written off in a landing accident at Lympne in Kent, when the nose wheel collapsed and it ended up in a ditch on 13th November of that year. I used Kits World national insignia as well as the Profimodeller stencil set. All in all a very enjoyable build, and if you want a large 1/32nd bomber that doesn't break the bank but still gives you plenty of detail, I thoroughly recommend this kit. All the best, Tom Consolidated B-24D Liberator, 'Satan's Angels' of the 328th Squadron of the 93rd Bomb Group, based at Hardwick, Suffolk, Autumn 1943.