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Supacat HMT400 Jackal and HMT600 Coyote - 1:48 Airfix


Mike

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Supacat HMT400 Jackal and HMT600 Coyote



1:48 Airfix

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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 very powerful engine to give it torque to crest difficult obstacles and a high top speed on roads as well as off-road. Conceived as a deep-penetration recce platform and convoy escort, it provides a better weapons platform with a long 500 mile range, whilst adding crew protection and maximum speed of almost 50mph on rough ground.

In an effort improve upon the Snatch Land Rover's poor IED resilience, the Jackal is fitted with armoured panels beneath the crew compartment, and shock-absorbing seats to protect the crew further. Of course nothing is totally effective, and some fatalities have occurred on active duty in Afghanistan.

The Coyote is an extended wheelbase variant of the Jackal, with an additional powered axle to give it better load carrying ability, whilst providing the same off-road traction, and the two vehicles will be used in support of eachother, in a mix-and-match variation to carry sufficient supplies and arms for particular assignments. The Coyote is also capable of acting as a light artillery tractor if the need arises.

The Kits

As you can probably tell from the twin boxtop pictures, these are separate kits, although they both arrive in identically sized boxes in Airfix's usual style, and they share three sprues, with the Jackal effectively containing a subset of the Coyote's parts. Initial impressions are surprising - there is plenty of detail in the parts, which are crisp and well moulded. There are also a lot of parts in these small vehicles, which should result in a good replica.

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The construction process between the two kits is also broadly similar, starting with the axles and their associated suspension and drive shafts. The Jackal has two to build up, while the Coyote has three. The front up-armoured crew section floor is the same in both kits, but of course the wheel count is different. The front of both vehicles builds up the same, with the crew floor sitting on top of the front axle and armour panels, a bulkhead behind the driver's compartment, and another behind that, both with built-in roll-over bars. The armoured sides of the cab are installed, as are the driver and co-pilot's seats with an armoured back protector. The Jackal has a short axle-protection panel under it, while the Coyote has a double axle panel with protection for the additional mechanics, and a proportionally longer flat-bed section placed on top with extra mud-guards for the additional wheels. The same blast deflection panels at the rear of the vehicle are fitted, as are the cut-down tail-gates.

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A pair of additional crew-seats are fixed to the central section of both vehicles, and diagonal supports for the aft roll-bar are installed. The covered spare wheel is mounted on the left-hand passenger door, and can be posed open or closed, as can the right door, which has internal stowage boxes on its inner face. The Coyote has four side panels on the flat-bed, compared to the Jackal's two, and these can be posed folded in, or flipped out for more external storage on both types.

The front of both vehicles is the same, built up with large protectors around the headlight clusters and grenade/smoke launchers on the front quarters. A piece of PSP metal planking is attached to the front where the radiator would be for unditching the vehicle in the event of bogging down. To the rear of this section are attached the driver's controls and dashboard, which has decals for instrument dials, plus a full set of foot pedals. This whole section is installed on the open front, and tied in with a front protection bar and a pair of front door panels that can be posed open or closed.

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A gun-ring is placed on supports in front of the rear crew seats, and to this is mounted the .50cal machine gun, although a 40mm grenade machine-gun can be mounted, but isn't included with the kit, sadly. Another set of grenade/smoke launchers is fitted to the back of both vehicles, and a rear pintle-mounted GPMG "Gimpy" is attached to the rear right of the flat-bed. Flip-up running-boards are mounted between the front pairs of wheels on both vehicles, which can be modelled in the up or down position.

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As can be gleaned from reading this review, only a relatively small number of parts are required to turn a Jackal into a Coyote (at the model level at least), and these are contained on a half-length additional sprue in the Coyote's both. It contains an additional pair of wheels, suspension and drivetrain parts, plus the extended axle guards, longer flat-bed and additional side-stowage racks.

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A full-colour painting guide is printed on the back page of the instructions, with the dominant colour being desert tan, khaki for the seats and black for the anti-slip coating on the flat bed area. The decal sheets are identical, so take care which number plate you use if you are planning on getting both vehicles to display together. If you're getting more than two, I'd start planning on sorting out some more plates so you don't have any duplication.

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The decals are well printed, in good register, and have good colour density. A pair of short black stripes are included on the sheet as "spares", as well as a pair of V-shaped theatre markings that are sometimes worn.

Conclusion

Each of these kits will build up into a nicely detailed replica of these futuristic looking vehicles. Details such as wheels and cabin fittings are very nicely done, but the crew seats are a little Spartan, however, when looking at the covering of the real thing, they're not too far off the mark. You will need a set of crew seatbelts to give the vehicle a bit more detail, and as they are often seen festooned with equipment for the current mission, you'd also better start thinking about getting some stowage that will fit with this scale.

Released individually, and as part of the Operation Herrick range of 1:48 vehicles, figures and buildings, these kits should look great in a desert diorama setting, especially in conjunction with the soon-to-be-released Merlin helicopter, or the existing Lynx AH-7.

Highly recommended.

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Review sample courtesy of



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