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  1. Yesterday
  2. D8511 Tractor Mod.1936 German Industrial Tractor (24005) 1:24 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd Tractors were a boon to farmers when they were introduced after the reliability of the motor car was proven, as they were especially useful for lugging heavy equipment around the farm, as well as the typical ploughing, sowing, reaping and transporting of crops. They also had power take-off points that could be used to drive other stationary machinery, further expanding their usefulness to that of a portable power-plant. Lanz were the leading maker of farm machinery in Germany, and their Bulldog range were the “hoover” of the tractor world in their country for many years. They were good quality and reliable, which led to them being copied by several countries, and as the initial 1921 model was improved the model number was increased until well into the 9,000s. One of the primary selling points of the vehicle was the simple “hot-bulb” single-cylinder engine that could be run on a variety of fuels and had very few moving parts, which made it easy to repair and maintain. They started off as 6L and grew to 10L engines, and their slow turnover high-torque output suited the tractor’s work very well. In 1956 they were sold to John Deere, and the name slowly fell out of use. There are still many working examples to be seen at county fairs and historic events, kept in splendid working condition by their loving (some may say obsessed) owners. The Kit This is new edition of MiniArt’s D8500 range of kits but in the larger de facto vehicle scale of 1:24, and you can still expect more to come if their 1:35 release schedule of this series is repeated, which seems to be happening. The kit arrives in a standard top-opening box, and inside are eight sprues of various sizes in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a small decal sheet and the instruction booklet that has colour profiles of the decal options on the rear pages. Construction begins with the large cast metal chassis that is made up from two halves each end around a cylindrical centre-plate, with lots of parts used to create its distinctive shape. The superstructure above the chassis where the engine and ancillaries are found is roughly rectangular, having various filler caps on the top, radiator panels and louvres on the sides, plus a Lanz Bulldog name-plate on the front. The driver’s foot pedals are long curved linkages to the underside of the chassis, and with these in place the driver’s tread-plated floor is installed and a big handbrake is fitted to the deck, plus a stowage box under the rear left lip. The large cylindrical assembly in the centre of the chassis is filled with the clutch and drive-shaft on one side, and on the floor plate the driver’s seat is mounted on a sturdy spring, a couple of hand controls are inserted into depressions in the deck in front, then the large drive housing is mounted on the left side of the chassis, with a bell-housing and fly-wheel on the opposite side over the clutch, and two large fenders/sidewalls over where the rear wheels will be that have additional nuts applied, plus a sturdy bumper-bar at the rear on diagonal cross-braces. The rear hubs have two additional layers inside for the drum brakes, ready to receive the large back wheels. The front axle has the hubs fitted on pivots, adding the steering arms, anti-roll bars and the linkage to the column, which is installed on the front underframe on a single pivot in preparation for the tyres. The wheels on this tractor have heavy tread to plough through mud, which are built up by layering four parts together to make a twin tyre-sandwich at the rear, and a two-part layer for the smaller front wheels, all with crisp and chunky tread on the rolling surfaces. The tyres have their hub fronts moulded-in, while the rears have an additional rear hub spacer ring added between the wheels and rear axles before both are installed on the axles. Two large exhausts are made up from various odd-shaped parts attaching to the left side of the chassis either side of the bell-housing, with a pair of clear-lensed headlamps on an oversized cross-member on the topside. You have a choice of installing the steering wheel on the column in the cab with a cover over the power take-off point, or cut the column tip away in the cab, gluing the steering wheel on a rod that inserts into the centre of the take-off, with the cover flipped down for access. I understand this was for manually starting the engine, but don’t quote me on that. Markings There are three decal options on the sheet, and the suggested paint schemes vary from garish yellow via green to a dull grey, with plenty of options for weathering. From the box you can build one of the following: Deutsche Reichbahn, Germany, 1939-45 Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG, Germany 1939-45 Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD), Germany, 1939-45 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Another variation on a tractor that was once ubiquitous in and around German farms, and this early variant takes it back to basics without sacrificing detail. These kits are also great to show off your weathering skills, or test them out, and if you're a car modeller, they'll be in scale with the rest of your cabinet. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  3. Last week
  4. T-90M ‘Breakthrough’ Main Battle Tank Acrylic Paint Set (02.124) Jim-Scale via Hobby Colours Jim Scale is a Russian-based brand of modelling supplies that concentrates heavily on painting and finishing, with a great many products aimed at the modeller of Russian Federation or Soviet subjects, but with a broad range that will suit almost any genre. Their location might cause concerns for some of our members at the moment, but these products have come to us via Hobby Colours from Greece, and might appeal to some of our members around the world, providing that supply doesn’t eventually become a problem. The range contains products that are water-based and alcohol-based, the water-based product codes beginning with 01., and with the colour or product number after the full-stop. This is good to know, as the packaging is written almost entirely in Russian, which isn’t a language many native English speakers are familiar with. Fortunately, our mobile (cell/handy) phones are becoming more competent with every generation, and translation from one language to another is the work of moments, simply aiming your phone’s camera at the text and tapping translate. This set is for painting the T-90M Breakthrough, an uprated variant of the T-90 tank, and arrives in a bubble package with a cardboard backing card, a clear vacformed front holding the paint bottles in place until you slide the card out from behind. Each bottle contains 18ml of paint, and is topped off with a dropper tip and yellow cap that screws onto the nozzle, preventing leakage. There is also a shaker ball inside each bottle to assist with mixing the paint before use, and we are told that the paints can be sprayed or brushed just as easily. The 01. code tells us that this is a water-based acrylic, and there is little to no aroma from the bottles, unless you place the nozzle just under your nose. The three colours are as follows: 01.138 Syrian Sand 01.258 HU-1200 01.274L Old Tires The old Tires bottle is slightly different from the others, having a different cap and sticker around the bottle, but otherwise the product is identical in use, other than the colour of course! As is usual with my tests, I used plastic spoons that had been prepared by a light roughening with a very fine sanding stick, and the outer face of the bowl was sprayed with Tamiya primer from a rattle can for purely practical reasons. The inside of the spoon’s bowl wasn’t primed to give those that don’t usually prime their models an indication of how well the paint sticks to bare plastic. Spraying was carried out by first laying down a light exploratory mist coat, which was given a few seconds to dry before adding another heavier layer, repeating extra layers as necessary. The paint went down very well with no spluttering, stoppages, or other issues, and as it dried the surface became very smooth with a slight sheen visible from some angle after initial drying had occurred. The inner face of the bowl sprayed similarly well, but with a slight patina during the early stage due to static charge lingering on the un-primed surface, which disappeared under subsequent coats. After several hours of drying, the paint had taken on a matt sheen that is pleasing to the eye, across all colours in the set. Sprayed on a Primed Surface Sprayed on a un-Primed Surface Two days after spraying paint on both sides, Tamiya tape was applied to all six surfaces, burnished down firmly, and torn off 20 minutes later, with absolutely no care whatsoever. This paint is as tough as old boots, and there wasn’t any lifting of the tape, regardless of priming or not, so you can paint and mask this paint to your heart’s delight and it won’t let you down if you prepare your model’s surfaces. In fact, if I had thought of it at the time, I’d have sprayed it onto an un-prepared spoon, and I suspect it would have stuck to that too. That’s for the next set though, so keep an eye out. Conclusion The paint is very tough, and results in a smooth matt surface, with the trade-off being that it takes a little longer to cure than some more delicate brands. If you’re not a modeller in a hurry, this shouldn’t be an issue. I’m impressed. Highly recommended. This set is currently out of stock, but a new batch is inbound this month, so check back soon Review sample courtesy of
  5. Colleagues, does anyone have photos of the landing gear racks and the landing gear niche? I model the racks in 3D. Thanks!
  6. Every day is a school day, I never knew the Yanks had a "T34"...
  7. I hate to be picky but... The 75mm M2 gun used on the M4 Sherman started as the T6 anti-aircraft gun and the 90mm M3 used on the M36 an M26 Pershing was modified from the 90mm M1 anti-aircraft gun. Using the 120mm M1 as the base for the T34's 120mm T53 gun was just a continuation of standard practices. The German 88mm gets way to much credit in this regard IMO when modifying anti-aircraft guns into anti-tank guns was done by every major combatant during WW2 😕 I presume you're referencing the 120mm M1 and not the 120mm T53 but your wording makes it sound like the T34 could shot at aircraft 😅 I've actually been thinking about making a what-if SPAAG version of the T29/T30/T34 fitted with a standard 120mm M1 in place of the turret so this made me giggle 😋
  8. US T34 Heavy Tank (84513) 1:35 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd Toward the end of WWII, when Allied tanks were encountering German heavy tanks such as the King Tiger and Jagdtiger, the American military put projects in motion that would be capable of matching them and dealing with German heavy armour (or Soviet for that matter), whilst remaining safe thanks to their own thick frontal and side armour. The designs were designated T29 and T30, both of which were almost identical save for the guns mounted in their turrets, sporting 105mm and 155mm main guns respectively. A further development, possibly inspired by the Nazis using their 88mm anti-aircraft gun in heavy tanks, was to see the high velocity 120mm M1 Anti-Aircraft gun reconfigured into an adapted turret. The gun could fire on aircraft up to 60,000ft, and consequently its armour penetrating power was devastating, far outstripping the other two guns that suffered from lighter-weight shells and with slower muzzle velocity respectively. It took until 1947 for the prototypes to be delivered to the proving ground in the US, and to balance the enormous barrel a sizeable chunk of armour was fitted on the bustle of the turret, possibly 99% redundant, but useful if the crew were caught napping. At a startling sixty-five tons, it was a weighty beast, and the US Army felt that it would be difficult to find a use for it thinking its weight could cause problems with bogging down on softer ground, and crossing bridges, in much the same manner that the Germans experienced with their heavy tanks during WWII. There was also an issue with fumes from the gun entering the turret, which was fixed by using an aspirator, but this came too late, and no production orders were made, the prototypes going into storage, and eventually finding their way into museums. The work wasn’t a total waste however, as a year later a lightened version of the T34 was designated as the T43, and was to enter service later as the M103 Heavy Tank, by which time its weight had ballooned up to the same 65 tons that had doomed the T34, using the same M1 gun, which was re-designated as M58 due to changes that had been made to it in the interim, including higher barrel pressure and quick-change capability. The M103 served with US forces until retired in the mid-70s, by which time Main Battle Tank doctrine had rendered the Heavy Tank a historic dead-end of tank design. The Kit Unsurprisingly, this kit is based upon the 2016 tooling of the US T29 tank that the T34 was based on, in a case of modelling production mirroring history. It has since had new parts added to turn it into a later T29 variant, a T30 and now a T34. The kit arrives in a typical Hobby Boss top-opening box with a slight corrugated surface to the lid, which has a dramatic painting of a T34 in the process of firing its main gun, with the muzzle-flash rebounding from the mantlet and turret. Inside the box is a cardboard divider glued to the tray to keep the large hull and turret parts from moving around the box and causing damage, plus most of the sprues are individually bagged, with additional foam strapping taped around various areas of the sprues and the front of the upper hull to further protect them during shipping and storage. There are ten sprues, two hull parts and the upper turret in grey styrene, eight sprues of track-links in brown styrene, two small frets of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, and a tiny decal sheet. The package is completed by the black & white instruction booklet that has a glossy, full-colour painting and markings sheet loosely inserted between the pages. Detail is good, and includes weld-beads, sand-casting and rolled-steel armour textures, plus individual track links and PE grab-handles/tie-downs for the sides of the many stowage boxes on the hull deck. Construction begins with preparing the lower hull for its road wheels by adding bump-stops, swing-arms and other suspension parts to the sides of the hull, including the idler and drive axles, with some wheel stations having additional dampers moulded-in to improve the ride for the crew. Massive final-drive housings are inserted into gaps in the rear bulkhead, along with a pair of hinged armoured panels, first fitting the seven paired idler wheels all along the upper run of each track, then building paired road wheels with a loose washer trapped between them, doing the same with the four-part drive sprockets, all of which can be carefully glued to the axles with the hope that they will remain mobile once the glue has cured, which might work, or might not, depending on how dainty you are with the glue. Each track run consists of 113 links, which are joined together by fitting the figure-eight pivots to the track pins, the outer edge having additional plates to widen the track that spreads ground pressure. A jig is included to assist you with production, and you’ll be pleased to hear that there are no ejector-pin marks on the inner faces of the tracks. Each of the track links has three sprue gates, while the pivots have just one each, all of which are sensibly placed to minimise clean-up, so whilst it will take some time to create the tracks, it shouldn’t drive you crazy in the process. With the lower hull looking good, attention turns to the upper hull where all the detail is. The upper deck is started by building two banks of stowage boxes around the base of the turret, which have separate lids, rails with eyes, and eight PE handles running along the outer sides. These assemblies are installed either side of the turret aperture, adding various small parts, including headlights, side-facing vision slots for the front crew, and a pair of two-part exhausts that mount at the rear of both fenders. A short run of track is bracketed to the glacis opposite the bow machine gun housing, and a few pioneer tool are fitted onto the fenders. On the engine deck, six louvred panels are inserted into holes, fixing a C-shaped exhaust pipe to the backs of the mufflers on the fenders, with an armoured cover protecting the straight central section. More pioneer tools are glued to the fenders, and these are joined by more PE handles along the edges, with cages mounted over the headlamps and the bow gun made from three parts including the barrel, sliding into the armoured shroud moulded into the glacis. The front crew hatches have rotating 360° vision blocks inserted into holes in the surfaces, then they are fitted into the hull, adding a grab-handle next to each one for egress purposes. At the rear, a small section of bulkhead is inserted into the remaining space, adding rear lights and other small parts once installed. The turret of the T34 is as large as some early WWII tanks, and is built from upper and lower halves, with a seam running along the side of the deep bustle, along the swage-line where the vertical side sweeps underneath. A machine gun is flex-fitted in a pintle-mount, adding twin grips, an ammo box made from three parts, and a two-part post into which the mount slides. The mantlet is also prepared from two layers of styrene, adding caps over the pivot pins so the gun can elevate, plus a pair of lifting eyes on the upper surface, making the commander’s cupola with a separate hatch, then fitting this and the mantlet to the turret, which has some very nice texture moulded-in, including weld-beads and casting roughness. The bustle receives an armoured panel to balance the barrel weight, inserting four parts into holes in the lower edge, plus brackets around the bustle sides, a shell-ejection port on the right side, stowage basket on the same side, a pair of aerial bases at the rear of the bustle, and the other two hatches either side of the keel that is moulded into the roof of the turret. The machine gun fits in front of the left hatch, and behind the commander’s cupola, a fairing sweeps around the side of the deck. The last parts for the turret include a choice of two styles of barrel, both of which are made from two halves that are split vertically, inserting your choice into the mantlet with a circular PE washer trapped between them. The turret locks in place on the hull by its bayonet lugs, and you have a choice of finishing the build with the travel lock in the stowed position flat against the engine deck, or vertically, supporting the barrel of the turret, which must be turned to the rear. Markings There is just one option on the decal sheet, and four white decals on the front fenders and the rear bulkhead, denoting T34 and 1949 on opposite sides. You might have already guessed that it’s a green tank, so pat yourself on the back if you did. Hobby Boss decals can be a little scant, but that’s what’s needed for this prototype, and as there is no registration to worry about, they’re perfect for the job in hand. Conclusion The T34, not to be confused with the Soviet T-34, was a monster of a tank, and it’s the first thing that hits you on opening the box. Detail is good, especially the textures moulded into the surface, resulting in a good-looking model that can be a canvas for your weathering techniques. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  9. 3D Printed WWII Small Arms (P35026//7/8/9) 1:35 Special Hobby 3D Print Guns are a central component in any military engagement. They’re everywhere, especially where there’s fighting. Special Hobby have taken to printing many of their upgrade and detail sets in attractive orange resin, and the detail is phenomenal. They’re bringing out a series of small arms sets as part of their range, for use in dioramas, to increase the detail of figures, or as personal items in or around AFVs and softskins. Each set arrives in a clear bubble pack with a cardboard header and instruction sheet at the rear. In many packs, the 3D printed parts are secured in foam inserts that are cut to suit their shape, although some don’t need this assistance. This collection of sets is spread over different combatants during WWII, and should be chosen for their suitability to the models you are making, not just because they look great, although it is tempting. Vickers Machine Gun WWII (P35026) The Vickers Machine Gun was a development of the original Maxim, the company Vickers had bought in the late 1800s, lightened and with an inverted breech to improve operation, which entered into British service at the outbreak of WWI in insufficient numbers due partly to the price being asked for each one, which was soon rectified by accusations of profiteering that led to a huge price cut per unit. It was used first by the infantry, then by the newly formed Machine Gun Corps when the lighter Lewis gun arrived on the scene, and remained in service throughout WWI and WWII, until it was finally replaced by the General-Purpose Machine Gun in the late 60s. Quite a service run. This set is supplied on a single print base with a printed cage over the top that protects the parts, but makes photography difficult, so it was nipped off beforehand. The parts are closely spaced, with a total of nineteen 3D printed parts in their signature orange resin. There are three barrel choices on the block, one un-jacketed, the other two with a different jacket, one having a different style of muzzle too. Your chosen barrel is glued to the breech, which has a sighting mechanism added to the top rear, then the tripod is built from a core and three individual legs, mating the two main assemblies by making the gun’s mount from three separate parts that fit in the top of the tripod. The gun is lowered into position, and you can then string a length of ammunition between the breech and a choice of two styles of ammo box, each one having open and closed box choices. Finally, you will need to source a short length of wire to pose as the water feed for the cooling jacket, which ends in a re-purposed Shell Motor Spirit can that has those exact words engraved on the sides. PPSh-41 Soviet Submachine Gun (P35027) The PPSh was a Soviet era submachine gun that was used extensively by their troops through WWII. It was cheap to produce, with a high rate of fire, a choice of stick or plate magazine, totalling over 6 million made, some of which found their way into German hands, as it was a weapon they coveted, as long as they could find ammo, triggering a project to convert the gun to German standard cartridge size as the MP41(r). This set provides three individual PPSh-41s, two with a moulded-in stick mag, while the third gun has a drum magazine as a separate part on the print base. The detail is exceptional, extending to tiny aspects of the weapon, and the stamped heat shield around the barrel. Again, a protective shroud is printed around the parts, and was nipped off before photography. You can see it to one side in the photo. Type 92 Japanese Heavy Machine Gun (P35028) The Type 92 was related to an early Hotchkiss machine gun design that was initially license built by Japan, with a family resemblance to the lighter Type 3, but chambering a 7.7mm round for improved hitting power and greater reliability. It was air-cooled and was fed by strips of ammunition, which proved to be an inefficient method, resulting in relatively short bursts at a low rate of fire, followed by silence during changing of the strip, which allowed their enemies to make progress closer to their positions. The US troops nicknamed it the ‘Woodpecker’ because of this. Arriving on three separate print bases, there are nineteen parts that includes ammo strips and boxes to pose near your model, and a choice of straight and flared muzzle styles. Brace yourself here though, as the resin is boring, ordinary grey. Hopefully, they’ll go back to the orange, as I prefer it because it is unusual, and combines strength and flexibility. The gun is made from four parts plus a flared or straight muzzle, adding a strip of ammo if you want to portray it as ready to fire. The low-slung tripod is a single part that is detailed with an adjustment wheel and locking lever before the two assemblies are joined. There are two boxed ammo strips, an unboxed strip and two large boxes of ammo, one with the lid removed to pose nearby. Additionally, three extra parts are included to build the gun in transport mode, with a U-shaped handle fitted to the long leg of the tripod, and two straight rods fixed to the other two, which allows between two and four soldiers to carry the weapon between them. Type 3 Japanese Heavy Machine Gun (P35029) If this set looks similar to the Type 92, that’s because the Type 92 is a scaled-up, larger calibre version of this gun. It fires 6.5mm rounds that are fed in strips like its larger compatriot with all the same foibles, and is also based upon an early Hotchkiss design. It shares most of its parts with its sibling, with only the breech slightly different, and no sighting equipment near the rear of the weapon, just iron sights. It builds in an otherwise identical manner, and includes the same transport equipment to allow easy carriage by troops. Conclusion These weapons are perfect for use as background equipment in AFV models or dioramas, and would fulfil that role whether crewed or otherwise. The detail is stunning, and with sympathetic painting, they will be the pinnacle of realism. Review sample courtesy of
  10. Kozak-001 (35015) 1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The Kozak series of vehicles are a Ukrainian-produced Mine Resistant Ambush Protected family that are based upon commercially available chassis, but are heavily modified with armour, some of which is under the crew compartment to deflect blast from a mine or IED. It was developed in response to a need for protected troop transports for reconnaissance, patrolling and other such tasks, and was first seen in 2014, although only a few proof-of-concept vehicles were made by Practika, in competition with several other types from other manufacturers, the Kozak going through to the next stage as one of the three that met the Ukrainian Army’s requirements. The original vehicle is based upon a heavily modified Iveco Eurocargo chassis, but the -001 design is based on the Iveco Daily, which has a shorter chassis, resulting in a more compact vehicle. Looking at any of the variants side-by-side you wouldn’t think they were related to any commercial platform, as the outward differences are so great. It doesn’t have a sharply V-shaped hull in the same respect that custom designs do, but most of the chassis’ length is protected by a shallower V-shaped armoured panel that underpins the crew compartment, and in concert with the anti-trauma seating that is installed within, it satisfies the needs of the Ukrainian forces in the event of an IED detonating underneath. The exposed wheel stations would likely be sacrificed in the blast, but the diversion of the explosive energy away from the crew is the key aspect. After the initial design, and subsequent production of the Kozak-001, the improved Kozak-2 was developed, incorporating a weapons station on the roof that allows the operator protection from small-arms fire, with vision slots that are protected by armoured glass in each of the side wall panels, plus a splinter-guard with more vision slots at the front, through which the machine gun projects, either mounting an NSV heavy machine gun, or another 7.62mm weapon, depending on availability and mission requirements. The Kozak-2 entered service in 2017, and has seen plenty of active service since the invasion of Ukraine that began on 24th of February 2022. The Kit This is a reboxing of a brand-new tooling from ICM of the Kozak-2 with new parts to backdate it, and has been made in cooperation with the vehicle’s manufacturers Practika, as noted on the box top in the top right, which bodes well. The kit arrives in a top-opening box, with a captive flap on the lower tray, and inside are seven sprues of grey styrene, two identical clear sprues, a bag containing five flexible black plastic tyres, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) of a copper-coloured metal, decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on glossy paper, and has profiles on the rear pages to help with painting and decaling. Detail is excellent, and as it’s a home-grown product, local knowledge will have come in very handy, as will their proximity for fact checking, although the vehicles have been rather busy of late, working tirelessly to recover areas of their country still under occupation. Construction begins with the chassis rails, which have a leaf-spring attached to the front, and two double-leaf arrangements that are each made from two halves at the rear. Small armour plates and other parts are fitted to the frontmost rail sides, then the cross-members are built, with two under the engine bay, a central four-part transfer box at the midpoint, a tough braced bar behind that, and another at the rear. Under the rear suspension is an additional cross-rail, plus a braced rail that has a pair of two-part tanks applied, one on each side before mounting. The solid floor pan is detailed with a three-part representation of the underside of the engine and sump, then the chassis rails are mated to the underside on tabs, adding a short drive-shaft that links the transmission to the transfer box, ready for when the axles are completed. The front axle is a thick assembly with differential bulge near the centre, which is made from two halves, and has the rear of the hubs attached at the ends, and a damper bar that joins to the chassis via links, and the drive-shaft that links it to the transfer box. A steering actuator and two armoured plates are fitted over the newly mounted axle, adding two dampers to the rear, and a C-shaped linkage that joins the two hubs together. The rear axle is built from four parts, and is much bulkier than the front, as are the hub assemblies, which are each three parts. This is then glued to the leaf-springs, adding dampers, drive-shaft, damper bar, another cross-member, and a towing shackle at the rear. The interior of the Kozak-001, the name of which, if you haven’t already guessed means ‘Cossack’, is a spartan compartment that is designed for a purpose and nothing more, keeping weight and clutter to a minimum, as well as reducing the likelihood of small parts becoming projectiles in the event of an IED detonation. The crew seats are built first, making the back from cushion and backrest, then adding this to the base cushion and two concertina-style side panels, plus front and rear sections, taking care to line up the concertina elements to minimise clean-up. An adjustment lever is fixed under the front edge, and you should bear in mind that the seats are handed, so take care to fix the correct one to the tread-plated floor on its guide-slots. A small gear lever is made from two halves and inserted into the centre console, which is moulded into the floor. The dash is a single moulding with three decals that has the three pedals glued into the lower portion, then has the multi-part steering wheel, column and separate stalks fitted on the left side, with a gaiter and hi/low ratio knob mounted in the centre of the dash low down. The dash is mounted on a central locating guide in front of the crew seats, and behind and between them a four-part rack with crew step/jump seat that has anti-slip tread-plate moulded into it, and acts as the support for the gunner when he is in action, folding away when not in use to keep obstruction to a minimum. Two individual passenger seats are built with two-part backs, adding tubular frames to the sides and head-rest that helps prevent crew displacement, flail and neck injuries, fixing onto the seat cushion that has more U-shaped tubes glued underneath that project up and help keep the sitter’s body in position in case of a sharp sideways jolt. A back frame and a pair of shock-absorbing tubes attach the frame to the deck behind the driving crew, facing forward. The other six seats are fitted centrally in an island formation with three on each side facing sideways. The base cushions are all moulded as a single linked unit, to which the lower tubes are fitted, adding two central supports in the space between them, then adding the seat backs, which are built identically and at the same time as the first pair. This assembly is then mounted on a pair of raised rectangular areas of the floor, ready for the body to be built up. The vehicle sides are one part each, and cover the entire length of the chassis, adding radiused bullet-proof windows in the sides, a foot-plate at the front, and drilling out three 1mm holes as indicated in a scrap diagram nearby, which also advises the removal of two loops on the top of the parts. An interior skin is prepared by adding grab-handles and weapon stowage clips under the windows, with the inner face of the shooting loupes moulded into the surface. The laminated right side is offered up to the chassis, adding the front wing liner and inner panel to the engine bay at the same time, then doing the same for the left side, before working on the windscreen panel, which has two panes inserted into the frames, and two instruments applied to the centre frame on the inside. This is mated to the bonnet and two windscreen wiper blades are fitted into pockets in the bonnet before joining the two. The rear bulkhead has an inner and outer skin, then has the multi-part bumper and clear light clusters applied to the lower edge. It would be a good idea to prepare the front and rear panels at the same time as the sides, not just for ease of painting, but also to ensure that the side panels are mounted to the correct angle and can’t sag while the glue cures. The roof has four small parts fitted to the underside before it is glued in place, completed with a pair of moulded-in escape hatches and the circular cut-out for the roof-mounted weapons station. The grille is fitted to the front of the vehicle, and has a thick bumper with moulded-in reflectors for the clear lights that are installed and painted with suitable clear shades, then have protective cages folded from PE parts, with a winch housing between them. The front skirt is made from two layers and has small sensors fitted into recesses, then is assembled on the front with the bumper, and a cow-catcher that is built from eight parts, including three horizontal slats that protect the grille. The Kozak-001 has four side doors, two on each side for the driving crew and front passengers, all of which have inner and outer skins plus glazing, with grab handles fitted inside, and handles on the outside, while the front doors have wing mirrors on large C-shaped tubular frames, and the rear doors have a circular cut-out that doubles as firing loupe for the front passengers. The rear doors are similar in construction, but with a smaller fixed window near the top, inserting into the frames at the rear. All doors can be posed open or closed as you please. Inverting the model allows fitting of the anti-mine keel panel, which has the ends closed off to prevent ingress of the explosive wavefront to maximise its effectiveness in diverting the blast laterally. Mudflaps are added to the rear of the front wheels, and on both sides of the rear wheels, then the wheels are made to fill the arches. The spare tyre is built first, adding a two-part hub from either side of the flexible tyres, and mounting it under the body at the rear. The rear pair of wheels have a slightly different pair of hub halves inserted from each side, and then have a choice of two styles of dust covers fixed over the outer face. The front wheels have similar two-part hubs, with an additional centre insert, and the same choice of dust covers over the front. They all fit onto their appropriate axles, but don’t put the model on its wheels just yet. There are a pair of crew steps to be fitted onto the keel panels under the rearmost side door on both sides, then the model is turned right-side up for all the external detail to be added to it. The first item is a searchlight, which has a clear lens and styrene rear, mounting on the right wing in front of a small part near the scuttle. A perforated mount for the pioneer tools is filled with four hand-tools before it is mounted on the right rear of the body. A two-part cage is closed around the searchlight, and is completed by adding two top bars, and a bracket that stands out past the side of the wing for another mirror that is added later. Under the tools a pair of three-part brackets are mounted on recesses, and on the opposite side a pair of towing bars are fitted under the windows on pins. Two small lifting eyes are glued to the scuttle, and an LED lamp with armoured shroud fits into a pair of recesses on the left wing. What looks like a tubular convoy light in a shroud is added to the centre above the rear doors, and five rungs are glued to the left side of the rear for access to the roof, with a sixth on a bracket that hangs down below the bodywork, adding a jerrycan in its holder to the left. Grab handles are fitted between and above the side doors, on the roof above the ladder, and on the front and sides of the bonnet to ease access to all the horizontal panels, and on the right flank, a cage is fixed to the body for another jerry can. The detailing is still far from over though, as the wing-mounted indicators and roof-line repeaters are positioned, with the more exposed lower wing lights protected by four half-torus PE guards that create a cage around them on both sides. PE cages are added around the rear lights too, bending the ends to match the profile, then adding a pair of stirrups below the back doors. The left door frame accepts a two-part exhaust that allows the vehicle to plough through water up to a metre deep without stopping to prepare. The machine gun turret is based on a ring under the floor, which has triangular supports for the side panels moulded-in, fitting two grab-handles to the inside of the hatch before installing it in the D-shaped cut-out. The two side armour panels have their bullet-proof windows inserted from inside, and are then assembled onto the base, adding an Y-frame support for the machine gun, which needs a 0.8mm hole drilling to accept the weapon, moulded with a separate spent-brass dump bag on the left, and with a three-part ammo box on the right, adding a folded bipod under the barrel, an adjustment lever on the vertical support, and another part affixed to the breech. The completed gun is then lowered onto the mount, securing its pin in the hole drilled earlier, then finishing off by adding a rear-view mirror on a bracket on the left side. The completed assembly then drops into the cut-out and is rotated to lock it in place. Markings There are four options on the decal sheet, all with a base coat of green, and various camouflages applied over the top. From the box you can build one of the following: Kyiv, 2016 Odessa, October 2016 Eastern Operational Territorial Unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, Autumn, 2019 South Eastern Ukraine, Autumn, 2022 Decals are by ICM’s usual partners, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion it’s good to see that Ukraine’s military equipment being kitted for us modellers, so we can show support in some small way for their fight. It’s a good-looking kit, and apart from adding some window blinds, strap for the top gunner, and a few cables in the passenger compartment, it’s an excellent rendition of the type. Hopefully, we’ll see some of the other variants in the future. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of
  11. de Havilland Tiger Moth (A04104A) 1:48 Airfix The de Havilland Tiger Moth was one of the most important and widely produced trainer aircraft to have seen service with the RAF. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland himself in the 1930s and was based on the Gypsy Moth, suitably redesigned to meet Air Ministry Specification 13/31. In comparison to its predecessor, the Tiger Moth's wings were swept and repositioned, and the cockpits were redesigned to make escape easier. The airframe was also strengthened and the engine exhaust system was redesigned. The Tiger Moth entered service with the RAF in 1932 and remained in use until well after the war. Over 8,000 examples were completed, and the type also served with the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force as well as a great many other military and civilian operators. In service it proved itself to be ideally suited to its role, being easy enough to fly, but challenging enough to weed out the weaker students. It was also cheap and easy to maintain. Further variants would be the DH.82C fitted with an enclosed hood for cold weather operations in Canada, and the Queen Bee, which was an unmanned radio-controlled target drone that resulted in a thinning of the herd of surviving airframes. Always popular with civilian users, many Tiger Moths found their way into private ownership after the War, with many maintained in flying condition to this day. The Kit This is a reboxing with new decals of the 2019 tooling that made many quarter-scale modellers very happy. We didn’t get chance to review the original release, so it’s good to finally see one in the photo booth. The kit arrives in a suitably sized red-themed top-opening box with some dramatic artwork on the top, depicting the last landing of a biplane on a British Carrier in 1964, which involved HMS Eagle and an airframe from Britannia Royal Naval College in Plymouth wearing a silver dope and dayglo striped scheme, as shown here. Inside the box are three sprues of dark grey styrene, a small clear sprue, decal sheet and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on matt paper, with painting and decaling profiles on the rear pages, plus a comprehensive rigging guide that extends to two pages of the booklet. Detail is as we’ve come to expect from Airfix, including restrained scalloping of the fabric surfaces, detailed cockpit and even an engine details inside the nose with the option to open one side of the cowling, and the afore mentioned rigging diagram should go a long way to calm any modellers that are rigging-phobic. Construction begins with the cockpit floor, fitting the rear seat and bulkhead, then making up the front seat and its bulkhead, which is a strange shape due to the seat being half-buried in the bulkhead, giving both crew a control column before it is inserted into the port fuselage after doing some detail painting, ensuring that a tab on the front of the floor fully latches in a slot moulded into the firewall in the fuselage halves. A set of rods are inserted into the half engine moulded into the port fuselage, with a scrap diagram showing it from the front, then the two instrument panels with their dial decals are painted and installed in front of each crew member, again after detail painting. The starboard fuselage side has a pair of crew doors moulded into it, but with the perimeters thinned to ease cutting them out if you wish to open them, although you don’t need to retain the cut-out doors, as extra parts are included on the sprues. Engine detail is glued to the flat side of the engine moulded into the fuselage half, and if you plan to use an Airfix stand, there are two flashed-over holes under the cockpit that you can cut out, painting the sidewall detail before you close the fuselage halves and deal with the seams. A curved fairing is fitted to a depression in the port side of the fuselage behind the engine, and on the starboard side the exhaust is attached to the engine, then after drilling a 0.4mm hole in the firewall, the A-frame engine mount is fitted over the engine details after painting and weathering them according to your taste. A top cowling panel is mounted over the top of the motor, fixing the front cowling with intake port and prop fairing, fitting the lower and port engine cowlings in the closed position, then deciding whether to open the starboard cowling to expose the engine detail, or closing it using the same part, a scrap diagram showing its opening angle. A jig is found on sprue C, and is mounted over the tail without glue, which allows you to remove a shallow section of the fuselage top to accommodate the strakes added to the elevators of decal option A. The instructions show it from two angles to assist you, and a file icon suggests what to use to remove this area. After you are happy with the job you’ve done removing the plastic, the elevators with strakes are glued in place for option A, and a different part without strakes is used for option B. Both tail styles are supported by diagonal struts that pin at both ends, plugging the rudder into the rear of the fuselage and adding a tail skid with the aid of a scrap diagram nearby that shows the assembly from another angle. The lower wings are moulded as a single part that is linked by a narrow section that slots into a groove in the fuselage underside. Once the glue is cured, cabane struts are mounted vertically on the curved fuselage sides, preparing the upper wing by adding a ribbed fuel tank on the centre section, then flipping it over to slot the interplane struts into grooves moulded into the wing surfaces. You might wish to align the upper wing with the model while the glue cures, and once everything is set, the two wings can be glued together, ignoring the rigging aspect of this model for the time-being. A scrap diagram shows how the cabane struts fit into grooves in the underside of the upper wing, either side of the fuel tank. The instructions suggest you apply the underwing codes before fitting the aileron actuators that are mounted under the wings, although the decals stop short of interfering with these parts on the diagram, then a handle-shaped part is fixed on the fuselage underside between the wings. The landing gear is created from a bridged W-shaped main strut, which is braced by a pair of diagonal forward struts, one on each side, adding another smaller pair behind the legs while slotting the single-part wheels onto the axles. Turning the model over onto its wheels for the first time, a vent is added to the fuel tank, and a choice of two prop styles are pinned to the front of the model by a separate part, which can be left mobile if you are careful with the glue. Returning to the cockpit, padded coamings are fitted to the front of the cockpit openings, adding faceted windscreens to slots in the top of the fuselage, then if you have cut out the crew doors, two new door parts are installed in the open position, leaving ‘just’ the rigging left to do. Most biplane modellers have their own preferred method for rigging their models, and here Airfix have provided two pages of diagrams to assist with the process, which would be most useful for anyone not familiar with the task. The Tiger Moth isn’t overly complex in its rigging either, so if anyone was thinking of joining the biplane community, this could be a good kit to start your journey with. Markings There are two decal options included on the sheet, with suitably different markings and schemes to broaden its appeal. From the box you can build one of the following: BB852/E, Britannia Flight, Britannia Royal Naval College, Roborough, Plymouth, Devon, 1st July 1965, the last biplane to land on a British carrier (HMS Eagle) No.9 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School, RAF Ansty, Warwickshire, England, October 1940 Please note that the Dayglo Orange decals above appeared light pink after scanning, so the colour has been approximated by eye and reference to a photo taken on an iPhone in PhotoShop Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film on the dayglo orange decals, and gloss carrier film everywhere else, cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A welcome re-release for those that didn’t manage to pick the kit up first time around, or just wanted another kit, while the new decals add extra interest, especially the last biplane to land on a British carrier, which will be a bright model thanks to the dayglo stripes, which aren’t pink on the sheet, I promise. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  12. Earlier
  13. German Tank Riders – Ardennes 1944 (35411) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd Getting a lift on a tank was a treat for the foot-soldier that occasionally turned sour if their lift came under fire from an enemy tank, especially if the turret starts to rotate and the crew begins using the main gun. Sometimes they’d ride into battle on the back of a tank, using the turret as temporary cover until it came time to dismount, usually off the rear avoiding the exhausts, other times it was a case of sitting somewhere flat on the hull of the tank for a well-earned rest, and saving some boot-tread whilst still getting from A to Battle. During winter periods, especially in the freezing cold of the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge, a seat on the warm engine deck would be prime real-estate, helping to defend against the biting cold that required heavy uniforms and great-coats, of which the Nazi invaders were woefully short. The Set This set arrives in a figure-sized box with a painting of the four figures that are depicted on the front, and annotated portions of the painting with part numbers and colour call-outs added to facilitate construction and painting of the figures. Inside the box are seven sprues in grey styrene, the sprues having wisps of flash here and there, although very little encroaches on the parts themselves. The parts for each figure are found in separate sprues for ease of identification, and parts breakdown is sensibly placed along clothing seams or natural breaks to minimise clean-up of the figures once they are built up. The sculpting is typically excellent, as we’ve come to expect from MiniArt’s artists and tool-makers, with natural poses, drape of clothing and textures appropriate to the parts of the model. There are three sprues that are devoted completely to a substantial quantity of accessories that include Small Arms, Stahlhem helmets, pistols in and out of holsters, ammo pouches, bags, satchels and map cases, water bottles, ribbed cylindrical gas mask canisters, entrenching tools, and bayonets in and out of scabbards. The weapons range from MP40s, Karabiner Kar 98k rifles, Walther P38, and an MG42 with various magazine options, open or closed bipods, and a length of link that can be carefully heat-formed to shape. The colour call-outs on the rear of the box are given in Vallejo, Mr.Color, AK RealColor, Mission Models, AMMO, Tamiya, plus swatches and colour names to assist with choosing your colours. These refer to the blue colour numbers on the paintings above the chart. Conclusion Another realistic set of figures for your late war German AFV projects, with so many accessories you’ll be spoilt for choice. Detail and sculpting is first rate, and what we’ve come to expect from MiniArt. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  14. I brought this kit just before christmas. one of the best kits I have built. no issues fitting the wings to the fuselage and the 3d printed extras really bring the detail to another level
  15. Okay, between the wonderful builds I've seen of the Arma Hurricane on this site and now your review, I have addictively purchased this kit to add to the stash as I have no control. I will now have to suffer the wrath of SWMBO as another package will arrive that looks suspiciously like a new model kit. Thanks for the review and my stash thanks you for a new feeding.
  16. Hurricane Mk.IIc Jubilee & 3D Parts (40006) 1:48 Arma Hobby The Hawker Hurricane was one of Britain's foremost fighters of WWII, and although overshadowed by the more graceful and slender Spitfire during the Battle of Britain, it was a capable aircraft that was available in large numbers, and achieved more than its fair share of kills during the conflict. It went on to see service to the end of the war, but was relegated to less onerous tasks as technology leapt forward resulting in faster, more agile aircraft that came on stream on both sides of the conflict. The type originated in the early 30s and first took to the sky in 1935, despite the Air Ministry’s tepid reaction to monoplanes at the time, and it was an aircraft that set standards for fighters that followed it, being a monoplane with a predominantly metal airframe, retractable landing gear, an enclosed cockpit and of course the delightfully powerful and throaty Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Compared to the Spitfire it was a little old-fashioned, starting out with a fabric-covered ‘rag’ wing that was eventually replaced by an all-metal aerofoil, and it was less aerodynamically streamlined, with a thicker wing and overall chunkier, blunt appearance. Although the wing was replaced by a metal aerofoil later, it retained the fabric rear fuselage and as such was able to have minor damage repaired quickly and easily, compared to the Spitfire that would have to go back to a repair facility for structurally insignificant through-and-through bullet damage. A fabric patch followed by a few coats of dope, and the Hurri would be back to the fray, which endeared it both to its pilots and ground crew alike. By the time the improvements to the airframe resulted in the Mk.IIC, it was tasked with ground attack, taking out German tanks, which weren’t as easy to crack as first expected, because 20mm cannon shells would often ricochet off the frontal and side armour, and bombing a relatively small target such as a tank was a matter of pure luck, all while the enemy poured lead in your general direction. It was withdrawn from front-line fighter service at this stage of the war, as by then the enemy aircraft outclassed it in most respects, so it carried on in ground-attack, night fighter and intruder roles where it excelled, without unnecessary exposure to enemy fighters. It was succeeded by the D that mounted a pair of 40mm cannon in gondolas under the wings, increasing its offensive power appreciably, at which point it acquired the nickname ‘The Flying Can Opener’, adding additional frontal armour to the airframe that was exposed during the run-in to target. They carried on in that role until the Typhoon came into service, which was capable of doing the job faster and more efficiently without the worry of being bounced by enemy fighters that outclassed it. The Kit This is a special edition boxing of the new tooling from Arma Hobby, which was one that many 1:48 modellers had been waiting for, as their 1:72 kits have a reputation for excellent detail, with the inference being that in a larger scale the detail would be even better. Spoiler Alert: It is, and the detail is present in spades! The kit arrives in an end-opening box with a sturdy tray inside that prevents the dreaded crushing in storage. The painting of a cannon armed fighter with flying over mixed Allied armour and troops disembarking from landing craft is dramatic and well-executed, with the side profiles of the decal options on the rear of the box. It depicts Operation Jubilee, which was the official codename for the Dieppe raid that is generally considered a failure, but despite the heavy losses, which extended to the pilots and aircraft of the RAF escorting the landing, it taught the Allies many lessons that were used to good effect on D-Day, probably saving many lives and helping to secure the beachhead. The package has the same design cues and layout as the 1:72 boxes, so you almost feel like you have shrunk when handling it. Inside the box is a cardboard tray that contains three sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of pre-cut yellow kabuki-tape masks, special 3D printed parts in four separate Ziploc bags, and an instruction booklet that is printed on glossy paper in colour, with colour profiles on the rearmost pages. Detail is everything we have come to expect from Arma, with crisp engraved panel lines, fine raised rivets, restrained fabric scalloping effect on the fuselage rear, and plenty of raised and recessed features that should result in a superb model if care is taken during building and painting. If this is your first Arma kit, you should know that they have a technique of adding stiffening ribs and stringers inside their kits, and they hide away their ejector-pins in places that won’t be seen, usually with a circle of tiny turrets around them. They are usually placed so that they can be left intact without affecting assembly, but if they do need to be removed, you’ll be advised in the instructions. Construction begins with the lower wing for a change, drilling out holes applicable to whether you intend to fit bombs or drop-tanks under the wings of your model. The holes are marked in red for tanks, and blue for bombs, which is helpful, and the diagrams are accompanied by a little explanatory text that advises that the bombs aren’t used in the decal options of this boxing, catering to those that might want to use aftermarket decals. The gear bay is created from a well-detailed section of spar that has a pair of retraction jacks and a pressurised cylinder applied to it, then has the remaining walls and their ribs mated to it and covered by the bay roof, feeding a brass-painted hose through the bay once completed. Attention then shifts to the cockpit for a moment, building the seat from four parts, which is supplied with decal seatbelts and is glued to the rear bulkhead for later installation in the cockpit, unless you prefer to use the 3D printed seats, which have belts moulded-in, cutting down on the number of parts whilst adding excellent detail. We return to the wing again, removing the drop-tank location points for one decal option, and cutting a new rectangular hole nearby, filling in the original with a piece of scrap styrene or filler whilst you are there. The gear bay assembly is glued into the full-span upper wing, adding another short spar closer to the rear, then joining them together after removing a short length of the ridge behind the landing light bays to achieve a better fit for their inserts. Now we learn why we didn’t build the entire cockpit earlier, as it is built in the space between the wings once they are completed, starting with the control linkage and frame, with the foot rests/trays over the top, and a small lever glued to a cross-member on the left. The side frames are painted and inserted at the perimeter, locating in slots in the upper wing centre, and these are joined by the rudder pedals on a central mount, and a V-frame that stiffens the assembly. The control column is built from three parts and includes the linkages that lead aft under the pilot’s seat, which is inserted last over the V-braces at the rear, locating on more slots in the upper wing. Flipping the wing over, a pair of rods are inserted into the bays, their location shown by another drawing that highlights them in blue. The instrument panel is next, with raised details depicting the instrument bezels and other switches, with a decal included for it and the compass that fits between two legs under the panel, which you are advised to cut into sections for an easier fit. It is glued into the starboard fuselage half with a pair of small pieces of equipment, with six more in the port side, and the option to pose the foot step on the exterior skin in the lowered position, which is a nice touch. There is also a decal for a pair of dials moulded into the fuselage sidewall. With that, the fuselage halves can be brought together, seams dealt with, and then carefully mated with the wings, taking care not to damage the lovely detail in the cockpit. Two vents are removed on the port side of the fuselage low down near the root fairing for the included decal options. If you plan on modelling your canopy closed, you should also cut away the rails as indicated in red on a scrap diagram at this stage to allow the closed canopy to fit firmly. The underside of the fuselage has an insert with the tail-wheel fairing moulded-in, hinting at Sea Hurricanes in the future. The central radiator housing has its core made from front and rear sections with the matrix texture moulded-in, and a circular insert with hosing, all of which is glued to the underside of the fuselage and covered by the cowling that is made from body, intake lip and cooling flap at the rear, locating in a shallow recess in the lower wing that has a horseshoe flange with fasteners to add to the detail. The tail wheel inserts in the hole under the rear of the fuselage, adding a full-span elevator panel with separate flying surfaces that fills the recess in the top of the tail, fitting the two-part fin to a stepped lug in the fairing, and fixing the rudder to the rear, allowing all the tail surfaces to be posed deflected if you wish. The main gear legs are made from a strut with a retraction jack moulded-in, and another added to the rear, plus a captive bay door that fits on the outboard side, and a two-part wheel fitted on the inner axle. There is a choice of two styles of gun camera fairing in the starboard wing leading edge that uses two different parts, and your choice depends on which decal option you have chosen. There are clear lenses to cover the landing lights, and the clear wingtip lights have a recess in their mating surface that you can add some green or red paint to in order to depict the bulb before you glue them in position. The gunsight and clear lens are glued to a recess in the cockpit coaming at this stage, taking care not to disturb it before the windscreen is installed. There is a choice of two styles of cannon barrels, using either the styrene parts from the kit, or replacing them with the more detailed 3D printed parts that accompany this boxing. While the model is inverted, a pitot probe and crew step are added to the port underside, and a clear recognition light is inserted just behind the radiator, painting it a clear amber. The rest of the work on the airframe is done with the model resting on its wheels (if you’ve fitted them yet), installing a choice of two styles of 3D printed exhausts and mounting blisters in recesses in the nose cowling, a pair of glare-hiding strakes in a straight line between the exhausts and the pilot’s eyeline for two decal options, and an aerial mast in the spine behind the cockpit, cutting off the little triangular spur near the top, and the short post on the fin for all options in this kit. A two-part intake is fitted under the chin, and a choice of two styles of prop are included for the different decal options, using the same blade part, but substituting different front and back spinner parts, plus a washer inside the spinner that can be glued carefully to allow the prop to remain mobile after building. To close the canopy, part T2 is used, but if you intend to leave the canopy slid back, a slightly wider part is supplied, marked T3, with pre-cut masks provided for all options, as well as the wheel hubs and landing lights. As already mentioned, drop-tanks are included for this boxing, built from two halves that trap the location pegs between them, and have a small stencil for one side, only to be used for one decal option. The instructions also show the bombs being built up from four parts each, along with their pylons, even though they also tell you they’re not used for any options in this boxing. Again, if you are using aftermarket decals, these may be of use to you. Check your references to be sure. Markings There are three quite different options on the decal sheet, each having a full page of colour profiles at the back of the instruction booklet, with letter codes corresponding to a table on the front page that gives codes for Hataka, AK RealColor, AMMO, Humbrol, Vallejo and Tamiya ranges, which should be sufficient for most of us, although FS numbers are also included for most colours to help you further. From the box you can build one of the following: BE500/LK-A, 87 Sqn., RAF Tangmere, Operation Jubilee, Pilot: Sqn.Ldr. D G Smallwood and Flt.Lt. A H Thom Z3081/FT-V ‘Baron Dhanis’, 43 Sqn., RAF Tangmere, Operation Jubilee, Pilot: Sqn.Ldr. D A R G Le Roy du Viver (Belgium) BD867/QO-Y, No.3 Sqn., RAF Hunsdon, Autumn 1941, Shot down during Operation Jubilee, Pilot: Sgt. Stirling David Banks (RCAF) Dec’d Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A fabulously well detailed model that shows amazing attention to detail, and deserves to be the new de facto standard in this scale. The addition of 3D printed parts takes it to even higher levels that have been hitherto unavailable from an out-of-box build. VERY highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  17. This really does look like a fabulous kit! I have no complaints about Hasegawa's J-Model and this looks every bit as nice as that!
  18. Street Workers (38081) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd This set depicts a trio of street workers, not to be confused with a similar group of people, often referred to as the oldest profession. These are people whose work is done on the street, and it includes a street-sweeper, a newspaper seller, and a lamp-lighter, from the days when street lamps were gas-powered, a power source that lingered longer into the 20th century around Europe than you’d possibly think. Inside the figure-sized box are five sprues in grey styrene, the longest of which is nipped into two parts at the factory to allow it to fit inside the box, plus a pair of clear sprues, with a glossy sheet of instructions for the accessories that are included with the set. The parts for each figure are found on separate sprues for ease of identification, and parts breakdown is sensibly placed along clothing seams or natural breaks to minimise clean-up of the figures once they are built up. The sculpting is typically excellent, as we’ve come to expect from MiniArt’s artists and tool-makers, with natural poses, drape of clothing and textures appropriate to the parts of the model. The street-sweeper is holding a long-handled Besom broom with a traditional bundled stick head, akin to a witches’ broom, made from two parts. For a good join, a small hole could be drilled in the head of the broom to accept the shaft, cutting it to the desired length. The lamp-lighter has one leg either side of the ladder (not health & safety approved), and has his arms above his head opening or closing the lamp head, while the paper seller is wearing a bibbed skirt and jacket, with her hair flowing over her shoulders in a 30-40s style, and a three-part stack of papers in her arms. The accessory sprues provide parts to create a step ladder for the lamp-lighter to reach the street lamp, which is also included. The ladder is made from the two sides plus a top step, while the lamp is built from a two-part bottom section and a fluted upper with perpendicular cross-rail ‘lollipops’ across the top that were commonly used by lamp-lighters if they were using a straight ladder. The lamp itself is made from two faceted clear parts for the glazing, and a styrene top-cap with ferrule on top, fitting a clear bulb to a hexagonal base that is linked to the post by a four-legged bracket underneath. There are more parts on the sprue, including an ornate suspension bracket for a lamp or a large clock, the parts for the latter also found on the long sprue. There are no clock-face decals as it’s not an official part of the set, but you could try printing your own if you have the skills. Conclusion Another realistic, life-like figure set with plenty of accessories from MiniArt that will be perfect for a diorama setting. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  19. Tiger I Early Production ‘Battle of Kharkov’ (BT-034) 1:35 Border Model via Albion Alloys The Tiger tank was part of Hitler's obsession for bigger, heavier and stronger, which drove him to extraordinary and dizzying heights of impracticality at times, but in this case served him reasonably well. The goal was to mount the extremely powerful and accurate 88mm cannon used in the Flak 36 in a tank with sufficient armour to withstand any artillery round then-fielded by the enemy. This series of objectives were achieved, but at the cost of reliability and a prodigious thirst for fuel. It also made for some nervous bridge-crossings, as the finished article weighed in at almost 60 tonnes, which was too much for many smaller bridges of the day. A deep-water fording kit was created to get around that issue, allowing the tanks to ford streams and smaller rivers where the bridges or culverts wouldn’t take their weight. A competition was held with only two contenders on Hitler’s birthday, and it was the ignominy of the filmed breakdown of the Porsche designed prototype and subsequent fire that decided him in favour of the less ambitious Henschel design which became the Tiger, and then the Tiger I after the King Tiger or Tiger II came into being. When it first reached the front it caused panic and heavy losses for the Allies, being capable of almost everything it was designed to do, including knocking out tanks long before the enemy's guns were able to get within range. Even when the Allies could get their own guns into range, it wasn't until they got much closer, almost to point-blank range, that they had any measurable chance of crippling or destroying the mighty Tiger, especially during frontal engagements, where a shot might just ricochet off harmlessly. Many of the early Tigers were lost to mechanical breakdown due to excessive strain on the transmission caused by excessive weight, and often had to either be dragged off the field by Famo half-tracks under the cover of darkness under armoured protection, or failing that, destroyed by demolition charges to prevent them falling into the enemy's hands. The Tiger underwent constant changes throughout production to improve performance, fix problems, simplify and cheapen construction, but these are generally lumped together into early, middle or late productions for the sake of the remaining sanity of us modellers. If you want to get maximum accuracy of fit and finish, check your references for certainty. The Kit This is a variant of a new tooling from Border Model with some different sprues, and while some may be thinking “do we need another Tiger?”, other people’s Tigers don’t make any money for Border, and it’s a perennially popular subject, so should be a money-earner to support other more esoteric projects. This boxing represents early production of the vehicle that would have been seen at the battle of Kharkov, with Feifel air filters that were installed on the rear bulkhead, and other early equipment and appendages that were later dropped altogether, or amended in light of experience, or the need to simplify construction to get more examples into battle sooner. It arrives in a top-opening box, with a painting of a snow-smattered Tiger in wintery terrain, about to either pull up near or run over a German soldier that appears to be studying a map. Inside the box are nine sprues, the turret and the lower hull in grey styrene, some of which are amalgamations of smaller sprues joined together with runners, a clear sprue, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE), turned aluminium barrel, decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in portrait A4 on glossy paper, with spot colour throughout, and colour profiles on the rear pages that have been penned for them by AMMO, using their paint codes. Detail is good, and it is an exterior-only kit, although some internal areas are given attention despite this. The surface detail is crisp and well-moulded, but they have elected not to depict the subtle rolled-steel texture that is often seen on armour, possibly because a great many German tanks were covered with Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste, or because it’s simple (if time-consuming) to depict the rolled-steel texture yourself with some basic tools and liquid glue, allowing you to be as subtle or as coarse as you like with the texture. Construction begins with the lower hull, which has a pair of circular inspection hatches added into recesses under the rear, two torch-cut towing eyes at the rear of the hull sides, which have overlapping joints for strength, then a scuff-plate is fitted on each side next to the idler wheel mounts. The edges of the final drive housing frame are thickened with an extra bolted layer in the inner edges, removing three of the bolts from each one before installing them. This boxing includes the cooling radiators and fans under the engine deck, each one made from three styrene parts, one of which represents the radiator core, topping off the twin fans with a piece of PE that is folded to create a shallow box with holes for the air to pass through. These are installed on the floor of the sponsons at the rear, threading the torsion bar suspension through with swing-arms and stub axles glued into the end, which lock in place in sockets on the opposite wall of the hull. The rear bulkhead is prepared by adding two vertical two-part exhaust pipes with detailed top covers made from seven parts each, the completed tubes plugging into sockets in the bulkhead, adding a mushroom vent and a manual start hatch around them, plus two mounting frames over the rear of the sponsons. Tiny PE clip parts are folded and fitted near the top of the bulkhead, adding a Notek convoy light, which has a clear lens and PE base, then the cast armoured exhaust protectors are located over the bottom of the exhausts, with small pins fitted to slots in the sides. The bulkhead is mated to the hull and the rear mudguards fit into the frames over the sponsons, inserting a towing eye in the centre, then adding towing shackles to each side on separate torch-cut ends, building the jack from eleven parts and mounting it across the back of the vehicle after gluing the curved protectors to the exhausts. Attention then switches to the upper hull, fitting the rearmost grilles from the underside with a choice of two styles, and a pair of brackets supporting the hinges for the forward hatches on the forward deck. The hatches with their clear periscopes and armoured covers are installed once the glue is dry, adding a central inspection cover in the middle of the engine deck after fitting grab handles, a mushroom vent and a rectangular socket for the Feifel filter manifold. The rear centre deck section is fitted with another mushroom vent before it is glued in place, completing the deck surface. Four PE mesh panels are glued over the large grilles to keep dust and grenades out of the engine compartment, fitting the first pioneer tools around the forward hatches, including the jack block, sledgehammer, axe and shovel, plus a mushroom vent, a long pry-bar running past the turret ring, and a pair of wire cutters on the opposite side. The next step shows the upper hull from below, but without the hatches that have been glued in place, building the air guides into a triangular assembly under each of the forward grilles on the engine deck. A note tells you that these parts are optional, and if you use them, don’t install Z012 and the “turret outside toolbox”, which caused some head scratching. The twin headlights have a clear lens at the centre of each unit, and their wires snake away into the hull. Turning to the top glacis plate with driver’s vision slot and optional styles of bow gun socket or cover, plus internal parts applied before it is slipped into the front of the hull as the two hull halves are mated, adding the shallow sloping apron to the glacis after fitting two detail parts and removing a small raised area. The twin Feifel filters were an early fitment that was dropped later in the war to streamline production, and they are easy to spot on the rear bulkhead, consisting on two cylinders with tapered lowers, surrounded by a single central section that holds the PE attachment brackets, which are made from seven parts each, and have their feeder pipe pairs consisting of five or six parts each, which are glued to the input sockets on the filters, creating a single assembly by attaching them together using a V-shaped manifold that leads into the slot in the main hatch on the engine deck, securing the hoses with a large C-clamp that staples them to the deck. As these are installed, a pair of appliqué plates are added to the hull sides to give it additional thickness and detail. A small rack of ammo boxes are fixed to the rear bulkhead under the left Feifel filter, attaching the two styrene tow cables to the top deck with four shackles, and mounting a fire extinguisher on the engine deck, plus three clips on the aft portion. A solitary smoke grenade discharger is glued to the deck in each corner, sited diagonally into the corner to provide additional coverage in the even that smoke cover is needed. The road wheels are started, adding the innermost layer in a similar manner to the real thing, layering them to spread out the ground-pressure, which includes the inner halves of the drive sprocket and the idler wheel after the idler axle has been fitted. If you are depicting your Tiger in transport configuration, the outermost wheels are left off and the next layer have different caps with a PE spring-clip in the centre, although the reason for leaving them off isn’t mentioned in the instructions. The next layer of paired wheels are fitted, followed by another set of paired wheels and the outer faces of the drive sprocket at the front and spoked idler wheels at the rear to complete the drivetrain. Tracks for this kit are link-and-length, taking advantage of modern moulding techniques to shorten the process of creating a realistic-looking track run by moulding the straight sections as a single part on the top and bottom runs. The instructions show the two curved sections front and rear, although the number of links isn’t mentioned on this boxing. A previous boxing used 25 links at the front, and 20 in the rear, with each of the single links having two guide-horns glued in place before they are installed, so that can be used as a starting point. The completed runs are slipped over the road wheels once complete, but it’s probably best to drape the runs around the road wheels while the glue is setting, to obtain the correct shape and sag where appropriate. Another short run of tracks moulded as a single part are fixed to the lower glacis using a styrene bar to hold them in place, adding triangular profile side skirts to each side of the hull, remembering these are usually removed for transit. The main gun is supplied on the sprues in styrene, but you can use the turned aluminium barrel in the box to avoid any seam sanding and take advantage of the crispness of the metal part, adding a styrene sleeve to the rear, and either a three-part muzzle or a transport bag that is on the sprues if you plan on depicting your Tiger in transit either on the road or by train. The mantlet gives a choice of five styles for the outer face, gluing it to the inner portion, and mounting on the flat socket with two pivots to the sides. The basics of the recuperator are glued around the inner mantlet, to which the breech block and brass-catcher box-frame are added, gluing the assembly in between the turret sides later. The main part of the turret is a single slide-moulded part, which has the turret ring slipped into the hole in the underside from within, adding a pair of tiny rectangular parts to the left side of the outer ring. At the rear, a shell ejection port and cramped circular crew hatch are inserted into their cut-outs, the latter having detailed hinge and locking mechanisms added before it is installed. Two crew seat assemblies are made and installed around the turret ring, and interior detail for the ejection port is added, then the main gun is lowered into position and secured by sliding two locking pins into place. The complicated commander’s cupola is built on a clear castellated circular base, adding five clear lenses over the raised sections, and then lowering the toroidal styrene outer over the top and making up the hatch with three locking handles on the inside, pull handle and hinge on the outside, with the option of leaving it mobile by applying the glue to the three-part hinge sparingly. The gunner’s hatch is a simpler rectangular assembly with two pull-handles, a locking wheel and small latch on the underside, and another handle on the outside, gluing into place over the cut-out on the roof, and adding a choice of fume extractor fairing at the rear. When the roof is mated with the turret, you can include a pair of sighting binoculars, building the assembly from five parts, although it’s not made clear where it mounts on the lip of the cupola. A rack of three smoke grenade launchers are fitted on brackets on each side of the mantlet, building an early bustle box at the rear from only four parts, plus two PE brackets underneath, which are shown in a scrap diagram to assist you with correct location of the parts. The turret is a drop-fit onto the hull, so remember that next time you get the urge to look at the underside. Additional towing cables are clipped to the left side of the hull by five brackets, and the final step shows a series of stowage parts that you can use to personalise your model, and these parts are very nicely moulded with some realistic fabric texture to the tarpaulins and rolls, as you can see below. Markings There are three decal options in this boxing, two covered in winter distemper white, and one in a dark yellow and green camouflage scheme, as shown in the box art, although no further information is given for each one. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed mostly in black or white, with only the three black crosses with white inserts having any registration, which is good, as is sharpness and colour density. Conclusion There’s not a lot to dislike about a new Tiger model, especially a nicely detailed model of the type early in its career, and despite a few strange and slightly confusing moments with the instructions, it should build up into a credible replica of this late war behemoth. Highly recommended. Available in the UK in all good model shops. Review sample courtesy of
  20. North American B-25C/D Mitchell (A06015A) 1:72 Airfix The Mitchell was a twin-engined medium bomber that served with distinction during WWII, with over 10,000 being produced by war's end. Named after General Billy Mitchell, the type reached prominence early on in America's entry to the war, as it was used in the famous carrier launched Doolittle raid on mainland Japan, leaving USS Hornet to bomb Japan, and attempting to land on fields in East China after the mission. It was a good aircraft to fly, and was well-liked by its crews, as well as being able to soak up a tremendous amount of punishment from the enemy and still remain flyable thanks to its rugged construction. These traits led to the Mitchell being used in almost every theatre of war, and in addition to bombing duties it was also converted to a "gun-truck" for ground attack, and was fitted with various armaments, including cheek mounted machine guns in fairings, and sometimes the 75mm cannon from a Sherman tank in a solid nose cone, as well as four .50cal brownings in the nose (B-25G) that was named ‘Strafer’, plus the turret guns that could be aimed forwards to add to the hail of munitions. The J-model was the last production variant in a long line of upgrades and improvements, and although many were built with glass noses, they were often converted in the field to a solid nose for ground attack duties. The Kit This kit was first released in 2018, and this boxing adds new decals to the existing tooling and new box art to match, depicting a gaggle of Mitchells flying low over desert terrain. Inside the box are five sprues of different sizes in dark grey styrene, two clear sprues, decals, and the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour with decal option profiles on the rear pages, accompanied by a separate page of profiles for the common stencils applied to the aircraft. Detail is good, and this 1:48 modeller was quite surprised by the small size of the Mitchell at this scale, probably because I’ve been handling a 1:48 B-25 kit recently for another review. It includes a detailed cockpit, bomb bay, turrets, and gun position details, with options for dropped or retracted flaps plus poseable tail surfaces, and raised or lowered wheels to add some personalisation to your model. Construction begins with the cockpit, based on a stepped floor, to which the twin control columns with integral centre console is added, with the instrument panel in front, applying a decal to depict the dials. A bulkhead is fixed to the front of the floor, and two crew seats are slotted into sockets in the floor behind the controls. Another bulkhead is slotted in from the side behind the crew, and an additional lower floor part it fixed to the bottom of the assembly after drilling out two flashed-over holes in one side. At the rear of the assembly, a further bulkhead with moulded-in spar is mounted, then the nose compartment is detailed with a small seat and a bicycle-like seat in the very front of the floor. The bomb bay is just behind the cockpit, and the fuselage halves are thinned here to accept the bay wall inserts, which also have the bay doors moulded-in to give it a strong join, and is detailed with the bomb ladders down the sides of the walls. A note in this step tells you to skip ahead if you plan to leave the bay doors closed, which I missed initially, so make sure you don’t. The cockpit assembly is installed on the port fuselage after detail painting, sliding it into position by feeding the spar through a hole in the side of the fuselage. Another spar is prepared with an extra layer to the bulkhead, located on circular pads, then it too is slipped into the port fuselage, adding 25 grammes of nose weight under the cockpit, making use of the box-like structure there. The bomb bay roof is fitted between the two bulkheads, and an insert is added to the belly behind the bomb bay with the socket for the belly turret and its pivot point moulded-in. The bombs are provided in this boxing, making four of them from three parts each, and gluing two on each side of the bay, adding retraction jacks and their mounts to the front of the bay opening. With both sides of the bay built and painted, the fuselage halves can be closed, and the seams dealt with in your preferred manner. If you elected to leave the bay doors closed, a separate part is included with a panel line down the centre to represent the two doors closed against each other. The wings are built on the spars projecting from the sides of the fuselage, adding the upper surface first, and installing the clear landing light lenses in the leading edge, drilling out some flashed-over holes, which are used to locate the aerodynamic fairings over the exhaust ports on the trailing edges of the wings. The lower surface is then glued in place, two clear inserts are fitted into holes in the fuselage sides behind the wings, which cater for various window arrangements through the different variants, and should be test-fitted carefully so that they are level with the rest of the skin of the model. The elevators are built from top and bottom halves with separate flying surfaces trapped during gluing, which can be deflected according to details given as the assembly is glued onto the rear of the fuselage ready for the rudder panels to be built. Again, the panels are made from two halves with separate rudders, one per side, and these too can be deflected according to the numbers given on the diagrams, plus another diagram that confirms that the rudder panels should be posed at 90° to the elevators. The next choice is whether to pose the gear up or down, with gear down the first choice to be described, starting with positioning the main gear legs, using the outer nacelle half as a jig to locate the strut, but not applying any glue to the nacelle part at this time. It can be left in situ while the glue on the gear leg cures, and in the meantime the engines and their cowlings can be made, which are common to gear up or down options. The front row of pistons has a central axle trapped between it and the reduction bell-housing at the front, then it is glued to the combined bulkhead/rear bank of pistons, providing detail that will be dimly seen through the spaces between the front bank of pistons, and via the cooling gills at the rear if you have sharp eyes. The cowling is prepared by adding seven small raised fairings around the main part, sliding the completed motor into the back of the assembly before fitting the cowling gills using the tabs and slots that are shown in the diagrams. The nacelle halves are joined together, assuming the glue has cured on the main gear legs, and these two parts are augmented by a short forward section on the outer half, then mounting a bulkhead and intake to the front, repeating this for the other side in mirror image. The completed nacelles are then lowered over the main gear legs and glued onto the underside of the wings. For the gear-up option, the legs are omitted, and the small curved bay door covers the opening before gluing the nacelles to the wings, removing the two hinges from one end first, which is done again in mirror image for the opposite engine. The engine cowlings are then glued to the front of the nacelles, regardless of the gear option chosen, then the two flap sections per wing can be glued in place lowered, or retracted by using different parts, doing the same on the opposite wing. Both wheel position options have the curved bump-stop at the very rear of the tail, then for the gear down option, separate scissor-links are glued to the legs, adding the doors and a retraction jack near the front of the bay. The wheels are each in two halves, and have a diamond tread pattern moulded into them, so take care aligning the halves once you have applied glue to minimise clean-up. The attachment points on the struts are specially designed to prevent mistakes, so check that the inner peg is aligned with the hole in the bottom of the tyre cut-out before you leave the glue to set. The Mitchell was unusual for a WWII bomber because of its tricycle undercarriage, and for gear-up the bay is covered by a small door that has been reduced in width prior to fitting. The gear down option has the strut inserted into the slot, a translucent scrap diagram showing how it should locate, then the uncut door is fitted to the edge of the bay, adding the wheel with separate outer hub to the bottom of the leg. The belly turret could be retracted so that it was almost flush with the airflow to increase speed and reduce fuel consumption whilst on the way to and from enemy territory and for landing. You have the option to pose it in either position, gluing the two machine guns into a different centre mount, depending on your choice. Both options are then inserted into the clear upper section of the turret, installing both in the cut-out under the belly, the mount holding each option at the correct attitude. The deployed turret clips into position without glue thanks to an expanding spring clip on the mount, but it is a one-time use clip, so make sure you’re ready to install it, and don’t be tempted to put it in early to see how it looks. The retracted turret has its guns aligned with two long recesses, so can be glued into position as there is only one possible position for them. Behind the turret is a crew hatch, which has four tabs around the lip that can support the door if you intend to leave it closed. To open it, the tabs should be cut away, fitting the combined door and ladder to the front of the cut-out, with the same process carried out on the door to the front of the bomb bay. The upper turret is next, fitting the twin machine guns to the central mechanism, and trapping them in position with another part of the assembly. The two ammo cannisters with a twin feed of link is glued to the front of the assembly, then the completed assembly is inserted carefully into the glazing, a scrap diagram showing how it will look from below. The completed top turret is then fitted into its cut-out, locating in a socket in the floor inside. The nose is open at this stage, allowing you to install a rack of ammo cans, plus the gun that is offset to one side of the bomb sight, which is another part fitted to the front lip of the floor. Under the nose is a small window that is inserted from below, then the top glazing is added, followed by the nose glazing, which has a flexible mounted machine gun pushed through the central hole, slotting the fixed gun through the other offset hole in the clear part as you install it. There are two styles of canopy included on the sprues, one for each of the decal options, and at this stage you can choose to seat the two pilot figures that are supplied or not. An astrodome is added to a hole in the fuselage behind the cockpit, fitting two landing light covers in the leading edges of the wings, installing some windows in the sides, and the glass dome in the tail. The final few parts dotted around the airframe include pitot probe in the port wingtip, two antenna masts on the spine, plus a D/F loop in an aerodynamic fairing, and the twin three-bladed props, one in each engine nacelle. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet, one in US service in a desert scheme, the other a lend/lease aircraft in Soviet service, each with a full page of profiles to help you complete the task. An additional page of profiles shows where the stencils are applied to both decal options, using line drawings to simplify the process. From the box you can build one of the following: B-25C Mitchell ‘OH-7’, 41-13207, 445th BS, French Morocco, 1943 B-25D Mitchel ‘09’ 42-87594, 1st Sqn., Uman Airfield, 1944 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A nicely detailed B-25 in this scale with plenty of personalisation options that belies the scale, with a couple of interesting and more unusual decal options, which combines to make for a welcome re-release. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  21. The figures in the Revell kit look tiny compared to 1/72nd ones. Almost miniature silhouettes.
  22. I reckon 5% discrepancy is OK, 10% not so much. So I’m happy to mix 1/24 and 1/25 cars, albeit the 1/25s tend to be American and bigger anyway. But 1/32 and 1/35 armour, probably not. 1/76 and 1/72 is on the cusp, 1/78 and 1/72 the wrong side of the line… unless the passengers look OK. Nobody holds in their heads how big a Rotodyne is, so if the people look reasonable you’d likely get away with it… best, M.
  23. It may be a better kit, but I'd be reluctant to put a 1/76 scale kit in a 1/72 collection, so at 1/87 it's not got a chance, way too small.
  24. I think the Revell kit is actually 1/78, so even closer to 1/72, though less useful for display on your Continental OO/HO model railway layout… best, M.
  25. Thanks for the review Mike. Brought back memories of Nigel Heath's build. And, the comments answered my other question of whether the Revell kit and the Airfix kit were the same. Guess not. Always like your well presented reviews.
  26. ’Battle of the Bulge’ Ardennes 1944 (35373) 1:35 Miniart via Creative Models Ltd The Battle of the Bulge was the nickname given to the last-ditch attempt by Hitler, sometimes referred to as the Allies’ best General, to stop the Allied advance toward Germany by driving a wedge through the front and separating the four armies, removing Antwerp from Allied hands, and forcing them to sue for peace. This was clearly what is now known as a ‘hail Mary’ play, and relied heavily on capturing Allied fuel supplies, because the Germans were woefully short of their own stores, and would soon run out if they didn’t capture substantial new supplies. It also relied on bad weather keeping the Allied air elements grounded for the crucial period of the operation, as the Luftwaffe was a spent force by this time of the war, and any daylight activity quickly attracted US and British fighters equipped with cannons and bombs, largely unopposed by the Luftwaffe. The operation began on the 16th December 1944 when the weather was bitterly cold, heavy snow and overcast conditions, and Nazi progress was initially good, capturing many Allied units off-guard, resulting in substantial casualties and a large quantity prisoners. Apart from one hideous incident at Malmedy where Kampfgruppe Peiper massacred dozens of US prisoners, the majority captured were thankfully treated humanely by their captors. After the initial advances, the German’s progress stagnated, and they began to run out of fuel, which in concert with the improvement in the weather, permitted the Allied aircraft to take on the vulnerable German armoured columns and support lines, with the Allies back to their original positions by February of 1945, and the Germans in disarray. The Figures This set contains five figures, two German soldiers walking alongside three US prisoners, who are unsurprisingly not looking happy about their plight. The kit arrives in a figure-sized box, and inside are five sprues of grey styrene, plus a small glossy piece of paper with a sprue diagram for the figure sprues. All the figures are in a walking pose, one German nursing a set of binoculars against his chest, while the other holds his rifle across his smocked chest, relaxed but alert. The three Americans are wearing various battle-dress combinations, two wearing blouson jackets with their hands up, while the man in the greatcoat has his hands mid-chest, probably too cold to wave his hands in the air. The American with his hands clasped behind his head isn’t wearing a helmet, and his hair is clearly non-regulation, so he had probably been on the front for a while. The parts for each figure are found in separate areas of the sprues that are separated by country for ease of identification, and parts breakdown is sensibly placed along clothing seams or natural breaks to minimise clean-up of the figures once they are built up. The sculpting is typically excellent, as we’ve come to expect from MiniArt’s artists and tool-makers, with natural poses, drape of clothing and textures appropriate to the parts of the model. The three accessory sprues include helmets, some of the US M1s either covered with netting or cloth cover, and two of the German helmets also have cloth covers. The rest of the equipment includes the usual personal pouches, bags and small arms, although the Americans won’t be using any of those and their webbing will have been confiscated at time of capture, however the Germans will have a full complement appropriate to their unit and task. The rear of the box has the artwork separated with blue colour arrows, while the kit parts are in black text, with the officer having a choice of cap or helmet. A small photo insert shows the equipment on the back of the smock wearing soldier, as those items can’t be seen in the painting. A small swatch of the smock’s camouflage is given on the back of the box, with the colour chart in the bottom right corner, giving paint codes for Vallejo, Mr.Color, AK Real Color, Mission Models, AMMO, Tamiya, as well as small colour swatches and names to assist you with choosing your paints. Conclusion A great figure set that would look good in a diorama, their chaperones pushing the prisoners back through the front lines while the panzers and other forces are heading forward to press the attack. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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