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  1. Sd.Kfz.234/1 Early Mod Interior Kit (35410) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd Armoured cars and their derivatives were a dominant part of German military thinking after WWI, as they were prevented from having tanks or other types of heavy weaponry by the Versailles Treaty, at least until they unilaterally set its terms aside once Mr Hitler was firmly ensconced as the country’s mad dictator. Although it closely resembles the earlier Sd.Kfz.231, the 234 was based upon a more modern ARK chassis, while the 231 was built on the GS chassis. The 232 Schwerer Panzerspähwagen was available in 6- or 8-wheeled formats, with the number of wheels appended to the designation, and it was the 8-Rad that the basis for the 234, following on later in 1940 and learning from issues encountered with earlier designs. The new turret was designed by Daimler Benz, while the engine was a Tatra air-cooled diesel unit, powering all eight wheels that were also all steerable. To add to the ease with which the vehicle could be driven, there was an additional driver’s station at the rear of the crew cab, complete with a steering wheel that gave it the capability of reversing out of trouble with similar speed and dexterity as driving forward – a facility that came in very useful in the event of an ambush or stumbling into an enemy position. The 234/2 was the initial variant and the most prevalent, as well as being the best known, probably because of the (comparatively) large 50mm gun in the turret. Oddly, it was replaced less than a year later with an open-turreted /1 variant that mounted a smaller 20mm cannon, and concurrently another variant with a short-barrelled 75mm K51 gun under the /3 designation. This variant was also short-lived, increasing the fire-power substantially with an installation of the powerful Pak 40, although the extra weight caused extreme stress to the 234’s chassis and running gear. All the variants after the /2 were open-topped, leaving the crew exposed to the elements, incoming plunging fire and explosive charges or grenades lobbed in by the enemy, however the /1 was fitted with a clamshell of wire mesh to deflect such nuisances. To keep the enemy out of range however, a single MG42 was coaxially mounted with the main gun - a very capable machine gun against troops and lightly armoured targets. The armour built into the vehicle could deflect light-arms and smaller cannon rounds, with 30mm of sloped armour on the turret, and up to 100mm thickness on the mantlet, but at the rear the protection was only 10mm, as was the roof of the /2. Over 100 /2 vehicles were made before it was superseded, and despite being the most well-known, there were around 200 of the later /1 produced, with roughly 90 of each of the other two made before the war ended. The Kit This is a new boxing of a very recent tooling from those dynamos at MiniArt, a new Interior Kit boxing, and more than likely not the last. We’ve had other kits of the type in this scale previously, but not for some considerable time, and it’s fair to say that armour modellers with an interest in this genre are very pleased. The kit arrives in a standard-sized top-opening box with a painting of a 234/1 engaged in some desperate anti-aircraft action against Allied P-47D Thunderbolts, ably demonstrating the theme of the kit. Inside the box are twenty-three sprues of various sizes in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on the outer pages on glossy paper, with profiles of the decal options on the inner and outer covers. The detail is excellent, extending to the full interior for this boxing, following on from the initial exterior-only version we reviewed recently. The full gamut of hatches can be posed open or closed to expose the details, PE parts, and the surface is fully realised with weld seams and exterior structure well defined. Construction begins with the lower hull, starting with the narrow bottom section where the drive-shafts and suspensions are located, which is made from three faces, two internal bulkheads, and two steering actuators, one at each end. The hull floor has tread-plate moulded-in and a cut-out ready for the interior, sandwiching it between the two outward sloping sides, drilling out holes in the parts before assembling them, adding a rear bulkhead behind the engine compartment. The two assemblies are mated, fitting the first parts for the suspension to the sides, and a U-shaped stiffener in the centre of the lower portion. The interior starts with the two drivers’ positions, fitting the floor section after drilling out holes for the pedals, three for the rear driver and four for the main driver at the front, adding linkages down both sides of the engine compartment, and fairings on the left side of the hull, plus a battery compartment and fairing on the right that is built from five parts, fitting a shallow frame in front. The drivers have their steering columns and wheels attached in recesses, the main driver’s being a more comprehensive installation. A two-part seat is fixed to the rails moulded into the floor, with a linkage and gas mask canister to his left, and a two-part magazine stowage box fitted to the floor behind his station. The battery rack is wired into a distribution box on the right wall, using wire from your own stock, then inserting the two levers to the driver’s right, noting that the scrap diagram shows that the wires to the battery are braided and thick to cope with the level of current. The rear driver’s station has the same pair of levers fitted, mounting a seven-part two-box radio rack, another small equipment box to his right, and another ammo stowage box behind and to the right of the front driver. The rear driver also gets a two-part seat, a seven part dash panel, and a skeletal bulkhead is inserted into a groove on the inside of the hull. A folded MP40 on a bracket is fitted above the right-hand side door within easy reach of the rear driver. The engine is a substantial block, weighing in at 14,825cc, and is a V12 diesel manufactured by Czech manufacturer Tatra, and it is supplied in its entirety in this boxing. The piston banks are each made from four parts, held together by the end-caps, adding extra parts around the underside, and at both ends, utilising a lot of parts that includes the ancillaries, twin cooling fans, fan belt, dynamo, and if you feel brave enough, you can wire up the engine using the extra steps that are labelled for “advanced modellers” that run side-by-side with the main steps. The completed engine is an impressive size, and covered with detail, especially if you continue with the wiring that helps to integrate it with the chassis. A pair of four-part tanks are inserted to the sides of the engine, and another shell stowage box is made from six parts, with two extra parts for the doors either in the open or closed position, as you see fit. It is fixed in place at an angle on two rails over the rear differential, bracketed by a pair of contoured tanks, then the side doors and their locking mechanisms are installed in either open or closed position if you want to show off your work. The upper hull interior has several appliqué panels, gas mask canister, the driver’s instrument panel, another multi-part radio box and other inner structural parts, plus the vision ports applied, adding hinge-points for the driver’s hatch and building three vision ports for later installation, and an optional stowage box for some decal options. The upper hull’s exterior has the engine deck aperture filled with cooling vents that can be posed open or closed by using different parts, with two solid doors at the sides that can also be posed open, locating it in the cut-out in the back of the deck, then adding the rear bulkhead with hatch that has four “milk bottles” on the inner face if posing it open, mating the upper and lower hull assemblies, fitting the vision ports and a hatch with separate hinges and handles in the square cut-out in the glacis plate, again in either open or closed position, as you might have guessed. Suspension and steering parts are assembled on the underside of the hull, making up four axles and leaf-springs on each side, replacing left with right-handed hubs on the relevant side. Six triple-handled Jerry cans with PE central weld-flares and filler cap are made and wrapped in PE straps that secure them to the vehicle later, adding armoured panels to the ends of the hull, and spare wheel bracket on the rear. Both sides of the fenders/sponsons have the rear carcasses of the flush stowage boxes installed, adding the external parts such as the jack, mufflers for each of the rear fenders, and another long stowage box and a shorter box for two decal options, finishing the sponsons and their ends with additional parts. The doors can be fitted open or closed by using different parts, with a selection of stowage boxes made up and used for different decal options. The spare wheel is the first to be made, making it from either four centre laminations and two exterior faces to create a detailed tread pattern, or using a simpler two-part wheel structure if you prefer, fitting it to the bracket on the rear of the vehicle, in between the mufflers on either side of the sloped rear of the sponsons. More stowage boxes and Jerry cans are mounted on and around the engine deck, again for the decal options, plus pioneer tools and a fire extinguisher on the left sponson. Additional detail parts are dotted around the hull, including width-marker lollipops, rear-view mirrors for some markings, headlight, an antenna with PE star-shaped tip, then crushing it all while you fit the tyres (I hope I’m joking here), which are made from four laminations and exterior faces, one of the inner parts a tapering hub that will be seen once the wheels are installed on the four axles. Assembly of the turret is begun by adding a ring and three detail parts to the turret floor, then fitting manual rotation wheels, a central stack of equipment with two seats on either side at the bottom, the assembly made from eighteen parts in total. The 20mm cannon barrel can be made one of two ways, with either a moulded-in flash-hider, or a separate PE part that is rolled into a short cone and glued to the tip of the styrene barrel after clipping off the end. There are two breech options with different details, with a magazine well added on the left side, building the slide from an impressive six parts, and making the cradle with integrated dump bag from another seven. Sighting gear is made for the right side of the breech from a combination of PE and styrene parts, fitting a guide for the spent brass on the same side. A coaxial MG42 is fitted into the carrier, adding a breech cover, four-part support, and a small “snail” drum mag on the left of the breech before mounting it to the left of the main gun. The assembly is fitted into the turret base on a pair of trunnions with extra detail parts, an aerial in the rear of the floor on a wide C-bracket, fixing a cylinder and a PE bracket to the floor before mounting the individual turret sides with brackets at the top, the rear faces with stowage boxes that have PE clasps, and the mantlet with three slots to accommodate the MG42, the 20mm gun, and the optics from left to right as you view it from inside the turret. The protective mesh turret top is made from PE sheets that are folded into shape and detailed with brackets, PE stiffeners, and styrene C-brackets on the outside, with a choice of which direction they face, depending on whether you wish to pose the top open for action, or closed to protect the crew from incoming grenades or satchel charges. When closed, the brackets sit folded over the roof panels, but when open they are flipped out to the rear, with scrap diagrams showing how they should look for each option. The turret is dropped into the aperture on the hull, which doesn’t have a bayonet lock, so you’ll need to be careful when inverting the model once completed. Markings There are six decal options included on the sheet, all wearing a base coat of dunkelgelb (dark yellow) with a variety of camouflage schemes that expose more or less of the base coat. One option has a patchy coat of winter white distemper, and another has an almost complete overcoat of green. From the box you can build one of the following: Unidentified unit, Wehrmacht, Western Front, 1944 Unidentified unit, Liege, Belgium, August 1944 Unidentified unit, East Prussia, February 1945 Pz.Aufkl.Abt.116, 116. Panzer-Division, Germany, Spring 1945 Pz.Aufkl.Abt.8, 8. Panzer-Division, Czechoslovakia, Spring 1945 Unidentified unit, Wehrmacht, Germany, Spring 1945 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 A comprehensive kit of this eight-wheeler armoured car that goes forward just as well as in reverse, complete with an entire interior, and a hull full of detail that extends into the engine compartment, and includes enough PE to give it extra realism, particularly around the turret. It’s another of MiniArt’s output that deserves to go on to be the de facto standard in this scale. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  2. 2cm FlaK 38 WWII German AA Gun (35717) 1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd Starting life as a 20mm naval anti-aircraft gun that was developed into the FlaK 30, the FlaK 38 was a further development of the basic gun to improve the fire rate that had previously been less than inspiring. The improvement meant an increase from 120RPM to 220RPM, but also benefitted from a decrease in all-up weight, which eased its way into service with the army in late 1939, just in time for WWII. As well as the usual trailer mount and three-legged base, a lightened mounting was also created for the gun, using a tripod that reduced the weight still more, and made it air-transportable by paratroopers into active warzones. Following accelerated acceptance trials, the new design began service with the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe in the summer of 1940, where it became the standard light-weight Flak defence weapon for close-range operation, where it was highly effective. Crews also found that the weapon was devastating against personnel and lightly armoured ground targets, which it could attack due to its wide range of elevation. This led to it being mounted on the back of trucks, half-tracks and other armoured vehicles where it could perform both roles, which it continued to do until the end of the war. It was considered less effective by the RLM later in the war due to the increasingly well-armoured fighters it was ranged against however, and in addition to being fielded in Zwilling (twin) mounts, it was also used in a quad-mount for increased fire density, with the intensity of replacing it with a 40mm gun if the war had lasted longer. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from our friends at ICM, and although many other companies have their own FlaK 38s in 1:35, this is their offering, and it’s a fresh tooling that has been created using accurate dimensions and proportions in an effort to obtain a highly realistic rendition of this important German anti-aircraft gun. The kit arrives in a shallow top-opening box with a captive flap on the lower tray, and inside are two sprues of grey styrene, a small decal sheet and instruction booklet printed in colour on glossy paper, with painting and decaling profiles on the rear pages. Construction begins by trapping the gun barrel with moulded-in breech between the two halves of the cradle, sliding the assembly into the armoured mantlet if you are building the variant with a splinter shield, with two L-shaped supports holding the cradle to the mantlet. Two hollow circular pivots fit on the sides of the cradle, slotting a magazine into the breech on the left side through the hole, and these locate in a two-layer trunnion on each side, choosing which elevation piston to fit underneath to set the barrel for anti-aircraft or travel and anti-personnel operations. The trunnions locate in slots on a circular base that has tread-plate moulded into the sides, fitting elevation and rotation mechanisms to the right and at the rear of the trunnions. The sighting gear is mounted on an arm above the rear of the gun, and a pair of seats are built and installed, one on each side over the tread-plated areas. The option with the splinter shield has a horizontal support tube fitted on two brackets at the front under the barrel, mounting two sections of shielding on the bottom tube, adding upper brackets to steady the parts during firing and transport. Two small tabs are removed from the circular pivots if you are fitting the shield, and an additional shield is fitted on a bracket in front of the gunner’s position, which is raised above the main shield for sighting the gun. Three additional magazines are supplied to store in the ready-mag box on the left side of the gun for either variant. The base consists of two layers with a large circular cut-out in the centre, plus three feet, one on each outrigger, lowering the completed gun into position as the final part of the build. A pair of diagrams show the completed model in armoured and unarmoured finishes to assist you with making your choice and ensuring you build it using the correct parts. Markings There are four widely varying decal options on the small sheet, starting with a Panzer Grey early option, and adding three more with a base coat of dark yellow (dunkelgelb), with various camouflages over the top, including a winter distemper and two variations of red and green or grey stripes. From the box you can build one of the following: Eastern Front, 1942 Italy, 1943 Western Ukraine, 1944 East Prussia, 1945 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 a modern tooling of this common FlaK gun, which is well-detailed, although you will have to drill out the muzzle yourself to add extra realism. A good choice of decal options that include instrument faces add to the appeal. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of
  3. Kugelblitz Flak Panzer IV (BT-039) 1:35 Border Model via Albion Alloys Unlike the later Tiger and Panther tanks, the Panzer IV had been designed in the years leading up to the outbreak of WWII, and was intended for a different role than it eventually played, which was as an infantry support tank with the mobile artillery function rolled into one. It was a heavier tank than the previous numbered types, and was well-designed, although it did suffer from the typical WWII German over-engineering that made them complex, expensive and slow to build, as well as difficult to maintain. The type went through several successive variants including enhancements such as a more powerful engine to give better performance, improved armour thickness for survivability, and latterly the provision of a larger gun with a longer high-velocity barrel that was based upon the Pak.40, but with shortened recoil mechanism and an enlarged muzzle-brake that helped contain the powerful recoil from the 75mm round. The new gun was a direct reaction to the first encounter with the T-34 in Soviet hands, an incident that shocked the German tankers and their superiors, as they knew very little of its existence until they had to fight it, and didn’t like the way their shots were prone to ricocheting off the sloped glacis. In true Nazi style, many variants with various intended uses were developed by the engineers from the base chassis, including four anti-aircraft options, starting with the Möbelwagen that looked like a skip dumped on top of a turretless tank, with a 37mm Flak cannon thrown in it, which garnered the nickname Moving Van in English. Its successors were the Wirbelwind and the Ostwind, mounting four 20mm or a single 37mm cannon respectively in a lightly armoured cupola. The final variant was too late to be of any use on the battlefield, and was the Kugelblitz, perhaps recognising that the anti-aircraft installation was as useful defending against ground attacks as aircraft. It mounted two 30mm Mk103 cannons in an armoured turret that had been developed for fitting to U-Boats, but only five pre-production instances were built before the war ended. It is thought that one of the examples was pressed into service toward the end of the war, as its rusted hull was found in 1999 buried at the site of a battle in central Germany. The Kit This kit is billed as a new tooling, however it shares a few sprues for the running gear with other kits in the Border range that are also based upon the Panzer IV chassis, so if you have one of their Jagdpanzer IVs, you might recognise them. The kit arrives in a top-opening box, and inside are eleven sprues and a hull part in grey styrene, a pair of turned and milled brass barrels for the 30mm cannons, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE), a length of braided wire, a tiny sheet of decals, and the instruction booklet that has colour profiles on the rear pages. Detail is good and up with the best Panzer IV kits, bringing link-and-length tracks, metal barrels, and a full depiction of the ball-like turret that is the core of the model. Construction begins with the lower hull, which is slide-moulded with plenty of detail on all external surfaces, and includes the cooling vents on the sides of the engine compartment, simplifying the build a little. Suspension bump-stops and other components are added to the sides, and the rear bulkhead with idler axle mounts, towing eye on two mounting plates, making up sixteen sets of paired road wheels that slide onto the twin bogies, handed to each side. Eight paired return rollers, two-part drive sprockets and four-part idler wheels are also made up and installed along with the two final drive housings at the front of the hull. This leads us to the tracks, which are of the link-and-length variety, offering the modeller a simplified variation on independent links, whilst easing the task of obtaining the correct sag, particularly to the upper run, which has substantial sag moulded-in, a conspicuous feature of this tank’s track system. Eight individual links are installed around the drive sprocket along with a short diagonal length then three more individual links, with a similar process carried out at the rear, but with one lower link transferred to fit around the idler wheel, and an extra link moulded into the diagonal section. Detail is excellent, with just a few small ejector-pin marks on the insides of the longer lengths that you can hide if you think they’ll be seen through the muck and grime of weathering. The hull can now be fitted with the glacis plate, with inspection hatches and armoured hinge covers plus brackets, laying a seven-link length of track across the fixed central panel as DIY appliqué armour. The fenders go on next, adding slide-moulded mudflaps to the ends, cutting off the short schürzen brackets moulded into the outer lip of the fenders. The upper hull is made from the roof and side sections, adding crew hatches to the front, a couple of grab-handles and a tool box over the engine bay, in what is at this stage a pretty standard Panzer IV hull. It is mated with the lower hull, and has the upper glacis place with bow machine gun installed on the right with a barrel stub through the centre, and the driver’s armoured vision port on the left, fitting small return springs to the sides of the front mudguards, and two more at the rear, whilst installing the rear of the engine bay and two armour panels over the exhaust baffles, followed by the covers, which are depicted as open for this boxing. Twin exhausts with slide-moulded exits are mated with their armoured bases that have a PE top, and joined to the rear bulkhead, fixing the four towing eyes to each end of lengths of braided wire and supporting them on a bracket mounted at the top of the rear bulkhead. A full set of pioneer tools, including fire extinguisher, axe, track tools, detailed jack and block, a shovel and various other small parts are dotted around the upper surfaces, adding an open-topped stowage box with four road wheels and two spanners in them on the left fender, and more track links from custom links on the right side. A single headlight is fitted on the front of the left fender, a Notek convoy light on left rear fender, and even more track links are draped across the lower glacis, held on by a bracket welded to the forward towing mounts. Building the turret begins with the short breeches of the mk 103 cannons, which are each three parts, mounting them in a boxy surround, with the two barrel bases projecting through holes in the front face. Gun controls and a door are applied to the rear of the assembly, gluing the door in the lowered position, then adding two side supports and the curved armour to the front. Ammo boxes and arched feeder chutes are attached to the sides, building the roof from several parts before fixing it over the gun assembly. A curved rear panel has hinges added to it before it is glued to the back of the roof, and the whole gun mount is bracketed by two domed pivots that have additional details glued to the inner surface, doubling up the thickness of the rear panel to enhance the detail further. A clamshell hatch with a periscope on one side are inserted in the cut-out in the roof, either open or closed at your whim, then trunnions are installed over circular bearings on each side of the turret, which glue to the sides of the turret ring on recessed areas. Covers are fixed over the ammo boxes with hinges on the inner faces, and the conical splinter shield is lowered over the assembly, clearing the barrel stubs first, and mounting two retaining pins along the break-open portions of the shield. Outer shrouds are slotted over the barrel stubs, and the brass barrels are inserted into the centres, choosing whether to install the travel lock on the rightmost barrel shroud before you install it on the hull. The brass barrels have plenty of detail on them, with a milled muzzle brake at the tips, depicting the side exits, although these don’t extend into the barrel, but are recessed to give the impression that they do. A little black paint will improve that impression once the model is painted. Markings There are two markings options included on the decal sheet, both of which are possibly fictional, although as at least one of the pre-production examples saw combat, one or more could be real. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are supplied on a tiny sheet, with just four Balkenkreuz provided, one pair in white, the others in black and white. Both are well-printed and suitable for the task, but don’t forget to apply them before any weathering, so they look as grimy as the paint work. Conclusion This is an interesting and unusual variant of the Panzer IV, with plenty of detail and a couple of fun camouflage schemes. You probably can’t tell from the side profiles, but the colourful option looks like a Catherine wheel from above. Highly recommended. Available in the UK in all good model shops. Review sample courtesy of
  4. Bofors 40mm AA/AS Gun PT Boat Weapon Set #6 (N72044 for Revell) 1:72 CMK Navy Series by Special Hobby The American PT boat series were fast, agile and well-armed to deal with the Japanese enemy in the Pacific theatre for the most part. Revell’s kits of these famous sea-borne warriors are quite old now, so upgrades to the level of detail to modern standards is a worthwhile proposition. This set is number six of a growing series of sets that are now available for the basic kit, and it depicts the Bofors 40mm Anti-Aircraft cannon that saw extensive use both at sea and in the air during WWII, which was based upon a Swedish design that had been instigated as an improvement on previous Vickers designs. They were often seen mounted on the foredeck of PT boats on a substantial boxy installation, and the gun was used almost ubiquitously by WWII Allied Navies. The set arrives in a white cardboard box with a captive top flap and sticker showing the contents. Inside are three bags of parts, the traditional cast resin in grey, and the 3D printed parts in a bright orange colour. Additionally, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) provides more parts, and all this is protected by the instruction sheet and a few polystyrene foam peanuts to increase stability of the parts during transport and storage. The resin parts are attached to their casting and print bases in sensible locations to reduce clean-up work, and once the parts are liberated, they can be put to good use. Construction begins with the resin base, onto which the rotating floor and rear rails are added from the 3D parts, fitting PE foot rests and orange resin seats with PE backrests. A curved 3D profile is fixed to the rear of the floor, then the gun is built up based upon the breech, two of which are included, one for horizontal and one for elevated poses. Your choice of breech receives the barrel at the front, a resin ammo feeder that locates in a recess in the top of the breech, plus a PE twin ring-and-bead sight so that both crew members can sight the gun. It is mounted between two trunnions with PE elevation winder handles that should be glued in opposition to each other, adding twin elevation pistons under the front for the elevated option, and a curved resin part to the rear. The horizontal breech also has a choice of installing a covered ammo feeder instead of the open feeder that has rounds ready for firing. The base of the completed gun assembly is then plugged into a recess in the centre of the floor of the rotating portion to finish off, and a replacement stowage box has been included to improve details on the deck as a bonus. Markings There are no decals in the box, and no painting instructions are provided, as these will be found in the base Revell kit. Conclusion If your kit comes with a 40mm Bofors, this is a great way to upgrade the detail simply. If it doesn’t, you can install it on the front deck to add some individuality to your model. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  5. TOR M-2/SA-15 Gauntlet Update Set (36473 for Zvezda) 1:35 Eduard We reviewed Zvezda’s new Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) tracked Anti-Aircraft vehicle in June of this year, which you can see here if you don’t yet have one and are interested. This new set is designed for that kit, and as usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, it arrives in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. The set is etched from a large brass sheet and contains a large number of parts, many of which are grilles and perforated plates. You will need to have some 0.6mm rod on hand to complete the first section, which is a set of louvers on both lower sides of the turret, after removing the chunkier moulded-in detail. The radar dish is fitted with a curved PE edge on the underside; twin exhausts in the turret cut-out have their detail removed and are replaced by two-layer PE grilles; the trapezoid mesh grilles on the ends of the turret sponsons have their mesh material replaced by two layers of PE on each side; the letter-box shaped engine exhaust on the side of the hull has the mesh material replaced by PE as well, with a PE back-box behind it that is shown in place on a scrap diagram with another small rectangle cut from the styrene and backed with a shallow box; the various engine deck hatches have their vented sections scraped back and are replaced by perforated panels of various shapes with lifting handles on some of them. The large radiator bath on the rear side of the deck is also outfitted with a new grille to replace the material after reducing the height of the edges, and you are advised to use a steel ball to sag the mesh afterward to depict the after-effect of the crew walking on it. There are many more grilles on the engine deck, and the front hull section has its raised patches removed and replaced by more perforated panels that have small upstands folded under them to raise them from the deck; the pioneer tools are all upgraded with detailed shackles after removing the chunky styrene renditions, and the big two-man saw is replaced entirely by a new blade and protector from PE, using short lengths of 0.5mm rod for the handles. A number of brackets are fixed to the glacis, and on the rear two more are used to retain a spare track link in amongst the stowage boxes. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  6. Flakpanzer IV “Wirbelwind” 2cm Flak 38 (03296) 1:35 Revell Wirbelwind translates to Whirlwind in English, and this was the name used for the converted Panzer IVs that were fitted with a new open turret that contained a quartet of 2cm Flak 38 anti-aircraft guns mounted within, and were used as mobile air defence wherever it was needed. Around a hundred were made and some were used as troop support due to the concentrated fire being useful against enemy personnel and soft-skinned vehicles, but for aircraft a larger calibre was deemed necessary, resulting in the creation of the Ostwind with a single 3.7cm Flak 43 in a more streamlined turret, although this too was open-topped due to the fumes from the cannon. The Kit This is a reboxing of a fairly old Academy kit of the type, but for its age (it’s a child of the 80s) it looks to be one of their better kits, and while it isn’t cutting edge, the main giveaway that it is of an older vintage is the space for an electric motor in the hull and that some of the ejector-pin marks are a little rougher and there are a few small sink marks here and there, such as in some of the stowed magazines. The kit arrives in an end-opening box, and inside are five sprues and two hull parts in a sand-coloured styrene, two sprues of flexible poly-caps, two lengths of black flexible tracks, decal sheet and instruction booklet. Unusually, construction begins with the rear bulkhead, adding a flat tank and exhaust muffler along with a few other small parts. Then the road wheels are made up in 16 pairs with a poly-cap in the centre, which is also the case with the drive sprocket and idler wheel, the latter being of the tubular outer ring type. Eight pairs of return rollers are also glued together, after which the lower hull is prepared with bogey parts, four per side. The final drive housing is fitted to the sides of the hull, the return rollers are added, and the road wheels are attached, two per bogey plus drive sprockets and idlers on each side. Small hooks, towing eyes and stiffening webs for the idlers are stuck on as this progresses, then the tracks are joined by four pins that are melted flat by careful use of a hot screwdriver blade or similar. The upper hull is fairly complete from the box, but has forward fender sections, rear bulkhead, front glacis armour panel with driver’s slit and bow machine gun added, plus a host of pioneer tools, grab-handles, fire extinguisher, crew hatches and convoy lights dotted around. Side panels, spare road wheel carriers and other stowage boxes finish off the upper hull, then attention turns to the turret and its weaponry. The quad mount for the Flak cannons is made up first, with a pivot at the centre and elevation and sighting mechanisms glued to the assembly. The guns are mounted on either side of that assembly on a circular plate, with a narrow, curved shield slipped over the barrels and curved 20mm magazines plugged into each breech. You’ll need to drill out the muzzles if it concerns you, then the two paired barrels are pressed into position on either side of the base, using no glue other than for a few connecting rods. There is a gunner’s seat at the rear of the base, and here is where the crew figures that are included on the sprues come in handy. Four figures are included, in the shape of gunner, two loaders and a commander figure, all dressed in winter overalls with spats over their boots to keep out the mud or snow. The gunner is sat on the seat before installation, then he and the guns are inserted into the lower section of the turret along with two racks of magazines, ammo can and two additional seats for the other two seated figures, who are inserted into the turret before it is closed up due to the close fit of the walls. The commander figure is standing, and can be posed with field glasses up to his eyes, scanning the sky for targets. The top shroud of the turret is placed on top of the assembly along with a pair of supports and the panel in the centre between the guns. The last steps include joining the upper and lower hulls together, twisting the turret into place on its bayonet connector, adding some spare styrene track lengths at the front, towing ropes at the back, and then stretching some sprue to fit a 70mm antenna on the base at the rear left of the hull. Markings There are two markings options in the box on a small sheet that contains little more than four black crosses with white outlines, and two white serial numbers. From the box you can build one of the following: Unknown unit Summer-Autumn 1944 Factory fresh vehicle with production number after delivery to Normandy, 1945 It’s a small sheet, but the 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 It’s not the most modern tooling, but it shouldn’t tax anyone too much, and a lot of folks still prefer flexible rubbery tracks, of which these are nicely done. You might want to fill in a few sink marks and ejector-pin marks here and there, or just have fun with it. Recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  7. QF 3.7-inch AA gun (fixed) pic taken by Rich Ellis at Nothe Fort, Weymouth.
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