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Dear fellow Britmodellers, this is my 1/72 Otter Reconnaissance Car from Polish company IBG. I painted with Gunze/Mr.Hobby acrylics and weathered with pastel chalks, artist oils and graphite pen. I added small pieces of bare metal foil to the mirrors. The link rods for the front windows are from stretched sprue. Photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. This light armored car was based on the Chevrolet C15 chassis, produced by Canada during the Second World War for British and Commonwealth armies. The markings represent a vehicle of HQ Platoon, 11th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, in May-Sur-Orne, France, August 1944. Thank you for your interest, best greetings from Vienna! Roman

Hi all, returning from my brief encounter with 1:72 vehicles, I have pleasure in presenting this my next challenge. I stand to be corrected of course, but to my knowledge there are no previous WIPs for this model, so I am still very much hacking through uncharted jungle with mine! Another kit maker I'd never heard of until my recent visit to the shop at Bovington; indeed another type of AFV I'd never heard of until that same moment. I can't explain why I was drawn to it to the detriment of the many other fine kits they had for sale there, other than the box art was pretty cool: Unless anyone cares that much I won't bore you with sprue shots as they would be fairly numerous, and the instruction pamphlet could cause injury if dropped on an unsuspecting toe. Suffice it to say that on first inspection the moulding quality looks to be very good, with some nice decal options and even a smattering of PE thrown in for good measure! Oddly enough, there doesn't appear to be much in the way of after-market for it. Black Dog do a stowage add-on set for it, but it's mostly bundles, boxes etc which I believe I could do myself with scrap bits and pieces. At the time of posting I've not actually started on it, but the first opportunity I get I will do so and of course share my experiences with you good people. Tally ho, Yellow!

During the 1980s, the USAF Test Pilot School operated two DHC aircraft. The first was an NU-6A Beaver, USAF s/n 53-2781. This bird was used to familiarize TPS students with the peculiarities of a tail-wheel aircraft and to demonstrate the effects of propeller torque. The other de Havilland was the UV-18B Twin Otter. This aircraft was acquired in early 1982 and was used to demonstrate single-engine operation and test techniques for a twin-engine aircraft. Here is ‘781 as it looked in 1981. A ‘civil’ paint scheme and registration, N384M. The only hint that this is a USAF aircraft is the Air Force Flight Test Center 6510th Test Wing tail band and a very small USAF serial beneath the tail band. It wore this scheme until at least 1985. By 1988, the Beaver acquired the white and red scheme that had become standard for the 6510TW test support fleet The Twin Otter was unusual in that it operated in a civil guise until 1987, displaying the civil registration N300LJ. The only visual indicator that it was USAF was the Test Pilot School emblem on the vertical tail. Interestingly, a bogus USAF serial number was used for administrative purposes, 74-0437 being used on its USAF fuel card. This same serial number appears in my flight records for a couple of hops in the Spring of 1982. When a USAF serial number was issued for the airframe, 87-0802, national insignia were added in the prescribed manner, along with standard unit markings of the USAF Systems Command shield on the tail along with the abbreviated serial number, tail code and tail band. The 6510TW shield is on the outer portion of the engine nacelles and the U.S. Air Force legend was added to the nose. The US Naval Test Pilot School also operated a Beaver as BuNo 150191, shown here in 1982 And an Otter, BuNo 144670, shown undergoing maintenance when my TPS class visited Pax River in 1982. Thanks for looking, Sven

Otter Armoured Car 1:72 IBG Models The Otter armoured car was a Canadian designed light reconnaissance vehicle, similar in layout to the British Humber armoured car but based on the Chevrolet C15 military truck chassis. The Otter was both larger and heavier than the Humber, but made up for this with a more powerful six cylinder liquid cooled engine. It was protected by armour up to 12mm thick and was armed with a Bren light machine gun and a Boys anti-tank rifle. The Canadian manufacturer produced over 1700 examples by the end of the War. It saw action with the Canadian Army in the Italy and France, and was also used by the South African Army and the RAF Regiment. After the War it was used by the Netherlands and Jordan. Since the release of their first indigenous kit in 2008, IBG Models have built up an impressive catalogue of models, most notably in 1:35 and 1:72 scale. Don't make the mistake of assuming they are another manufacturer of limited run kits from Central and Eastern Europe though. Having seen their recent output, I would place them at or near the top of the order of manufacturers of small scale AFV kits. This new kit of the Otter is a very welcome addition to the range. It arrives packed into a surprisingly large top-opening box inside which are a two frames of crisply moulded grey plastic, a small fret of photo etched brass parts and a small decal sheet. The plastic parts are crisply moulded and well detailed, although the attachment points for a lot of the parts are rather thick. Construction starts with the engine. This is comprised four parts, including a separately moulded exhaust manifold and fan. The axles and brake assemblies can also be constructed at this stage, along with the leaf spring suspension units, all of which fix to the simple ladder-type chassis along with the drive shafts, transfer box and exhaust. The small, open top turret for the Bren gun can also be assembled at this stage. Apart from the Bren itself – which is a lovely piece of moulding – the turret includes a detailed mount and seat. Once the oily bits have been fixed to the chassis, the floor pan of the vehicle can be assembled. This includes most of what you need to detail the interior, including two multi-part seats, the steering wheel, instrument binnacle and other details. A couple of Lee Enfield rifles are also included for stowage on the inside of the hull sides. The frontal armour includes separately moulded hatches for the driver and commander/gunner, but the instructions show them fitted in the closed position only. A little scratch building might be necessary in order to pose them in the open position. My one real problem with this kit is the fact that although the hatches can (theoretically) be opened and there is a pretty decent interior, IBG have not included the Boys anti-tank rifle. I can't for the life of me understand this decision, particularly as it is shown on the box artwork. Much as I like this kit and am grateful to IBG for producing it, this is a real head scratcher. Anyway, the rest of the build in straightforward, with much of the hull made up of separate parts and nice details such as individually moulded tools (the hallmark of a well-detailed AFV kit in this scale). Extras such as a photo etched pierced steel plank and mud flaps are also included. Markings are included for Otters of the 12th Carpathian Rifle Division of the Polish II Corps, Italy and HQ Platoon, 11th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, 2nd Infantry Division, Normandy 1944. Conclusion I really enjoy reviewing IBG's kits, and it's great to see them turn out another cracker in the form of this Otter. Detail is excellent and, apart from hefty attachment points, the quality of manufacture looks to be up there with the very best. The inclusion of photo etched parts is welcome too. It's a shame that crew figures, such as those included with their recent Type 89 tank, haven't been included. It's even more of a shame that the Boys anti-tank rifle is missing too, but nonetheless this kit can still be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of IBG Models