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Continental R975 Engine (35321) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd Originating as the Wright R-975 Whirlwind, the Continental engine was a license-built engine that was used in a number of US tanks and other armoured vehicles, far outstripping its service as an aero-engine. Tanks such as the M4 Sherman, M3 Lee, M7 Priest, M18 Hellcat (spookily I'm watching a documentary with this type right now) and many other lesser known examples used the engine, which was generally placed with the drive-shaft horizontally, leading at least in part to the high profile of some of these vehicles. Without the airstream of flight to cool it down it had to be cooled actively by a huge fan to prevent overheating. It was a complex 9-cylinder radial engine and was often lifted out of the vehicle when deep maintenance was required as it was just easier to have it mounted on a trestle than fishing around inside the close-fitting hull. The Kit This is a stand-alone kit from MiniArt that can be used alone, or in conjunction with any suitable AFV kit with the rear opened up for a repair-shop diorama or vignette. Arriving in a top-opening figure-sized box, it holds five sprues in grey styrene along with an A4 3-sheet concertina layout instruction booklet. The detail is excellent, and you can build either an early or late variant by exchanging some parts along the way, as well as including a trestle stand to mount your finished engine on. Construction begins with the piston bank with delicate cooling fins well-defined in the single-piece moulding. The bell-housing is added to the front along with push-rods at the rear, then a set of conical panels that focus the incoming air on the pistons with a cross-member support resting on a wedge on the bell-housing. The huge fan fits over the tin-work, and behind the exhaust collector ring and ancillary parts of the motor are fitted, interlacing into a complex-looking assembly that is reasonably simple when completed according to the instructions. The early exhaust is supplied in two parts, while the later version has separate pair of tubes that come out closer together. With all that glued and painted, the engine mount is glued in, passing around the ancillaries on both sides, then adding more parts to complete the equipment block. Finally, another v-shaped tube is attached, having early and late versions again, as do the additional small hoses that complete the engine. The Trestle is made up from five parts replicating the metal maintenance stand with castors moulded into the bottom frame to make moving the engine a much easier task for the maintainer. It is specifically designed to hold the engine on both sides of the front engine mount, exposing much of the motor’s greeblies for inspection. Markings There are no decals, but throughout the build the colours are called out using a boxed-in number that relates to the chart at the end of the instructions. Codes are given in Vallejo, Mr. Color, Lifecolor, Tamiya, AK Interactive, Mission Models, Hataka, AMMO, plus their names in English and Cyrillic. Conclusion The R-975 was used in a surprisingly large range of WWII Allied fighting vehicles, so anyone wanting to either show off the power plant next to their latest creation, or as already mentioned in a diorama scene, this is an excellent choice as it is loaded with detail and has early and late options that are sensibly placed to left and right of the page. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of