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My entry for this GB will be the HobbyBoss 1:48 F-18A Hornet She will be in the markings of VFA-25 'Fist of the Fleet' circa 1987 whilst the squadron (part of CVW-14) was assigned to USS Constellation stationed the Western Indian Ocean / Arabian Gulf providing air cover during Operation Earnest Will So the build will be another learning exercise I will be adding the Aires Resin Cockpit - eek! Painting ... Black-basing & mottling, Make it up as I go along haha etc to give a grubby , well used exposed to the elements finish Kit pictures will go here when Aires cockpit is delivered!

This is the Hobby Boss 1/700 kit, very nice indeed. All I added was a couple of Eduard crew figures. The base is polystyrene block so I could scoop out the distinctive wake pattern around the bow. I only used the upper half of the hull to make it waterlined. The rest of the sea is putty and white glue waves, acrylic painted, with gloss heavy gel for the water effect. This is a unique Special Operations attack sub in the USN - its predecessor (USS Parche, a veteran Sturgeon-class SSN) became the most highly decorated ship in the US Navy history. Looks like a long and successful career awaits the Carter! Alana widget widget

Hi all, Since I built my Defiant I’m now on a turret roll, so I’m going to drag myself kicking & screaming from my OOB comfort zone and attempt to build Hobby Boss’ “British Fleet Air Arm Avenger MkI” as an FAA Tarpon. From what I can tell, Hobby Boss have taken their “standard” US Avenger kit, sourced a new set of decals, made up a couple of paint schemes and issued it as an FAA version. All of the shortcomings and errors of this version of the kit have been well documented – thanks to @tonyot, @85sqn, @trickyrich and others for easing my journey of discovery with their excellent and insightful information (see below). Armed with that rapidly assimilated wisdom here is the kit box: Shots of the sprues – the detail level and crispness of the parts all bode pretty well: Transparencies – again, very nice: Kit decals – not so nice. Not convinced of the accuracy of these – the red of the national insignia alone is quite hallucinogenic. They’ll go straight into the dodgy pile… I’ve sourced a couple of extras for the build; Eduard instrument panel (which is intended for the Accurate Miniatures kit, so we’ll see how that goes), Eduard masks (a must for all that glazing!) and Eduard harnesses. So Eduard everything, basically. I’ve been hankering after a BPF build, so I’ve decided to model this aircraft; JZ257 of 849 Sqn, HMS Victorious, January 1945. I believe that this aircraft would have taken part in the Operation Meridian raid on the Palembang oil refinery in January 1945 (849 Sqn was certainly involved). Here’s a shot of Tarpons on that raid (albeit from a different squadron flying off HMS Illustrious): From what I can tell, JZ257 was one of the second batch of 200 Avenger MkIs delivered to the FAA. The aircraft would therefore have been equivalent to a Grumman-manufactured TBF-1C. This aircraft would have had the following configuration: - 2 x 0.50” machine guns mounted in the wing roots, as opposed to the single cowling-mounted gun of the earlier batch. The kit has these gun ports - ü. - Observer’s position in the central cockpit, including radar scope and plotting table. The kit as it stands is configured as a ‘standard’ US aircraft with electronics in place of the Observer position, so this is where the major surgery needs to happen. This will be my first real attempt at scratch building, so I’ll give it my best shot! Grumman-built aircraft had the cockpit, Observer’s position and turret interior painted in Bronze-Green. - The remainder of the aircraft interior including the bomb bay was painted Interior Green (with the exception of the cowling interior, which was Light Grey). - I have seen varying claims that the undercarriage and bays were painted Insignia White, the underside colour or even Zinc Chromate Yellow. The colour photo showing the faded paintwork a bit later looks to me like white might be the go – it’s definitely not ZCY (although other Eastern-manufactured aircraft could have had this configuration). - There is varying information around the ventral 0.3” gun (and whether it was replaced with an F24 camera). I’m going to stick with the gun – the decal sheet shows it in place so it must be right, right? - Round blister windows over the original window cavities. These provided significant improvements in visibility – they’re nicely shown in the shot below (forward of the access door): The kit windows are as fitted to the original batch of MkIs so are incorrect. I’m going to try crash-moulding these blisters, which could be interesting (think I’ll leave that til last) In terms of paint finish, from what I can tell the Grumman aircraft would have been finished in ‘standard’ FAA colours i.e. Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky – I will be using these colours as opposed to those recommended on the Xtradecals ‘Yanks with Roundels’ sheet (although the decals look to be excellent otherwise). I also see a Corsair and Hellcat somewhere in my future It’s well documented that most BPF aircraft were heavily weathered and faded so I’ll push my weathering skills to the limit. The shot below is a great guide as to the level of fading of the paintwork, as well as being a very evocative shot of the conditions in which the aircraft (and crews) operated from temporary land bases (Ceylon, I’m guessing?). Another one (showing a Hellcat, but you get the general idea). It’s interesting to note that there’s very little bare metal on show, though the paint has worn through to the zinc chromate primer in heavy-wear areas. I might try and replicate that effect. And a couple of nice reference shots: The camo demarcation looks to be pretty hard from the above shot, so no freestylie on the airbrush… The kit contains a number of ordnance options including rockets, torpedo, depth charges and 500lb bombs. I’m guessing the Tarpons on the Palembang raid would have used the latter (and the kit rockets are bobbins), so I intend to do the same as shown above. From what I have read Hellcats & Corsairs took the role of combat air patrol and ground attack on that raid, so it kind of makes sense that the Tarpons would be bombing (along with Barracudas, if memory serves). The raid is detailed in the excellent ‘Carrier Pilot’ by Norman Hanson, which is well worth a read. So with all that under my belt I shall gird my loins and crack on with the build! Thanks for looking – until next time, Roger

First finished (almost) model since returning after 20 year hiatus from the hobby! As a trial run for a future Martlett build, I picked a HobbyBoss FM-2 quickbuild kit. Vallejo ModelAir EDSG/DSG/Sky, XtraDecal 72-140 set (expect more FAA in the future). minor quibbles to be fixed/underway: - outer gunports should be closed (not used). - antenna wire (backorder). The Sky underside is not supposed to be straight @ trailing edge, but in true software dev fashion that will be included in the next version!

German Kanonen und Flakwagen of BP-42 (82925) 1:72 Hobbyboss The Wehrmacht made good use of the European railway network during the Second World War, moving men and material to the front line quickly and efficiently. The railway network became an obvious target for sabotage, which in turn meant that armoured trains became a natural requirement, particularly for operating in high risk areas where partisans might be present. Unfortunately the rapid development of ground attack aircraft meant that armoured trains became ineffective for the role they were intended to fulfil. Mike reviewed Hobbyboss's BR57 armoured locomotive some time ago (quite by accident, because he forgot to check the scale) and I've reviewed various iterations of their armoured wagons. This is the latest in the series, depicting a variant armed with quad flak and cannon turrets. In classic Hobbyboss style, the kit is tightly packed into a sturdy box, with everything meticulously wrapped to ensure it survives the journey from China to wherever you are. The kit is very simple, composed of a handful or slide-moulded parts, two sprues of smaller parts and two sprues holding Hobbyboss's standard track sections. Also in the box are the instructions, a glossy A4 painting sheet and a small sheet of generic decals. The detail of the slide-moulded parts is excellent, with crisp and fine surface details. Construction begins with the lower chassis. The axles and wheels fit in from above and are then boxed in so there is no see-through effect. As with other similar kits from Hobbyboss, the brake blocks are moulded in place on the wheels, while the leaf spring suspension units are separate parts. The buffers and couplings are provided for either end. The 2cm Flakvierling 38 mount is a mini-model in its own right, although in usual Hobbyboss style, the part count isn't excessive. There are some nice touches, including spare magazines and a nicely moulded splinter shield. The howitzer turret is a very simple affair by comparison, and it should be noted that none of the turrets can be posed in the open position (not that there is any interior detail in any case). The track is split into four sections, the joins in which are cleverly matched to the natural breaks and joined with nicely moulded fish plates. If you really want to hide the joins properly, some 00 gauge ballast could be used, while the detail could really be ramped up with some proper track. Only one colour scheme is included on the sheet, for a vehicle with a base of Dark Yellow, over which Red brown and Field Green stripes are applied in a similar fashion to contemporary armoured vehicles. Given how filthy railway rolling stock gets due to the soot and grease, there is huge scope for the builder to express him or herself with weathering. Conclusion I thought Hobbyboss had finished their range of German armoured trains, but apparently not. This model - ho ho - rails (that pun never gets old) against the trend of producing models with ever increasing levels of detail and complexity. It will make a great model when paired with Hobboyboss's BR57 and other armoured wagons. Whatever you decide to do with it, you can't deny that it's nice to have a mainstream model of this interesting subject. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

The IAR 80 was a small-series Romanian-built WW2 fighter plane. Built with very limited resources and under many unfortunate circumstances, the plane behaved pretty well during its operational life, on all fronts. This little forgotten fighter is really close to my heart so I was very happy to see that Hobbyboss decided to offer a plastic kit dedicated to IAR 80. Now let's see what's in the box: Dry-fitting of the main pieces is very good and also the kit seems to be pretty accurate in dimensions. It really looks like an IAR80:) But this is where the good news is over, because the kit has some errors probably caused by sloppy documentation work (no wonder for Hobbyboss). Hopefully, with some love & tenderness, most of these can be properly addressed. I also acquired the separate PE instrument panel released by Yahu Models for IAR 80. It can be seen in the above picture with the canopy and windscreen. Although it looks like difficult to assemble (it is not the traditional just-stick one-piece IP from Yahu, this set consists of many small pieces that must be assembled together), I strongly recommend it for those interested in IAR 80, because it is a HUGE improvement over the kit's parts. The kit itself comes with a small PE fret containing the seat belts...but unfortunately these seatbelts are not correct for the early time-frame of the IAR 80 series. This type of seatbelts were indeed fitted to IAR 80/81 but only starting with summer 1943. They were also usually retro-fitted to earlier models of the plane, but of course starting with 1943. A 1940-1941-1942-early 1943 machine would not be fitted with such seatbelts. As said, the IAR 80 was produced in very limited numbers, only some 450 machines were built and it was used operationally only by the Romanian Air Force, mostly on the Eastern front and home defense missions. As an example, when fighting the Americans during the Ploesti oil fiend missions, it was usually mistaken with the Fw190:) Anyway, there is very limited knowledge about this plane and a very good reference work on the subject is the book "Romanian Hunter" authored by Radu Brinzan. Very solid work, it contains lots of details needed for an IAR 80 model. I greatly recommend it to anyone interested. One of the main problems of the Hobbyboss kit is that the original decals are almost unusable and the painting instructions are largely incorrect. There are decals for 2 airframes in the box: aircraft no.42 and aircraft no.137. But no.137 was a 6-gun wing model, while in the box we have the 4-gun wing model. Of course, some modifications could be made, but the idea is that OOB the markings for no.137 are incorrect for this model. The remaining variant, no.42 airframe, was indeed a 4-guns wing, but the King Michael's crosses are not the right ones for this model. But again Radu Brinzan came to help with this lovely decal sheet dedicated to early series on IAR 80, which is offering some very nice and correct markings and painting instructions for the earliest IAR 80 airframes. Another problem is related to the guns. As represented in the kit, they are not very correct and anyway under-represented. The early IAR 80 series were armed with 4 FN machine guns. These were some Belgian variations of the classic Browning 303. I looked to find some decent aftermarket for these and I found appropriate only this Quickboost set designed for the new Airfix P40B kit, which contains 4 browning 303 barrels. While not perfect, they are the closest match I could find for the FN's installed in the early IAR 80. Anyway, I intend to represent an early IAR 80 airframe, one of the machines built in the first series. The airplane was built in small batches, first series spanning from No.1 to No.20. I will probably go for a pre-war marking (1940 to early 1941 time frame), so the most probable candidates are no.2, no.9 or no.17 from Radu's decal sheet. That's all for the moment . Thanks for looking and cheers,

Hobby Boss is to release in late January 2020 a 1/18th Messerschmitt Me.262 Schwalbe kit - ref. 81805 Source: http://www.hobbyboss.com/index.php?g=home&m=article&a=show&id=151&l=en V.P.

Leopard C1A1 Canadian MBT (84502) 1/35 HOBBYBOSS via Creative Models In 1978 the Canadian Army selected the Leopard C1 (Leopard 1A3 equivalent) to be its new Main Battle Tank. These would be called the Leopard C1 in service. The majority of these tanks were stationed in Germany with some in Canada for training. Additional armour was then applied during an upgrade phase with six tanks getting an enhanced thick MEXAS (Modular Expansive Armour System) kit made by IBD in Germany added, These MBTs were designated C1A1. These MBTs would serve with Lord Stratcona's Horse in the 1999 KFOR mission in Kosovo. The Kit This kit from HobbyBoss is a re-boxing of the standard Leopard 1 with different parts for the Canadian MBT. Construction starts lower hull. Various suspension components are fitted, and the ends of the main torsion bar system and its arms are fitted. The wheels can then be built up and attached, followed by the tracks which are individual links. The next step is a surprising one in that it looks like a full power pack is provided. While the engine has many parts and looks quite detailed there is no detailing for the engine bay, and the actual block is missing all of its hoses and connector, though there is nothing stopping the modeller going to town here if they want to do an open engine bay. Then the rear bulkhead is made up. There is virtually no moulded on parts here with a lot of small detail parts making up this bulkhead. The bulkhead can then be fitted. Moving to the top main hull the engine deck hatch is added, along with some side parts and the drivers vision blocks, the rear exhausts are then added along with quite a few detailed parts such as tools , mirrors etc. The lower and upper hulls can now be joined and the rear bulkhead fitted. PE parts for the engine deck are then fitted. The tracks are then made up and fitted. Apart from mentioning there are 80 links per side the instructions make no further mention of the tracks at all. They are individual links which must be glued together and there is a small jig for the straight sections. The additional MEXAS armour packs are added to the sides of the hull and the front. The rear tow cables are then added. Work now moves to the turret which has good casting detail moulded in. After the turret is together the large rear mounted turret storage bin is made up and added to the turret, Next up the roof mounted machine gun and its mount can be added. The MEXAS armour units can then be assembled and added to the turret. Next up the hatches and aerial mounts are added. The gun and its additional armoured mantlet are built up. These are then added to the turret after it is assembled. Like a lot of Leopard kits the kit barrel is not entirely accurate due to the complexities of the real thing and the limits of plastic moulding technology. The smoke dischargers are added to the turret and its then ready to be mounted to the hull. Decals Decals are provided for 1 KFOR unit though there is no information on this provided at all in the instructions. Conclusion This is a great looking kit from HobbyBoss and their attention to detail is to be commended. Overall Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

While some of my other builds are at the fragile stage to be transported when I go to my local model club meet on a thursday night to still keep me busy I had started on this one but I will still be concentrating on getting the other two completed first. So here we have my first Hobby Boss kit and my first pre-Dreadnought HMS Lord Nelson and as some of you may know I try to keep to ships built in the area of my home town and this one fits the bill of being built on the river Tyne at Jarrow This is how far I have got after a couple of sessions at the club this will be mostly out of the box only adding my first wood deck and the rigging using the WEM spreaders for the aerial set up. Does anyone have any info on the correct color as the instructions are identical to Trumpeter and are probably wrong I think I should be heading for a Dark Grey 507B beefy

KJ-200 Chinese AEW Aircraft (83903) 1:144 HobbyBoss via Creative Models Ltd The KJ-200 NATO Reporting name Moth (Or Y-8 Balance Beam) is a Chinese AEW / Airborne Early Warning Aircraft. The key component of the system is an Active electronically scanned array (AESA) phased array radar antenna in which the radar beam is electronically steered without moving the antenna. This is mounted on a Shaanxi Y-8 which is itself based on the An-12. The PLA Air Force currently have 7 of these, and the PLA Navy 3. The Kit Until now I don't think there has been a kit of this aircraft. In 1.144 it is still large but manageable for most modellers. The kit arrives on 5 sprues of grey plastic, a clear sprue, a small sheet of PE and 4 individual propellers (these are packed in their own box for added protection). The whole cockpit/nose section of the aircraft is moulded in clear plastic. Construction starts by adding some internal parts and the windows to the main fuselage sections. Then the main internal floor is made up with the front gear well on the underside of this, Internal bulkheads are fitted as is the main cabin roof. At the front the basic cockpit is completed. Instruments are provided for the panel as decal. The cabin/cockpit is fitted into the main fuselage and this is closed up. The nose section can then be added along with the wings. There is a single part upper with left/right lowers, once these are together wing tips need to be added. The tailplanes are also then added with there end fins. The engine nacelles can then be built up and added along with the landing gear. Lastly the single part props are added and the radar beam id made up and added. The final thing to do is a to add a series of PE blade aerials to the fuselage though the instructions don't show them being added. They are just there in the last steps. Markings There is a small decal sheet as the aircraft carries minimal markings. Just National insignia, serials and warnings for the props. Decals are printed in house and have good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This is a really nice rendition of this unusual aircraft. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Pz.Kpfw.VI Sd.kfz.182 Tiger II (Henschel Feb 45 Production) (84532) 1:35 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Often called the King Tiger (incorrectly) the Tiger II was a German Heavy Tank of WWII and was the successor to the Tiger I tank. The tank still had the thick armour of the original Tiger, however this was sloped like the Panther. The Tiger II weighed in at 70 tonnes putting increasing pressure on the drive train which was based on the original design, The tank featured a long barrelled 88mm gun. Even though orders were placed for 1500 tanks production was severely disrupted by allied bombing with only 492 being produced. Henschel won the design contract for the Tiger II and all the examples were produced by them. Two turrets were designed for the Tank; the rounded Krupp design (erroneously called the Porche turret), the second was the easier to produce angular turret (again erroneously called the Henschel turret). The Kit This is a re-boxing with additional parts of HobbyBoss's King Tiger from 2018. The kit arrives on 14 sprues of plastic for the tank, 11 track sprues,; separate upper & lower hulls, the turret casting, a small PE fret and a metal gun barrel. Overall a nice looking package. Construction starts with the lower hull; the torsion bars for the suspension are attached connectors for the wheels There are 10 pairs for road wheels for each side which are interleaved. Idler wheels, drive sprockets, and return rollers are also added. The tracks go on next. These are individual links which clip together, however care must be taken as the different sides build up slightly differently, this is not helped by the instructions not saying how many links are need for each side. Next up the rear bulkhead for the tank is built up with the exhausts being added. Once complete this can be added to the lower hull. The front MG and mount are then added into the upper hull. At the back the engine deck is made up and added along with tools and towing cables. PE mesh parts are provided for the intakes. The front hatches are then added along with the side skirts. The top hull is now added to the rear hull. Once its on the front mud guards are put in place along with a pair of towing shackles. At the rear another pair of mud guards go on. Moulded cables are provided for the sides. Work now moves to the turret. The commander copula is built up, next up the comprehensive main gun and breach are constructed. There is no interior in the rest of the tank, but the internals for the main gun are pretty good. The barrel is attached and HB provide an open muzzle, or a cover one for you to use. The Gun is added to the turret base and the main part of the turret added over it. The rear hatch is added along with the command copula. Spare track links are provided for mounting to the turret if the modeller wants. The turret is then joined to the hull. Markings Despite this being a big model, it has a smallish decal sheet. markings are provided for 6 different tanks, however there is nothing on the painting guide to indicate anything about them at all. Conclusion There is no doubt this will make up to a great looking model of the King Tiger. It is a shame HobbyBoss cant put in anything about the markings at all. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hallo again This is my first car, after 30 years of modelling. A totally new field for me. The accuracy of kit parts is amazing. Like resin on a/c kit parts. This model is from Hobby Boss. I want to show this models, as new from the workshop. Not battle used. Just minor weathering. Happy modelling

Hallo again Now I started a new field. Tank and trucks from WW2. Most of them German and Russian. Moderns will be from the IDF. Panzer IV models are not good designed. Now I work on a Dragon kit, but HobbyBoss was much better! It is a totally different approach in opposition to aircraft modelling, which I do for 3 decades already. I want to show this models, as new from the workshop. Not battle used. Just minor weathering. Happy modelling

Hallo again Now I started a new field. Tank and trucks from WW2. Most of them German and Russian. Moderns will be from the IDF. It is a totally different approach in opposition to aircraft modelling, which I do for 3 decades already. I want to show this models, as new from the workshop. Not battle used. Just minor weathering. Happy modelling

In 2020-2021, HobbyBoss is to release 1/72nd Grumman F8F Bearcat kits. - ref. 87267 - Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat - ref. 87268 - Grumman F8F-1BBearcat - ref. 87269 - Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat V.P.

In 2020-2021 Hobby Boss is to release 1/48th CH-47 Chinook kits. - ref. 81772 - Boeing CH-47A Chinook - ref. 81773 - Boeing CH-47D Chinook More variants to follow? Most probably. To be followed. Source: http://www.moxingfans.com/m/view.php?aid=7201&pageno=1 V.P.

HobbyBoss is to release 1/48th Sukhoi Su-17M-4 & Su-17UM-3 "Fitter-K & G" kits - ref. 81758 & 81759 - in 2016-2017 Source: https://www.facebook.com/TrumpeterModel/photos/a.103538733138062.8169.103526326472636/537476479744283/?type=3&theater V.P.

I am finishing the Hobbyboss TA-7C Corsair and the wing tanks that comes in the kit are too skinny and long. A couple of questions as references are very few. Can anyone recommend a replacement ? Can l use the tanks from another aircraft such as the A-4 Skyhawk /A-6 Intruder ? Is there another A-7 that provides the correct shape and size of wing tank ? I have a Fujimi A-7 Corsair in the stash but they look too short. Regards Robert

Dear Modellers The ubiquitous Army truck in early 1950s' Russia was the ZIS-151. A largely reverse engineered Studebacker 6X6 which had so impressed the Soviets in WWII. The kit is a pleasure to build, and I could not stop myself detailing the engine and adding a new resin figure from TANK. The mechanic and officer are also from TANK and the resin wheels from Panzer Art hope you like it comrades? Andrew

Hobby Boss is to release in 2015-2016 a new tool 1/48th MiG-31 "Foxhound" kit: MiG-31 - ref.81753 and MiG-31B/BM - ref.81754. Bad news for the AMK project (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234946328-mig-31bm-avantgarde-model-148/?hl=foxhound#entry1401014). Source: https://www.facebook.com/TrumpeterModel/photos/pb.103526326472636.-2207520000.1418316818./393657967459469/?type=1&theater Still no 1/48th Yak-28 "Brewer" family nor (injected) Il-28 "Beagle"... V.P.

Something different for me, but nice simple kit Amazingly it starts with the cockpit Seems to have painted up quite nicely. Peter

German VK.30.01(P) Hobbyboss 1:35 The VK 30.01 (P) was the official designation for a medium tank prototype proposed in Germany. Two prototype hulls were made. The tank never entered serial production, but was further developed into the VK 4501 Tiger (P). The VK 30.01 (P) was sometimes known, and referred to, as the Porsche Typ 100. The requirements for the new development of a 30-tonne schwere Panzerkampfwagen included the ability to mount at least the 7.5 cm KwK L/24 main gun with a desire to fit the 10.5 cm KwK L/28 if possible. Later, in 1941, the German Army encountered —unexpectedly— heavily armoured enemy vehicles such as the Soviet T-34 and KV-1. Plans were then made to instead mount the more effective 8,8 cm KwK L/56. Krupp were directly contracted by Porsche to produce the turret to house the 8,8 cm KwK L/56 and the two teams worked together to develop it for the VK 30.01 (P) chassis. A fully developed drawing with the Krupp turret was completed, dated 5 March 1941. The Krupp turret would be used on both the Porsche and the Henschel Tiger. Uncommon for tanks at the time, Porsche selected a gasoline-electric drive. The front drive sprockets for the tracks were driven by two electric motors mounted forward in the hull. Two air cooled V-10 gasoline engines, mounted toward the rear of the vehicle, were each connected to a generator to produce electricity. The generated electricity was then used to power the motors. Each engine produced 210 PS at 2500 RPM; giving a total of 420 PS available to drive the generators. The model The kit comes in the standard stly of box we’re used to from Hobbyboss with an artist’s impression of the tank on the front. Inside there are four sprues and three separate parts in the Caramac coloured styrene, five sprues of dark, browny coloured styrene, a small sheet of etched brass and a small decal sheet. The mouldings are well up to their usual standards with no sign of flash or other imperfections, just a few moulding pips to clean up before use. The thinness of the instruction booklet shows that, besides the tracks the build will be a fairly simple one. Construction begins with a number of sub assemblies, notably the suspension arms, idler axles, road wheels, return rollers, drive sprockets and idler wheels. The suspension and axles, along with the drive gearbox covers are then glued to the lower hull which is a single piece moulding with some nice detail on the underside, which unfortunately you won’t see once complete. The road wheels, drive sprockets, idler wheels and return rollers are then glued into their respective positions along with two large tow piece brackets onto the rear plate. The tracks are now assembled from individual links,, now, each link is attached to the sprue by five gates, so there will be plenty of cleanup required before they can be glued together, 78 link per side. Personally I don’t like this style of fixing the links together and will probably by aftermarket metal tracks for when I build this. With the tracks fitted, I would normally leave this till the end of the build to aid painting, but since I’m going by the instructions will stick with it. Inside the lower hull just forward of the rear plate there is a support bulkhead fitted, while on the plate the two, six piece exhausts are assembled and glued into place. Moving onto the upper hull, the two track guards are fitted with PE sections on the inboard fronts before the guards are glued to the hull, as are the four hatches on the engine decking. Tow more large towing brackets are glued to the lower glacis plate and the additional armour plate fitted to the driver and gunner’s positions. On the engine deck there are four PE grilles to be fitted while and either end to the track guards, large angled support brackets are attached. The driver’s vision port and gunners four piece machine gun are glued into position. The turret comes as a single piece section to which the rof is attached, along with the commanders ten piece cupola and four piece gunners hatch. The mantlet is a two part unit which is then fitted with the co-axial machine gun and trunnion mounts and the whole assembly glued to the front face of the turret. The cartridge exit door is glued to the rear of the turret, and the three piece gun with another three pieces making up the fume extractor is glued into the mantlet. The completed turret is then fitted to the hull completing the build. Decals. The small decal sheet contains just a pair of German crosses and two sets of individual numbers from 0 to 9 so that you can make up your own identifying number for the turret side. Conclusion This would be a nice simple kit from Hobbyboss, if it wasn’t for the way the individual track links are assembled, that said the whole kit could be built in a weekend and would make a pretty good mojo reviver. While the vehicle never went into series production there are no reasons why the modeller couldn’t detail it up with pioneer tools and other equipment and use it in a diorama or vignette. Review sample courtesy of

French R39 Light Infantry Tank 1/35 HOBBYBOSS via Creative Models Designed by Renault, this was an interwar light infantry tank used by the French army in their unsuccessful defence of their homeland at the beginning of WWII, after which it remained in service with the German forces as a beutepanzer, where it was either used in second line service, or heavily converted to a makeshift gun carriage and used as a self-propelled howitzer. It was originally intended as a replacement for the diminutive FT-17, but due to the sloth in re-training their crews, they were still ill-prepared even on the eve of war. The R39 is a variant of the R35 but armed with the heavier 37mm SA38 L/33 gun allowing it to operate in an anti-tank capacity. When Germany pounced, there were almost a thousand R35s in service, although they had been found unreliable, poorly armed to combat tanks, and with too little armour. All the remaining vehicles were taken on charge by the Germans and more than a little tinkering with cutting torches began. Some had their turrets removed to use as small gun emplacements, while others were thoroughly butchered to become tank destroyers, although in doing so the original chassis was horribly overloaded, leading to slow, breakdown prone vehicles that must have been loathed by their crews. By the end of the war a small number were left and used by the French until they were replaced with more capable tanks. The Kit This is a re-boxing by HobbyBoss with a new sprue for the heavier turret on this version. The kit arrives in a fairly small box with a divider keeping the sprues from rattling about. Inside are seven sprues, upper hull in sand coloured styrene; two sprues containing the tracks; a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, decal sheet, colour painting guide and black and white instruction manual. The engine is first to be constructed, with a two part block that is heavily detailed with additional parts, a great many of which are absolutely tiny, which conspires to give you a very nicely depicted motor for your R35 chassis. Work then commences on integrating the engine with the lower hull, beginning with the sand-cast rear bulkhead, which has the idler tensioning devices and towing hook added, after which the radiator, cooling fan and ducting are assembled with the power-take-off wheel projecting from the rear of the box. The hull itself is made up from two side panels and a floor piece, into which the radiator housing, a styrene/PE stiffening plate and driver controls are added. The side panels are fitted out with three return-rollers and a final drive housing per side, and four bogies with two wheels per housing and a big suspension spring are built up. Two more solo bogies, two drive sprockets and two idler wheels are also constructed, and are installed on the suspension mounting points on the hull sides. At the same time the driver's seat, fuel tank and engine-mount bulkhead are ensconced within the hull, and the rear bulkhead closes up the rear. After adding a few more driver controls and their linkages, the drive-train is dropped into the hull, with a transmission housing added to the front, and driver-shafts to the sprockets complete the drive-train. Given their small size in 1:35, HB have decided to go down the link and length route with the tracks. The straight track runs are made up from six parts with a few links in between the curved lower sections, and twelve individual links at each end. Each of the individual links have three sprue gates, while the lengths have additional dead-end tabs that ensure against short-shot links, and also double as ejector-pin positions, saving the delicate detail from marring by miss-alignments. The upper hull is detailed inside with the driver's instrument panel, plus a choice of actuator for his vision hatch, which can be posed open or closed. The final drive inspection hatch is added along with some PE parts, as is the lower part of the driver's hatch, with the upper section added in the open or closed aspect, depending on your whim. The upper hull is then closed up and a host of pioneer tools are threaded through their tie-down blocks to be added to the sides of the hull together with the silencer/muffler and exhaust, the feeder pipe for which comes from the rear of the vehicle. Their is a large tail on the rear of the tank like those seen on the Renault FT-17 to assist on crossing trenches, a throw back from WWI. This is then built up and added to the rear of the tank. The new turret which is the feature of this boxing is then built up. The main hatch is added along with the vision opening on each side. The 37mm gun is quite detailed and is a full gun both sides of the mantlet. The rear loading hatch is then built up and added, The turret base can then be added and the completed turret placed on the tank. Decals Decals are provided for one rench tanks, and one re-used by the Germans. No details regarding units etc are provided. Conclusion This is a great looking kit from HobbyBoss and their attention to detail is to be commended, it is good to see more lesser known tanks being kitted. Overall Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Leopard C2 MEXAS Canadian MBT 1/35 HOBBYBOSS via Creative Models In 1978 the Canadian Army selected the Leopard 1A3 to be its new Main Battle Tank. These would be called the Leopard C1 in service. In 2000 it was decided to upgrade these tanks with the fitment of surplus German Leopard 1A5 turrets. At the same time armour protection was increased, and a new fire control system was added. In 2006 some of these tanks were sent to Afghanistan where they would be fitted with an additional upgrade, the MEXAS system. This stands for Modular Expandable Armour System which was developed n=by IBD Deisenroth Engineering in Germany. This is a new composite armour system which can be added to many vehicles include tanks to increase survivability in these modern conflicts where IEDs and RPGs feature heavily. The Canadians also fit a version to their LAVs. The Kit This kit from HobbyBoss is a re-boxing of the standard Leopard 1 with different parts for the Canadian MBT. Its worth noting the kit does not feature the thermal blanket and cooler fitted at a later date by the Canadians in Afghanistan. The kit looks good on the sprues with lots of detail parts. Moulding is first rate. Construction starts lower hull. Various suspension components are fitted, and the ends of the main torsion bar system and its arms are fitted. The wheels can then be built up and attached, followed by the tracks which are individual links. While at first glance thy look good and there is a jig provided in the kit to make short runs of track however it will take some work to get them right; and the end connectors are moulded to the links so will not articulate like the real ones when the runs go round the end sprockets. The next step is a surprising one in that it looks like a full power pack is provided. While the engine has many parts and looks quite detailed there is no detailing for the engine bay, and the actual block is missing all of its hoses and connector, though there is nothing stopping the modeller going to town here if they want to do an open engine bay. Then the rear bulkhead is made up. There is virtually no moulded on parts here with a lot of small detail parts making up this bulkhead. The rear mud flaps are fitted to the bulkhead at this point. The bulkhead can then be fitted. Moving to the top main hull the engine deck hatch is added, along with some side parts and the drivers vision blocks, the rear exhausts are then added along with quite a few detailed parts such as tools , mirrors etc. The lower and upper hulls can now be joined and the rear bulkhead fitted. PE parts for the engine deck are then fitted. The additional MEXAS armour packs are added to the sides of the hull and the front. The rear tow cables are then added. Work now moves to the turret which has good casting detail moulded in. The mounting points for the MEXAS armour are all moulded to the turret. After the turret is together the large rear mounted turret storage bin is made up and added to the turret, Next up the roof mounted machine gun and its mount can be added. The ECM system and MEXAS armour units can then be assembled and added to the turret. Next up the hatches and aerial mounts are added. The gun and its additional armoured mantlet are built up, There are two guns in the kit and the one with the mounting straps for the muzzle referent mirror on it. These are then added to the turret after it is assembled There is a canvas mantlet cover to add, this is a basic representative of the real thing and aftermarket detailed one are available to replace this one, in addition to would seem the Canadian's replaced the original covers with one of their own making. Like a lot of Leopard kits the kit barrel is not entirely accurate due to the complexities of the real thing and the limits of plastic moulding technology. The smoke dischargers are added to the turret and its then ready to be mounted to the hull Decals Decals are provided for 4 tanks in Afghanistan though there is no information on these provided at all in the instructions. Conclusion This is a great looking kit from HobbyBoss and their attention to detail is to be commended. Overall Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Ukraine KrAZ-6322 "Solider" Cargo Truck 1/35 HOBBYBOSS via Creative Models KrAZ is a Ukrainian company which produces trucks and other specialist vehicles based in Kremenchuk in the Ukraine. The 6322 is an 6x6 truck designed for off road use and in extreme conditions making it ideal for military use. Like many trucks is comes with a wide variety of body types, the "Solider" version being the general cargo truck type. It is powered by a V8 turbocharged diesel engine giving it a top speed of 75 mph. The Kit This is a new kit from HobbyBoss of the 6322. The kit looks good on the sprues with lots of detail parts. Moulding is first rate. and the kit looks comprehensive, with PE parts, window masks, and rubber tyres.Construction starts with the V8 engine. This has quite a lot of detailed parts, in fact the first 3 pages of the instruction booklet detail mainly with its construction. The gearbox is also built up and then attached to the engine. Transmission boxes are constructed at this stage for later placement in the chassis. The chassis is then built up from two major side rails with some cross components, the engine/gear box is added along with the main transmission box with a shaft linking it to the gearbox. A chassis mounted winch is then built up and added to the chassis along with its PTO shaft. Rear light mounts are added at the rear while at the front the main bumper is assembled and added. The exhaust is also then added. Next up we move to the rest of the transmission and suspension components. The front axle is made up and added (the leaf springs being moulded onto the chassis rails), the transmission shaft then connects this to the main transmission. Shocks are then added and the wheel hubs can then be made up and added. The steering box and connector shafts are then added. The two rear axles share a common mounting to the chassis and leaf springs are added for this. The individual axles are added to this and the transmission components added and connected up with their drive shafts. The fuel tanks, battery box, air tanks, and drivers steps are all then assembled and added onto the chassis. All of the wheels and tyres are then put together and added. This now completes the chassis. We now move onto the vehicle cab, The seats are made up and added to the cab floor and the floor mounted controls added. The dashboard, steering column, and wheel are mounted to the cab front and the front glazing is added. This sub assembly is then mounted to the floor. The back of the cab with its glazing is then added, along with the doors which can be open or shut as required. Lastly the roof is put on with its lights being added. The font wings are added with the grill then going on as well. The bonnet is added and the air cleaner made up and mounted to the side. Last up the mirrors and wipers are added to the cab, The cab is then mounted to the chassis. At the rear of the cab an equipment locker and spare wheel carrier are made up and added along with the spare wheel. Last up for construction is the rear cargo body. The underside stiffeners are added then four sides can be added to the main floor. Seats familiar to every military truck are then added to the sides, these can be raised or lowered as needed, Back on the underside the mounting points and mud flaps are added, The body can then be added to the chassis. If wanted a large one part moulded rear cargo body canvas cover is provide. Your truck is now complete. Decals Decals are provided for for one Ukrainian truck and one Russian one Conclusion This is a great looking kit from HobbyBoss and their attention to detail is to be commended, the only downside is the one part cover for the back, it looks too toy like, and there are no seperate supporting frames for the back to display the kit with the rear cover off. It is thought good to see more military softskin vehicles being kitted. Overall Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of