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While doing some cleaning, I came across another model started years ago. There are still quite a few of them in my closet and the studio is also swamped with them and it's high time to finish them too. That's just for the record. Coming back to the model, I have a model of the Polish fighter plane PZL P.11g "Kobuz" in 1:72 from the IBG Models offer (cat. no. 72523). This is the last version of the P.11 and was built in one copy. The outbreak of war prevented further work on it. There are no photos or plans of what it looked like, so a model will be built based on what IBG Models offers in its kit. This will be such a hypothetical (what-if) version. The kit comes with a choice of two engine covers as well as two undercarriage options, wheels alone or in covers like the PZL P.24. There are two types of propellers on the frames too, two-blade and three-blade. In the manual, IBG included three paint schemes, two of which are the typical gray/haki/blue and the third is camouflage, and these are the ones I chose. On the PZL P.11g "Kobuz" Lt. pilot Henryk Szczęsny scored two air victories on September 14 and 15, 1939. Returning to the model I had the interior ready, but the fuselage not yet closed. Of the extras, I used products from Yahu Models, which I thank for providing them. And they are these kits: YMA7212 Instrument panel YSM7227 Accessoriess

A few days ago IBG Models started a countdown teaser with clues about a future aircraft kit project. Guess what it is. November 8th - clue n°5. https://www.facebook.com/ibgmodels/posts/4597216843733257 five major manufacturing plants November 9th - clue n°4. https://www.facebook.com/ibgmodels/posts/4600004156787859 four production versions November 10th - clue n°3. https://www.facebook.com/ibgmodels/posts/4603505069771101 triple-blade propeller V.P.

IBG Models is to release in 2018 (?) a 1/72nd Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze / PZL P.24 kit - ref. 72523 Source: http://www.modelarovo.cz/norimberk-2018-jak-jsme-ho-videli-my/ V.P.

IBG Models is to release a family of 1/72nd Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze - PZL P.11 aircraft kits. - ref. 72517 - PZL P.11a Polish Fighter - ref. 72518 - PZL P.11b in Romanian Service - ref. 72519 - PZL P.11c Polish Fighter - ref. 72520 - ?? - ref. 72521 - PZL P.11f - ref. 72522 - PZL P.11f on skis - ref. 72523 - PZL P.11g Kobuz Polish Fighter - ref. 72524 - PZL P.11g in Greek Service Sources: http://www.modelarovo.cz/norimberk-2018-jak-jsme-ho-videli-my/ https://nowosci.plastikowe.pl/aktualnosci/zapowiedzi-ibg-models-pzl-p-11a-1-72-pozna-jesien-2018/ V.P.

My second GB this year and my second GB ever, the last one being the M3/M4. Only just managed to finish the last one in time, so I am going to try a bit harder to get this done with at least a week to spare. In my youth I used to only make aircraft, but since coming back to the hobby a couple of years ago I have only been doing AFV’s. I do have an urge to do an aircraft, but sticking with what I know for now. The CMP FAT (Field Artillery Tractor), officially the Chevrolet 8440/CGT Tractor, 4x4, Field Artillery, was an artillery tractor of the British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. CMP stood for Canadian Military Pattern and was applied to a number of trucks, artillery tractors and utility vehicles built in Canada that combined British design requirements with North American automotive engineering. As with other FATs, the CMP was usually used to tow either the 25 pounder gun-howitzer or the 17 pounder anti-tank gun. I don't think much of IBG's book art, but having looked at reviews i think the kits are ok. Quite a lot of parts, but when looking at the instructions i have realised a lot of them are not used. Guessing there are quite a few generic parts as IBG also do a Chevy fuel tanker and a general service truck. A little bit of PE and 2 marking options for Canadian 5th and 14th Artillery Regiments. I like the look of the A Troop 5th (Westmount) Field Battery, 5th Field Artillery Regiment RCA, 2nd Canadian Infantry DIvision, Netherlands, April 1945. Although I could look at more traditional "Mickey mouse" schemes. We will see...................... George

The IBG Models 2022 catalogue is online. Downloadable here: http://www.ibgmodels.com/instr/IBG_Models_KATALOG_2022.pdf The aircraft kits pages: V.P.

IBG Models is to release in late December 2020 a 1/72nd Bedford QL Refueller kit - ref. 72082 Source: https://www.facebook.com/ibgmodels/posts/3633241903464094 Box art & 3D renders V.P.

Source: Link (Facebook)

Here is my IBG Models 1:72 scale A10 Cruiser Tank Mk 1A completed to represent “Cool”, the tank of Lt (at the time) Robert Crisp of 3RTR in Greece in 1941. Belatedly I have discovered that the camouflage (colours and pattern) is probably spurious - see the build thread here for some interesting commentary from Mike Starmer: Brush painted in a combination of Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics. A good fun build. Thanks for looking. As it happens I was in Fremantle this morning having a coffee with my daughter and happened across this in a second hand bookshop in which Robert Crisp describes his experiences as a tank troop commander during Crusader in the Westin Desert in late 1941.

It’s a balmy 42 degrees Celsius today in Perth, WA. Far too hot to work on my Saladin, so I thought I would take a look at a new purchase. It’s the IBG Models 1:72 kit of A10 Mk 1A Cruiser tank. Strictly it’s a little magazine with a “free kit”. The magazine is a brief overview of the history and operational use of the tank, by Peter Brown. A review can be found here: http://www.missing-lynx.com/reviews/small/ibgw013reviewpb_1.html It looked like a fine prospect for a simple build, so when I found it online at a Melbourne hobby shop, I had to have it. So what’s in the box? It has the desert modifications as well as a plain vanilla tank. A few close ups of the sprues to show the level of detail, which is rather nice. Includes a hollow end to the main armament. The one piece tracks are a rather simplified, but I suspect a better modeller than I could do something with them. I’ll just go for a straightforward build though. Three sets of markings are provided for tanks in Greece. I’m going to go with this one: It doesn’t give any unit details, so I will need to do a bit of research. It also doesn’t give an overhead view, which is a bit awkward. update: ok, looks like that set of markings is fictional. Instead I will do this one: The colours given are base colour of Portland Stone with the dark pattern in Light Purple Brown, which I imagine is going to look quite striking. I picked up some Vallejo Model Air Portland Stone (it says it can be brushed - so this is a bit of an experiment). For the Light Purple Brown I will use the Mike Starmer Tamiya recipe from the MAFVA website.

Nice little palate cleanser after a few more complicated builds recently. Finished straight out of the box, with my interpretation of the Canadian camouflage scheme for Sicily in 1943. The markings are for a vehicle with the Carlton and York Regiment, 1st Canadian Infantry Division, Sicily, 1943. You can find an wartime image of this vehicle on this web page: https://captainstevens.com/military/mv/cmp-canadian-military-pattern-vehicles/ Brush painted with Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics. Build thread can be found here: Thanks for looking.

I had intended to start a Miniart 1:35 Dingo in Canadian colours - but found my kit was missing a while sprue. Thankfully Miniart Customer Support were very quick to respond and a replacement sprue is on its way. That’s going to take awhile, so in the meantime I thought I would make a start on this kit. I’ve been picking away at it over the last week, pretty straight forward build, if rather small parts and rather soft plastic. Here is where I am at tonight. Most of the construction complete, just some cleaning up to do. I want to finish it as a Canadian example in Sicily 1943 - it’s got a roundel on the roof . The markings in the box are for a vehicle with Carlton and York Regiment, 1st Canadian Infantry Division in Sicily in 1943. The instructions say it should be olive drab, which doesn’t sound right. I had the following discussion with folk earlier last year. From this I think the base colour will be SCC 4 Stone, with black disruptive pattern only on the lower part of the vehicle. I am going to assume it was originally SCC 2, so will paint the inside of the cab and the undersides that colour. I think I’ve got something that approximates SCC4, and from the photo I found of this specific vehicle the final appearance will be very dusty. The only thing that’s tripping me up - what will the disruptive pattern look like? I can’t seem to find any clear images, so it may be a bit of guesstimate.

Type 89 Japanese Medium Tank Kou (Gasoline Hybrid Production) 1:72 IBG (72039) The Type 89 I-Go was a medium tank employed by the Imperial Japanese Army between 1932 and 1942. It has the distinction of being the first mass-production diesel engined tank, although the version depicted in this kit is the petrol engined version. Armed with a 57mm main gun, the Type 89 proved to be effective against enemy fortifications in campaigns in Manchuria and China. Despite being upgraded and modernised at various points during its life, such as with the addition of a radio, it was still a fundamentally 1920s design and was considered obsolete by the outbreak of the Second World War. Based in Warsaw, Poland, IBG Models started out in 1991 as a model kit importer and distributor. They released their first plastic kit – a 1:72 scale Bedford QLD - in 2008, and have gradually built up a range of interesting kits of different vehicles from the WWII period in both 1/72 and 1/35 scale. They have kitted a variety of Type 89 tanks, with this hybrid production version being the latest in the line. The kit arrives packed into a surprisingly large top-opening box inside which are a large number of sprues of crisply moulded grey plastic. Just because this producer hails from central/eastern Europe, don't think for a moment that this is a limited run kit. It has all the hallmarks of a cutting edge kit, with high quality, slide moulded parts as good as those from any other mainstream producer. Construction starts with the lower hull, suspension and running gear. The road wheels are each moulded with separate inner and outer faces, both of which fit onto the pre-moulded leaf spring suspension units. The drive sprocket, idler and return rollers are all nicely moulded too. The tracks are very nicely rendered and are of the link and length variety, for which I have a strong preference. The box-like hull is made up of upper and lower parts, with just the front glacis plate needed to finish it off. Extensive use has been made of slide moulding in order to reduce the part count whilst retaining a high level of detail. You won't need to worry too much about the fit and finish of the suspension components, as for the most part they will be covered up by the large armoured covers. Next up are the fenders and stowage boxes, which have to be fitted to the sides and rear of the hull. Naturally smaller details such as tools are all moulded separately, which is great for detail-hungry modellers. A rather nice exhaust is included, as well as photo etched parts for the exhaust shroud. This will prove to be a shrewd move, as such as part could not be satisfactorily recreated from injection moulded plastic. The turret is made up of eight parts, and again slide moulding has been used to keep the part count down and the detail level up. The muzzle of the 57mm gun has also been manufactured using a multi-part mould to save the modeller having to drill out this small part. The commander's hatch can be finished in either open or closed positions. For once you can actually take advantage of this feature because IBG have thoughtfully included two crew figures – and very nice they are too – although they are not mentioned in the instructions and don't even feature on the diagram that shows the layout of the sprues. Just one marking option is shown in the instructions, a Type 89 tank of an unknown regiment deployed in Shanghai, China in 1937. The decal sheet itself is nicely printed. Conclusion I really enjoyed reviewing IBG's recent AFV kits, so it's great to see them turn out another Type 89. Detail is excellent and the quality of manufacture looks to be up there with the very best. The inclusion of photo etched parts and particularly crew figures is very welcome too. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

917t Japanese Truck (Yokohama Cab) 1:72 IBG Models (71060) The G917T was a compact truck designed by Ford and manufactured around the world in the 1930s and 40s. The British version was known as the Fordson E88. A version of the truck apparently made its way into production in Japan, albeit with a redesigned cab, where it was known as the Model 81 3 ton truck. The truck was generally powered by a 3.6 litre V8 petrol engine which developed between 75 and 90hp. Four-wheel-drive versions were also developed for military use. IBG Models have built up quite a reputation with their range of excellent kits. The quality of casting and detail easily rivals Revell at their best, but more often than not, extras such as photo etched parts are also included. This new truck is a based on the German 917T truck that I reviewed recently, but it is nevertheless a very welcome addition to the range. It arrives packed into a top-opening box about twice the size it needs to be (I've noticed that IBG Models always us the same sized box regardless of the model) inside which are five frames of crisply moulded grey plastic, a frame of clear parts, a small fret of photo etched details and a small decal sheet. The plastic parts are crisply moulded and well detailed. Construction starts with the engine. This comprises eight parts, including a photo etched brass fan. This is quite something to behold for a kit in this scale and at this price point. The axles, drive shaft and brake assemblies are also assembled and fitted to the ladder chassis at this stage. Photo etched parts are used for some of the finer details such as the tow hooks. The radiator and wheels must be added before work on the body can begin. Both are well-detailed and the tyres are moulded onto the wheel hubs. The cab is nice detailed and includes a two-part bench seat, a steering wheel with separate column, a gear stick and handbrake. A neat little crew figure is also included. Two rifles are provided, and these fit to the rear wall of the cab. The roof and doors are moulded as separate parts and the latter are designed in such a way that they can be fixed in place in either open or closed position. The front part of the body is made up of a bonnet, two sides and the separate front wings. The bonnet is not designed to be finished in the open position. The rear of the truck is a simple wooden-sided flat load area. Unlike the Wehrmacht version of the kit, there is no option for a tarpaulin cover. Finishing touches include a small tool box and a photo etched part that folds up into a box to hold two clear plastic water bottles. If you want to load the truck fully however, you'll need to turn to aftermarket producers for help. The decal sheet provides for a single colour scheme appropriate for trucks based in China between 1940 and 1945. You can change the plate and other identification numbers in order to add a bit of variety, however. Conclusion I really enjoy reviewing IBG's kits and it's great to see them address the paucity of Japanese softskin vehicles with this handy truck. It's curious that IBG Models always include crew figures with their kits of Japanese subjects, but not with any other kits. Presumably this is because of some form of tie-up with a Japanese company and this is an additional requirement. Whatever, it's a nice touch and it very welcome. Overall, this kit can be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Due to one reason or another not had much time at the bench since May, so with a few days of leave last week I thought I would indulge in a quick build. Here I present my attempt at the IBG 1:72 kit of the Crusader AA Tank Mk III finished as the well known Skyraker/The Princess in Normandy, June 1944: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205201956 Main camouflage colour was brush painted Mig AMMO SCC15, weathering with some Army Painter washes, acrylic washes and a spot of dry brushing with oils. I managed to knock off the gun barrels at an early stage and have replaced them (temporarily) with some cut off pins. Build thread can be found here: Very enjoyable build - thanks for looking.

One way of another I haven’t been able to spend much time at the bench since May. Been absent from this site as well - just too much on. I have a few days off this week, and saw another of the excellent IBG Crusaders in the local hobby shop and knew what I was going to do. I’ve done the Mk I, the Mk III and now it’s time for the Mk III AA version. Familiar sprues, the only difference being the AA turret. Neat little decal sheet, and some photo etch. Won’t need the sand shields though, not applicable to the version I’m building (despite the box top image). I’m going to finish my model as Skyraker/The Princess. Nice straightforward paint scheme - SCC 15 all over.

Sources: https://www.facebook.com/ibgmodels/posts/3792727480848868 https://www.facebook.com/ibgmodels/posts/3792845087503774 V.P.

An end of vacation blitz build, 48 hours from start to finish. Love these IBG 1/72 military vehicles. A Crusader Mk III completed as a UK based tank belonging to the Polish Forces in the West (1st Polish Armoured Division I think). Brush painted with Mig AMMO SCC2. Build thread can be found here:

It’s almost the end of the Easter vacation for me - just a weekend to go. My holiday project of a 1:72 Takom Chieftain is almost done, so thought I would indulge in a blitz build of a kit I saw in the local hobby shop while searching for paint. I made the Mk 1 at Christmas as a quick build, and it was a lot of fun. I am going to make a UK based machine from the Polish 1 Armoured Division (so no sand shields). The only change will be to have an overall colour of SCC2 as I gather that is more likely. So 11 am Friday and we are off! All very straight forward. Main hull with some fishing weights to give a bit of heft. Only challenge was cleaning up some of the smaller bits - and I managed to lose one of the bits for the air filter to the carpet monster. Scratched up a replacement with a little bit of sprue. By 1 pm here is where I am at. The main body of the tank is done. I’m leaving the wheels and tracks off to paint separately. Time for a spot of lunch. Just one question if anyone knows - would a UK based machine have the external fuel tank? The pictures I’ve seen it appears not - but I can be certain.

IBG Models is to release 1/32nd Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze/PZL P.11c kits. Source: https://www.facebook.com/ibgmodels/posts/2274797485975216 3D renders V.P.

Scammell Pioneer Tank Transporter with TRCU30 Trailer 1:72 IBG (72080) The Pioneer was designed in the 20s as a large tractor unit for unmade roads, which eventually caught the eye of the War Office as a potential candidate for tank transport, but it wasn't until later in the decade that it became a more serious tank transporter. Though lacking all wheel drive, it took full advantage of its terrain handling ability that was due in equal parts to its excellent suspension set-up and a powerful engine that was capable of delivering torque at low revs, making it ideal for unmade roads and rough terrain, even though only the rear wheels were driven by the 6-cylinder diesel engine. Its large cab size allows the crew and their equipment to travel inside, which endeared it to them immensely when the heavens opened.. Many unfortunate vehicles were destroyed or captured at Dunkirk, and having lost so many it was never available in the desired quantities, so often worked alongside other similar vehicles, with almost a thousand units built by the time they were discontinued. During wartime a career that long was unusual, so it must have been doing something right. The tank transporter was not originally taken on by the War department, but additional vehicles were purchased from 1937 onward. The cab of the transporter as lengthened to be able to carry the tanks crew in the cab. Coupled with a trailer the TRCU20 and TRCU30 were 20 tons and 30 tons respectively. Even though articulated this was not like modern trucks in that the two were essentially one unit. The trailer featured rear loading ramps and a PTO driver winch to pull any immobilised equipment on board. They were replaced in British service by American vehicles as the transporters proved to be too tall to carry Lend Lease supplied American tanks on British Road. Despite the failings of the trailers most of the cabs were retained and were often seen in general haulage and abnormal haulage post war. The Kit This is new tool for 2020 from IBG in a family of kits with the Heavy Breakdown tractor and R100 Artillery Tractor. There are 10 sprues of grey plastic, a sheet of PE and a small decal sheet in the box. The quality of the plastic parts are very good with some nice fine detail (care will be needed to remove some of the smaller parts from the spures). The windows are provided as a clear film rater than injection moulded parts. Construction begins with the cab. The front sub-frame for the steering axle is built up, this is followed by more sub assemblies for the cab; the fuel tanks, radiator, engine, wheels, equipment lockers, and the main winch. The main chassis is then your next target. The side rails are joined by the cross members and the rear springs go on. At the back of the chassis the sub-frame that makes up the trailer hitching system, and rear wheels is constructed. Now the parts made earlier can all be added onto/into the main chassis. Now the cab itself can be assembled. There are three seats up front with a bulkhead to separate the front and rear compartments. The front cab goes onto the chassis then the rear cab is assembled behind it. Net up we have to build the trailer. The first parts on the bench are the pair of rear loading ramps, these are then put to one side for later. Next the large single chassis frame have the side rails added along with the rear cross member, at the back above this go the mounting rails for the rear ramps. At the front of the trailer the wood effect decking boards are laid down. Under the decking boards a large equipment locker is built up and installed. The rear wheels are added. These do not have conventional axles but more of a double bogie each side of the trailer with two pairs of wheels each side. These are fitted to the trailer along with the plates which go above them. Once the ramps are fitted the trailer and cab can be matched up. Two cable one on each side run to the ramps. Decals The decal sheet provides markings for two transporters; 1. GHQ 8th Army, 372 Tank Transporter Co. Royal Army Service Corps, North Africa 1942 2. "Maitland", 6th South African Armoured Division, Italy 1944 Conclusion If you like your vehicles 1/72 then is for you. The quality of the very small plastic parts is very good though care will be need to remove them. The addition of the nice PE makes this a well rounded kit Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

PZL P.11c Fighter in Romanian Service 1:32 IBG (32002) For its time, the PZL P.11 was one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world. While many nations were still using bi-planes, Warsaw-based PZL (Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze - State Aviation Works) had designed and built an all-metal gull winged monoplane fighter. The high wing provided the pilot with a good field of view and produced less drag that the bi-plane fighters of the time. The type drew orders from overseas as well as Poland. The aircraft was ordered by Romania and was built under licence by IAR. By the time of the German invasion of Poland however, the type was outclassed by the Bf 109. The majority of the Polish Air Force was lost fighting bravely against the invasion. The Romanian aircraft were desingated the PZL P.11b. The PZL P.11C would be the final improved version of the aircraft. It features a new fuselage with the engine lower to facilitae a better forward view. The new Mercury V S2 was a smaller and more powerful engine. The pilots seat was moved towards the rear and slightly higher to give a better view. Upto 36 of the improved fighters were flown to Romania and taken on by their Air Force. The Kit The PZL 11 is one of a growing number of aircraft kits produced by IBG Models. Now they are producing the PZL P.11 kits in 1.32 and the quality is as good if not better than their 1/72 kits. The kit arrives on 12 sprues of grey plastic, a clear spure and a sheet of PE. Here construction starts with the main wheels which are built up and set to one side. We now move to the engine. This is built up from a combination of PE and plastic. The main cylinders are in two parts (front & back) with the smaller parts in PE. Once built this is then set aside also. Nw we can move to the cockpit and internals. The cockpit is a framework which sits inside the fuselage, in front of which sits a large fuel tank! The framework side are built up with many smaller components being added, the floor can then be assembled complete with the rudder pedals. The sides and floor can then be brought together and the pilots seat built up and added in. Ancillary parts can then be added, and at the front the engine mounts are added, its noted there is no firewall to protect the pilot or that large fuel tank he sits behind! Lastly to complete this section the engine is mounted to the front and the fuselage can be closed up around the cockpit. Once the fuselage is closed up the side mounted machine guns are added in. Then we can concentrate on the rear flying surfaces. The tailplanes, fin and rudder are all built up and added on along with their bracing bars. The tail skid is also put on at this point On the underside of the fuselage the fuel tank is slid in and its associated mounting plates added. Next up the undercarriage is made up and added with the wheels which were put to one side at the beginning of the build. The engine cowls now go on along with the exhaust collector ring and propeller assembly. The main wings can then be assembled, these come with separate flaps. The left and right wings are joined by a centre section which attached to the upper fuselage. The wing struts then secure them at the right angle. At the top the gunsights and canopy are fixed on and the last remaining side panels added in if the modeller does not want to leave them off to show off the complete interior. Decals The decal sheet provides three options: PZL P.11c, No.312 Flotila (ex Polish 8.36) Grupul 4, Vanarore, Feb 1941. PZL P.11c, No.8-40 (Ex Polish 8.40), Escarrila 50 Vanatoare August 1940. PZL P.11c, No.317 (Ex Polish 8.46), Scoala de Ofiteri Aviatori Iotnisko Calarasi 1942 The decals are nicely printed by Techmod so will pose no issues. A decal for the instrument panel has been included too. Conclusion There appears to have been a resurgence of interest in the early WWII period and this kit adds to the growing number of kits that represent aircraft from that period. again the Polish firm have produced a very high-quality kit of an important aircraft. The level of detail is excellent and the quality of manufacture is up there with the best. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Having gotten bogged down with certain other kits, I am going to take a diversion here for a couple of days. It's not a bank holiday weekend here in Ireland, so I am taking advantage of "the Scottish option". My choice is the IBG Models Type 3 Chi-Nu Kai. I received this only on Friday lunchtime, so it spent less than 30 hours in the stash. Some kits have been in there for more than 30 years ... The Chi-Nu Kai was an improved version of the Chi-Nu, with a longer-calibre 75mm gun, but it only reached prototype stage. The IBG kits of Japanese armour all have Japanese text on the box and in the instructions, so they are obviously meant for the Japanese market, without any changes or re-boxing by another company required. I wonder what the Japanese make of the somewhat curious artwork here? Anyway, this is the first time I've built an IBG kit. Start time, just after 7:35pm Saturday: The one-piece tracks with the inner wheels molded in place simplify construction, as well as ensuring a realistic "sagged" appearance. But they needed careful cleaning up first, and painting them is going to be arduous. I suspect I will spend at least half the total time on these. Speaking of paint, I have plumped for Humbrol 105 to represent IJA "Grass Green", 1942 version. Here's where I finished just after 11pm this evening, having taken an hour out for a walk and some much-needed eats (did you really want to see a picture of a bowl of cereal?). So total elapsed time so far is c. 2 1/2 hours, of which almost 30 minutes was spent researching the paint choice. The plastic is generally very thin, perhaps overly so in some cases, as it breaks easily. My first task tomorrow morning will be to remove the suspension arms from the sprue. If I can do this without breaking any of them, it will be a minor miracle, given that there is an extremely delicate section in the middle of each: EDIT: Forgot to show the time at the end, but it's been a long, long, day.

HMS Harvester 1943 British H Class Destroyer 1:700 IBG The H Class destroyers were built for the Royal Navy in the 1930s. They were a traditional bridge/wheel house layout with two turrets forward and two aft all containing a single 4.7" QF gun. Torpedo tubes were placed amidships. In addition to the 18 ships being built for the RN 6 were ordered by the Brazilian Navy as the Jura Class, however at the start of WWII these were purchased by the British Government. HMS Harvester was one of these 6 ships, and by the time of her commissioning was on her third name! Originally the Brazilians called her the Jura, in RN service she was going to be HMS Handy , but was renamed Harvester is case she was confused with the old HMS Hardy which capsized after sustaining damage in the Norwegian Campaign. Harvester was one of the ships which lifted troops from the beaches at Dunkirk She made 4 trips rescuing 2189 men. As a result of this operation her rear torpedo tubes were replaced by a 12 pounder AA gun. Additional 20mm Oerlikon guns were added to the bridge wings. As a result of being assigned convoy escort duty the front A turret was removed and replaced by a Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar. Convoy duty followed and she helped sink U-32 in October 1940. A refit followed in early 1941 at Barrow where she was built before returning to convoy duty. A lengthy refit in Dundee would then occur in 1942 converting her to an Escort Destroyer. The original single depth charge rail and two throwers were increased to three rails and eight throwers. The total number of charges carried rose from 20 to 110. To accommodate this Y turret at the rear was also removed. The original director and rangefinder were replaced by Type 271 radar. On 3rd March 1943 while defending convoy HX228 she forced U-444 to the surface and rammed it. Although badly damaged she rescued 5 survivors from the submarine. Luck was not on he side though as the next day she was sunk by U-432. Only a handful of her crew (and survivors from the William C Gorgas) survived to be rescued by the French Corvette Aconit which had rammed and sunk U-432 during this action. Aconit would rescue 4 survivors from U-444, 60 crew from the Harvester and 12 survivors from the Gorgas. The men who died on the Harvester are remembered on the Chatham Naval Memorial. Soon after this the Admiralty made it forbidden to carry out ramming attacks due to the damage vessels would sustain, and the danger it put assisting vessels in. The Kit This is a re-boxing of IBG's HMS Hotspur kit. This kit contains new parts for HMS Harvester in her 1943 Escort Destroyer 1943 fit. The kit is waterline and there are 3 sprues of parts, a small PE fret and a sheet of decals. Construction starts with the guns. The two 4.7" turrets are assembled and the four 20m are made up, these are each one piece of PE which needs folding to make the guns up, The 20mms then go into their enclosures which are made up from a plastic base with PE sides, Various deck housing and structures are built up next including the main searchlight projector housing, main mast, and 12 pounder AA gun + mount. The aft gun mount is made up and the turret added, these are added to the after deck as this is fixed into hull with the rest of the decks. The reload racks for the depth charges are also added to the aft deck and the torpedo tubes amidships. The forward deck housing for B gun are added and then the bridge structure behind it is built up. The funnels are added and then the radar housing. In PE the jackstaff and railings are made up and added along with the ladders and Carley float launchers. The ships boats and their davits can be added next. Moving aft with the construction the rest of the railings are added, then all the depth charge throwing stations can go on. At the very rear the three depth charge rails are made up. To finish off a full rigging diagram is provided. Decals The decal sheet provides pennant numbers for HMS Harvester (H19), as well as the ships ensigns. Other markings are provided though not for use with this boxing. Conclusion If you like your ships 1/700 and waterline then this is for you. The quality of the very small plastic parts is very good though care will be need to remove them. The addition of the nice PE makes this a well rounded kit of this relatively unknown ship. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

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