UM kits any good?

[coolhand]

Hi guys,

 

I seem to be developing an interest in WWll armoured trains/railway guns but have realised that building them in my normal armour scale of 1/35 is not practical. A quick web search has shown there are a number of options in 1/72. UM seem to do a wide range of Russian armoured trains in this scale but as I have never come across this company before I was wondering if anyone has any experience of these kits? How do they build and what's the quality like? Was also wondering if the armoured train kits came with track lengths to mount them on?

 

Many thanks

 

Andy

[Graham Boak]

I bought one recently - the ZSU-37.  It looks good on the sprue but I haven't tried making it so cannot comment on fit.

[SleeperService]

I've built a couple of the 1/48 subjects and they're not bad. Plastic is decent and reacts well to glue, fit is good but detail is a little chunky in places. Fit is generally good but test fitting before committing to cement is a good idea.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Highly variable, but with effort they generally turn out OK.....Which kits did you have in mind? 

 

Henk's UM & UMMT (offshoot of same company) pages are here:

 

http://henk.fox3000.com/um.htm

http://henk.fox3000.com/ummt.htm

 

Some more info & reviews of a few kits at OTW!, here:

 

http://www.onthewaymodels.com/kitlists/umkits.htm

http://www.onthewaymodels.com/kitlists/ummtkits.htm

 

You can check out my (ultimately successful) struggles with a trio of their M4A1 Shermans, here:

 

 

[Kingsman]

Their few 1/35 offerings are Skif mould-shares, or derivatives thereof.   So a bit on the crude and chunky side, but a couple are unique - like the quad-gun AA version of the BTR-152.

 

Hobby.dn.ua in Kiev are an excellent source of UM: they have just about everything, and lots of other unusual stuff.  Their stock levels are trustworthy and they haven't let me down on a number of orders.   In fact I'm about to spend another €300 or so with them.  Prices are much cheaper than UK or EU sellers and about 10% cheaper still if you pay in local currency Hrivna (UAH) rather than €.  Shipping is reasonable.  Of course you may get stung for import VAT: that's a bit of a lottery.  They post a lot of sprue shots in their web shop, so you can at least see what you get in the box.  Most UM products seem to have sprue shots posted.

 

UM's armoured trains do look interesting and are unique, and just beg to be converted to running models - complicated by the Russian railway gauge being broader than Western Europe's and 00 track being somewhat too narrow in scale for 1/72-1/76, as it uses HO width 1/87 track.  Should be 16.5mm gauge, and correct-width track and running gear is available in the model railway world under the heading "4mm finescale".

 

They do an enormous variety of M4s and derivatives in 1/72, and I wouldn't mind betting that their isn't a production M4 variant you can't make.  I like their idea of including the drivers' hatch area as a separate piece and including multiple options.  In their M4A2 75 you have cast, welded and DV options in the box IIRC.  Probably in other kits too.

[Kingsman]

Have a look at this thread on here. UM's SU-122.

 

 

[coolhand]

Hi guys,

 

Thanks for all the info. Lots for me to think on. Planning to get hold of one of the smaller train kits to see how it is

 

Andy

[Graham Boak]

On 9/18/2018 at 7:49 AM, Das Abteilung said:

UM's armoured trains do look interesting and are unique, and just beg to be converted to running models - complicated by the Russian railway gauge being broader than Western Europe's and 00 track being somewhat too narrow in scale for 1/72-1/76, as it uses HO width 1/87 track.  Should be 16.5mm gauge, and correct-width track and running gear is available in the model railway world under the heading "4mm finescale".

 

4mm finescale will give you the correct distance between the rails for British railways in 1/76 scale.  1/72 should be slightly wider still, but as Russia has a wider track gauge then it cannot be correct for this too.    Although matters have improved somewhat in recent years, 4mm finescale track is not as easy to deal with as conventional model railway track, but if you only want a straight line for display purposes this may not be any problem.

[Kingsman]

The Russian gauge is and was 1520mm - a tiny fraction of an inch less than 5 feet: 21.1mm in 1/72.  Western Europe and UK "standard" (but not by any means universal) gauge is 1435mm - 4 feet 8.5 inch: 19.9mm in 1/72.  So in practical terms, 2mm difference.  4mm Finescale track will actually be 18.8mm gauge, the correct width in 1/76: 1.1mm too narrow for 1/72.  Most of us won't notice that.  But the 3mm difference to Russian gauge in 1/72 will be noticeable.

 

It certainly used to be the case that 4mm Finescale track was self-constructed from individual wooden sleepers, white metal rail chairs and nickel-silver rail - with a choice of flat-bottom or bullhead rail.  In that case, adjusting the gauge to suite the scale should be relatively simple - as long as the sleepers are long enough not to look silly.  But sleeper ends are often covered in ballast.  The rail itself, being to scale, is very fine - about 1.5mm deep.  The flanges on the special wheels for this scale/gauge are also incredibly fine: about 1mm.  Track building to avoid constant derailments is an art form in itself.

 

Making them workable will certainly be easier and cheaper using ready-to-run track and rolling stock components, incorrect gauge notwithstanding.  For static display there are many other options for "faking it".

Edited September 25, 2018 by Das Abteilung
correction

[Soviet-Salad]

On 15/09/2018 at 09:37, coolhand said:

Hi guys,

 

I seem to be developing an interest in WWll armoured trains/railway guns but have realised that building them in my normal armour scale of 1/35 is not practical. A quick web search has shown there are a number of options in 1/72. UM seem to do a wide range of Russian armoured trains in this scale but as I have never come across this company before I was wondering if anyone has any experience of these kits? How do they build and what's the quality like? Was also wondering if the armoured train kits came with track lengths to mount them on?

 

Many thanks

 

Andy

Like you I was interested in these kits; I'm fairly sure they come with track (though you could probably do something with 00 gauge model railway track worst case scenario). From the reviews I saw online the kits look fairly basic but build up fairly nicely, similar in complexity to a matchbox 1/76 armour kit.

[vladgothic]

I have built a few UM and Unimodel kits, for the most part they are pretty good, plastic can be a little brittle on some of the finer components, but nothing a little care wont overcome. And the use of some basic modelling skills, they don't fall together like some of today's kits from the far east.

 

The rail kits all come with a length of track, I've not scaled it at all, but I have also used the track produced by Hobbyboss, so a little fiddling should make any corrections should you desire.

 

Lots of really nice subjects, I enjoy them and would recommend without hesitation.

[TISO]

UM-UMT is basicly the same company. 

My experiances with their kits

Their AT guns are excellent (except the supposed wire rims on 45mm - you also get steel rimed wheels). Small guns like 45mm have multipart PE shield

 

T-34 series and derivates are quite good acctually, but they gave wheels as plastic rim and rubber with hard plastic link&lenght track. A rather wierd but if you are in dioramas very helpfull if you want to do burned wheels (saves a lot of sanding).

 

GAZ series of trucks and derivates are best/only in scale but BA armored truck do need some work (rivets, correcting the doors etc.). Their rubber tires are really nice for this scale.

 

BT, T-26 and T-70 (T-70, SU-76/76M, ZSU-37) series are also good. Su-76M needs some detailing in fighting compartment. T-26 series has best to scale hard plastic link&lenght track i worked with (but they are very fiddly) and they also sell them seperatly (for those who bought Mirage FtF T-26/Vickers series)

 

ZIS-2/3, GAZ-AA/AAA trucks and T-26 are AFAIK SKIF moulds a bit updated (T-26 series)

Also there is multitude of turned aluminum gun barrels available for their kits as well as some PE sets (PART mostly)

 

Generally good models. Some need a wee bit more detailing but are rather cheep.

 

Bit of advice trucks, armored cars and T-34 have rubber tires. I was advised to paint the rims under the rubber before the rubber is put on as the plastic and rubber can react on long term (havent seen it yet but better safe than sorry).

 

 

Edited November 8, 2018 by TISO

[Sgt.Squarehead]

2 hours ago, TISO said:

Bit of advice trucks, armored cars and T-34 have rubber tires. I was advised to paint the rims under the rubber before the rubber is put on as the plastic and rubber can react on long term (havent seen it yet but better safe than sorry).

I've seen it, it's nasty.