MiniArt German Tankmen with Gantry Crane & Maybach HL120 Engine (35350) 1:35

[Mike]

German Tankmen with Gantry Crane & Maybach HL120 Engine (35350)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

Tanks are big, but sometimes they need fixing, and there are very few parts of a tank that aren’t heavy.  In a workshop situation, cranes are the way to go, and that’s what this kit is all about.  It arrives in a small top-opening box with a painting of the contents in action on the front, and within are twelve sprues of grey styrene, two types of metal chain, a decal sheet and instruction booklet with colour covers.  It supplies parts to create a four-legged gantry crane with pulley system, a Maybach HL120 engine that was used mainly in the Panzer III, Sturmgeschütz III and Panzer IV, plus a pair of barrels to either rest the engine on, or for background detail.  The kit also includes two figures of tankers or mechanics wrestling with the engine in dynamic poses.

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the gantry, with a large I-beam supported by four legs with twin wheels at the lower ends, and pegs at the bottom to set the angle of the legs and thereby the height of the gantry by slotting horizontal rods over the pegs.  The wheels run on long C-section troughs, which are made up from two sections each, joined together in the middle.  The legs can be wound-in or out using the winch that clips over the pegs and uses some thread from your own stock to complete the assembly.  The block and tackle hang from a set of pulleys surrounded by a metal enclosure, which is simplified in this instance by a set of pegs inside the casing.  The larger chain is suspended from the pegs before the case is closed up around the I-beam, then at the bottom the lower pulley is assembled around the looped chain and has a hook added at the bottom.  A wheel with smaller chain wrapped around it perpendicular to the I-beam is used to move the assembly along the beam in either direction (on the real thing), while another smaller one raises and lowers the hook.

 

The two barrels are next, made up from two halves, two ends and two bands around the centre that need a little shaved off the inside, as shown in the instructions.  The engine can be configured as either a HL120 TRM for a Panzer.IV or Panzer.III by following the instructions with A or B options.  The block is made from a number of detailed parts, assembling the V between the two banks of 6 cylinders and covering them with the rocker covers and separate oil filler caps.  The flywheel covers the majority of one end of the block, and the various pulleys, their mountings and belts the other, plus other ancillaries, exhaust manifolds, dynamo and air box completing the job.

 

 

 

The two figures are contained on individual sprues with separate torsos, arms, legs and heads, both of which have forage caps moulded-on.  They are wearing two-piece overalls and work boots, with one pulling on a chain, the other stabilising or pushing on the engine or whatever you choose to mount on the hook.  A painting guide for the figures is printed on the inside rear cover, using paint codes that correspond to a table on the inside front cover using swatches, Vallejo, Mr.Color, AK RealColor, Mission Models, AMMO, Tamiya and the colour names in English to the right.  In addition to the decals that comes with the set for the rocker cover and intake (with spares) plus the two stencilled signs for any buildings nearby, the inner cover of the instructions has images of eight posters in German and Russian for you to cut out and apply to the walls if you wish.

 

The back page shows an example of how to set up the various parts, codes for painting the assemblies, and shows how to suspend the engine from the two lugs at each end, using some wire from your own spares.

 

 

 

Conclusion

Another excellent diorama item that can be used to add human scale and some height to your latest WWII German project.  Detail is excellent, while the two types of chain included in the box helps make the build go smoothly.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Currently showing as out of stock at Creative, but should be back in soon.  I knew it would be popular!

 

Review sample courtesy of