Trucks were an imporatant part of the mechanised style of war that came about in World War Two, they were the key to getting supplies to the fast moving fronts where horses and carts just couldn’t keep up. But when it comes to making models they are nowhere near as exciting to build as a tank or an SPG so there just aren’t that many of them available in kit form. This one from Italeri is an older kit that has recently been supperceeded by a more recent offering by Tamiya.

This kit comes in a tray and lid style box and is an older one of Italeri’s kits. This particular kit is the newer production one which is cleaned up a little but is still the same kit as the older one which includes “3(t) Type S” in the kit title and different artwork on the box lid. You get two large sprues which in true Italeri fashion come loose in the box with no bags which probably keeps the price down but I do find frequently it results in loose and/or broken parts.Also included are eight vinyl tyres moulded in black and a small sheet of decals.

The moulding quality overall is good, with detail that is sharp, though there is of course the usual mould lines that will need to be removed. The plastic used is also quite a hard and brittle type so care needs to be taken when removing parts so as not to cause any cracks or splits.  The instructions are clear and easy to follow for the most part, and whilst they could be improved upon the kit is a fairly simple one so it’s hard to go wrong.

The chassis is fairly simple, with the frame moulded as a single piece. To this is added a reasonably good representation of the engine and transmission, drive shafts, differentials, springs etc. There is a lot of the smaller detail missing like bolt heads on the transmission and differential, brake lines, fuel lines etc, but other than that the detailing of the underside is quite good and includes the spare wheel,  gas tank, exhaust, battery box and steering assembly.

The wheels are the late style with eight lightening holes in each front wheel ( wheels pre-war had six ), with the tyres moulded as one piece each in vinyl which to be honest I’ve never liked as they are hard to clean the mould seam off and hard to paint. The wheels are also missing proper brake drums so this is one area where I do think a good set of resin wheels is a bonus as you overcome the drawbacks of vinyls tyres and get proper looking brakedrums at the same time.

The cab comes with a very basic interior and this is probably one of the kit’s major failings. The pedals in the footwell and the internal door detail are all moulded on with no real definition. If you use the two included figures this becomes lessof a problem as they obscure much of these areas but without them the inner door details in particular are quite apparent. Luckily the real vehicle is rather simple so these are easy areas to detail yourself. The floor of the cab does include decent enough looking treadplate detail but the cab does not come with separate doors so a little surgery is required if you want to model the doors open.  The dash is quite good though rather plain and simple, and no decals are provided for the dials, though again the real vehicle dash is also somewhat plain looking. 

The external side of the cab is sharply moulded though rather simple with no option to open the hoods, and the side panels are not separate parts. The radiator grille is moulded as part of the bumper and is tapered in a little too much at each side. This is a minor accuracy issue but if it bothers you it’s vey easy to correct. The headlights have the option of blackout covers or clear parts which are a bit heavy, as are the clear parts for the windows and windscreen, with the windscreen also having moulded on wipers. The tool mounts and mirror however are delicately made pieces, though they do require a little cleanup of excessive mould flashing.

The rear cargo bed is also very simple being just the sides, ends, floor and three bench seats. There is no option to position the tailgate or sides in the folded down position though theywould be very easy to modify if you wanted to have them down. There is no woodgrain detail, though as these parts were usually painted it isn’t really necessary as it wouldn’t be seen on the actual vehicle anyway. Again areas like the hinges and latches are over simplified and could do with better detailing but they’re better than some I’ve seen and are passable for a simple OOB build and easy enough to replace with scratchbuilt ones for a more detailed build. There is also the option of a deployed canvas tilt which is actually quite a good looking one. If the tilt isn’t used there is the option of four tilt bows moulded as a single piece in the stowed position with an optional rolled tilt. If however you wanted to add the bows in position with an open tilt or a partial one then you’d need to make your own.

The figures like most of Italeri’s attempts at figures are best not considered as anything more than rubbish bin filler. In this case they are massively undersized, stiff and unanimated, and completely dull in the detail department. If you’re going for the manequin in a truck look they’ll be fine, but if you’re going for the real people look, look elsewhere.

Decals are included for four different vehicles though no identification is given for any of the unit markings.

Italeri, now working with Tamiya, have begun re-releasing their older kits with cleaned up mouldings and better plastic so hopefully this one will get the same treatment as it’s only real downside is the quality of the moulds, which could use a general sharpening up all over, and the lack of the smaller details. However as it is this is still a good little kit that makes up into a very presenatable little model of a vehicle that was seen everywhere throughout the Second World War. Tamiya’s kit is without a question the better of the two Opel kits available in 1/35 though the Italeri offering is usually a lot cheaper ( often as much as half the price of the Tamiya kit here in NZ ). It will benefit greatly from some good basic modelling skills to add the missing details so you can still arrive at a very good end result without having to throw great wads of cash at AM bits for it.

Click on the images to enlarge ( opens in new window )

Also check out the Opel Blitz Walkaround HERE

.

Italeri 216, Italeri Opel Blitz, Italeri Opel review

Kit No. 35052

1/35 scale military modelling is a hobby that is clearly dominated by the tank, so wheeled vehicles without a gun drew little or no interest from manufacturers until this past year when we have seen a sudden outpouring. This is the third version from Bronco following on from the Cabriolet and the civilian saloon, this time being the saloon version of the military staff car, and this time including two figures.

This kit comes in a large tray and lid style box on one large and one medium sized dark yellow sprues as well as the complete one piece upper body sans doors, also in dark yellow, and five black sprues for the tyres. There is also one clear sprue, one dark green sprue holding two jerry cans, another smaller dark yellow sprue holding weapons, a light grey sprue with the two figures, a small brass photo etched fret, a small sheet of decals and the instructions. Although that sounds like a lot all of this does look a little lonely in the somewhat oversized box that it comes in.

The mould quality is excellent with almost completely clean parts and almost non existant mould seams, very sharp detail and some particularly fine and delicate detailing. I did say almost, as you will still need to remove the mould seams even though they are very faint. Although there are some prominent injector pin knock out marks on some parts they are mostly all in locations where they won’t be seen once the kit is completed.

The chassis has a reasonably good level of detail, with separate parts for the driveshaft, rear axle, springs and exhaust. I wouldn’t call it super detailed but it’s more than adequate for what can be seen. No engine is included with just a simple sump moulded as part of the underside. The wheels are each made up of a central wheel and hub with the tyres each made from five separate slices designed to give maximum detail to the tread pattern. They do achieve this and look very good.

The body is a simple one piece part without the doors which are separate and can be positioned open or closed. The radiator grill, bonnet and boot are all moulded as part of the body piece so posing the bonnet or boot open would require quite a bit of surgery and rebuilding. The underside of the roof does have a couple of  prominent injector pin knock out marks that will need to be removed, although the roof interior also shows no sign of an interior lining so these could be covered by adding that.

The interior is well done with quite a bit of detail including a delicate handbrake and nicely moulded gear lever. The pedals are particularly small and would be easily lost if not careful. Other small parts include the tiny external doorhandles, rearview mirror, photo-etch visors, and the internal part of the indicator arms. The dash is particularly nice and includes two small decals for the dials. 

The seats don’t match photos which show the covering to go around the outside of the frame on the sides instead of inside it, but this may be a correct variation. The hinges for folding the front seats forward are also missing. This may be a small point but if the doors are positioned open these are noticeable.

The doors are separate parts and the door glass is sandwhiched between the outer shell of the door and the inner lining which creates a very realistic look. The interior panels are one of the few let downs with moulded on doorhandles, window winders, and map pockets ( as well as a moulded on window winder on each of the rear panels ). It seems a shame that after doing such delicate parts as the rearview mirror and pedals that these parts weren’t done separately as they are nuch more noticeable, especially if the doors are positioned open.

The figures are actually two of the figures from the Miniart German Feldgendarmerie set. One is a driver wearing an overseas cap, M40 field uniform and marching boots, the other an officer wearing a peaked cap, M40 field uniform, marching boots and a Feldgendarmerie gorget ( ”dog chain” or “dog collar” ) which is moulded to him. The mouldings on these are excellent, though the uniform folds and creases are a little understated, but the rest is very well done.

An assortment of extras are added for stowage, two jerry cans in mounting racks that can be added to the sides of the boot lid as well as a shovel and an MG34 for use wherever. The jerry cans include photo-etched parts and are very nicely done, as is the MG34 which includes a separate receiver cover, a length of ammo belt, a folded bipod, an open bipod, an ammo tin, and three drum mags and a dual drum carrier.

Oddly there is also an MP40 shown together with the officer’s P08 Luger holster being placed inside the boot. I say odd because there is no way to see into the boot, and the instructions appear to have confused the MP40 mag holder with the P08 holster which is also shown elsewhere where it should go, on the officer’s belt. The MP40 and mag holder should in fact be mounted on the driver’s door, though the MP40 lacks the vehicle mount.

Decals are included for two vehicle options, though really they just consist of optional number plates to go on a german grey body so if you want to depict it as being part of a particular unit you’ll most likely need to find your own unit markings. One decal represents a bear standing on all fours, I’m not sure if this is meant to represent 3.Pz.Div. or not as their bear is usually seen as a standing bear.

A very simple kit that builds into a very nice model. The sparseness is probably exagerated by years of tanks with all manner of bits attached so with that in mind it actually makes a very interesting comparison and stands out when amongst armour.

Click thumbnails to enlarge images.

1/35 german staff car, 1/35 wwii car, bronco 35052, Bronco German Light Staff Car, bronco stabswagen

Kit No. AF35193

If you’re building a diorama that includes an artillery piece one thing you’re going to need is a lot of ammo. Especially if you’re displaying it deployed, because if you ever look at photos of artillery positions one thing that stands out is the piles of ammunition waiting to go downrange. So this set is a very useful one to have as it provides ammunition for the 15cm sIG 33 range of guns which means not just the Heavy Infantry Gun, but any of the vehicle based variants such as the Bison, Bison II, Grille H and Grille M ( forgive my use of the more common names rather than the official designations but let,s be honest, more people know what you’re talking about when you say Grille instead of 15cm schwerer Infanteriegeschütz 33(SF) auf PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf H ).

This kit comes in a medium sized open ended box on three dark yellow sprues, two of which are the same. The mouldings are all excellent throughout with no flashing present anywhere and only the faintest of mould seams to clean up ( and let’s face it, so long as we have injection moulded plastic kits we’re going to have mould seams to clean up no matter how faint ). The two matching sprues hold the ammunition while the third sprue holds a set of wicker cases. There is also a small photo-etch fret and a small sheet of decals.

The instruction and painting guide is printed on the reverse of the box and a blind man could follow them, the only negative being that absolutely zero identification is provided for what each part is, or what it’s called, so if you don’t know your artillery you could be a bit lost as to what each piece is for.

The ammunition sprues each contains six assorted shells ( three x Gr. 33 High Explosive and three x Gr. 38 Smoke ), a  Stielgranate 42 demolition charge, four wooden shell transportation frames, twelve charge casings, and two charge casing boxes which can be assembled either closed, or open with charge casings inside. The included decals are are used here for the shells and charge casing boxes. So as there are two of these sprues you get all that times two which gives you plenty of ammo.

The wicker case sprue is moulded from vinyl rather than plastic so the parts are flexible. It holds ten wicker storage tubes, eight of which are closed with the other two being open. The open end is suitably thin for the most part, though a little thicker on one side as opposed to the other so could use a little thinning down.

Two of the three PE parts are used with these open cases to provide the strap used to hold the shell cap in place ( which itself holds the shell in place ). These wicker cases are very well moulded and when painted can be made to really stand out with a good wash to get into the pattern and then a drybrush to highlight the raised parts.

Also included on the wicker case sprue is a muzzle cover for the sIG 33 gun. Why this wasn’t included in the kit of the gun I’m not sure, but if you want one there’s one included here. Also included as the third of the three PE parts is a retention strap for attaching the muzzle cover to the gun frame.

This is a very nice set, and if you’re building a sIG 33 then this is one addition that is well worth getting. The mouldings are excellent, the details are excellent, and the ammount of ammunition you get from it makes a healthy looking pile. My only complaint is that I would like to see manufacturers who provide ammunition sets also provide with them a bit of identification and information for the layman who most likely wouldn’t have a clue what each round in this set was without such a guide.

Click thumbnails to enlarge images.

AFV Club 15cm Ammo And Accessories, afv club 35193, afv club af35193

Kit No. AF35148

AFV Club suffer from a low profile here in New Zealand, which is a real shame as they turn out some very nice kits indeed, and this is definitely one of them. The 15cm sIG 33 Heavy Infantry Gun was the standard German Artillery piece during World War Two and saw action throughout the war on every front.

This kit comes in a sturdy tray and lid style box that contains the six large  sprues moulded in dark yellow. Also included is a small photo etched fret, a metal barrel, a small sheet of decals and the instructions. Five of the sprues are for the gun, the sixth one containing ammunition and shell crates. You can build this in either the deployed or transport mode, as well as having the option of early or late style wheels so how it will be built should be decided before assembly.

The mouldings are all excellent throughout with no flashing present anywhere. The level of detail is very high with quite a large number of parts for what is essentially a relatively small kit once completed. Some of the parts are very fine and delicate, and all are sharp and clear. The instructions are clear and easy to follow with the points where the various options require the use of different parts clearly called out.

The gun breech assembly is made up from seven extemely well detailed parts and comes with the option of being built as an early or late version. It includes a sparate breech block, itself made up of four pieces more pieces, that can be modelled either open or closed and includes the firing pin detail.

The metal barrel is very nicely done and is completely hollow allowing the it to be seen through if the breech block is left in the open position. Thankfully it also includes very fine rifling which actually has a full twist and goes the full length of the barrel. This is something other manufacturers should take note of, particularly on large bore guns.

The gun chassis is beautifully represented. There’s just something about all those bolts and little bits and pieces that makes a kit like this so much more visually appealing than something like a streamlined Panther tank.  One unusual inclusion in assembling this kit is a spacer used in place of the gun assembly to make sure everything aligns properly that is then cut away to allow the gun to be inserted into the chassis.

Photo-etched parts are used in some places on the chassis, but if you’re averse to PE don’t worry as they are kept to a minimum with no difficult folding or soldering needed. Though don’t take the dearth of PE as a sign of lack of detail because the plastic parts are plenty delicate enough not to need PE replacements.

The wheels are again one of the optional parts, with the choice of early war wooden wheels with a rubber tyre, mid war pressed stell wheels with a rubber tyre, or late war pressed steel wheels with a steel rim. This is one of the few areas where the instructions can be confusing as all three versions are shown being used with the brake drums added to allow the sIG 33 to be vehicle towed, the earliest horse drawn ones having wooden wheels with no brakes.

The shields are also beautifully done with the surface detail again being sharp and clear with all the myriad of small bolt heads. The tools mounted to the outer surface have moulded on clamps though these are very well done. There are also decals included for the sheild’s inner surface.

The ammunition sprue contains six assorted shells ( three x Gr 33 High Explosive and three x Gr 38 Smoke ), a  Stielgranate 42 demolition charge, four wooden shell transportation frames, twelve charge casings, and two charge casing boxes which can be assembled either closed, or open with charge casings inside. There are also decals included for the shells and boxes.

This is a beautiful kit, I just love it. There’s just something about the look of this gun that makes it a beautiful looking piece and this kit does it total justice in its representation. The Dragon kit is good, but in my opinion this one is better. This can be built straight from the box with no need for any aftermarket parts and there aren’t many kits that can’t be improved on with one or other AM part, but this one is one of them. This is a top-notch kit.

Click thumbnails to enlarge images.

1/35 germn artillery, afv club 35148, afv club sig33 15cm heavy infantry gun

Kit No. 35046

Miniart has earned themselves a well deserved reputation when it comes to the quality of their 1/35 scale plastic figure kits, and this set is no exception. The animation of the figures in this set isn’t as exciting as some of their other sets with the ubiquitous ”standing around”  look, but they’re very well done and the detail is very good.

The sculpting is very good with good folds to the uniforms, though a little understated, lacking in the smaller folds and creases. They do however have nicely detailed faces and hands, some very good uniform details, including moulded on gorgets, and separate skirts for the greatcoats.

The mouldings are very good with minimal cleanup, the fit as on most figures using seperate legs requires a little filler in and cleanup to completely eliminate the joins once assembled but nothing major.  Assembly instructions and a painting guide are provided on the reverse of the box, with assembly being very simple and straight forward.

Two of the figures are wearing the motorcycle rider’s greatcoat, the other three wear M40 field uniforms and all five wear marching boots. Four have a moulded on gorget “dog-chain” which identified the wearer as Feldgendarmerie so that limits the use of these four figures unless these are carved off. The driver gets an overseas cap, the officer a peaked cap, and the other three helmets which will all need the vent holes added.

Equipment is limited to two mapcases, two MP40 triple mag pouches, two Kar98K triple ammo pouches, a gasmask container, and a short shovel in its carrier. Weapons included are a holstered P08 Luger, two Kar 98K rifles, and an MP40 sub-machine gun.

Also included is a rectangular post and six sign boards of varying sizes which all have one pointed end, and printed as part of the instructions there are twelve assorted signs which can be cut out and attached to these. These are all in German with no English translation which might make them confusing for those who don’t have the means to translate them.

The hands in this set are a little different as many of them are separate hands and most of those separate hands are moulded to something else. The figure holding the sign for example has both hands moulded to the sign, another one holds a stop sign, one holds an axe, and two hold identity papers or similar. 

This is one of Miniart’s slightly older sets ( and by that a I mean a few years old as opposed to a few decades ), and the sculpting isn’t quite as good as I’ve seen on some of their newest sets, but it is still very good and on an equal with any other figure set produced in this manner. This isn’t the most exciting action oriented set but it does provide a lot of useful diorama scenarios as well as a driver who can be used in pretty much any vehicle setting.

Click thumbnails to enlarge images.

1/35 german mp, miniart 35046, Miniart German Feldgendarmerie

Kit No. 35078

Miniart has certainly raised the bar when it comes to the quality of 1/35 scale plastic figure kits, and this set of a British/Commonwealth tank crew, which is one of their newest,  provides you with some very nice figures indeed, not to mention filling a long absent niche in 1/35 scale plastic figure sets.

The sculpting is excellent with good folds to the uniforms, very nicely detailed faces and hands, extremely good uniform fittings, including moulded on pistol lanyards, and good poses. The mouldings are very good with minimal cleanup, the fit as on most figures using seperate legs requires a little filler in and cleanup to completely eliminate the joins once assembled but nothing major.  

Assembly instructions and a painting guide are provided on the reverse of the box, with assembly of course being very simple ,with only the base figures to put together without any weapons or equipment other than holstered pistols.

All four wear the denim tank suit that was also worn by other armoured vehicle crews, as well as Engineers and Artillery crews so you aren’t limited to using these soley as a tank crew. Three of the figures come with berets, two of which are moulded on. The other two have separate tanker helmets, and one figure also wears the long leather jerkin. The jerkin is very well done but could use a little undercut relief scribed in around the bottom of the skirt. The uniforms and pistol holsters date them to 1944 onwards so these would be suitable in any ETO scene after the landings at Normandy.

All five figures come with a holstered pistol, four of which are the drop-leg style with a long thigh strap and a leg belt, the fifth being the usual Mk I style holster with the flap cover, and just mounts directly to the web belt. The four open style holsters have the ammo loops on the front and a nicely done pistol butt, although it does seem a little thin to me. There are also four small ammo pouches included. One figure also has a compass moulded into one hand and comes with a separate mapboard.

There are two sets of googles provided for use with the helmets and a third pair moulded to the beret of the figure with the moustache. These all have solid plastic lenses so you will need to drill them out and fabricate your own clear lenses if you are so inclined. One of the beret wearing figures also has a headset strap moulded across his beret with separate headphone muffs, while one of the helmeted figures also gets the earpieces but no headstrap. You will of course need to add your own wires for both.

Once again Miniart have shown that the well sculpted faces and uniforms normally associated with resin figures are possible in plastic kits and this set is another very good one. Although titled as a ”British” tank crew these figures can easily be adapted to pretty much any commonwealth armour in the ETO post D-Day, as well as artillery crews, so if you have a Sherman, Firefly, Churchill, Cromwell or similar that needs a crew then these are definitely worth getting.

Click thumbnails to enlarge images.

1/35 commonwealth tanker, miniart 35078, Miniart British Tank Crew

Kit No. 6500

The Sturmpanzer IV was never actually known during the war as the “Brummbar”, that came later on. But that aside the Sturmpanzer IV was one of that small breed of assault guns that fell somewhere between the Sturmgeschutz and the Jagdpanther and Jagdtiger. It mounted a 150mm gun in a superstructure mounted on a Pz.Kpfw. IV chassis and used a four man crew ( increasing to five in the late version ) but suffered from being overweight, underpowered and underarmed. This version from Dragon is a Mid-Production version produced from December 1943 to mid-1944 and as such would have received a factory application of Zimmerit, so Dragon has included moulded on Zimmerit in this kit.

This kit  comes in a tray and lid type box on twelve medium to large sized sprues, and another seven small sprues. All the sprues together with the separate hull tub, casement and engine deck are moulded in light grey. There is also two small clear sprues, one photo-etched brass fret, one length of picture frame wire for making the cables, one small bag of magic tracks, two photo-etched sets of shurzen, two DS vinyl single length tracks, a sheet of decals, and the instructions. The instructions can be a little confusing and require a bit of attention be paid to make sure everything goes where it should. You also get the 2-IN-1 option with the choice to build this as a command version so decide which version you’re building first and check the instructions thoroughly.

The moulding, as we’ve come to expect from Dragon, is extremely good with nice clean parts and sharp detail. Much use is made by Dragon these days of slide moulding to eliminate mould seams and give the greatest level of depth and detail. Cleanup is therefore pretty much limited to the location points with the sprues though there are some large injector pin knockout marks on some of the larger inner surfaces.

The lower hull is a slide-moulded one-piece tub which includes detail such as bolt head detail on the bottom and fine zimmerit reproduction on the sides. The suspension pairs have the spring and spring arms moulded as one piece so these would be quite difficult to articulate if you wanted to do so as it would require almost a complete rebuild of the suspension assembly.

The  roadwheels are made of two halves with a separate hub, each and both they and the return rollers feature the CONTINENTAU brand name on the sidewalls.  This allows Dragon to get around the CONTINENTAL trademark and the modeller to remove the last upright on th “U” to turn it into the correct name if desired. There are two optional sets of Idlers, one that represents the earlier cast version, the other the later pressed steel which include two photo-etched inner rings.

The tracks are Dragon’s  DS ( Dragon Styrene ) vinyl one piece tracks and although these are very good looking tracks they do still lack the proper sag along the top run that is seen on German tank tracks. Personally I still prefer the individual link tracks for the right fit and the right look.

The upper hull is made up of the large forward casement together with the rear engine deck and separate fenders which attach to the lower hull assembly. The tools have moulded on clamps that still look very good, and the tow cables are made up using moulded eyes together with the included picture frame wire which results in very good looking cables. The separate engine deck includes separate hatches with photo-etched internal louvers and some very nice, delicate detail on the rear plate.

The casement again is a separate slide moulded part and is covered in very nice moulded zimmerit. The roof plate is a also a separate part and includes very bolt head and hinge details. The rear access hatches, commander’s hatches, and the loader’s gun shield and hatch covers are all separate parts, and the hatches include very good internal detail. The loader also gets an excellent slide-moulded Gen2 MG34 machine gun that includes a separate receiver cover. The commander’s hatch has the bullet deflectors in front of it as well as a full scissors telescope with its internal mount. The sliding periscope cover is moulded in the open position so you get no choices there, and the rails on this need the undercut detail scribed in.

The gun barrel is a single slide moulded piece and comes with a  very well detailed breech, as well as a section of floor with tread plate to mount it on, that gives you a moderate degree of interior to be seen if you choose to leave any of the hatches open. Though with the hatches on the rear of the casement open the lack of any other interior is quite evident. Nice as the barrel is the size of it does also make the lack of rifling quite apparent too. The large ball shaped mantlet is also slide-molded and includes a very fine weld bead where the tube joins the ball.

The shurzen that is included is optional and you’ll need to open up the holes in the hull for the mounting arms if you choose to use it. The skirts are provided in photo etch sections, with the mounting arms, rails and hangers all moulded in plastic, so the rails look a little thicker than they should do but the skirts look very good, having a much more scale thickness appearance than injection moulded versions.

The decals and painting guide provide options for four vehicles – Stu.Pz.Abt.216., Italy 1944 ( Command Vehicle ) : Stu.Pz.Abt.216., Italy 1944 : Stu.Pz.Abt.216., s.H.Pz.Jg.Rgt.656, Ponyri 1943 : Pz.Div. “Schleisen”, Frankfurt 1945.

This is a first rate kit that can be built straight from the box into a beautiful model. It probably isn’t for beginners due to the high number of parts, but this is a very nice looking kit and the zimmerit is very well done and looks the part, so the finished result is well worth the time and effort to get there.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images.

brummbad with zimmerit, dragon brummbar, dragon models 6500, Kit Review : Dragon Sd.Kfz. 166 Stu.Pz.IV "Brummbar" Mid Production w/Zimmerit 2-IN-1, sdkfz 166

Kit No. 35240

As far as I’m aware this is the only 1/35 scale plastic kit of German troops riding bicycles around, which is rather surprising considering how often you see them in war time photos, even if they were probably just cycling around some nice country lanes in France. In fact, like buses, bicycles were widely used, but we see neither with any decent form of representation in kit form.

This set comes in the usual small open ended Tamiya box, on three sprues moulded in darkish grey, two which are both the same holding the bikes and two figures, the other holding two optional figures, as you actually get four figures in this set, which is not something mentioned anywhere on the box. They are the usual Tamiya quality of finish, no flash, and clear sharp mouldings, though there are some heavier than usual mould seams to remove. At 50mm tall these scale out at 175cm tall ( 5 foot 9 ), which is an improvement over some Tamiya kits which are often criticised for having figures who were too small.

The bikes are each made up of six parts and overall are very well done with nice clean, sharply moulded parts which are quite delicate in places. One major downside is that the front wheel is moulded as part of the bike so if you want it to be shown turned you will need to cut it free and reposition it, though this is a very, very simple thing to do. As nice as these are there is still room for improvement though and the inexpensive Lion Roar Photo-Etch set really makes these bikes look brilliant.

Two of the four figures are standing figures which are both the same and both moulded as an almost complete figure with just one arm to add. The other two figures are the more usual six piece ones posed in riding positions. Three wear the M43 field uniform, though the two standing ones have the wrong number of buttons, with low boots and gaiters, while the fourth wears the M40 blouse with marching boots. Whilst the detail is sharp the folds and creases are a little heavy, lacking the smaller, more delicate folds and falls. The two riding figures also come with moulded on Kar 98K ammunition pouches which are a little lacking in depth definition and a little bit wrong in the lower edge profile.

The faces and hands are well done, with three of the figures having bare heads and the other the option of a helmet or an M43 field cap. The hair on the bareheaded figures isn’t terrible but could use a little better definition and all three do suffer from having a prominent mould seam running ear to ear across the centre of the head. The boots on the riding figures also lack sole detail, which should ideally be added as the soles are visible, particularly on the raised leg.

You do get plenty of spare equipment with these as besides the two Kar 98k rifles you get four bread bags, two helmets, six canteens, six gas mask containers, two mess tins and two short shovels in carriers with attached bayonets. The rifles and equipment are all sharply moulded with good detail. 

These are a very nice little addition that adds a bit of interesting character to a diorama. The figures can use a little improved on and the bikes really will benefit with the addition of a Photo-etch set, but even straight from the box they still make up into a very nice looking set. 

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images.

tamiya 35240, Tamiya German Soldiers With Bicycles

Kit No. 35510

Miniart do an extensive range of full, partial, and destroyed buildings in vacuum formed plastic mouldings as well as a number of diorama bases that accomodate one or two of said buildings. This kit is one of their simpler offerings and one of the few complete and intact buildings, portraying a small stone and tile village house, ostensibly set in France, though it could be used in many European settings.

The building kit consists of forty three vacuum formed parts for the building plus two matching grey spures and one small white sprue of injection moulded building accessories, and two more grey sprues that contain street lamps and guttering pipes. All this builds up into a small four walled building with two windows and a door on one side, two windows on the reverse side, a single window at one end and a chimney at the other, with an internal fireplace included for the chimney.

The building accessory sprues contain parts such as the doors and doorframes, window frames, window shutters, wall mounted lanterns, and sections of fence, and are all very nicely moulded and require minimal clean-up, with the scrolled ironwork panels requiring the most attention. The lamp and pipe sprues have a bit of flashing and require a bit more clean-up but otherwise are still nicely detailed.

Assembly of the building is very straight forward with the instructions, which are printed on high grade glossy paper, being clear and easy to follow. There is a degree of skill required in assembling the building parts as the pieces need to be removed by scribing and snapping, rather than cutting, to get clean edges, and once they are glued together they require a bit of filler and clean up to eliminate all sign of the joint line. Experience working with vacu-formed kits would definitely be an advantage.

A collection of fifteen French commercial posters is included, printed on the rear of the instructions, which can be cut out and attached to the building if desired, though personally I’m not sure how useful commercial posters are on a private house but they are there none-the-less and if not used with this kit will make useful additions to the spares box.

This is a very nice little building that can really add a whole new dimension to a diorama. One of the things I particularly like about this particular building kit is that it represents a full building, and doesn’t represent a bomb damaged building as so many building kits do. Once you’re perfected the technique for cutting the parts from the backing this is a simple, easy kit to build and looks very nice once completed.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images.

1/35 farm house, 1/35 kitset building, miniart 35510, Miniart French Village House

Model Part Number 35B10

RB Models is an Eastern European manufacturer that makes some of the best aftermarket barrels around. This is a beautiful piece of machinery that comes as a single turned aluminium barrel plus four brass fittings and a small brass fret to make up the muzzle brake.

The turned aluminium barrel includes the fine striations of the lathe that are found on the real gun and the muzzle includes fine rifling detail even though once the muzzle brake is on this is nearly impossibe to see without a magnifying glass and direct lighting. The brass fittings for the muzzle brake are equally well made and fit together beautifully.

There are no instructions for assembling the RB Models barrels so you either need to know your stuff or do a little research, but for this particular barrel there is a basic photo assembly guide on the RB Model website, which is reproduced in the photos below, that should aid in showing what goes where.

This is a beautiful piece of kit and the level of detail just way outdoes any kit supplied gun. If you want the very best when you’re building your 76mm Sherman then this is definitely one to add to the upgrade parts list.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images.

1/35 aluminium sherman barrel, RB Models 76.2mm M1A2 Sherman M4 Aluminium Barrel, rb models rb35b10

Concord No. 6513

This book is essentially a photo reference overview of the uniforms and equipment of German soldiers fighting on the Eastern Front in 1943 and 1944. With such a broad and varied subject to cover in just 52 pages I think it is fair to say that this is in no way an in-depth analysis of German uniforms and equipment, but more a good introductory outline for anyone who would like to learn a little more about what was being worn and carried in that theatre at that time.

After a brief, three page, introductory outline covering the genral make-up of German Infantry units, this gets straight into the photo collection, taking a brief break at page 25 for four full colour illustrated plates with in-depth discriptions of the uniforms they are wearing and the equipment they are carrying.

The photos are all very good, averaging three to a page with, it seems, only the best, clearest photos used and I did find the captions to be very informative. It is then from these that the reader has the chance to glean some very useful little morsels of information, as this book doesn’t have any other text sections, relying on the photo captions for the bulk of the information contained within.

Overall it’s a very good look at the uniforms and equipment of the German infantryman on the Eastern Front. It isn’t as in depth as many of the books which are more devoted to educating on the specifics of the uniforms and equipment, but the real value is in the small details bought out about through the photo captions, not to mention that the photos themselves do provide a wealth of good references.

So not a heavy read, and if you’re looking for something that at the end will leave you fully versed in the intricacies of German uniforms and equipment then this is not it. But it is an interesting read, and well worth the browse. Personally I find any photo collection book that when you finish reading through it leaves you feeling that you’ve learnt a few more little tidbits, even if they are just small ones, is well worth the read. And this one is worth the read.

.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge image.

concord publishing soldat, SOLDAT (2) The German Soldier On The Eastern Front 1943-44

Kit No. 35113

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of the Sd.Kfz 250 and 251 series vehicles, in large part due to the almost endless variations possible to come up with. These vehicles were the true workhorse of the German Army being fitted with pretty much anything that could possibly be fitted. This kit from Tamiya represents the Sd.Kfz 250/3 Command version with the large frame antenna and includes decals to depict the kit as one of Rommel’s personal Command vehicles, either the well known one named “Greif”, or the lesser known “Adler”.

The kit comes in a medium sized tray and lid type box containing four dark yellow sprues, the top and bottom of the vehicle body, an instruction booklet and a sheet of decals. As is usual with Tamiya kits the instructions are clear, well laid out and simple to follow.

The mouldings are tidy with the detail nice and sharp and minimal cleanup of mould seams and a few knock out marks required. This is an older kit, somewhere around 20 years old now and it shows in some of the simplified details such as the moulded on tools and rolled tarps, and some of the detailing is a little heavy in places. Despite this there is still alot of nice features included in this kit.

The chassis is rather simple, with the suspention arms all moulded as part of the lower tub so articulating the wheels will take a little surgery. One nice feature in this kit though is the tracks which come as link and length tracks with much better detail and a more natural fit than the usual single length vinyl tracks. Despite the simplification of the chassis and running gear it does still look quite nice as the detail is sharp and well defined.

The body is a reasonably good representation, though there is some simplification such as stowage that is moulded to the fenders and the engine mesh screens being moulded as part of the upper hull. You can position the rear door open or closed, and likewise the engine cover hatches can be shown open or closed , though they lack interior details and have a couple of large injector pin knockout marks to get rid of. On the downside there are no clear parts to use for the vision blocks. This kit also includes the six jerry cans in a frame that are mounted to the right rear, as seen in photos of “Greif”.

A complete engine is included which complements the option to position the engine access covers either open or closed. so it is worth taking the time to detail those, and likewise worth the effort to replace the moulded intake mesh with PE mesh.  All that is missing is the battery box, which for some reason everyone overlooks when making kits with engines, and of course the wiring which is always a DIY job, though I would like to see manufacturers start including at least a wiring diagram if they include an engine.

A full interior is also included with a good level of detail including the radios, full transmission, and all the usual mounted equipment found inside these vehicles. Again you’ll need to add your own wiring for the radios, though this seems to be the case in even the best kit with radio sets included. The re is a good looking dash included but no decals for it so you’ll need to paint it yourself. You also get the spare vision block holder with moulded in vision blocks which should of course be clear but short of getting a good PE set with clear blocks included you’ll need to either work with this or scratchbuild your own.

A figure of Rommel is included as one of four figires that come with this kit. This figure does actually do a good job of capturing Rommel’s likeness and comes dressed in the long overcoat that he was known for, plus googles to attach to the soft peaked cap. This coat is moulded with a separate back to the skirts so you get good undercut detail, though it could be inporved at the front. He also comes with three arms so that his left can be positioned either behind his back or holding onto the vehicle.

The other three figures are all wearing Afrikakorp tropical uniforms and field caps, and are posed to represent similar poses seen in photos of “Greif”.  Also included are four helmets, three bayonets, three breadbags, three canteens, three gas mask containers, three short shovels in carriers with attached bayonets, and two pairs of binoculars. Photos of Greif always show the crew wearing no personal gear so the extra personal equipment should really be either added to the vehicle as stowage or added to the spares bin.

Decals and a paint and marking guide are provided to represent both the “ADLER” and “Greif” command cars, and include a small guide showing how to trim the name decals to allow them to fit to the angles of the armour on the sides of the Sd.Kfz. 250/3. There are also decals included for an unidentified vehicle in “Panzer Grey” refered to only as “In Europe”.

This kit falls a little in the middle, it has quite a bit of detail, but it also has a lot of simplified detail and parts that are a bit heavy. It still makes up into a nice kit but to really get them most out of it you need to be prepared to put in the time and effort to updetail it. If your needs in a kit are simplicity and ease of assembly then this is a good one, however if you require more in the way of detail and accuracy then one of the Dragon kits is probably the better option, though the Dragon “Greif” also needs a little work.

Click thumbnails to enlarge image.

rommels armoured car, sdkfz 250/3 greif, tamiya 35113, Tamiya German Sd.Kfz 250/3 "GREIF", tamiya sdkfz 250

Kit Number MB3556

One thing that has always been hard to find in 1/35 scale in plastic kit form is good female figures, so this set from Masterbox, released in 2009 together with its sister kit “Luftwaffe Hefferinnen” is a welcome addition for many of us.

This kit comes in the usual open ended box on a single dark yellow sprue. The quality of the mouldings and the finess of the detail has improved noticeably over earlier Masterbox kits which weren’t themselves that bad but often need a little cleanup. The moulding on this set however is excellent with very nice facial detail especially with the female faces looking like female faces.

There isn’t a huge amount to this kit, just the two male figures, two females figures, the monkey and the parrot, but what you do get is very well presented. The skirts on the women are moulded with separate parts so that there is full undercut detail - so much so that it appears they are both going commando. The sailor’s neckerchief ends are a also a separate part and the naval officer includes details on his epaulettes, the ribbon bar and emblem on his cap.

One of the women has a small bald spot where her cap goes which makes her look funny without it on ( but once it is on it looks perfectly fine ), while the other woman has a separate part for her pony tail. One of the women carries a satchel over her shoulder though you will need to add your own shoulder strap to this as none is included, though that should be considered a plus as one added from thin paper or foil will always look a lot better than any moulded on one.

The parrot and monkey are also well done overall though the monkey could use a little sharpening up around his right arm where it joins his body as it sort of merges in and lacks full definition. Likewise the parrot needs more detailing around his legs and feet, mainly as he has no feet, so if you use the parrot you will need to add his feet and tidy up the legs to help them stand out from the tail.

This is a great little kit, especially for scratchbuilders. I say that because I know that the subject matter aon the surface doesn’t have a great deal of appeal to armour builders, but with some very minor modifications both women can be changed into European civilians. The naval figures likewise can be resculpted quite easily into a Kriegsmarine sailor and a german officer in prewar dress uniform.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images.

1/35 female figures, masterbox mb3556, masterbox us navy waves, Masterbox Women At War

Part No. PEA 115

Voyager Models is probably better known for their excellent photo-etched sets but they also provide a few parts in resin as well as a range of metal barrels like this one for thesFH 18 15cm Howitzers and the Hummel. This is a nice looking piece that comes as a single turned aluminium barrel plus two resin parts for replacing the breech assembly.

The turned aluminium barrel includes fine rifling detail even though these are straight rather than rifled, as in there is not the twist in them that there should be, as the rifling on a barrel this size has quite a noticeable twist. The muzzle is also only drilled out to a depth of around 6 or 7mm which on a barrelof this diameter really isn’t deep enough as it remains easy to see the solid core.

So if you were intending to use this to replace the barrel in the Dragon Hummel it doesn’t really do the job as the Hummel already comes with a metal barrel with no rifling so the point of replacing it is to get one with rifling, and the rifling in this case is too may grooves, not enough twist, and not enough depth. As I have the Dragon barrel and the Griffon equivalent handy I was able to compare all three and this one is slightly shorter than both and has the least convincing rifling.

The resin parts are very nicely cast with no defects but with a small amount of clean up required. Nice as they are I don’t actually see any noticeable improvement over the kit supplied parts however, other than that it is simpler to instal as it’s already to go ( once cleaned up that is ). This barrel and breech can be made to fit the Trumpeter sFH 18 as well though so there may be some advantage in using it there, though it is mostly offset by the extra work adapting this in.

This is still a nice looking barrel, but the simple reality is that if you’re looking for a replacment sFH 18 barrel there are plenty of better ones out there by other manufacturers. Because nice looking as it is, it’s still very hard to get around the poor rifling, which generally is one of the main reasons in using an AM replacement aluminium barrel in the first place.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge images.

voyager pea115, Voyager WWII German sFH 18 L/30 150mm

Kit No. CB35028

This version of the Bofors from Bronco was only released last year so there are high expectations for how this will stack up against the encumbant Italeri kit, even though they do represent slightly different models of the Bofors, with the Italeri being the U.S. M1 version on an M2 chassis and the Bronco one being the British/Commonwealth version with a different chassis.

This kit comes in a large tray and lid style box on six dark yellow sprues, two of which are the same. There is also four injection moulded tyres,  a small photo etched fret, a small grey sprue holding wingnuts, a small spring, a sheet of decals, and the instructions. This is called a 3-in-1 kit as you get a few options in how it can be built, as in it can be built in either the deployed or transit mode, and you also get the choice of doing it as the electrically controlled British version or the manually controlled Canadian version.

You also get the choice of the traditional spider web style double ring sights or the British Stiffkey sight, as well as a few other optional choices, so decide which way you want to build this before you start and follow the instructions as you go because there are places where you will need to do things differently for each version.

The mould quality is excellent with almost completely clean parts and almost non existant mould seams, very sharp detail and some particularly fine and delicate detailing. I did say almost, as you will still need to remove the mould seams even though they are very faint. For what is essentially a simple piece of equipment and, not a huge kit when complete, there is definitely plenty of parts to this one.

The gun is beautifully made with some very nice detail, including the internal feed rollers and lovely photo etched ready round racks which have a moulded jig included to get the shape spot on. The barrel is moulded as one piece and includes a hollowed out flash hider. This is where the included spring is used as it is the recuperator spring for the barrel and is intended to allow the barrel to be able to move in and out like the real one. There are two optional travel covers with photo-etched handles included for putting over the feed guides in the transport mode.

The gun base is also beautifully done, with the pedals and linkages in particular looking quite the part. If you go with the electrically operated version there is a very nice motor and drive shaft included, and both the electic and manual versions get a very nicely done hand crank. The shields are doubled skinned and bevelled at the edges to give them the appearance of a more to scale thickness and once assembled they do look very good.

The gun sight can be made as either the standard type with a smaller “spiderweb” sight behind a bigger “spiderweb” sight on each side, or as the Stiffkey sight which is a lot more involved and requires a bit of skill and patience to get together just right. Both versions use photo-etched parts for the sight rings together with the tiny injection moulded wing nuts which are included.

The carriage again has a few options depending on the version and mode chosen so attention to the instructions is needed. The detailing is excellent and unlike the Italeri kit this one includes full underside detail. The wheels are made up of four pieces with the fifth piece being the one piece moulded tyre. These tyres have dirrectional tread so you need to take care in putting them on so they are all facing the correct way. Again there are a lot of small and delicate parts to work with including some photo-etched parts. You can make a lot of the parts on this movable if you really want, including the anchoring pegs that can be fitted into their tiny PE clips if you do this in the travel mode.

Also included are two ammo boxes, a spare barrel box, a total of nine ammo clips, eighteen individual rounds in packing tubes, and a spare barrel. The four rounds in each ammo clip are very nicely done as are the stamped metal ammo boxes which are very thinly moulded and  have good internal detail, designed to match the external stamping detail if you choose to model them open. The eighteen individual rounds in packing tubes will actually fit into these boxes if you so desire. The wooden spare barrel box likewise has good detail both inside and out and the spare barrel fits into it nicely. The spare barrel unlike the barrel used on the gun has the recuperator spring moulded to it.

The decals that are included are for three unknown units, all painted in British No. 15 Olive Drab. There are also decals provided for the ammo cans though there are none for the spare barrel box or the individual rounds stowage tubes.

This is a very nice kit and unless you specifically want to build a U.S. version I’d go for this one over the Italeri kit every time. I’ve probably overused the words “very nice” in this review but there’s no getting away from the fact that this is an extremely nice kit. There are a lot of fiddly bits so it’s probably not one for the novice, but the extra detailing that Bronco have included is well worth the effort for what you get at the end.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge image.

1/35 bofors, Bronco Canadian 40mm Bofors, bronco cb35028