Military Models » 2. Reviews

Kit Review – MiniArt Bantam 40 BRC British Staff Car With Crew

Dean — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:00:03 +0000

The Bantam BRC is the Willys Jeep’s lesser known parent. In a weird twist of business irony Bantam’s submitted a design that was accepted by the US government but subsequently passed on to Ford, so the Bantam design, with not a heck of a lot of changes, went on to become the Jeep produced by Ford. Meanwhile Bantam contiued to produce their original vehicle, the BRC, but this was relegated to Lend-Lease sales so ended up in use by Soviet and Commonwealth forces but not the US forces. So today everyone know sthe Willys Jepp, and few people would know the name Bantam BRC.

But enough of the history lesson, and on with the review of what is currently the only 1/35 scale kit of the Bantam available, MiniArt’s, which comes in several variations which pretty much are just the same vehicle with different nationality crews and the applicable decals. So here we’re looking at the British/Commonwealth version with it’s three man crew.

The kit comes in the relatively standard medium sized tray and lid style box on just three sprues moulded in light grey with a smaller fourth clear sprue. Two of the three grey sprues are for the Bantam, the third is for the crew. There is also a small sheet of decals and a set of instructions.

The mould quality is a little below most of what we would consider to shelf manufacturers like DML, Tamiya and Bronco, but would be well up on the second shelf. There’s a little bit of flash to contend with and as a result you need to spend time removing mould seams from everything as well as dealing with a few knock out marks. Clean-up aside though what you get is straight and well defined.

The instructions are always on of the best features in MiniArt’s kits, printed in colour on glossy paper, and this is no exception so you get a four page set of instructions with the two centre spread pages covering the jeep construction in twenty two stages and the back page covering the figures. The steps are clear and easy to follow with a good logical sequence, though you do have to make sure you follow the numbers to avoid accidentally skipping ahead.

The chassis comes as a one piece frame to which you attach the bumpers, axles, drive shaft, and exhaust as well as the shocks and springs. You also get a rudimentary engine which suffices for what would be seen from underneath or through the grille with the hood down. With the hood up there’s still plenty there to do the job, including the battery and air cleaner, though it would need a bit of work adding wires etc if you wanted to get picky.

The wheels are moulded as two pieces, the outer wheel and the tyre plus the inner wheel which includes the detail for the brake drums, though it is a little basic. The tyre tread pattern is well done and overall the surface detail is nice and sharp. The spare wheel is missing the hub and has three bolts in place with two left empty but you will need to drill these through as they aren’t open.

The body is moulded as a single piece unit with separate firewall and grille. Again the moulding is straight and sharp with good surface detail, though there is a little flashing to clean up. The windscreen is very nicely done with separate wipers and tilt adjustment arms, though again the centre of these will need drilled out for the picky amongst us. The tilt frame is included moulded into its mounts and it does even include some very nice wing nuts.

The interior is pretty good for a small vehicle that doesn’t have a lot anyway. The levers and pedals are all separate and are nice and finely moulded, the dash includes a couple of decals for the main dials, and the seats are well done with good detail and even include a first aid kit under the driver’s seat.

The decals are very simple, though that is more a case of these vehicles not really bearing a lot of markings. You get two marking options, one for a 1st Armoured Division HQ vehicle in North Africa an 1942 and the other for a No.3 Squadron vehicle of the Royal Australian Airforce in Libya in 1941.

The figures are a driver and two officers, all seated and intended to go into the Bantam with one officer fitted to the seat so as to be holding it as he turns to the officer in the rear. The fit there is good but not perfect and does require a little tweaking to make it look natural ( though that said I do tend to be fussy about that sort of thing ). Each gets different headgear with the driver getting a sidecap, one officer the usual peaked cap, and the third a beret.

The moulding is good, the detail is good, the fussy will need to add undercuts to the shorts but that’s about it. Both officers are moulded with watches on the left arm and the driver and one officer gets a pair of goggles each. These have solid moulded lens which I prefer to drill out and replace with clear glue. All three also get a holstered pistol each and the officer in the rear gets a mapboard that is intended to be placed across his thighs.

Conclusion. Well as this is your only choice if you want to build a 1/35 scale Bantam a conclusion could be considered rather moot but I’m going to give one anyway and that is that this is a pretty good kit. There’s a little flash and hence a bit more clean-up than we’re used to these days but it’s still a nice sound kit with a high level of detail that goes together well and the kit straight out of the box is more than adequate for the average builder. So recommended to anyone who wants to try something a little different when it comes to Jeeps.

NOTE : As part of this build I’m also reviewing the Minor PE Workable Springs ( se HERE ) and PE Complete Detail set for the Miniart Bantam. That review will be up next week so I will update this with a proper link when that is up. After that I’ll be putting all this up as a build log.

For those building this kit and in need of a little research help we have a walkaround of a Bantam 40 BRC which you can see HERE.

Photo Etch Upgrade Set Review – Minor Workable Springs For The MinArt Bantam BRC

Dean — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 05:00:20 +0000

This will be the first of two related reviews looking at Photo Etch detail sets from Minor for dressing up the MiniArt Bantam BRC 40. This one will look at the workable spring set, the second one which will follow in a few days will look at the complete update set. These will also be accompanied by a review of the MiniArt Bantam itself as well as a build log showing the whole lot going together. ( NB : There are more photos to go up of this one showing the springs assembled and in place but I’ll add those once I’ve finished adding all the PE to the Bantam. I had hoped to have these done by now but my girls went up to stay with their mum for a few days so I’ve been enjoying spending time with the wife so you’ll all just have to wait another week ).

Just a quick background before we start for those who aren’t familiar with Minor, they’re a Spanish Photo Etch manufacturer who started off making workable spring sets for the Tamiya and Italeri Jeeps around a year or so ago and who has been adding stuff slowly over the past year. Most of their existing range is focused around the Jeeps but they are moving into other areas now as well. As these springs vary only slightly from the Jeep springs you can take onboard what you read here and apply it to the Jeep set as well.

What you get is a tidy little self sealing bag with a sheet of printed instructions, a stiff cardboard backer and a single brass photo etch fret containing 108 parts. Yes that’s a lot of parts and I hear people’s PE-Sanity bells ringing, but when you get down to it this is still a very simple and straight forward set.

The brass quality is excellent and reflects just how new Minor is as working with this is a pleasure compared to the likes of the older Eduard stuff. This is more in the Aber league, it’s easy to cut, easy to clean up and easy to form. In fact I didn’t need a file here anywhere, most was easy enough to cut away cleanly enough not to need clean-up and the few parts that did were done with some fine grit automotive wet-and-dry sandpaper.

The instructions are a double sided A4 sheet of line diagram drawings. I know it may seem a little thing to some people but there are a lot of resin makers out there who could learn a lesson from some PE makers when it comes to instructions. Where some resin kit instructions look like the maker got their preschooler to sketch something out, the likes of these look like a draftsman got paid. These are very reminiscent of the likes of Armorscale and AM works in the layout, in other words well thought out and easy to follow.

Assembly comes with the qualifier that I need glasses and an optivisor just to be able to tell if I’m holding something once it’s smaller than a 1/35 scale head, so if you’re in the same boat then you’ll need all your visual enhancements to work with this as there are some very small parts to contend with. For those of you who are younger and have perfect vision this won’t be a problem ( and I hate you all ).

Conclusion. I’m genuinely surprised that no-one has done these before, they’re brilliant. I know a lot of people will be thinking this is detailing overkill but really if you’re into adding photo-etch to your kits then these really should be on any jeep detailing shopping list, and as they currently sit at 9 euro I think they’re good value for money to boot. They come with the usual photo-etch sanity warning but when has that ever stopped us using PE. Very highly recommended and now that Minor is starting to do these for other vehicles out there I can see these becoming a must have for all cars, trucks and jeeps.

Kit Review : Tristar 35048 – Panzer IV/70 (A)

Dean — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:00:56 +0000

35048 – Panzer IV/70 (A) Sd.Kfz.162/1

Let me preface this by saying that I am an unabashed fan of both the StuG and the Pz.Kpfw.IV so the Jagdpanzers are always going to be popular in my stash. That said even I think the Pz.IV/70(A) looks like it crashed into the ugly tree …but … it’s that kind of ugly that still appeals and with several variants of the various versions of the Jagdpanzer around I was keen to see how this one stacked up against DML’s older version and ahead of their planned new version.

For those needing a bit of background the Jagdpanzer IV was intended to replace the StuG.III and StuG.IV with the first production version coming out having a low profile and mounting the StuG’s L/48 75mm gun ( an earlier preproduction version, the Jagdpanzer IV(O) had the l/39 gun ) . The powers that be wanted to upgrade the Jagdpanzer IV to the higher velocity L/70 gun and this, the Alkett variant, was one of the two contenders and often referred to as the mid-type, or interim type, with the later version, the Vomag l/70(V) being the main production variant, returning to the lower profile look.

This kit comes in a tray and lid type box and being one of the first production run includes a bonus set of four German Panzer Grenadiers. So what you get in the box is three sprues for the figures, then a further sixteen sprues and a hull tub for the Jagdpanzer, all moulded in dark yellow. There is also one clear sprue, two photo-etched brass frets, one sheet of metal mesh for making the schurzen, a black vinyl sprue for the tyres, a sheet of decals and the instruction booklet.

The instructions are a single long folding sheet that has ten pages containing fourteen construction steps as well as the painting guide and sprue layouts. The instructions can be a little confusing in a couple of places as they are quite involved and you have to look hard for part numbers sometimes, so a bit of attention needs to be paid to make sure everything goes where it should. The figures get a single colour sheet of intructions/painting guide, and there is a separate paper template for cutting out the shurzen from the supplied sheet of metal mesh.

The moulding, as is expected from Tristar, is extremely good with nice clean parts overall and sharp detail. Mould seams for the most part are minimal though there are a few that are more noticeable and there is also small spots of flash but overall clean-up is very easy. The level of detail is excellent and the Tamiya like 14 step instructions belie just how many parts there are here to work with. There is a lot of very intricate detail her but the fit and finish is excellent and for the most part the instructions are clear and easy to understand.

The lower hull is a one-piece tub which comes with some very light surface texture and all the underside rivets and hatches. To this you attach a lot of pieces including the underside strengthening sections, the rear plate with the exhausts, an internal firewall and numerous small parts for things like the track tension adjusters, towbar, tow mounts and of course all the running gear. There’s a lot of detail in this kit.

The running gear adds to the complexity of parts as each pair of roadwheels alone is six pieces and you need to make eighteen pairs and there are two different types of roadwheels, some intended specifically for the front so make sure of what parts get used where as the rear sets get the rubber tyres which not only save you having to paint the tyres but are beautifully moulded right down to the writing on them. Add to parts for the roadwheels seven pieces for each of the eight suspension units and you’ll be quickly reminded just why building Pz.Kpfw.IV based vehicles can be so much fun.

The sprockets are relatively simple by comparison, just two parts for each sprocket, one for the drive shaft, and one for the final drive housing. Likewise the early style idlers are three part and each of the eight return rollers three parts as well. All of these are beautifully moulded.

The tracks are individual link with each having separate cleats so with 98 links per side that’s close to four hundred bits to put together. Don’t you just love building 1/35 armour ? But love the or hate them individual link tracks beat rubber band ones anyday and these ones are particularly good with no clean-up of the exposed surfaces required. There are two attachment points on each but they are on the leading edge so very careful removal and these will go together with very little clean-up needed.

The upper hull is also very nicely detailed and includes separate transmission and brake inspection hatches at the front, and a lot of intricate detail at the back on the engine deck which has separate parts for making the vent grilles and multiple parts for making up the side intake louvres. The tools are nicely done, they have moulded on mounts but photo-etch mount handles and the jack is a multi-piece assembly. Despite the high level of detail and the seeming high number of parts the upper hull is actually quite an easy build though as it all goes together well.

The fenders are separate pieces for each side and come with photo etch tread plates for the rear section and separate mud guards front and rear, which also have very nicely done small retaining springs as separate pieces. One thing this kit does suffer from though is something that effects so many kits, and that is the lack of detailing on the underside of the fenders together with four quite prominent knock out marks on each. This is an area I’d love to see manufacturers addressing.

The superstructure is made up of interlocking plates just as on the real vehicle which I must admit is a feature that I really like. These include very delicate weld bead details for when the parts are together as well. Like the rest of this kit there’s a lot of small detail to be added both inside and out with a limited interior fit-out that includes the gun breech and a lot to fit to the outer walls and the top of the roof as well, with the commander’s hatch for example having five pieces including a clear periscope.

One thing missing here is along the front of the superstructure where the vertical plate joins the glacis should be a channelling weather strip which is not included in the kit although it is hinted at in the cover artwork ( it’s there if you look but not as clearly defined as it should be ). One other detail on the superstructure that is wrong is that Tristar would have you open the loader’s hatch to the right where is should open to the rear. This is a very easy fix though, just move the mounts.

The interior is only a limited one ( it’s way more than a lot of kits provide though ) and mainly consists of the breech mentioned above which is actually a very nice complete breech assembly with a lot more detail than you would normally expect for something that will be barely visible. Also on the inside you get a few bits here to fit for the driver’s vision block as well as some detail on the underside of the roof such as periscopes and the close in defence weapon.

The gun barrel is a single piece with a hollowed out muzzle and internal rifling though the rifling seems a bit over scale, I found it looked much better with a little sanding back o fthe high points and then extra grooves added between each of the existing ones with the tip of a scalpel blade. This will only give the appearance of rifling for the first three or four millimetres but I find it to be sufficient.

The mantlet requires a bit of paying attention as the larger main mantlet that mounts to the body requires removal of the mould seam where-as the smaller outer saukopf mantlet that mounts to the gun has one that doesn’t need removing as it’s meant to be there, it’s the weld seam. Beyond that both are well presented though they both could do with some surface texturing. Also the instructions would have you mount the travel lock to the saukopf mantlet but don’t, it should mount to the barrel immediately in front of the mantlet.

The schurzen is provided as a sheet of interwoven aluminium mesh and comes as a single large sheet with printed templates for cutting it out. It’s a rather simple affair as regards concept but a somewhat more complex affair as regards execution. The whole Thoma schurzen thing seems a little blurred as there are photos of this stuff mounted directly to the rails and others showing it bolted to frames that then attach to the rails. In this case you can do either here as photo-etch is provided for making frames but no mention of it is made in the instructions, it’s something you have to work out from left over parts. To my eye the interwoven mesh provided is accurate enough to period photos.

The figures are actually very nice. I quite like Tristar’s figures and I think they frequently get overlooked as an option. These ones represent four grenadiers dressed for winter and have well done uniform details and clearly defined hands and faces. You get three times as many weapons as you need which is always a bonus as every keen modeller needs a large spare parts bin where they can horde parts they’ll most likely never use.

So for the weapons here you get a total of three MP40s ( one with a separate stock ), three Kar 98Ks ( that come with separate bolts ), two G43s, two MP44s, a P38, and an MG42 with the usual optional open/closed bipod, length of ammo belt, two drum mags, one closed ammo box and one open ammo box with a separate lid.

The decals and painting guide provide options for three vehicles - Fuhrer Begleit Brigade, Ardennes Offensive 1944 ; 23 Panzer Division, Hejmakser, Hungary, 1945 ; Red Army Operated, Vienna, Austria, 1945

Conclusion : Yes the schurzen is a bit finicky, and there is a couple of missing details but those really are minor in the overall scheme of things and in that overall scheme this is a really nice kit with a lot of very nice detail. The assembly is well thought out making construction relatively painless and this builds up quickly and easily despite the high part count. Definitely worth getting if you’re after a good Jagdpanzer kit.

Click images to enlarge