First, I owe an apology to you and to Dragon for my delay in building and reviewing this long-overdue British 25-Pdr. QF Field Gun Mk.II w/Limber & Crew - Smart Kit. Long overdue in that this fine kit finally replaces the venerable 35+ year old Tamiya 25-Pdr. Tamiya’s kit is comparatively toy-like and its figures scale rather short, 5’2” scale troops. Its big advantage was that either separately or as a package, Tamiya also provided a Quad Gun Tractor. In just over 210 gray injection-molded parts, Dragon provides only the 25-Pdr, limber, and crew. And DML sets the bar high as this is one of the best, easiest to build artillery models I’ve had the pleasure of building.

As might be predicted, with Eduard’s numerous MiG 21 releases on the market, Aires has now added a highly detailed 1/48 scale Soviet KM-1 ejection seat to their line of aftermarket parts. By incorporating both cast resin components and numerous small photo-etch parts, Aires has come up with a remarkably accurate rendition of this style of ejection seat. So many parts are involved that one might describe this aftermarket seat as a kit in itself. The photos below show the components and the finished product.

Here’s another unusual subject from our friends at Plus Model. This kit features an M1941 U.S. tent stove and various accessories. The box contains 11 grey resin parts, a small length of fine wire, and a fret of photo etched brass with 3 parts. There is also a simple instruction sheet. I found no pinholes or imperfections on any of the parts.

The M1941 Tent Stove was a light, portable unit that could be fueled with wood or coal, and an accessory kit could be added allowing it to use liquid fuel such as kerosene or diesel. It was used in large tents and bunkers and was very popular with the troops. Even today, these stoves are offered on web sites and at surplus stores to outdoorsmen who use them in cabins.