Another beautifully mastered set, nicely cast in light tan resin without warps or pinholes. These are exceptional in that they go a long way to enhance an already extremely nice model and require a minimum of surgery to install. For me, they earn the “most highly approved” designation. Many thanks to Quickboost and to IPMS/USA for the review sample.

THE KIT

I’ve built a couple of 1/72 scale Zvezda kits, and they’ve always been quite complex, with lots of parts. The Stuka is a complete departure from that norm. It’s very simple, with only a few parts, and there’s not much detail on the kit. The explanation comes from the Dragon website. Zvezda not only makes scale models, they also make table-top games. This is intended as an add-on/expansion for the game “Barbarossa 1941”. There’s a reference card for the Stuka’s part in the game included in the kit. There are other aircraft available, Bf-109, La-7 and Il-2 Sturmovik, plus 1/72 ground units.

Having done my share of “cardboard squares on a map” gaming, as well as some miniatures, I know that the more complex the miniature, the more likely it is that you’ll ruin it while playing. So simplicity and low price are virtues for this kit.

The kit is a single dark green sprue with the single-piece canopy in the plastic bag with the decals.

The YW-531C has a history dating back to the early sixties. The Chinese firm Norinco produced the first indigenous vehicle and rolled it off the assembly lines as the Type 63 in 1963. It was fraught with mechanical and technical issues that were quickly overcome. As with all base vehicles, many variants and ideas were applied to and tested on the design. In 1982 the Type 63C started rolling off the assembly lines and the export version was designated YW-531C. The vehicle has a German air cooled diesel power pack, weighs in at 12.8 tons, carries a 12.7mm machinegun for self defense and anti-aircraft and holds a 15 man crew (13 soldiers and 2 crew members). The Iraqi Army received at least 150 of these vehicles. They saw extensive use in the Gulf War. Photographic evidence is very limited and there are several in museums but I have not uncovered any interior shots as of yet.