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Review Author
Phillip Cavender
Published on
November 5, 2023
Company
AFV Club
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$21.99

Box and Contents

The kit is packaged in the standard AFV Club accessories box, which has dimensions of 10-1/4” (260mm) x 6-1/2” (165mm) x 1-1/2’ (12mm). The front of the box features a colored image, and on the back, you can find ten real photos showcasing the completed workbench and toolset. Inside the box, you will find four olive drab sprues, a small photoetch fret, one poster, and media placards, and one four-page instructional manual printed on gloss paper with the last page being the painting guide.

Sprue Breakdown

(I) x 3 sprues from AFV Club kit 35304 1/35th scale M109A3 2.5-Ton 6x6 Shop Van. These three sprues contain the parts for two workbenches, stools, basic machine tools such as drill press, vice, compressor, bench grinder, toolboxes, and hand tools.

(Q ) x1 sprue from AFV Club kit 35113 1/35th scale M113A1 ACAV Vietnam War. This sprue contains 8 weapons.

Book Author(s)
Charles C. Roberts Jr.
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
November 5, 2023
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$45.00

Founded in 2001, Casemate is a major specialist publisher and book distributor in the North American market. Casemate offers print and digital books to the public and to libraries through a variety of channels, platforms, and vendors, as well as traditional and online retailers. Casemate has grown to become the leading publisher in the fields of military history, defense studies, and military science in the USA. Casemate has a burgeoning publishing list covering subjects as diverse as Roman History and today's current conflicts. This series, Casemate Illustrated Specials is focused on offering focused text and detailed photographs and illustrations into the weapons, equipment, and machinery of war.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
November 4, 2023
Company
AFV Club
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$60.00

According to Tank Encylopedia’s ‘The Online Tank Museum’ -

In the late 1940s, the British War Office (WO) was concerned that – after the debut of the IS-3 in 1945 – the Soviet Union would continue to develop heavily armored tanks. As such, the War Office filed a requirement for the development of a gun capable of defeating a 60-degree sloped plate, 6 inches (152 mm) thick, at up to 2,000 yards (1,830 meters), and a suitable vehicle to carry it.

This requirement led to the development of the ‘Ordnance, Quick-Firing, 183 mm, Tank, L4 Gun’, the largest purpose-built anti-tank gun to have ever been created. It was intended that this gun would be mounted on a new ‘Heavy Gun Tank’ based on the FV200 series chassis. This was designated the ‘Tank, Heavy No. 2, 183 mm Gun, FV215’.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
November 4, 2023
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$9.90

Manufactured by Jan Sobotka, this 2022 new tool package comes with one PE fret (measuring 1 ¼” x 1 1/16 ”) containing two pry bars, three wire cutters, four wrenches, eight axes (four with closed tool clamps), eight hammers (four with closed tool clamps), two each of two sets of German towing hooks, seven shovels (two with closed tool clamps), two (what I believe to be) track tensioners, and four MG 34/42 MGs). This outstanding set is incredibly detailed for its miniscule size. This PE set will bring your German vehicle to the next level.

Tools are ubiquitous on military vehicles in the field. To say these are tiny is an understatement, but they are very well detailed and will make micro panzers pop (if you can see them).

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
November 4, 2023
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$12.97

For anyone hardy enough to tackle a WWII Fiat G.50 fighter plane in 1/144 scale, this PE set is for you. Measuring in at 1 ¼”x 1 9/16”, there are extra PE details for the cockpit (including the seat), engine and landing gear; there is also a small piece of film to be used on the interior of the cockpit door. This PE set is made for the Italian G.50, specifically the Mark I Models kits (of which there are three).

As this PE set is for an Italian fighter plane, it could also be described as “piccino”, “minuscolo”, or “minuto”, no matter how it is described, it is tiny and the whole fret could be lost in a deep shag carpet. To really appreciate the detail, take a look at the completed PE in the model on the Brengun webpage (https://www.brengun.cz/e-shop/1-144-accessories-19/fiat-g-50-(mark-i-ki…).