I jumped at the chance to review the Value Gear USA Modern Gear Set #2 as I am a huge fan of Value Gear, its amazing sets, and its owner (and producer, shipper, sales, customer service, and everything else to make a company work guy), Steve Munsell (also known as one of the nicest guys in our hobby).

To best set the stage for this review, here is Value Gear's Goal from their website:

The Value Gear idea is to give model builders (me included) a more useful spares box! Creating and casting sets of Generic/Universal stowage. No helmets no weapons and nothing to keep you from using it in a wooden cart, a chariot, a truck, or a panther tank. "Any Army Any Era!" is my motto. They won't work on everything but so far, I have seen people use them on so many different trucks and tanks and even some War Hammer tanks and dioramas. Stowage are accents to help give your model some story or a lived-in realistic look. Armies live under canvas.

Fantasy Figures International is a figures, fantasy and Sci-Fi modeling magazine produced four times a year by Guideline Publications out of the United Kingdom. The cover price is £5.99 ($15 in the US), with an annual subscription or £20. Digital editions are available for £3.99 per issue or £11.99 for an annual subscription. In this era of increased publishing and shipping prices, digital editions are a viable option, especially for those modelers who don’t want a physical copy to read.

Summary

The kit is an extremely well detailed version of the civilian AR-2 (43105) 6x6 in service as a special fire hose truck. The model has a complete chassis with a full engine, a well detailed cab, and a fire hose box with outstanding exterior detail. The fire hose box itself is empty. So if one wanted to display the doors open an interior would need to be fabricated.

Background

The following is excerpted from the instruction sheet.