Looking at the Box

Austin (age 7): I think the kit looks pretty neat and stuff, awesome. I like the pictures on the sides. It was made in 2011 by Revell Snaptite.

Rob (actual age 53, behavioral age debatable) : The box is 9.5 x 6.75 x 4.5 inches and is lavishly illustrated. The Diablo is described as “a wild and fast mid-engine exotic sports car with four-wheel drive.” I wince at the thought of working on a 5.7 liter engine with 48 valves. I guess if you can afford one of these cars, you can afford a mechanic and the insurance.

Conceived and born of a Soviet requirement for a dedicated anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter in the mid-1960’s, the Mi-14 was patterned after the American S-3 Sea King helicopter and leveraged components from existing Soviet equipment, such as the Mi-8, to expedite development and delivery into service. In 1976, the Mi-14 entered service with the Soviet Navy. Three variants of the Mi-14 covered a range of missions, including ASW, Search and Rescue, and minesweeping. As with other Soviet aircraft designs, the Mi-14 was exported to Warsaw Pact and other allies, finding its way into Polish service in 1981.

This super heavy tank project was started in November, 1941. By May of 1942, the size of this tank had increased varied from 70 to 120 tons, and its armament varied from 10.5cm to 15cm, finally settling on 12.8cm, then adding a second gun of 7.5cm. This project slowly progressed due to many changes, lack of adequate motors to propel the beast, and constant competing for materials and space in the production cycles. The plan was for 180 of the tanks, but only 2 were delivered to the testing center and were there at the end of the war. These two tanks were blown up by the Germans to keep the Red Army from capturing them. However, the Russians did find several hulls and turrets at the Krupp works and apparently “built” an example that is now in the Kubinka Tank Museum.