Horch Photoetch Set

Published: October 13, 2015
Company: Eduard

Eduard has produced this nice photoetch set to add considerable detail to ICM’s Horch 108 Typ 40 WWII German Personnel Car. The set adds much better detail to the light and equipment mounting brackets on the front fenders, the brackets and plaques on the rear doors, the rifle clamps, and many other miscellaneous details.

The package includes one photoetch fret, one small printed acetate sheet with instrument gauges, and instructions. The photoetch is quite thin and has been reduced further in thickness for parts like the dashboard and mud flaps. The photoetch has a slightly brushed texture to the surface. The parts contain Eduard’s typical ultra-fine detail and many of the pieces have further detail etched on the surface of the part. The gateways or connections between the part… more

Horch 108 Typ 40

Published: October 10, 2015
Company: ICM

This is a new, very nice kit from ICM. The parts have very good detail, go together will, and end up with a highly detailed model. Care must be used due to small parts, so the kit may be difficult for beginners.

The kit comes with all the parts in one plastic bag. The five vinyl tires are separately bagged, as are the clear plastic sprue parts. The bulk of the kit is on six dark yellow sprues. The parts have extremely good detail and there are many finely cast pieces. There are lots of small pieces and the kit includes 211 parts overall. The front grill is particularly well cast with openings between the individual grill slats. There is no flash apparent on the parts and mold seams are minimal. The detail on the parts is incredible and this should make for a highly detailed… more

US Army LeTourneau CarryAll LS Scraper

Published: September 21, 2015
Company: L.Z. Models

L.Z. Models has added another great vehicle to their line of wartime construction equipment with a resin kit of the US Army LeTourneau CarryAll LS Scraper. The CarryAll is a smaller LS variant of the famous Le Torneau scraper, and was used widely by US and other armies during and long after WWII. The Scraper was usually seen towed by a CAT D7 and later a D8 tractor, and is a perfect companion to L.Z. Models’ tractor and bulldozer kits.

The L.Z. Models kit is a challenging build due to the intricate cabling system, but was enjoyable to work through the assembly. Resin and photoetch experience is required for this kit.

Opening the box reveals a plethora of resin parts, some very big, and some very small. The detail is fairly good. Most of the parts are attached to casting… more

German Heavy Armored Car - Sd.Kfz.234/1 (w/2cm Gun)

Published: September 3, 2015
Company: Tamiya

This is a nice kit that is fairly simple to build, yet ends up with a model with good detail. The 3 additional figures have the added benefit of creating a vignette right out of the box.

The kit is a rebox of the Italeri kit to which Tamiya has added three figures, motorcycle, weapons set, and an updated decal sheet. The main kit is the original Italeri issue on four light brown sprues. Tamiya has added three separate sprues for the German Infantry Equipment Set B, the three figures, and the motorcycle. There is also a small fret of parts B37 & B38 that apparently replace the original parts.

The Italeri sprues have good detail with minimal flash, but there are some mold seams. The dark yellow Tamiya sprues have a little better detail, also with minimal flash and a… more

U.S. Cougar 6x6 MRAP Vehicle

Published: August 20, 2015
Company: Meng Model

This is a very nice kit with lots of parts - the engineering and fit is excellent. It’s a tedious build, but the instructions are very clear and the parts fit great.

From Meng’s Website

The U.S. Cougar 6×6 MRAP vehicle, developed by the U.S. company Force Protection Inc., is an armored vehicle which can withstand roadside bombs, attacks, and ambushes. It is powered by a 330hp Caterpillar C-7 diesel engine on a 6x6 chassis. It can carry 10 people at a maximum speed up to 105km/h. The vehicle can withstand the detonation of 13.6kg TNT charge under front and rear axles, and 6.8kg TNT charge under the middle of the vehicle. Both the hull and bulletproof windows can withstand 7.62mm bullets. An M2 MG, M240 GPMG or MK19 grenade launcher can be mounted on the roof. In 2004,… more

Da Vinci Arch Bridge

Published: August 15, 2015
Company: Academy Models

This bridge kit is part of Academy’s nine kit series of models of Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions. These kits are simple assembly with a limited number of parts, but are good instructional models exploring Da Vinci’s inventions.

The kit does not require any painting or cements for construction.

The arch bridge designed by Leonardo Da Vinci uses a self-supporting arch concept to distribute weight through the full curve of the arch.

The plastic parts are molded in brown plastic and include three plastic sprues plus 2 base pieces. The kit includes 24 plastic parts, instructions, and a lightweight cardboard box to store the parts. The kit has two levels of assembly, Elementary and Advanced depending upon the span length of the bridge. The instructions include some… more

Stone, Woods & Cook ’41 Willys

Published: August 9, 2015
Company: Revell

Cleanup on aisle six. That's what I kept thinking as I peeled away layer after layer of flash and mold seams from this kit. Michelangelo once said something like every block of stone has a masterpiece inside. It’s up to the sculptor to discover it. That's the way it is with this kit. Somewhere buried beneath all that flash is a nice kit.

This is a great Revell kit that once was a classic model that every car modeler needs to build. Dates on the sprues suggest this kit was first issued in 1982, and there have been several re-releases since then. The years have not been nice though, as the flash and worn moldings continue to grow, requiring lots of cleanup.

The kit includes 155 parts molded in white plastic plus chrome plated sprue, four vinyl tiles, and decal sheet. They… more

US Army Driver

Published: July 10, 2015
Company: L.Z. Models

This figure is part of L. Z. Models 1/35 D7 Bulldozer and Tractor Crew series. Other figures in the series include US Army Mechanic tuning engine, and US Army Mechanic cleaning track. L.Z. states that another civilian mechanic and a British driver figure will also be released. These figures are intended for use with the new dozers from L.Z. Models, Trumpeter, Commander Models, and the new series of MiniArt dozers. I recently built PlusModel’s US Grader, but he doesn’t fit without major surgery to his legs (see photo). The driver’s legs are too short for the Grader seat. I fit him into MiniArt’s dozer seat and he fits much better.

The figure comes in four parts - torso, two arms, and head/neck, all with nice crisp detail. The figure appears to be wearing a field jacket with… more

U.S. Motor Grader - Part 2

Published: July 7, 2015
Company: Plusmodel

This is a great kit, and will build a beautiful model of a unique WWII vehicle. Building this model is a challenge however, and will require lots of resin experience and careful fitting of many delicate parts.

Originally introduced as the "Caterpillar Diesel No. 12 Auto Patrol" in 1938, the grader was renamed as a ‘Motor Grader’ one year later. The U.S. Army used the Cat 12 Grader during WWII in all theaters for airfield and road work. This is an iconic vehicle that has long deserved a quality kit and Plus Model has delivered a beauty. The Grader follows Plus Models other excellent full resin dozer kits.

An Out-of-the Box review is located here U.S. Motor Grader - Part 1.

There are 236 parts cast in a medium gray resin with nice detail.… more

High Mobility - A Visual History

Published: July 6, 2015
Book Author(s): David DoyleAmpersand Group
Company: Ampersand Publishing

This is another of Ampersand Group’s Visual History Series using high-quality photography to show subjects in detail and in action. These books are excellent resources for modelers looking for formation and details on specific vehicles. This book, by the prolific author David Doyle, covers the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) popularly known as the Humvee.

The two-page Introduction discusses the history of development of the Humvee, and then briefly describes some of the 40 models in its development. Several models of predecessors in early variations are included. The Humvee has evolved from its original function as a soft skin utility vehicle to serve many other functions, including an armored combat vehicle.

The book focuses on and includes a chapter… more