Dan Brown
Reviews By Author
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Sd.Kfz. 179 Bergepanther Ausf APublished:
With the development of the Panther and the Tiger 1 the Germans came to the realization that they needed an armored recovery vehicle that could handle the weight of these larger vehicles. MAN was originally tasked converting Panther Ds for use in this capacity. The vehicles selected for conversion had the turret removed and replaced with a central 40-ton winch and a large rear spade to dig the vehicle in. A wooden work platform was built over the winch and a light crane (1500 kgs capacity) was installed on the rear deck. For armament, a 2cm KwK-30 cannon was mounted on the front along with the standard machine gun. This new kit from Meng is the first new modern kit of this interesting vehicle and the first release of this vehicle since the old Italeri kit from the mid-1990s. … more |
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Russian 9K37M1 BUKPublished:
The Buk (Beech Tree) missile system is an integrated system of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The Buk system is designed to counter all manner of airborne threats from cruise missiles to unmanned aerial vehicles. This new kit from Meng represents the Buk-M1-2 transporter erector launcher and radar (TELAR) vehicle. TELAR superstructure is a turret containing the fire control radar at the front and a launcher with four ready-to-fire missiles on top. As usual with new Meng releases, the large box includes an impressive collection of extremely well-molded sprues with no visible mold issues or flash. There are eleven sprues, three hull parts in sand-colored styrene, a sprue of clear parts, a sprue… more |
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IDF M-109 Doher 1993Published:
The M109 is an American made 155mm self propelled howitzer that was first used in the early 1960s. It has been extensively upgraded to remain in front line service and extensively exported to U.S. allies around the world. Israel fielded the M109A2 variant in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 as the Rochev and in the early 1990s the IDF began to modernize this vehicle using the M109A6 as a guide. The designation of the updated M109 Rochev was Doher and the vehicles remain in service today. This new injection molded kit from AFV Club is the next in the line of recent releases of their M109 line. The original boxing for the M109A2 version of this kit is still relatively new so don’t expect to find any real issues flash or bad moldings. The only issue that I had with the parts was that… more |
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US Army M163 VulcanPublished:
The M113 is a long serving fully tracked APC that was first fielded in Vietnam by the US Army in 1962. It has long been replaced by the M2 and M3 Bradley in front line roles but this versatile chassis still has a number of units in service in support roles. One of the most interesting uses of this chassis is the M163 Vulcan Air Defense System or VADS. This marries the M113 to the M168 rotary cannon, which is a variant of the 20MM M61. This new injection molded kit from Academy is one among previously released versions of the M113 chassis. It is an oldie yet goodie chassis with some new sprues that to add the parts for the M163 variant. The original boxing for the Academy is from the mid 1990s and the kit design is showing its age a little. Unlike most modern kits, it doesn’t… more |
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US M915 Army Truck with Container TrailerPublished:
The M915 is the basis for a series of heavy trucks built for the US Army. In the late 1970s the US army identified a need for a line of commercial trucks. AM General was selected in 1977 and the first vehicles were delivered in 1978. This new release from Trumpeter depicts the M915 Line Haul Tractor. This vehicle is limited to operating on hard surface roads and typically tows the M872 semi-trailer. This combination has a payload capacity of around 30 tons and this new release from Trumpeter contains the M915 tractor, M872 trailer and a 40ft container. As is typical of these larger Trumpeter releases the large box contains a large number of light grey plastic sprues, 24 rubber tires, a small decal sheet, and a small photo etch fret. The well over 500 parts are very well… more |
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T-15 Armata Object 149Published:
The T-15 is a new vehicle designed for the Russian inventory as an infantry support vehicle, possibly as a replacement for the venerable BMP 2. The T-15 is concept based on the T-14 MBT tank hull. Due to the nature of the T-14 being designed to have multiple versions, the T-15 is the same hull that has a different automated turret installed. This turret is designed with infantry support in mind with a 2A42 30 mm auto-cannon, a 7.62 mm coaxial PKT and two sets of Kornet-EM anti-tank missiles. Panda Hobby’s new kit is the first attempt at this interesting new vehicle. The instructions are pretty standard for Panda kits, printed on glossy paper with clear part breakdowns. In a few steps the parts locations can be a little vague but for the most part the instructions are great.… more |
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5IDF Shot'Kal Dalet with Battering RamPublished:
In the late 1950’s the Israeli Defense Force was faced with an ageing armory consisting mainly of up-gunned M50 Shermans from the end of World War II. To update and modernize this fleet of vehicles they purchased second hand Centurion Mark III and Vs. They were quickly upgraded to local specs and were named Sho’t (“scourge”). The Sho’t series of tanks served from the late 1950’s to the early 1990’s in Israel’s arsenal, through a number of upgrades culminating in the Sho’t Kal Dalet. The Sho’t Kal Dalet came into service sometime around 1985 with an upgraded laser range finder and thermal gun sleeve. The instructions are classic AFV club. They are clearly printed on heavy gloss paper with clear callouts and in several places include nice depictions of a real vehicle to provide… more |
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BMPT-72 Terminator 2Published:
The original BMPT Terminator was designed to be a combat support vehicle for urban combat. It seems to have been conceived from combat experience gained in the first Chechen War and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The BMPT itself was built on a modernized T-72 chassis with the main armament consisting of four 9M120 Ataka missile launchers and two 30 mm 2A42 autocannons. The BMPT-72 Terminator 2 is the successor to the original BMPT Terminator 1 and like the original is built on the T-72 chassis. However, the BMPT-72 is only being built as a retrofit kit for export to countries that have old T-72s. This new kit from Tiger Models is the first kit of this very unique vehicle. One of the first things that you note when opening a Tiger Model kit is the unique packaging. This isn… more |
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F-104 C2 Ejection SeatPublished:
With the recent releases of the special edition F-104 kits from Eduard in 1/48 using Hasegawa plastic, Eduard has released the F-104 C2 ejection seat as a separate kit. The Lockheed C2 ejection seat was the most commonly used ejection seat for the F-104 in US service. It is a downward firing rocket propelled ejection seat. This seat set is very simple. It contains the main seat frame, two seat options, rails, a small photoetch set and a small decal set. As this is a drop in replacement seat for the kit seat the assembly is very straight forward. Everything in the kit replaces the equivalently parts in the F-104 kit. The first step in the assembly is to remove the three large resin parts from the casting blocks, using a razor saw for this step. If you are careful minimal clean… more |
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F-104 C2 Ejection SeatPublished:
With the recent releases of the special edition F-104 kits from Eduard in 1/48 using Hasegawa plastic, Eduard has released the F-104 C2 ejection seat as a separate kit. The Lockheed C2 ejection seat was the most commonly used ejection seat for the F-104 in US service. It is a downward firing rocket propelled ejection seat. This seat set is very simple. It contains the main seat frame, two seat options, rails, a small photo etch set and a small decal set. As this is a drop in replacement seat for the kit seat the assembly is very straight forward. Everything in the kit replaces the equivalently parts in the F-104 kit. The first step in the assembly is to remove the three large resin parts from the casting blocks, use a razor saw for this step. If you are careful minimal clean… more |