Marc K. Blackburn
Reviews By Author
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BAE WarriorPublished:
Airfix continues its 1/48 line of military vehicles from Operation Herrick in Afghanistan. This new release is the warrior infantry fighting vehicle fitted with slat armor and jamming devices for IEDs. Like the American Bradley and the Russian BMP, the Warrior first entered service in 1984 and has been updated as time as gone on. Armed with a 30 mm cannon and a 7.62 mm machine gun, it carries seven fully armed infantry men. It has seen action in the last years of the Cold War, both Gulf wars, Afghanistan and peace keeping in Kosovo. The model presented here includes slat armor and electronic countermeasures to IEDs. The KitThis is a new kit molded in the typical blue grey Airfix plastic. There are seven sprues for a total of 257 parts. Slat armor is included and it… more |
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Opel Blitz (Daimler built, L701 Einheitsfahrerhaus)Published:
Roden continues with their line of 1/72 Opel Blitz truck kits in 1/72 scale. The Opel Blitz was one of the most popular three ton trucks produced by the Germans during the Second World War. Manufactured in a 4x2 and 4x4 version, this kit represents the last production model of the truck. Rather than using sheet metal throughout the vehicle, the cab was manufactured from wood. Production continued until 1948 with a production run of 11,000 vehicles. The kit is molded in light grey plastic in three sprues with 115 parts. There is a sheet of Mylar for the three windows and there are decals for one vehicle. The parts are crisply molded and there are many small and fragile parts that must be removed from the sprues very carefully. Try as I might, the drive shaft, snapped and flew… more |
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Japan Ground Self Defense Force 3-1/2 ton Fuel Tank VehiclePublished:
Aoshima has released a number of vehicles of Japanese Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF), including this little gem. I don’t know anything about the ground equipment of the JGSDF, but this is what’s included as a description, “JGSDF 31/2 ton Fuel truck is mainly assigned to Logistic Support Regiment, utilized for fuel supply to tanks, armored vehicles, and other various vehicles in the field. It has “Ki” (danger) marking just like civilian vehicles.” This is one of a series of service vehicles in the JGSF that Aoshima offers in 1/72 scale. The KitThe Aoshima Kit of the 3 1/2t JGSDF fuel tank truck consists of 106 styrene parts molded in dark green on seven sprues. The cab is packed separately as well as a single sprue of clear parts. There are decals for one vehicle.… more |
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AFT-9 Anti-Tank Missile LauncherPublished:
Hobby Boss continues to release new and interesting military subjects from China’s People’s Liberation Army. If you look at their catalog, over the past several years they have released a variety of kits based on armored cars, for example, this kit is similar to the Hobby Boss kit no. 82485, Wheeled Tank Destroyer, though the vehicle for this kit is a later variant. The HJ 9 missile system is paired with a WZ550 APC. It entered service in the 1990s and was first seen in public in the Beijing military parade in 1999. There is a crew of three and can be controlled from inside the vehicle. It appears that it’s still in service and in production. The KitAs with most kits from the Hobby Boss line, the sprues are individually bagged. There are ten sprues… more |
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Russian Armored High Mobility Vehicle Tiger, GAZ 233014 STSPublished:
While Meng does not have many kits on the market, they have quickly gained the respect of many modelers for the exquisite detail of their kits. They continue their trend of releasing very interesting, modern subjects. The High Mobility Vehicle, manufactured by the GAZ group of Russia, is a multi-purpose, diesel-powered patrol vehicle. It first premiered in 2001 and pilot production started in 2004. It serves in the Russian Army and paramilitary police units and has some customers around the world. The Tiger kit has seven sprues molded in green plastic, one decal sheet, clear parts, five tires, and the hull and chassis of the vehicle. Some customers have reported some problems with the rear door frame of the body being smashed in shipping. No problems here. The quality of the molding is… more |
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Long Range Desert Group Patrol Car with 2cm CannonPublished:
From 1940 until the end of the Second World War, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) provided stealthy reconnaissance patrols in Western Europe and North Africa. The vehicle most commonly associated with these groups, particularly when they were in North Africa, is the Chevrolet truck depicted in this kit. Captured weapons were often used and, in this case, we have a 2cm Italian Breda cannon. The kit is composed of 72 parts on three sprues of soft grey plastic and one decal sheet. The parts are fragile, especially the 2cm Breda cannon, so care should be taken when removing them from the sprue. There’s a color profile and decals for two vehicles. AssemblyAs with any soft skin vehicle, regardless of scale, assembly begins with the chassis. The plastic on this kit… more |
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Nike with Launcher and CrewPublished:
I am sucker for old kits. While I don’t collect vintage kits, I certainly relish every new special release from Revell. I was very happy to see that the Nike Missile got the green light for a re-release. The missile depicted in this kit is, in fact, the Nike Ajax. First fielded in 1954, it was a two-stage, supersonic anti-aircraft missile with a range of 25-30 miles and a ceiling of 65,000 ft. It remained in service until 1964 in the continental US and was superseded by the Nike Hercules, a much more robust and capable missile. Since this kit is part of Revell’s selected subjects program, I can only assume that the parts come from the original molds, though the date on one of the pieces is 1983. Unlike modern kits that have individual sprues wrapped in plastic and padding, for… more |
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French AUF 1 155mm Self-Propelled HowitzerPublished:
The recent release of the Meng AMX-30 B was quickly followed up by the AUF 1. It uses virtually the same hull as the AMX, so it’s an obvious follow-on to the AMX. In the 1970s, the French Army explored a new self-propelled howitzer to replace the MK F3 155 mm. Development of the AUF 1 was completed in 1972 and production began in 1977 with a run of 440 vehicles. Vehicles were also exported to Saudi Arabia and Iraq. It’s armed with a 155 mm gun with an auto loader and a crew of four. The kit is composed of eleven sprues molded in green and five sprues of track links and pads molded in brown, a small sprue of clear parts, a small fret of photo etch, and a lower hull and turret. There are decals for two vehicles, though the color profiles only feature one. Assembly… more |
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AMX-30B TankPublished:
Meng exploded onto the modeling scene several years ago and has begun to roll out a variety of post-World War Two vehicles. The AMX-30B is one of Meng’s newest releases and it’s a keeper. Of the same generation of the US M-60 series, this was meant as a multi-national tank serving the needs of France and Germany. Germany dropped out of the project. The prototype was ready in 1960 and went into series production in 1966. Over 4000 were manufactured and exported around the world. It saw service in Desert Shield/Storm and continues to serve in other countries. The kit is composed of seven sprues molded in green and five sprues of track links and pads molded in brown, a small sprue of clear parts, a small fret of photoetch, and a lower hull and turret. There are decals for two vehicles.… more |
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Meng Shi 1.5 ton Military Light Utility Vehicle Hardtop Version APublished:
Hobby Boss continues its run of tanks and vehicles from the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). When you look at the cover art for this kit, the vehicle bears a strong resemblance to the iconic HMMWV. Well, this was based on said vehicle. It’s manufactured by the Dongfeng Motor Corporation for the PLA. I don’t know if this means Hobby Boss will also begin producing the HMMWV line, but their catalog indicates several variants of this vehicle in the works. The kit of approximately 170 parts includes six sprues and several body parts, one small sprue of clear parts, a fret of photo etch, four tires, and decals. As with most Hobby Boss kits, it includes two color profiles, one for a UN mission and the other for the PLA. The PLA version has no markings. The parts look great, with a fair amount… more |