Tim Wilding
Reviews By Author
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Tiger I Ausf. E Early ProductionPublished:
The heavy tank Panzer VI was designed in 1942 by the Henschel Company in response to the heavy Russian tank (KV-1) encountered on the Russian front. It mounted a tank version of the Flak 36 88mm canon and had 100mm of frontal armor. The Tiger remained in production and front line use until the end of the war. It became know as the Tiger I after the Tiger II entered combat in late 1944. Zvezda’s newest kit is the first production model of the Tiger, the Ausf (model) E, which was introduced at the Battle of Kursk and used in North Africa and the Italian campaign. The first thing I noticed is that the sprues are not clearly marked on the front with a letter; the letter is small and on the back of the sprues. I wrote the letters onto the front to help in construction. There are four… more |
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Soviet NKL-16 AerosanPublished:
The Soviet Union introduced the NKL-16 Aerosan during World War II, based on the earlier NGL-6. It was constructed from plywood and powered by a radial airplane engine. It ran only on skis and was designed for frozen lakes or snow-covered tundra. This Trumpeter kit contains 151 parts on nine sprues, a clear window sprue, a short piece of copper wire, and a whopping 86 photo etched parts. Most of these PE parts are for the mounts on the skis and door hinges. The copper wire is to be cut to make ski cables, an engine part, and a probe for the front. We get a detailed dashboard to be used with the only decals with the kit – the five gauges on the dash, which you can kind of see through the windshields. The kit is packed in a heavy duty box with parts separated in… more |
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King Tiger "Last Production"Published:
The Tiger II "Königstiger" (Bengal Tiger) was the most powerful combat tank produced and deployed during World War II. Up to the end of the war, the Allies did not introduce anything that could effectively counter it on the battlefield. The Tiger II combined a powerful and effective gun with thick, sloped armor that was virtually impervious to any Allied tank or anti-tank gun. The Tiger II was armed with a long-barreled 88mm L/71 gun and had 150mm frontal armor and 80mm side armor. Front and side plates were sloped and interlocked, which created a strong defense against Allied firepower. This tank was known as the King Tiger and Royal Tiger. This kit is of the last production models, so the Henschel/Krupp turret is used. There are nine sprues of yellow plastic, two of black… more |
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T-34/76 Model 1943 "Formochka" with Commander's CupolaPublished:
The Russian T-34 was the mainstay of the Red Army during World War II, with about 50,000 produced. The Russians produced numerous variants of the T-34 throughout the war. This Dragon offering is the T-34/76 (for 76mm gun) with the pressed steel turret. This turret was made out of 45mm steel, which actually had better protection then the 52mm turret it was based on. The commander’s cupola was added in the summer of 1943, so this kit falls into that variant timeframe. Many of the sprues are from earlier Dragon T-34 kits and we only use about half the parts. We get 24 sprues with 644 parts, including 85 photo etched parts, three clear parts, a wire tow cable, and two bags of Magic Track links. The joy of stocking your parts box is included with this kit. The instructions start us… more |
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Soviet Su-152 Late Detail SetPublished:
Eduard of the Czech Republic had released a 1/35 scale photo etched (PE) upgrade designed for the Trumpeter SU-152 Late, kit #05568. This upgrade consists of two PE sheets packaged in a sturdy, cardboard-supported bag with a two-page instruction sheet. I used Trumpeter’s SU-152 Early kit, #01571, for a few parts since I was already doing a review of it. There are only a couple differences between the early and late SU-152 and this kit would work on either quite well. We get replacement parts for 16 areas on the SU-152. The first step is for the replacement of the plastic exhaust deflectors, but Trumpeter already includes a PE replacement in their kit of equal quality. A huge improvement over the kit parts are the two engine grilles on the rear deck. The kit comes with… more |
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Soviet SU-152 Self-Propelled Heavy Howitzer (early)Published:
The Stalingrad counteroffensive (Operation Uranus) showed the Red Army's urgent need for mobile heavy guns. The firepower of Soviet tanks, both motorized and with infantry units, was not sufficient to deal with German pillboxes and fortified buildings. In November, 1942, the development of a heavy self-propelled gun armed with 152.4mm ML-20 gun-howitzer was begun as project name KV-14, and the first prototype, Object 236, was completed in 25 days. Using the KV-1S tank chassis, mass production of the SU-152 started in mid-February, 1943, and about 700 were produced until superseded by the ISU-152 in December, 1943. During combat, it was found that the SU-152 was a great anti-tank gun that could take out a Tiger or Elefant tank destroyer with its 107 pound HEAT projectile. During the… more |
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Soviet Tank CrewPublished:
This is a five-figure set of a World War II Soviet tank crew. The first figure is an officer who is sitting and smoking a cigarette He is wearing a blue jacket and khaki pants, but does not have any headgear. The second figure looks like a commander, since he fits into the commander’s hatch of the Trumpeter KV-85 that I am also reviewing. There are two options for his left arm. One is extended with his hand resting on the turret top, while the second one is crossed in front of him and is resting on the split hatch. The third figure appears to be a loader or gunner, since he sits perfectly on this open hatch. The box art show him with a pistol and a cross-chest belt, but that is not on the actual figure. The next figure is the driver, who is posed as actively driving the tank… more |
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Soviet KV-85 Heavy TankPublished:
The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks were a series of Soviet Red Army heavy tanks, named after the Soviet defense commissar. The KV series were known for their extremely heavy armor protection during the early part of World War II, especially during the first year of the invasion of the Soviet Union. Later in the war, the KV series became a base of development for the Joseph Stalin (Iosif Stalin, or IS) series of tanks. The KV-85 was a KV-1S with the 85mm D-5T cannon in a new turret, and with the ball mounted hull machine gun removed and the hole welded shut. 148 of these tanks were produced from the second half of 1943 until the spring of 1944 as a stopgap until the IS tank series entered production. This tank had its original turret, but later models were equipped with IS-1 turret.… more |
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WWII US Light Weapons & Equipment SetPublished:
This is a set of lots of US weapons that will be useful for dioramas or as stowage on vehicles. There are two bags of weapons with a complete set in each bag, contained on three sprues. There is also a sprue of canvas bags. I built up the M2 .50 cal machine gun on a tripod, the 60mm mortar, and a bazooka. The machine gun has 20 parts and most are pretty small. But we get a highly detailed gun and very nice belt- fed ammo. The mortar has 13 parts and a couple of rounds for it. The barrels are hollowed out, but a little more drilling is needed. The stowage is as good as resin pieces, and the M1 helmets are the best I’ve seen in plastic. The only problem I see is a bent M1 carbine barrel, since there are three sprues packed in one plastic bag. Here is a listing of what you… more |
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Pheasant 17/25 Pounder Anti-Tank Gun Crew SetPublished:
This five-man crew is designed for Bronco’s British 17/25 Pounder Anti-Tank Gun “Pheasant”, #CB35071. They are dressed for the Tunisia, Sicily, or Italy Campaign. Each crewman is molded on his own sprue, lettered A to E. These sprues are attached to a central sprue rod, so it looks like they could be mixed and matched later with other figures or weapons sprues. We get a loader, ammo handler, seated gunner, an officer pointing, and a guy standing with his hands on his hips. The instructions are on the back of the box, along with paint references for four different brands. The molding is flash-free and has very nice undercutting details on the pockets and collars. The heads are molded sideways on the sprue, in one piece. The seams run around the heads on the helmet chin straps,… more |