Reviews of products for scale military vehicle models.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.94

Tamiya kits are known for their ease of building and detail. There are some tradeoffs that come with that philosophy, particularly with engine screens and other small metal parts on the real vehicle. While the base Tamiya kit is great out of the box, there is always room for more detail, and this Hauler kit does not disappoint.

This PE set fills that void and takes the Tamiya 1/48 M5A1 Stuart (Kit No. 32606) to the next level. This set includes two PE frets (A (1 5/8” x 2 ¼”) containing the M1919 MG mount, ammo can, periscope cages, spare track hangers, light guards, grab handles, etc.; and B (1 3/16” x 1 5/16”) containing the four engine screens and tool tie downs, and a resin sprue with onboard tools and M2 HMG.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$105.99

ICM has released this kit, which uses the older release American Made truck G7117, now with the addition of the Mobile Field Chapel, figures and accessories. Such chapels were used by British Army Chaplains to perform their duties in all theaters of war. The kit contains:

  • Nine grey Sprues
  • Two clear sprues
  • One Decal sheet
  • One instruction guide

The detail quality is excellent in every way with this kit -- crisp and detailed molding has become the norm for the latest ICM kits.

The assembly is quick and easy as we have come to expect from these kits. It was seamless in every way, so I will not spend time writing about each stage. Instead, here are just a few points and comments.

Review Author
Tomasz Menert
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$142.99

When General Montgomery commanded the 8th British Army in North Africa, he was provided with a specially designed staff vehicle. This original vehicle was created based on the standard British army vehicle, the Leyland Retriever. A non-standard structure was installed on the base chassis, which served as a mobile field office. The interior of the vehicle was divided into two rooms. The small front room was equipped with a bathroom, while the larger room contained wardrobes for personal belongings and clothes, a writing desk with desk lamps, and a large sofa.

Previously, this office belonged to the Italian General Bergonzoli and was mounted on a Lancia 3RO truck. After the vehicle was captured by a unit of the 7th British Armoured Division, the structure was transferred to the chassis of the British Leyland Retriever. After the end of the combat operations in North Africa, the mobile station was moved to Europe.

Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
Company
Vargas Scale Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$49.95

The ever-busy Vargas Scale Models has recently released several World War I Russian armored tractors; each one slightly different from the others. One would think that this would make for a great opportunity to use an economy of scale, but that would be wrong - each version appears to have a different chassis, superstructure, armament, and armor. I guess Luis Vargas just woke up one day, and, for our benefit, decided to create a bunch of Russian tractors!

Vargas has historically occupied a niche specializing in unusual, 3-D printed, limited-run, resin armor models, mostly pre- and between the World Wars. So far, this has been a winning strategy for this prolific company, fleshing out all those subjects ignored by others. This offering continues in that tradition.

Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1:72
MSRP
$29.98

The M706 Commando was used in Vietnam mainly for convoy protection. They had a bit more protection than the makeshift gun trucks the troops had been converting with 2 .30 caliber machine guns in a turret. They sometimes had other guns mounted on them to supplement their firepower.

TRUMPETER has released several different versions of the Commando in 72nd scale and Hobby Boss has done several in 1/35th scale. In fact, the box art for this kit is actually a build-up of the Hobby Boss kit and shows more details than what comes in the box. But let’s take a look at what is inside.

Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$75.99

The Patriot missile system came into the limelight when it was deployed to allied bases during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. I remember a lot of footage of it being fired at incoming SCUD missiles, where it had some success. I have always wanted a Patriot system in my preferred scale, and Trumpeter has released the system with its prime hauler, the M983 HEMTT.

You get over 150 parts molded onto 7 sprues of gray plastic, a sprue of clear parts for the cab, a few extra parts, 14 rubber tires, a die-cut masking set for the windows, and decals. The instruction booklet leads you through the 16 steps of construction, and there is a separate Painting & Marking guide in full color with color call-outs for several brands of paints. Unfortunately, there are no detailed painting instructions for the engine, inside the cab, etc., so I used references from the internet for my build.

Review Author
Jason Boggans
Published on
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$28.99

Box Art and Packaging

Trumpeter presents a 100% new-tooled German Schwerer Zugkraftwagen in 1/72 scale in their typical rigid, top opening box. The contents are well-packed and protected with additional foam wrapped over sprues which contain delicate parts. The condition of the contents as delivered was excellent with no parts broken from the sprues, no broken parts, and nothing warped due to inadequate packing.

The kit depicts the Schwerer Zugkraftwagen, which was commonly used between 1934 and 1945, and was built by numerous manufacturers, including Daimler Benz, Krauss-Maffei, Krupp, and Skoda. Over 4000 were built in different variants. It was powered by a Maybach HL 85 TUKRM producing up to 185 HP and could travel upwards of 100 kph.

Review Author
Marc K. Blackburn
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$66.00

I recently reviewed ICM’s 1/72 offering of this iconic truck. When this version came up for a review, I could not say no to the opportunity to review it. According to scalemates.com, the original tool came from ICM in 2014 and has been reissued many times since. Given the age of the mold, there is a little flash, and the parts are crisp. As many ICM fans know, ICM plastic is on the soft side. It is easy to clean up, but you cannot be too aggressive when you clean up the pieces. There are ten frames, with two of them being doubled. There are two frames for clear parts and two sets of what I am assume is rubber for tires. There is a separate frame for the driver. The instructions are typical ICM, with exploded diagrams and paint call outs with ICM paints. Color-equivalent charts can be found online, so if you do not have ICM paints, you can easily find replacements. There are decals and markings for one vehicle in the 2022-24 time frame.

Book Author(s)
Dennis Olver
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$29.97

Tank Craft 45: Nashorn Self-Propelled Tank Destroyer, German Army, Eastern Front 1943-1945 outlines the history, development, and use of this dedicated self-propelled gun. Initially named the Hornisse (Hornet - also the name of the Me-410 heavy fighter/fast bomber), it was soon renamed the Nashorn (pronounced Nahz-horn – Rhinoceros). From the earliest days of Operation Barbarossa, it became apparent that the German anti-tank guns of the time were underpowered, and towing them into position was problematic. The 88mm flak guns were soon given the successful anti-tank gun role. In June 1942, the 8.8cm Flak 41 entered production, and it had superior range and performance to its predecessors. It was decided to produce both a towed and self-propelled version for testing. This is the story of the self-propelled tank destroyer, Nashorn.

Book Author(s)
Dennis Olver
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$29.99

TankCraft 44, StuG III Assault Gun – German Army, Waffen-SS and Luftwaffe Units, Eastern Front, 1944 breaks the StuG III’s (Sturmgeschütz, abbreviated as StuG, also known as the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 161) long service life into the closing struggles in the Eastern Front in 1944. Older and newer StuG IIIs and IVs fought side by side on all fronts as the Allied ring closed in on Germany. This book focuses on the StuG IIIs on the Eastern Front, which is fantastic as it complements an already published book of StuGs on the Western Front (TankCraft 19: StuG III & IV, German Army, Waffen-SS and Luftwaffe, Western Front 1944-1945) and hints at a StuG IV book.

This 64-page book is outlined in the familiar TankCraft format and is loaded with incredible black and white photographs, color illustrations, supporting text and detailed captions, modeling references and a bibliography in the following chapters: