Background

By the spring of 1942, the Germany realized it needed a half-tracked cargo hauling vehicle for use on the Eastern Front to replace earlier 3- and 5-ton tractors. Büssing-NAG was chosen as the developer, with initial production commencing in December of 1943. Production started with unarmored cabins, but eventually gave way to an armored cabin and engine compartment. By war’s end only 820 examples of all variants had been produced.

The Kit

Bronco’s latest rendition of the sWS general cargo is of the early soft-skinned variety, and is exquisitely reproduced throughout. Crisply molded, with 11 tan sprue trees, 2 brown, and 1 large and 1 small clear tree, the kit is packed with detail – including full engine, suspension, cargo bed, and cabin. Tracks are of individual link design, and the cabin and cargo covers are molded in clear. A single fret of photoetch metal detail is included, as well a single sheet of crisp and well-registered decals.

The Krankenschlittens was one type of a variety of German Ambulance used during WWII. In this example, Hauler has given us a horse drawn sled type. The ambulance consisted of a shed constructed on a wooden frame with sled runners underneath drawn by a two-horse team.

Hauler has replicated this rare piece with 32 excellent resin parts and a photoetch frame of 40 pieces in 1/35th scale. The resin is perfectly cast with no issues. There are significant casting blocks that need to be removed. To start, I removed all the of the resin pieces from the casting blocks. The smaller pieces were easy. Take your time with the pieces for the shed- it needs to be square and I slightly over sanded which caused a lot of work. The most difficult part to remove is the poles that go out in front. They are remarkably cast but have lots of pour around them. Take your time and they will come out. All the parts were sanded and then washed and we could begin construction.

This is a beautifully illustrated book showing more than 170 profiles of vehicles used by the Deutsche Afrika Korps (D.A.K.) during the North African campaign. The sections of the book include:

• Introduction
• Light vehicles
• Medium/Heavy Vehicles
• Armored Fighting Vehicles
• Artillery
• Markings
• Colors
• Photos
• Photo credits/bibliography.

A Prologue briefly describes the military episodes of the Afrika Corps between 1941 and 1943. The Prologue describes how the Afrika Corpstook over for the Italian army and, despite being outnumbered and out-supplied, effectively battled the British and, later, American forces. The Prologue provides a brief backdrop for the vehicles that are profiled in the book.

The ZU-23-2 was developed in the late 1950s. It was designed to engage low-flying targets at a range of 2.5 kilometers as well as armored vehicles at a range of two kilometers and for direct defense of troops and strategic locations against air assault usually conducted by helicopters and low-flying airplanes. In 1955, KBP presented the single-barrel ZU-1 and the twin-barrel ZU-14. While the former was eventually dropped, the ZU-14 was selected and, after some modifications, entered series production.

In the Soviet Union, some 140,000 units were produced. The ZU-23 has also been produced under license by Bulgaria, Poland, Egypt and the People's Republic of China.

Development of this weapon into a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) led to the ZSU-23-4 Shilka. However, the guns look completely different.

Background

A product of 1930’s design, with first production in 1942, the OQF 6-pounder evolved through World War II into the Mk.IV version on the Mk.III carriage. This version, tailored to fit into Horsa gliders for deployment with airborne troops, would generally be towed by Jeeps into combat.

The Kit

Crisply molded in light grey and light olive styrene, this Bronco kit promises to provide a few hours of high-quality modeling. A signature of Bronco’s commitment to recreating the finest of details, the kit is packed with 9 sprues of gun, carriage, and personal gear parts, ranging in size from tiny to small, 4 sprues of figure parts and personal gear, 1 fret of excellent photo etch brass, and 2 sheets of decals (1 for the gun, and one for uniform rank insignia).