If you’re into small-scale armor like me, then you know that accessories like tarps, boxes and such have been hard to come by. Additionally, you usually had to order from overseas e-shops and pay an arm and a leg for the stuff, the quality of which sometimes was not that great. Well, thanks to our friends at Value Gear, that situation just got a bit better.

Packaging

The “Tarp Rolls & Crates, Set #1”, comes in a clear, zip-lock 3.5” x 5” poly bag which is stapled securely to a printed 3.75” x 7.25” fold-over card backing. The bag contains 37 individual pieces of resin molded tarp rolls and boxes - and individual means that there are no two items alike! There is also a full-color 3” x 4-5/8” tip sheet (or card) on the preparation and finishing of the resin product.

The Achilles IIC is the British version of the M10 tank destroyer (TD). It was based on the M4 Sherman chassis and mounted the 17 pounder anti-tank gun.

The kit is molded in a medium green styrene with some minor flash and a few sink marks, though nothing that isn’t easily removed or fixed. If I counted correctly, the kit contains 339 parts. Yes, 339. In 1/72 scale. The good news is that a lot of the parts are for the tracks, not all parts are used, and there are some useful parts left over to detail other kits. The attachment points are a bit larger than some other manufactures, but can be cleaned up with a bit of work. The tracks are link-and-length. I did a bit of research and found that some earlier UM Sherman kits had incorrect road wheels (six spokes instead of five) and the track was too narrow. It seems they fixed the road wheels, but apparently didn’t fix the track. I don’t think it’s too narrow by very much, though.

This kit is a representation of the British Army’s Armoured Car that was developed in 1941 after revisions to make the production easier. It served till replaced by the Humber Mk III or the Daimler Mk I.

This is a multimedia kit but the use of the Photo-Etch is required, there are no optional plastic parts. Please be aware that some of the plastic parts are very, very small and will take a steady hand to get them off of the sprue without damage. And when they are off the sprue these minuscule parts do their very best to hide or get lost in the carpet or even on the work table.

This model has a complete interior for the engine, driving and fighting compartment. The kit has over 500 individual pieces and this gives the model great detail at the expense of time consuming miniscule parts.

Background

U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet

Cushman Airborne Scooter - In the late stages of the war in Europe, Allied paratroopers used scooters like this one to maintain contact between units, increase their mobility and haul small loads. The Cushman Motor Works designed the Model 53 Airborne Scooter to be airdropped by parachute or carried by glider, and it had a hitch to pull a model M3A4 general-purpose utility cart. By adding certain equipment, the cart could be converted to carry a .30-cal. or .50-cal. machine gun or an 81mm mortar, though the scooter often could not pull a heavy load. Cushman made nearly 5,000 airborne scooters for the military beginning in 1944. The rugged, simple Model 53 could travel through a foot of water, climb a 25 percent grade and had a range of about 100 miles.

If you are looking for a unique addition for your next 1/48 scale aircraft diorama, please allow me to direct your attention to the plusmodel offering of a scooter and sidecar. The kit comes with decals for a US Army scooter, US Navy scooter, as well as an airfield service scooter. The kit is simple and builds up with relative ease as long as you have some experience with small photo-etch items. I would highly recommend this kit to anyone wanting something unique to sit next to their 1/48 scale aircraft.

Although no manufacturer is mentioned for this kit, it appears to be a Cushman scooter manufactured during WWII, as these small vehicles could be used in place of larger ones, and manufactured much cheaper. This particular offering includes a sidecar, which was capable of holding additional items such as tools or ammunition. The company plusmodel released this item in 1/48 as well as 1/35 scale, and with and without the sidecar.