This is Bronco Models’ version of the M1114 HMMWV. This version includes the XM153 CROWS mount.
Included in the top-opening box are:
“How the heck did he do that?” A polite version of one of the most often-asked questions in the scale modeling culture. With the proliferation of modeling blogs and videos available on the internet, as well as generations of printed reference material, it seems a rare occurrence when a scale modeling reference in print form hits the market with such great impact and acclaim.
Michael Rinaldi’s TANKART Vol. 1 WWII German Armor is just such a work. For that matter, the book seems to be a work of art in and of itself. Yeah, that sounds a bit extreme, but seeing, reading, and re-reading is truly believing. So much for cliché, let’s get into the facts.
Specified in 1943 by the US Army to replace the aging and under-gunned M3 and M5 Stuart light tanks, the M24 Chaffee was a welcome addition to the armored corps of Allied armies in late 1944. Borrowing the M5’s power train, a new torsion bar suspension, a sleek new profile, and a lightweight 75mm gun adapted from the B-25H bomber, the M24 was a significant leap forward in fighting capability. With its late-war arrival in November 1944, the M24 saw limited action by US, British, and Free French forces, but was well received by the units which operated it in combat. Over 4,700 Chaffees were built by war’s end, and most saw service with the US Army through the Korean War and remained in service with other nations into the 1970’s.
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 sprues of yellow plastic, one clear sprue, and vinyl two-piece tracks. No photo etched or metal parts.
I was quite excited to see Trumpeter start releasing some of the more modern Soviet armored vehicles. Not only are the kits nicely detailed, but they tend to go together quite well. Also, Trumpeter has no problem releasing several variants, unlike some other manufactures that release one base type and leave us modelers scrambling for aftermarket resin to do other variations. So, needless to say, after years of resisting the urge to purchase some resin “updates” to the old Skif T-64 kits, I was delighted to have a state-of-the-art tooling in my hands.
Within the box you get 566 parts in all.
This was on the review list for some time before I volunteered for it. This vehicle comes with the anti-slip texture that is missing on so many newly released Merkava-based kits, and I could not understand why no one wanted to review it. Maybe it was because it is one of two prototypes currently being evaluated by the Israeli Defense Forces. This version is called the NAMER ACHZAKA and it’s bigger brother is called NAMERA. Imagine these vehicles similar to the M578 and M88. The big difference is that both IDF vehicles are based on the Merkava Mk. III chassis with many Mk. IV components. The NAMER ACHZAKA crane can lift the engine pack of the Merkava for quick and easy changes. Supposedly, these are based on modified Merkava III hulls. Well, one thing right away that stands out is the HUGE final drive housings. These are definitely late model Mk III versions or IVs because they are too huge to be the same as seen in the Latrun example.
ADH Publishing is a UK-based magazine company that produces a multitude of model related magazines. Some examples are Military Illustrated Modeler, Model Military International, Tamiya Model Magazine International, and Model Airplane International, along with a host of RC magazines.
This magazine covers the units of the German Army in defense of Sicily. Even though this magazine only consists of thirty-three pages, there are a lot of great references. A narrative starts off the magazine with several excellent period photographs embedded within it. The rest of the magazine is loaded with many period photographs with captions, campaign maps, loss charts of the Divisions involved, a full page of color divisional markings, and color drawings of the equipment of this campaign.
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.
This review is of the Master Box German Military Staff Car, WWII Era, Sd.Kfz.1 Type 170 VK, also known as the Mercedes Benz 170 VK. Since I am a lazy typist I am going to refer to this as the “Mercedes” during this review.
Well, this is one of those kits that is different, and therefore a welcome challenge. The kit consists of three main builds: the engine, the frame, and the carriage.
The engine is a complete engine minus the wiring and oil leak. It is a really neat thing to have, and it is INCLUDED! No extras to buy, no aftermarket stuff, but included. It went together without any problems. There is a little flash to clean up on the fan, but that was minor.
Next step is the frame, which also went together without any difficulties. There was some minor flash to clean up, but nothing too bad. The engine gets attached to the frame, and then everything is attached to the underside of the body.
Following the conclusion of World War II the U.S. Army and the U.S.M.C. were in dire need of a heavy tank to keep up with the Soviet armor force. After many years of development and testing the M103 was ready to go into production. Through the development of the M103 there were several variants developed. The main variant being the M51 heavy tank recovery vehicle. The M103 never served in a war zone, but was deployed in Germany and, of all places, Guantanamo, Cuba. The M103 was retired after only fourteen years of operational service.
The author and Osprey publishing do a very good job of telling how the M103 came to be and then finally being put into service. The writing is very clear and they use photos and artist drawings of the M103 in combat, which it never was, just kind of a "what if" type of artist's rendering.
One interesting side note is that there is a local military museum that has an M103 turret as one of their displays.
