Background

The US Army has attempted to standardize its fleet of vehicles ever since General Pershing pushed his squadron of 1916 Dodge touring cars into Mexico, chasing Pancho Villa. During WWI, the Army designed the “Standard B Liberty Truck”, of which some 9500 were manufactured by 15 different companies. The Army continued to design and update its truck requirements, and during WWII the GMC- and Studebaker-built 2 ½ ton trucks were representative of those basic designs. Other trucks were used, however, as vehicles from every manufacturer made their way into the military. After WWII, the M34 and M35 2 ½ ton and the M54 5 tons were updated into the M813 and M939 series. They served as the basis for a number of body styles, but the Army was still searching for a way to simplify, streamline, and reduce the bewildering variety of motor vehicles and overwhelming logistics chain.

This kit is basically a slightly upgraded re-box (reboot) of their Premium Edition Kit 6317 that came out in 2008. The new parts are two photo etched tool boxes instead of one, a newly designed photo etched tool box to fit on the rear of the fighting compartment, different Magic Tracks specifically for the Kursk campaign, and a new set of decals that are supposed to allow you to build any vehicle that served with the s.Pz.Jg.Abt.653 or s.Pz.Jg.Abt.653 units at Kursk.

This is a multimedia kit comprised of 270+ styrene parts, magic tracks in the early pattern, three photo etched frets, a turned aluminum gun tube, decals, and the set of instructions that need to be reviewed very carefully before gluing any parts together. Most Dragon models today are a collection of old sprues with new sprues added to create a new kit variant, and Dragon has done so with this kit.

The iconic Sd.Kfz.231 has joined the fleet of Dragon’s 1/72 German vehicles from World War Two. Like its cousin, the 231 served in every theater of action. With dual driving positions, it served the Wehrmacht until 1943 when the production run came to end. The kit has five sprues and the two halves of the vehicle each molded separately, for a total of 93 parts. There is a small decal sheet and color schemes for five vehicles. The quality of the molding is very good. The sprues were loose in the box, though each sprue is individually bagged. Despite being knocked around during shipping, none of the pieces were damaged or separated from the sprue.

Osprey Publishing continues expanding its New Vanguard Collection. This is the issue 195 of this line and it is devoted to the Italian Medium Tank.

The book sections covers the characteristics of the Medium Tanks (M 11/39, M 13/40, and M 14/41), plus a brief section on the Heavy Tank (P 40). It also includes the self-propelled guns that were based on the above-listed chassis. Later in the book there are two sections devoted to Italian armor in combat (both with the Italian Army and under German service). It finalizes with a brief chapter devoted to camouflage and markings and a section on surviving vehicles at different museums.

The Kit

This 1/48th scale kit offers two vehicles for the price of one (both are available as single kits, too). Airfix has released several kits of vehicles, troops, and helicopters deployed to Afghanistan. Both vehicles are derived from the Land Rover Defender. The Snatch is a patrol vehicle with supplementary armor, “suitable for armored patrols in potentially hostile environments.” The WMIK serves as a Special Forces vehicle. Unlike its brother, the cab is replaced with a roll bar and is open to the air. The models are shipped in one plastic bag so several of the WMIK parts were damaged during shipping. Most of them could be repaired. It would be nice if Airfix could do a better job protecting parts during shipping. There are four sprues in light blue plastic (two for each vehicle), one sprue of clear parts, and a sheet of decals. There are two full-color exterior paint call outs for Humbrol paints. There is a total of 190 parts: WMIK – 89, Snatch – 101.