I have always been a fan of Bob Steinbrunn’s model work over the years, seeing his many works in the pages of FineScale Modeler. Accordingly, I jumped at the chance to review this, his latest book, which involves the construction of a 1/6 scale (that’s right, one-SIXTH) M5A1 Stuart Light Tank, using a 21st Century Toys running model as a starting point. As usual, Bob’s model work does not disappoint.

Although you may not be able to find a similar “start kit” of an M5A1, the book is filled with valuable information on not only building large-scale models in general, but also for the M5A1 Stuart itself. Bob’s research is meticulous and his attention to detail is absolutely astounding – the thing that I found most amazing in this work. I personally plan to use this book as a guide when I build my AFV Club 1:35 M5A1. Coincidentally, I just finished a Mirage 1:72 M3 Stuart and I wish that I had had this book as a reference guide at the start of that project.

Parts

There are 122 kit parts including styrene, brass, Dragon Styrene 100 (DS 100) parts, and a clear styrene windshield for the Kubelwagen. There are 21 extra parts in the kit.

Review

Like the box says, you get two individual kits in this box. You get a mid-production zimmerit-covered Tiger and a Kubelwagen. There are also about half of the necessary parts to make a German motorcycle. Like most Dragon kits, the sprues are individually bagged. The parts really don’t have flash or ejection marks.

Each vehicle has one set of Cartograf decals. The directions are 3 pages front and back, with color and a parts map. Color call-outs are for Mr. Color and Testors paints.

While my review may look a bit nit-picky, I can tell you this: I’ve built a number of Tigers and Kubelwagens in the past from other manufacturers in this scale. None of them have the finite details and crispness that these two kits have.

The numbers: 11 sprues with 412 parts, 17 of which are not used, and two options for tracks, vinyl and link-and-length injected plastic. Due to the fact that a couple of the sprues are duplicated, several of the smaller parts, like lifting hooks, have extras included, which is nice considering the carpet monster in my house is always hungry.

A nice feature is the box, as shown in the photograph. The box art (separate photo included) is nice and will be a help in deciding which way the tracks run, but the box is very sturdy and will be re-used at my house for spare parts.

The plastic itself is very nicely detailed; seams are reasonable and there is no flash. The number and placement of injector pin marks are about what you’d expect, mostly hidden on the inside. The injected tracks have some that will have to be dealt with if you choose that option. Purists will want to thin the hull fenders, and it is an easy job due to the engineering put into this kit.

Between 1958 and 1981, Iraq received more than 3300 T-54/T-55’s from the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Egypt, Romania, and China. Even though the basic tank design had become obsolete in the 1980’s, Iraq, like most owners of the T-54/55, continually attempted to make upgrades in their aging fleet of armor. Prior to the Gulf War, the Iraqis came up with the “Enigma” design, which was nothing more than bolting on extra armor blocks on the glacis and turret to provide extra protection. These were nothing more than hollow welded boxes that were bolted on. A counter-balance arm was required on the rear of the turret because of the extra weight on the front of the turret.

This is a multimedia kit comprised of 650+ styrene parts on 17 sprues, magic tracks, one braided metal wire (which is very stiff even after annealing), one photo-etched fret, 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. In this case, Dragon has done so and you will have some sprues with the same letter but are called out by the color or upper or lower case (see Sprues Black G, Blue G and Black g).

Step 1. This step is the assembly of the idler wheel, drive sprockets, road wheels, and return wheels. There are no problems here other than the removal of the mold line which is noticeable on the road wheels.

Step 2. This step is the chassis build. There are 4 mold stubs on the top of the chassis tub that need to be removed. If you don’t remove these stubs the fenders will not fit.