Introduction

The Valentine tank was designed by Vickers-Armstrong as a private venture and was offered to the British War Department in 1938. Production for the Valentine started in 1939 with an initial order for 250 tanks. Eventually more than 8,000 Valentines in 11 different marks as well as various purpose-built types were produced, accounting for approximately 25% of British wartime tank production. Over the length of the war it was produced in several variants including the Archer ATG with a 17pdr and the Bishop SPG with the 25pdr. The Valentine saw service on several fronts including North Africa, Italy, NWE and the Far East.

Roadbed parts come in a separate box and will make a roadbed long enough to hold the completed model.

This kit is a representation of the Br 57 Armored Locomotive. There was extensive use of armored trains by the Germans to provide rail security and to suppress partisan activities. Trumpeter has produced almost everything required to assemble an armored train except the tank carrier. This is only made by Ironside.

This is the Academy “Achilles” kit put into an Italeri box and marketed. The sprues all say Academy and the only difference is the decals and instruction sheet. The Academy kit is a gorgeous representation of the British version of the American M10 “Wolverine”. There are a few interior issues with stowage and rounds but it builds into a great model just the way it is.

What you get is the ten Academy sprues done in beautiful tan plastic, two vinyl T-62 riveted tracks, a 16-page instruction booklet, length of twine (for tow cable), and decal sheet to mark four vehicles. The vehicles are two Polish Division machines and two British vehicles. One of the British vehicles has a neat looking black and green camouflage pattern. The only first look issues are the interior turret plates. These are littered with ejector pin sink marks that are going to need to be cleaned up. The worst part is that these are mostly oblong instead of round ejector pits.

They say that there are only two things in life that are certain, death and taxes. I’d like to add a third: the precision fit of a Tamiya kit. Not that this model is perfect, but it sure was a pleasure to build. After building several other brands, I forgot just how nice a Tamiya kit goes together.

When the box is opened, one is greeted by 264 parts, 213 in green styrene, 17 in gray (for the figures), 8 in clear, 10 large and 8 small poly caps, 7 photo etched metal parts, and one length of steel chain. The parts are beautifully molded with no sink marks, excepting for the usual molding seams and punch-out marks. These are mostly unseen once assembled.

In steps 1-3, the lower inner hull is built. Details are crisp with no fit issues whatsoever. I was a little concerned at first, since the usual tub is not there. But I was amazed by how well it all went together. It was spot-on and I needed no filler anywhere!

If you have read my previous review on Dragon’s 1/72 scale Panther with Zimmerit, you will see some similarities in this review, but whether it was reviews like mine that made a difference (as I am hoping), there are improvements that have been made. If you are like me, and have the 1/35 scale variant of this kit in your stash, I will let you know that this is essentially the same kit, along with the same markings as that release. This is another very nice release from the folks at Dragon, and the level of detail for this small scale is again impressive.