A new tooled kit from Tamiya. It is the British 2-Ton 4X2 Ambulance (Austin K2/Y). A very nice detailed kit, simple to build, and will make a wonderful addition to any 1/48th scale WWII military collection or diorama.

In the Box

This kit has two (2) olive drab colored sprues labeled A & B with 57 parts. Plus, a clear sprue with 4 parts. A driver figure is included within one of the olive drab sprues. The molded detail is exceptional for this scale.

Instructions are 13 steps and printed on a foldout sheet with typical good illustrations from Tamiya.

This is considered a “curbside” build since there is no motor or any interior detail inside the cab. Doors for the cab are molded shut.

Construction

When reading the instructions, especially for the colors, everything is to be painted Olive Green, XF-58, unless otherwise noted.

Summary

This is a re-boxing of the earlier G7107 1½-ton truck. That kit was reviewed in December 2021 by Mr. Phillip Cavender. I used Mr. Cavender’s review as a “heads-up” for any issues. From reading his review ICM has changed the assembly sequence with this re-boxing. Mr. Cavender noted that the engine is assembled in steps 20-28 after the axles are attached to the frame (steps 16-19). In the current instruction sheet the engine is assembled first (in steps 16-25) and the axles attached after that (steps 26-45).

The only difference with this set is that a new bag with three sprues to create four infantry figures with equipment.

Background

The following is excerpted from the instruction sheet.

Volume 25 of this series is dedicated to the Panzerwaffe and its many variants/types. The Panzerwaffe ordered 54,147 vehicles/AFVs in 126 versions on 28 different chassis. The book gives you a small representation of the vehicles/AFV built by the Germans during WWII. Although it is true that the German vehicles/AFV were top of the art in their time, they could not compete against the sheer quantity of Allied war production. That being said, the Germans, although under a tremendous amount of pressure due to fighting against superior numbers, still made good use of the equipment provided to them. The German Panzerwaffe defeated Allied opponents in many cases through superior training, tactics and not infrequently, by sheer bravado of their troops.

This is a brief overview of this rather expansive operation offered in their Battle Craft series of books. It is in paperback format with heavy stock glossy pages with many illustrations inserted among the text. It starts with brief biographies of the primary commanders on both sides and then has a basic order of battle of the units involved down to the divisional level. Next is a section on some of the vehicles present during the campaign. The choices are a bit odd, however. For the Allies, the Cromwell tank is chosen. This vehicle, while present, could hardly be said to have played a major role in the campaign, that distinction for the Allies going to the ubiquitous Sherman. For the Germans, the Panther tank is the subject and while a genuine threat to all Allied armor, it was in the minority on this battlefield being outnumbered by various types of self-propelled assault guns.

The Company

AOA is a relatively new decal manufacturer that has become known for their aircraft decal sets (several popular scales). Their product offering has placed special emphasis on Vietnam-era US naval aircraft. AOA’s products are available from the larger distributors such as Sprue Brothers, Hannants, BNB, etc. This product is their first offering for an armor model subject.

The Subject

This decal set’s subject is rather unique: 1/35 M1A2 SEP V2 Abrams in a 2018 NATO training competition configuration. The Strong Europe Tank Challenge (SETC) was an annual, multinational tank platoon competition held from 2016 to 2018 at the Grafenwöhr Training Area, Germany, and hosted by the U.S. Army Europe and the German Army. At the SETC, crews from NATO and non-NATO partners competed in defensive and offensive operations (see Wikipedia).