Reviews of products for scale military vehicle models.

Book Author(s)
Robert Jackson
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
MSRP
$28.95

This is a book in the Land Craft series which details vehicles and covers model kits and accessories to build the featured vehicle covered in the book. This book covers the Bren Gun Carrier by the Allies during World war two.

I found this book a fountain of information on this important little support vehicle. The Profile pictures are a particular favorite and great source for modelling.

The chapters on the different model builds and kits are of great interest and will provide a good resource when modelling this subject.

I was impressed at the amount of information and history found in the pages of this extremely enjoyable book. The pictures along are worth the cost of the book. I will find this book indispensible in my library of reference books.

I recommend this book to everyone with an interest in armor and modelling armor. I very much look forward to other releases in this series.

Review Author
Michael Reeves
Published on
Company
AFV Club
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$79.99

AFV Club kits for me have always been a bit of a challenge - multi-part assemblies that could easily be presented as lower part count builds are usually the norm for me. This particular build for the most part avoids this issue, except for the undercarriage. The only real issues encountered for me was in the order of assembly in some cases which will be outlined as we go. The kit is a rebox of the AEC Dorchester kit from 2012. Obviously these three examples were basically captured Dorchesters so the only changes were in the interior equipment and schemes of the three examples captured by the Germans as we will soon see.

What’s Inside the Box

The kit has an assortment of different media-plastic, resin, and PE, but not in overwhelming amounts. Inside we get:

Book Author(s)
Dennis Oliver
Review Author
Michael Novosad
Published on
Company
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
MSRP
$26.95

Information from the Publisher

The Tiger I tank, probably the most famous German armoured vehicle of the Second World War, might have been a war-winning, break-through weapon if it had been produced in sufficient numbers and if it had been introduced earlier on the Eastern Front, before the balance of strength had tipped towards the Soviet Union. At the Battle of Kursk there were not enough Tigers to make a decisive difference and thereafter the Tiger was forced to play a mainly defensive role as the Wehrmacht struggled to withstand the advances of the Red Army. And it is this period in the Tiger tank’s short history that Dennis Oliver concentrates on in this, his third book on the Tiger in the TankCraft series.

Review Author
Will Kuhrt
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$66.99

ICM Holding, a Ukrainian-based company known for outstanding quality, has produced a very nice version of a truck that you don’t see very often on the market. The W.O.T. 8 (Work Office Transport) was a World War II truck produced by the Ford Motor Company in Dagenham, UK. Ford (UK) was one of the largest suppliers of trucks to British Forces. The W.O.T. 8, a 4x4, 1.5-ton vehicle, was produced from 1941-1942. It was used in North Africa, Italy and also in Europe between 1942 and 1945. Around 2,500 W.O.T.8 trucks were produced.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Hauler Brengun
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$6.80

For those who prefer the smaller footprint of 1/72 scale WWII German subjects, Hauler has released this set of license plates, which look great for their size. While I typically start my reviews with a little history on the item that I am reviewing, when it comes to license plates, there is just not much to write. What I can tell you is that on a single photoetched fret, Hauler provides 58 plates of the three styles used most during the war. 27 of the plates are etched with a raised outer edge, while the remaining 31 are flat plates.

These plates will be an easy item to add to any kit to either replace the plastic equivalent or can be added if the kit neglected to add the plate(s). While no instructions are provided, none are needed as you can replace the kit plate(s) following those instructions for location or using reference photos to install them in the correct location.

Book Author(s)
Slawomir Zajaczkowski
Review Author
Bob LaBouy
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$26.75

In this book, Number 17 in the TankCraft series, author David Grummitt, has provided many tools for the modeler and historian alike. The Table of Contents provides for the basic outline:

  • American Tank Development during the Cold War
  • Abrams Development and Technical Specifications
  • The Cold War
  • Camouflage and Markings
  • Model Showcase
  • Modelling Products
  • First Gulf War
  • Keeping the Peace
  • Operation Iraqi Freedom
  • Abrams Today
  • Abrams in Foreign Service
  • Further Reading

Richly illustrated with black and white and color photographs, color and black & white line drawings. The color side views provide a great visual guide for the modeler.

The early develop of the tank is traced clear back to the earliest of the Patton tanks (M48) through the M60 series of the Army and Marine Corps’ main battle tanks.

Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
Company
AFV Club
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$79.99

There are a number of 1/35th scale M16 half track plastic models available from Monogram, Tamiya, Dragon, and even an offering from Academy/Minicraft. Among these other manufacturer's is AFV Club with a newly tooled 1/35th scale M16 MGMC “Meat Chopper”. This kit features a detailed chassis and engine, positionable doors, hood panels, and radiator covers as well as a plethora of other details that might just make this offering the best M16 MGMC of them all.

Assembly of the 'Meat Chopper' begins with the chassis and that task begins with the transmission. The transmission consists of some twenty-six individual parts, which should give you a clue to the detail that comes in the box. (Reminiscent of a Bronco kit.) Not to be left cowering in the corner, the detailed engine consists of over thirty parts! Which includes everything from six, individual spark plugs to a four piece generator.

Book Author(s)
Sławomir Zajączkowski
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$21.80

Introduction

M3 General Lee is an American medium tank from World War II era, also used by the British Army and known as Lee in the US, and in the United Kingdom as Grant. The M3 tank was created as a result of the need to replace the obsolete M2 tank, which did not match the WWII battlefield. The serial production began in August 1941. The M3 tank had many components from the M2 light tank, including chassis, Wright R975 EC2 star engine, and the shape of the combat compartment.

Kagero Topdrawings

Kagero Topdrawings series are a great resource for all modelers who want correct proportions and details of the vehicle. High quality line drawings are presented along with colored profiles and camouflage schemes. Plans are in popular scales including 1/48 and 1/35 for military vehicles.

Medium Tank M3 Lee I Line Drawings

The Topdrawings for the M3 Lee include line drawings of all sides and the vehicle top for the following variations:

Review Author
Tim Wilding
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$34.00

The Kit

Tamiya’s French Light Tank R35 is a new tooled kit of the pre-World War II tank. By the 1930s French military planners could no longer ignore the obsolescence of their masterpiece FT17 tank from late WWI, and work started on a genuine successor to fill the void. One of the answers they came up with was the R35 light tank, which utilized rolled steel lower and three-piece cast upper hull designs and was armed with the short barreled 37mm gun. It was crewed by two. When hostilities with Nazi Germany burst into life in May 1940 the R35 was right in the front line. While it showed its armor was reliable, the 37mm gun was inadequate when it came to take out German armor. The Fall of France in June 1940 meant that production of the R35 was curtailed to approximately 1,600 units.

Review Author
Patrick Brown
Published on
Company
AFV Club
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$60.00

Bottom Line Up Front

AFV Club continues to rule the Centurion market with its latest offering. This is a very good kit overall. It comes with tasty value-added features like a turned aluminum barrel and photoetch parts. The detail is sharp and the fit is excellent. The kit is marred by some unnecessarily complicated moving parts that make two aftermarket part sets a must if the modeler wants to have a first-rate build.

History

The Centurion is one of those tanks that just will not fade away with time. It just missed major action in WW2 by a few weeks so it’s first real trial was in Korea. This kit faithfully represents the 20-pounder armed Mk. 3 which was fielded in that conflict. This was the version which was still in service (with some modifications to the gun barrel) with the British Army in 1956 during Operation Musketeer, the invasion of the Suez Canal Zone.