The M915 is the basis for a series of heavy trucks built for the US Army. In the late 1970s the US army identified a need for a line of commercial trucks. AM General was selected in 1977 and the first vehicles were delivered in 1978. This new release from Trumpeter depicts the M915 Line Haul Tractor. This vehicle is limited to operating on hard surface roads and typically tows the M872 semi-trailer. This combination has a payload capacity of around 30 tons and this new release from Trumpeter contains the M915 tractor, M872 trailer and a 40ft container.

I have heard for the last several years that we live in a golden age of modeling due to the huge array of subjects now hitting the shelves of hobby shops. Academy continues this trend with the release of the Main Battle Tank of the South Korean Army. An indigenous design that is an evolution of the K1. Both vehicles bear a passing resemblance to the American M1 Abrams, though they are smaller. The K2 entered production in 2013 and was fielded in 2014. As you can see by the box art, it has reactive armor, a 120 mm gun, and a host of other defensive features to defeat anti-tank missiles. It has a crew of three. The loader was eliminated with an auto-loading system. It is a welcome addition to the plethora of modern vehicles that have entered the market in the last several years.

History

The SU-85 was a self-propelled gun. It was developed on the T-34 medium tank Chassis which also resembled the SU-122 assault gun. It was produced from 1943 through mid-1944. The 85-mm gun allowed the SU-85 to effectively hit enemy medium tanks at a range of over 1,000 meters and was able to destroy a Tiger tank from this range, rendering it a very capable weapon against the newer German tanks.

Kit Facts

This kit is a Soviet SU-85 captured and put into service by the German army during WW II. This model is extremely detailed. It has workable track links, and five figures representing the crew. It has a total of 712 parts, 627 of which are plastic, 75 that are photo etched, 10 clear plastic parts, a decal sheet and an instruction booklet.

Assembly

When I opened the box I was absolutely awe struck with the number of sprues and parts. The sprues are literally jam packed in the box and neatly wrapped in plastic bags.

Introduction

Dragon’s product website states that “Building further on the success of its line-up of 1/35 scale kits of the famous M48 Patton medium tank, Dragon has produced the interesting M67 flamethrower used by the US military. Nicknamed the “Zippo”, it was originally based on an M48A1 tank hull, with the usual 90mm gun replaced with an M6 flame gun connected to an M7A1-6 fuel and pressure unit. The 48-ton M67 was disguised somewhat with its flame gun hidden inside a dummy gun tube. The first M67 was completed in 1955 and a total of 109 units were manufactured for US Marine Corps and US Army service. They were fielded until 1974, which meant they saw combat in Vietnam”.

Eduard has issued this nice photoetch set for IBG Model’s newly released Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor. IBG’s kit has very good detail, and Eduard provides many additional details to improve the quality of the model.

The photoetch is up to Eduard’s high quality standard, but there are many very small parts to deal with. I could assemble all the photoetch using super glue, and did not find soldering to be necessary. The photoetch seems to be very thin, and several pieces broke when I tried to bend them. Experience working with photoetch is highly recommended for this set. The use of a bending device tool is also very helpful for this set.

To add PE to a model, I go through the kit instructions and mark those parts that are modified by the photoetch so it can be incorporated in the normal assembly sequence. The Eduard instructions are quite clear and use different colors to designate replacement PE parts, kit parts, or areas to be removed.