The Maschinen Krieger universe is a SciFi series created in the 1980’s by Kow Yokoyama and ran as a series of stories in Japanese Hobby Magazine Hobby Japan. Many of the creations are permutations of WW I and WW II tanks and aircraft upgraded and all started with powered armored suits. In 2009, Hasegawa received the license for the kits and entered the market with the Falke, Lunadiver Stingray and now the P.K.H. 103 Nutcracker, a hover tank. After building the Lunadiver Stingray, when this came up for review, I wanted to add to the collection I am building.

Inside the box are 8 tan sprues and an upper and lower hull for the Nutcracker. Molding is superb with fines detail. Also included are 5 sprues to build two of the powered suits, a Gustav and Melusine. Finishing out the box is a large decal sheet and painting guide detailing the 5 options available for the tank. More painting instructions are also on the box bottom.

Tank construction is broken into two parts, the turret and the hull. The turret has no issues and fit is good. Don’t forget to add part C32 to the upper open spot - I did and getting it in later was difficult. My own fault in rushing. I did use a small amount of putty on the three side plates that complete the turrets shape but very little. Many of the parts to be added later are attached by the rubber grommet method and this allows parts to be added after painting.

The hull is next. There are two parts to be added before the hull is joined- a maintenance hatch with details and the exhausts. The bottom join is good and just a little putty was added to get it tight. After that, it was only a matter of adding lots of small details. When I say small, parts F1 and F2 are less than a millimeter and there are lots of them (and extras- great thinking here). Attaching them wasn't difficult but trying to sand sprue stubs with my ham fists took some time. One option for both the hull and turret are smoke launchers. I elected to use them- thought they looked neat.

There are bunches of paint options- most are WWII schemes which is great. I elected for a two tone green scheme but there are tan, winter white and several others- all with details and markings. The paint call out are not given by RLM number so I did a little research and got close. I added the decals, weathered with a little wash and paint chipping and flat coated the tank- cool looking beastie.

The two power suits build up well but the fit is not as good as the tank. It is not bad; the tank is just that good. It did take some putty and sanding to get things tight but it worked. There are several options as far as hand types and the tools. These are small, only about 3 inches high but have good detail. One suit has a clear front piece and driver, the other is solid. Overall suit colors are on the box and have different schemes. There are also a full set of decals and stencils for the suit.

I love this kit. It was a blast to build and paint, fits great and looks neat sitting next to the Lunadiver! It is highly recommended to all of the Maschinen Krieger fans and to those that want a nice diversion from other kits. There are lots of diorama possibilities with the suits too! My thanks to Carl Pesch and Hobbico, and to Hasegawa for the review sample.