Universal/Generic Stowage Sets

Published on
May 27, 2014
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$11.50
Product / Stock #
Tents, Tarps & Crates Set #3
Base Kit
Any
Company: Value Gear - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: Value Gear - Website: Visit Site
Packaging - 1/48 scale Tents, Tarps & Crates Set #3

This review covers the following Value Gear Universal/Generic Stowage Sets:

  • 1/35 scale Wooden Crates Set #1 - $11.50
  • 1/35 scale Tents & Tarps Set #3 - $11.50
  • 1/48 scale Crates Set #1 - $11.50
  • 1/48 scale Tents, Tarps & Crates Set #3 - $11.50

Judging by the blurb on their web site, Value Gear is run by an American expat who moved to Ireland for a quieter, less-stressed life. He is an “at home Dad” by day, and a resin accessory producer by night, which doesn’t sound like a half-bad way to live!

Value Gear’s products are generic, in that they are appropriate for any army, since they are a series of rolled up tarps, tents, and other canvas items, along with generic wooden crates. Thus they are equally at home on a WW1 French Army FT-17, a 1944 German FT-17, a Canadian Korean War Sherman, or the back of an Opel Blitz in Poland, 1939.

The quality of each casting is extremely high, and when it comes to value, you won’t find better in the hobby today. The 1/35 scale Tent & Tarp Set includes 16 unique items, while the Wooden Crate Set contains multiples of five unique items, 22 pieces in total. In 1/48 scale the modeler receives 27 unique pieces in the Tent, Tarp & Crate Set, while in the Crates Set, multiples of nine unique pieces total 32 parts. The crates come with very nice wood grain effects molded in, while the tarp and tent castings contain lovely folds in the fabric, nicely rendered belt ties, etc. There are no pour blocks to remove, though it pays to give the base of each part a sanding on a piece of sandpaper taped to a piece of glass. Other than this, everything is ready to paint out of the baggie.

I gave the parts a good scrub in warm water and detergent to remove any mold release agent, and let them thoroughly dry for 24 hours. I then mounted the pieces firmly on toothpicks before airbrushing with my favorite primer, Mr. Surfacer 1200. Following a couple of days for the primer to completely cure, I then airbrushed the crates using Vallejo 834 Natural Wood, and set aside to cure. The tent and tarp parts were first airbrushed with an overall coat of Tamiya XF-49 Khaki. When this had thoroughly dried, a series of suitable Vallejo acrylic paint colors were chosen to add a variety of different hues, and thus more interest to the eye. These Vallejo colors included:

  • 70892 Yellow Olive
  • 314 (Panzer Aces range) Canvas
  • 894 Russian Green
  • 312 (Panzer Aces range) Leather Belt

Once all of the parts were allowed to dry for two days, I applied a couple of light coats of Tamiya X-22 Clear mixed with Mr Color Self Leveling Thinner. Following suitable drying time, a wash of Mig’s Dark Brown Shadow oil paint was applied to all the parts, and when thoroughly dried a few light coats of Testors Dullcote was used to seal everything and return the parts to a matt finish.

Overall I can’t praise the accessory sets by Value Gear enough. If you build military vehicle models and want to add suitable “stowage” at the lowest possible price, while at the same time getting first rate quality, you can’t go wrong with this product.

My sincere thanks to Value Gear for providing IPMS/USA with the opportunity to review these excellent items.

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