US M1 57mm & 6 PR 7 CWT(BR) Ammunition Set

Published on
February 10, 2020
Review Author(s)
MSRP
$24.00
Product / Stock #
RE 30009
Base Kit
Riich US 57mm AT Gun and British 6 Pdr AT Gun
Company: Riich Models
Provided by: Dragon Models - Website: Visit Site
Box Top

Hot on the heels of their release of the British 6 Pdr Mk. IV Anti-Tank Gun (kit #RV35018) and their soon to be released kit of the U.S. M1 57mm Anti-Tank Gun (kit #RV35020), Riich Models has offered up this nice ammunition set: US M1 57mm & 6 PR 7 CWT (BR) as a companion set for their two artillery kits.

The Box

The kit comes packed in a sturdy 6-3/8” x 10-1/4” x 1-3/8” box of the (unfortunately) end-opening variety. Note to kit manufacturers: I know these end-opening type of boxes are cheaper to produce, but for what we pay for kits these days, how about a box with a lid! OK, I’m done complaining. The box ‘top’ features a nice artist’s rendering of the kit contents, which can serve as a good painting guide as well. The ‘bottom’ of the box features assembly instructions and suggested paint call-outs for the kit, in Mr. Hobby, Model Master, Humbrol and Tamiya colors, as well as a decal placement guide.

The Kit

So, what’s in the box? Well, you get four identical sprues in light gray plastic for a total of 152 parts. In reality, it’s actually eight sprues (one is sprue ‘Wa’, the other ‘Wb’) but they’re joined together, so, it looks like four sprues. However, it’s important to be aware of this differential, since the instructions refer to the parts as, say, ‘Wa10’ or ‘Wb5’. The parts molding is absolutely flawless with no flash on any of the parts in my sample. Parts are cast crisp and clean with any ejector pin marks being on unseen surfaces. They even supply the little rope handles on the ends of the U.S. ammo boxes as separate parts. Very nice. These four sprues give you a total of four of the U.S. wooden ammo boxes, eight of the late-war British metal boxes and four of the early-style British metal boxes. As for the actual ammunition, you end up with four of the SVDS rounds, four of the AP rounds, four of the APCBC-T rounds and eight of the HE rounds, as well as four rounds in individual liners.

Along with the plastic parts, you also get four tiny frets of photo-etch (PE) parts - all connected to form one fret. There’s 10 PE parts per little fret for a total of forty. The PE parts are delicate and well executed, some being a bit small, supplying box latches, straps and buckles for both the U.S. and British versions.

To add all of those little markings on the rounds and their boxes, Riich gives us a whole heap of decals: four small sheets measuring 1” x 1” (I did say small) and two medium size sheets, measuring 1-7/8” x 2-5/8”. The decals look pretty crisp and appear to be on-register with what looks like a pretty thin carrier.

Opinions

I have to say that the quality is definitely present in this kit. Riich paid attention to the details. However, if you’re going to do a full-blown diorama, then you’ll need to buy multiple sets, and that could get expensive. I would have liked to have seen a set dedicated to the British gun and one dedicated to the U.S. version, but, like they say, it is what it is. For me personally, I place the artillery piece on a black lacquered wood base and then place just a representation of the ammo with a figure next to the gun, so this set would be just fine for my use. So keep all of this in mind when making the purchase.

Conclusion

In the end, I would definitely recommend this set to anyone with either the 6 Pdr or 57mm gun in their stash or on their workbench.

I’d like to thank Dragon USA for supplying this kit and IPMS-USA for giving me the opportunity to do this review.

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