In 1977, the Pontiac Firebird became the rage of pop culture in its strong supporting role in Smokey and The Bandit, and ensuing sales of the Trans Am variant skyrocketed overnight.

Revell does a magnificent job capturing the essence of The Bandit's ride in this re-release of their 2004 tooling of an American muscle car legend.

Molded in white, clear, and chrome-plated styrene with steel axles and vinyl tires, the kit consists of 89 parts and a sheet of decals. Mold quality is very good, with little flash and very manageable mold parting lines. Detail, raised and recessed, is crisp and in-scale, and tracks well to reference photos. The tires are beautifully seamless, and just need to be pressed over their hubs to be display-ready.

Introduced into active service in 1980, the M1 Abrams has served as the United States’ main battle tank for over 30 years, and will continue in that role for the foreseeable future. In production between 1986 and 1992, the M1A1 is an upgunned and upgraded version of the original M1, and has seen service in worldwide, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Revell introduces young modelers to this mainstay of modern American armored warfare in the form of a 1/35 scale SnapTite kit – and a fabulous introduction it is! Molded in tan plastic, its 56 pieces are well-detailed with crisp raised and recessed features, and are accompanied by 2 pre-joined black vinyl tracks – also nicely detailed. A sheet of stickers provides the vehicle’s markings.

Background

The Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) cargo truck was adapted by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy as a replacement for the M939 series of trucks that had been in use since the early 80s. It offers improved off-road capability and greater capacity than the earlier models. It is the prime mover for the USMC M777 Howitzer and is used to carry troops, cargo, fuel, and water to every corner of the battlefield.

The MTVR was first fielded in 1998 and is built by Oshkosh Industries. Deliveries are continuing, and so far some 11,000 in 12 different variants have been delivered to the US Marines, the Navy Seabees, as well as the Iraqi and Egyptian armies. The variants include 4x4 and 8x8 versions, along with the standard 6x6 configuration.

This is one of Model Art Modeling Magazine’s special editions. The text is mainly in Japanese with some English subtitles. One plus about these magazines is the high quality of the photographs and the models that are used.

Are you a fan of 1/700th scale IJN waterline models? Are you looking for that one particular kit? Well, you may be in luck with this special issue released by Model Art Magazine.

With many of the new kits coming out, there have been a few excellent mechanic figures included, either in the kits or as aftermarket. It never occurred to me until this release that what was missing was a tool chest. A mechanic needs his tools, doesn’t he? Aerobonus to the rescue with a rolling 9-drawer tools chest which has the Snap On logo, too.

The kit is simplicity itself, with the main tool chest being a single part only needing the casting block sanded off. The four wheels and a handle are on a single sprue and easily detached and added. The color is Snap On Red and is close to insignia red, which I used. The silver parts were painted and then touched up, and I also distressed the kit a little with some scrapes and scratches here and there. The decal sheet contains a part number and the Snap On logo. There are also labels for each of the drawers if you choose to use them. I flat-coated the kit and touched up the silver with a silver pencil.