Tracing its origins back to a set of 1950 requirements for a replacement for the M38 family of vehicles of World War II “Jeep” descent, the M151 Military Utility Tactical Truck (MUTT) became the primary ¼-ton tactical vehicle of the United States Armed Forces until the advent of the HUMMWV in the mid-1980’s.

In the course of 80 pages packed with 220 photos – mostly color – and a handful of line drawings, author David Doyle captures the genesis and service life of this legendary military vehicle. Although “In Action” in name, plenty of detail photos and narrative are provided of the vehicle in various phases of development, assembly and maintenance – a modeler’s treasure chest!

Operational photographs and narrative capture the MUTT’s service in numerous configurations, conflicts, and theaters of operation, including Vietnam, NATO and PACOM exercises, Beirut, Grenada, and others.

History

The T-34 tank series proved to be quite a nasty surprise for the Germans after their invasion of Russia in June of 1941, and eventually influenced the design of future German armored vehicles. So impressed were they with its capabilities, the Germans actually considered building their own version of the T-34. The Russians built the T-34 in several factories during the war, many of which needed to be relocated to avoid capture by the advancing German armies. Maintaining commonality in the vehicle became a challenge. As with most military vehicles, actual combat revealed the need for changes and improvements in the base design. The T-34 was no exception. Initially, the factories focused their efforts on supplying the needs of the military without attempting to include too many improvements in the T-34. Nonetheless, improvements were made.

History

The 352nd Flying Group was apparently activated in Japan on 1 August 1944 as a day and night fighter group, and operated from Omura Air Base in Japan until the end of the war. They used the A6M5 Zeke 52, N1K2-J George, and J2M3 Jack in the interceptor role. Apparently, their aircraft were marked with distinctive tail codes denoting their unit, and Hasegawa has seen fit to issue a “two-in-one” kit of two of the three types they operated. I was able to find very little information on the unit history, and none is provided in the kit instructions or box art. Thorpe’s book on Japanese Navy Camouflage and Markings only provides the dates and types operated. Osprey’s Imperial Japanese Navy Aces, 1937-1945, mentions the unit as having operated defending the Sasebo, Nagasaki, and Omura areas, but not too successfully against high flying B-29’s.

The Blast-Away Sandblasting cabinet is also labeled as the Blast-A-Way Sandblasting cabinet. For the purposes of this review it will be labeled as the “Blast-Away” cabinet. That is the manner in which it is identified on the instruction booklet that accompanies the product.

The Blast-Away cabinet is made from corrugated plastic and arrives in a box roughly 40x 24x3. Within the review sample was the cabinet itself, the clear “window” items which will be attached to the cabinet, and the 10 page instruction booklet. Additional parts can be purchased – those being additional clear plastic lenses, a replacement liner, and an exhaust manifold.

This prototype vehicle is the Ardelt-Rheinmetall 8.8cm PaK 43 Waffenträger (weapons carrier). The idea behind this weapon system was a self-propelled mount for the powerful but heavy 8.8cm (88mm) antitank gun, as towed versions of this gun were too cumbersome for crews to move readily. The idea was that the gun could be dismounted if need be. Ardelt and Rheinmetall might have combined to build the first prototype and tests were conducted on this in April, 1945. It utilized a 38(t) or a Hetzer chassis with four road wheels per side. Sources differ on if these two companies worked together and on what chassis they used. But Dragon has created a one-of-a-kind self-propelled gun of an interesting idea.