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Issue 136 August 2017 www.modelmilitary.com

KOREAN WAR CENTURION AFV Club’s 1:35 Centurion Mk.3

E N I T N E L A V Y M BE ine Mk.II/IV

INSIDE: p 01 CoverMMI 136B.indd 1

Tamiya’s new 1:35 Valent

1:35 M1 Breacher ■ 1:35 King Tiger Henschel ■ 1:35 V-2 and Hanomag ■ Hungarian Medium Tank 40.M Turan I ■ and more...

August 2017 / £4.50 / Issue 136

13/06/2017 09:24

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Contents - Issue 136 August 2017 REGULARS p 4 NEWS

What’s new in the world of military modelling

p 58 INCOMING

16

The latest kit and accessory releases in 1:35 scale

p 59 FIGURES

New figure releases

p 60 1:48 SCALE

News and opinion in the world of 1:48 by Luke Pitt

p 66 LAST POST

Luke Pitt snaps up this new 1:35 scale Turan I Medium Tank from Bronco

FEATURES p 6 THINK TANK

Valentine Part One by Bruce Culver

p 16 BE MY VALENTINE

Tamiya 1:35 Infantry Tank Mk.III Valentine Mk.II by Brett Green

p 28 VALENTINE IN DETAIL Full-sized reference

p 32 PREVIEW

Rye Field Models 1:35 M1 Breacher

p 33 PREVIEW

Dragon 1:35 Henschel King Tiger

p 34 KOREAN WAR CENTURION

AFV Club’s 1:35 scale Centurion Mk.5 conversion by Jim Turner

56

p 44 KRASNOYE SORMOVO FACTORY Nº112

Tamiya’s 1:48 T-34/76 Model 1941

by Joaquin Garcia Gazquez

p 56 SHOW REPORT

Tamiya new release announcements from the 2017 Shizuoka Hobby Show

34 ©Doolittle Media Ltd 2017 Tel: (UK) 01525 222573 Fax: (UK) 01525 222574 Email: enquiries@doolittlemedia.com Address: Doolittle Media Ltd., Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, UK Model Military International is published monthly by Doolittle Media Ltd.. Reproduction in part or whole of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

While due care is taken to ensure the contents of Model Military International is accurate, the publishers and printers cannot accept liability for errors or omissions.

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Newsline - August 2017

MMI Newsdesk, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, UK Tel:01525 222573 Fax:01525 222574 Email:editor@modelmilitary.com

OBITUARY

TAMIYA PRESIDENT, MR MASAYUKI TAMIYA, 1958 - 2017

I

t is with immense sadness that Tamiya has announced that Company President, Mr Masayuki Tamiya, passed away on 1st May 2017 following a four-year struggle with cancer. He was 59.

Masayuki was a graduate of Tokyo University and joined Tamiya in 1988 following an initial career in finance and banking with Tokai Bank from 1983, (now known as Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank).

He had been a consumer of Tamiya products as a child, but was not a modeller or enthusiast and so brought a different perspective to the boardroom of Tamiya. His creative input was more focused on the business structure and process and he set about organizing global operations, while expanding the Japanese domestic market and modernizing company systems. In so doing he drove through many of the major developments which define the Tamiya Group today. He became Senior Executive Director of Tamiya in January 1990.

One of his foremost roles in 1992 was to become President of the newly incorporated Tamiya America.

This was Tamiya’s first venture as a distributor outside of the Japanese market and presented many challenges for Masayuki to work to overcome.

With tremendous foresight, he oversaw the purchase of Tamiya’s fourteen-acre site in Aliso Viejo, California and the construction of a 7,000 squaremetre warehouse, showroom and office facility.

Fifteen years later when Tamiya re-structured the US business, this speculative investment had transformed into a property gold mine.

Alongside spearheading Tamiya’s US adventure, Masayuki also turned his attention to overseeing the establishment of a new mould making, production and packaging facility. At this time the whole manufacturing world was heading to China, but Tamiya had a bolder ambition and turned instead to Cebu in the Philippines. Over the years as all the Chinese made products have been subjected to roaring material and

labour cost inflation, Tamiya has enjoyed stability and calm with its loyal Philippine workforce.

Founded under Masayuki’s leadership in 1994, this enormous undertaking required 40,000 square metres of land on which a total of 24,000 square metres of buildings would be constructed to house every facet of Tamiya’s production process from mould making to plastic injection, vacuum plating to body painting and even incorporating expert construction of models.

This facility is still today the mainstay of Tamiya’s production and one of its greatest assets.

Masayuki also had an eye for product and saw opportunities to expand Tamiya’s product line into the diecast market which was booming in the mid 1990s.

He took the initiative to establish a premium quality diecast model making operation based in Hong Kong in order to produce the highly acclaimed Tamiya prebuilt diecast Collections across a variety of scales and subjects. These were hugely successful and still immensely sought after today.

During all these years Masayuki continued to travel the world and visit Tamiya’s partners, building relationships and developing his understanding of the global market for Tamiya products. Masayuki’s strong head for business creativity continued throughout his tenure at Tamiya. In 2008 he took a bold step from manufacturer to the unchartered waters of retail.

His vision was to create the ultimate destination for modellers; a place where they could find and buy the entire Tamiya portfolio, beautifully displayed to exhibition standards in an environment where they could build their Tamiya model under the tutelage of Tamiya experts. A destination where modellers could attend seminars and take part in workshops and even have a locker to store their models.

Masayuki’s thinking was that people would use these destinations like a gym, at lunchtimes and after work, as a means of entertainment and relaxation.

This vision developed into the first ground breaking Tamiya Plamodel Factory retail concept in Yokohama.

Under M Tamiya’s guidance it has expanded over the years with considerable success in Japan, Singapore and Korea.

In 2008, After twenty years’ hard work and dedicated service, Masayuki received the ultimate acknowledgment of his contribution to the Tamiya organisation, when Mr S Tamiya handed over to him the esteemed title of ‘Shacho’; President. He had earned this position through hard work, creativity and flair. From then until his untimely passing, M Tamiya was responsible for running the entire Tamiya Operations as President of the Company.

Masayuki Tamiya was inquisitive, interested, informed, intelligent, loyal, dedicated to his business and focused on his family. Despite his success and standing he always remained unpretentious and modest and true to his values, just as he had been when he started out.

His achievements and endeavours will continue to inspire and influence all those who worked with him in each day of their business lives.

M Tamiya is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Peter Binger The Hobby Company Limited

Publisher Mr Alan Harman, myself and everyone at Doolittle Media would like to offer Mr Masayuki Tamiya's wife and daughters our sincerest condolences at this time of sorrow. My personal memories of Masayuki were of a kind, generous and friendly man who worked extremely hard for the company. He will be greatly missed.

Marcus Nicholls Group Editor Doolittle Media

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Think Tank - Valentine Infantry Tank

The Valentine infantry tank was designed by Vickers as a complement to the new Matilda Mk II, which was delayed due to its complexity and shortages of some components. It used the basic chassis of the A10 cruiser tank of the 1930s.

VALENTINE INFANTRY TANK Bruce Culver describes the design and development of the Valentine Infantry Tank.

T

he Infantry Tank Mark III, known as the Valentine, was unique in being the most produced British tank of WW2 (8,316 vehicles - 7,260 gun tanks and 1,056 derivatives). It also was unique in that, as a private venture developed as a stop-gap design and not to an official specification, the Valentine was never assigned a General Staff “A” type designation, being known officially as the “Infantry Tank Mark III, Valentine.”

DESIGN The design for the Valentine resulted from a delay in the production of the heavier and more complex Infantry Tank Mark II (A12), the Matilda II. The Mechanisation Board had asked Vulcan Foundry, the manufacturers of the A12 Matilda II, to develop a new medium tank in 1937, but Vulcan declined until they had completed work on the Matilda II. As the supply of tanks was very much short of requirements, the War Office asked Vickers Armstrong of Newcastle on Tyne to consider developing a new medium tank to supplement the Matilda

II. The choice was to develop a tank based on the Matilda II or an alternate based on Vickers’ own A10 heavy cruiser.

Vickers chose to design a new tank based on the chassis of the A10 heavy cruiser that had been their latest design. The chassis limited the weight to 16 long tons (16.26 tonnes), and just allowed the specified 60mm maximum armor thickness. The goal was to create a stop-gap infantry tank as quickly as possible, using wellproven components to reduce the development time. The new turret was designed for two people rather than the three desired, giving a crew of three , and Vickers proposed using their own 2 pdr (40mm) main gun instead of the standard ordnance 2 pdr QF, to allow a smaller turret.

The hull and turret were designed to be as small as possible to save on the weight of armour.

Frontal armour in the hull was planned at 50mm, as was the front plate of the turret, but in 1938, the mockup was rejected as not meeting the desired specification, and the project lay dormant for a time. In fact, there were

continuing delays in the Vulcan Matilda II project, and in 1939, the War Office went back to Vickers for a reworked design. Vickers proposed a four-man turret with a 50 mm armour base, or a two-man turret with a 60mm base, and the War Office decided on the latter.

The chassis had already been developed and Vickers was able to propose the start of production in April 1940. There were attempts to get Vickers to produce the Matilda II, but Vickers maintained that they could build two of the new tanks for one Matilda.

INTO PRODUCTION Production deliveries began in June 1940, and production of all marks of the new Infantry Tank Mark III, Valentine family, including derivatives, went to September 1945 and was 25% of total British tank production during the war.

The chassis used the Horstmann “slow motion” suspension which was susceptible to wire being tangled in the tracks, so side shields were added for a 10-round reduction in ammunition capacity, from 60 to 50 rounds. Though the A10 heavy cruiser had not been

a very reliable tank, the similar suspension and power train in the Valentine did make it one of the more reliable British-built tanks of WW2. The Valentine was built in 11 versions, with a number of hull and turret combinations. Many of the variants were externally identical, and could be positively identified only through the census numbers painted on the hull or turret.

VALENTINE MK.I The Valentine Mk I appeared in June 1940, and set the pattern for the rest of the line. It was 18 ft 9.7 in (5.73m) long; 9 ft 1 in (2.77m) wide over the later sand guards; and was 7 ft 5.5 in (2.27m) tall to the sighting vane on the turret roof. The armour basis was 60mm (hull nose and driver’s front plate), 60mm (hull sides and vertical rear plate) with 30mm sloped engine deck plates and 17-20mm armour near the hull roof and lower plates. The turret front and rear plates, and the gun mantlet, were 65mm, turret sides were 60mm, and the roof was from 10-20mm. In all, it was as well or better protected than any of the contemporary German tanks in

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This very early production Valentine Mk I was photographed on maneuvers in England in 1941. It was fitted with quite narrow spud type tracks that were not used on the later models. The main armament was a Vickers-designed 2pdr anti-tank gun.

1940. The 2 pdr (40mm) main gun could penetrate 49mm of armour at 100 yards (91.5m) with AP, and 53.5mm at 500 yards (457m) with APCBC ammunition.

The Valentine Mk I used a 135 HP petrol engine from AEC, formerly used on the A10, and a clash-type (no-clutch) 5-speed transmission by Meadows. The main distinguishing feature of the Mk I hull was the single opening rear engine door with only one row of grab handles. The suspension, used on all marks of the Valentine, was the same Horstmann “slow motion” type from the A10. Its

main advantage was that it bolted to the hull and didn’t reduce interior room, already quite cramped in a fairly small tank.

The tracks went through several iterations. The first type was a light stamped steel track that proved to be too fragile for extended service. At least a few were fitted with a narrower but heavier cast ‘spud’ type track that also was not adopted. Finally a reinforced cast track appeared in 1940 and proved satisfactory. It was wider than the A10 track and less likely to be shed in turns, a major failing of the A10 heavy cruiser. A

Several marks of the Valentine appeared to be almost identical. This early Mk I was built

by Vickers and carried a later track than the tank seen previously. The small turret could accommodate only two men, and this model used the No. 11 radio set.

The Valentine was used extensively in maneuvers in England as the country rebuilt after the disaster at Dunkirk. “Sneezy” was a Valentine Mk I of the 6th Armoured Division.

The ‘16’ in the circle denotes the tank’s weight (16 tons) for crossing bridges.

“ARTIST’S PRIME” was a Valentine Mk I issued to the 17th/21st Lancers, one of the early units to receive the new tanks. The colors were Green G3 with a pattern of Dark Green G4 for the camouflage application, the standard scheme for the early war period.

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Think Tank - Valentine Infantry Tank B VALENTINE MK.II The Valentine Mk II was derived from the Mk I, and differed only in having an AEC diesel engine of 131 HP @ 1800 RPM. Early production Mk IIs were identical visually to the MK I except for a second set of grab handles on the second rear engine bay door; later Mk IIs had a D-shaped revolver port added to the left side of the turret. Mk IIs destined for tropical service were modified to carry an external fuel tank over the rear left mudguard.

A number of Valentines also carried the Lakeman AA mount for a Bren gun.

The Valentine series was built in a confusing number of visually similar and even identical models.

Thus it was that the Valentine MK II, IV, VI, and VII were almost impossible to tell apart without seeing the painted census number on the hull or turret. The Mk IV was a Mk II with the AEC diesel and Meadows transmission replaced by a GMC 6-71 diesel engine with a Spicer transmission.

The MK VI was a Mk IV adapted for construction in Canada by Canadian Pacific Railway shops in Montreal. The Mk VII was a Mk VI altered to Russian requirements, and built in Canada. The Mk VIIa had some additional changes for Russian service, and all of these were essentially the same.

Valentine Mk Is and early Mk IIs of the 17th/21st Lancers were used for training in 1941, before the unit embarked for the Middle East as part of 6th Armoured Division.

These tanks again were in the G3 Green/G4 Dark Green standard scheme.

VALENTINE MK. III AND V The Valentine Mk III combined the hull and chassis of the Mk II with a new three-man turret intended to accommodate a radio operator/ loader. The front of the turret was extended forward and a new gun mounting for the 2 pdr (40mm) gun appeared. It was still an internal mantlet, but a smaller square design. Two circular revolver ports were added to the turret sides to replace the earlier and smaller flap-type ports. The Mk III used the AEC diesel engine and Meadows transmission. With the larger turret, the Mk III introduced a rotating commander’s hatch in the roof and a revised turret rear structure.

The Valentine Mk V was the same as the Mk III with the new three-man turret, but using the later GMC 6-71 diesel engine and Spicer transmission. As with the Mk III, the turret allowed a third crewman to serve as loader and radio operator, allowing the commander to concentrate on battlefield observation and leading the crew, and not loading the main weapon. Externally the Mk III and V were visually identical.

UPGRADES By 1942, the 2 pdr was becoming less effective against the later

and better protected German tanks, and in spite of the small 54 in (1.37m) turret ring, it proved possible to design a turret to mount the larger 6 pdr (57mm) QF main gun. The turret was very similar to that if the Mk III and V, and carried the 6 pdr in a new external mantlet. The 6 pdr could penetrate 94mm of armour at 100 meters with APC ammunition, a considerable improvement over the best of the 2 pdr rounds. The new turret was developed for the proposed Valentine Mk VIII, but no Mk VIII tanks were produced – all were delivered as Mk IXs. To control total weight, the hull side armour was reduced from 50mm to 43mm.

An unfortunate result of fitting the larger 6 pdr into the Valentine Mk IX turret was the loss of the co-axial Besa MG, a decision that the crews definitely did not like, as the co-axial gun was an important part of the tank’s defense and could be used without exposing the crew to enemy fire. The Mk IX turret was rather crudely modified

by adding an armoured box on the right side of the turret front to mount a co-axial Besa 7.92mm LMG. With the modified turret, the Valentine was designated the Mk X.

FINAL MODEL AND LATER USAGE The final model of the Valentine gun tank was the Mk XI. This was the Mk X with the 6 pdr QF main gun replaced with the newer 75mm QF gun, which was a bored-out version of the 6 pdr. The Valentine Mk XI was the end of the line of Valentine gun tanks and production ended for these in 1944. While never as well-protected or armed as some other mainline tanks, the Valentine with a decent and reliable combat tank when they were needed early in the war, and in the first years of service they gave a good account of themselves, proving especially reliable in the dry desert campaign in North Africa. Though units in Tunisia were transitioning to the Sherman in 1943, Valentines served through the North African campaign.

As the Valentine’s effectiveness as a gun tank declined, it was used in training and for secondary uses. The Mk IX, X and XI served in Sicily and Italy, many as the DD amphibious type, and others lasted in the Pacific into 1944. The Mk XI was used in NW Europe as a “charger”, or command tank, in Royal Artillery self-propelled units and in M10 Achilles and ‘Archer’ tank destroyer units as well. In Russian service, the Lend-Lease Valentines were issued to secondline units in less active combat situations, freeing up better Russian tanks for use elsewhere.

But they were widely used, and at least one was photographed entering Berlin in 1945…..

A number of Valentines (and derivatives) have been preserved in several countries, some in running condition. They serve as a reminder that service can take many forms: combat, training and support. A number of derivative vehicles were developed from the Valentine gun tank, but that is a story for another day. ■

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This Valentine Mk II was in the 11th Armoured Division, seen during the early war maneuvers common in England at this time.

The Valentine proved to be one of the most reliable tanks used by British forces, and was easy to maintain as well.

These Valentine Mk IIs were issued to the 1st Tank regiment of the 1st Polish Corps, training in exile from their conquered nation. Polish tanks were given special Polish serial numbers as seen here. These Valentines were used for training only.

This Valentine Mk II of 6th Armoured Division was seen during “Operation Humber” in October 1941. The division sign and ‘16’ bridge sign were standard markings. The white cross on the front plate denoted this tank as an ‘enemy’ vehicle.

Polish Valentine Mk IIs participated in many training exercises in England. Later, Polish units were issued heavier and better-armed British and US-built tanks for their service in Europe. The Valentine’s reliability made it an effective training vehicle.

This Valentine Mk II was built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCWC) and as seen here, was painted in the early desert “Caunter” scheme of straight-edged color patches of ‘Portland Stone’, ‘Silver Grey’, and ‘Slate’.

Infantry commonly rode tanks up to the front areas if transport was lacking, as seen here as “RESPOND”, a Mk II, carried a Scots infantry unit forward in North Africa. Note the captured Beretta Mod. 38 machine pistol carried by the soldier to the right.

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Think Tank - Valentine Infantry Tank

The Valentine had good mobility in the desert, though its top speed of only 15 MPH on roads was a limiting factor. As an infantry tank, the Valentine had not been intended as a fast vehicle, but to accompany advancing infantry.

This Valentine Mk II carried a very rough coat of paint, partly worn away and suffering the effects of the desert climate. A military censor has removed an emblem on the nose plate. By this stage of the war, the 2 pdr main gun was not an effective anti-tank weapon.

The Valentine Mk III turret was enlarged to accommodate three men, within the limits of the small turret ring.

The Mk V had a similar turret and was visually identical to the Mk III. In the same way, the Mk I, II, IV, VI, and VII externally were also almost identical.

The desert was a very harsh environment, as evidenced by the very badly weathered paint on this Valentine Mk II in North Africa. Many vehicles had much of the top desert paint stripped off by the strong sun and equally damaging winds and blowing sand.

“HOOD” demonstrated the carrying capacity of even a small tank like the Valentine.

This tank was a Mk III, which had a redesigned three-man turret still mounting the 2 pdr gun.

Most changes in the hull involved the engine and transmission and were not visible.

This Valentine Mk III was captured by the German 10th Panzer Division in Tunisia and recaptured in somewhat worse condition. It was remarked with the symbols of 10th Panzer Division – the “Ylll” division sign and the bison symbol of Panzerregiment 7.

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“SIDI BARRANI”, a Valentine Mk III, was part of the New Zealand Tank Brigade of the 3rd New Zealand Division, as shown by the ‘rampant dragon’ sign on the nose plate. The 3rd NZ Division fought in the Pacific, being disbanded in 1944.

These Valentine Mk IIIs of 3rd NZ Division in the Solomon Islands were fitted with surplus grouser storage bins from M3 Stuart light tanks. As the Valentine was a fairly small tank, there was little interior room for extra stowage, which ended up outside.

The New Zealand forces used several versions of the Valentine This Mk III of the NZ Tank Brigade was undergoing servicing of the main gun. The hulls of all the Valentines were almost identical and many types could be identified only by the census number.

The Valentine Mk IV was externally identical to the Mk II as the difference was in the engine fitted internally. In the Mk IV, the engine was a GMC-built diesel replacing the Mk II’s AEC diesel, which was not as reliable.

These Valentine Mk IVs were part of the Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union from Britain.

The Russians received some 3670 Valentines from Britain and Canada. They were not preferred to the Russian types but served in secondary defensive units.

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Think Tank - Valentine Infantry Tank

This Valentine Mk IV was part of the force that entered Tunis at the end of the campaign in North Africa.

It carried the standard desert camouflage of a sand base with a shadow pattern in a darker color – there were variations in the base colors and shadow colors.

The Soviet Union operated a large number of Valentines, including this Mk IV. The partial snow camouflage was often extremely effective as seen here, as it broke up the shape of the vehicle, hiding it even better than a solid white color.

The Valentine Mk V was externally identical to the earlier Mk III and had the same three-man turret. This example (T66591) was the first Mk V built by Vickers, and comprised a Valentine Mk IV hull with a Mk III turret. It carried the 2 pdr main gun.

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T66592 was the second Valentine Mk V built by Vickers and this tank carried the ‘Lakeman’ spring-balanced mount for a .303 Bren gun (here with a drum magazine) for anti-aircraft protection. Though bulky, this mount did provide more accurate fire.

Canada was a major producer of Valentine tanks for Lend-Lease, most of the production going to the Soviet Union. These Mk VI models had cast noses to simplify assembly, and other changes. They were developed for Canadian production from the earlier Mk IV.

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Though the Russian Army did not use the Valentine in first-ranked units, it did use them by the thousands, largely for training. They did see combat service, and this Mk VI was abandoned after being bogged down in soft ground.

The Valentine Mk IX represented a major upgrading of the main armament, replacing the former 2 pdr (40mm) with the larger 6 pdr (57mm), improving its anti-armor capabilities. The turret was developed from that of the earlier Mk III with the 2 pdr gun.

The Valentine Mk X was developed to include the coaxial Besa MG eliminated from the Mk IX. This required the rather clumsy box extension to the front of the turret next to the gun mantlet, but the crews were happy to see it returned.

The Valentine served with the Red Army through the whole war, and these Mk VIIs were part of the forces approaching Berlin at the end of March 1945. Though outclassed as a first-line tank, the Valentine was very useful as a scout tank and occupation vehicle.

This Valentine Mk IX was photographed in Sicily in 1943, and showed the larger main gun and also the similarity to the earlier Mk III and V. The increased size of the gun reduced the crew back to two men in the turret and eliminated the coaxial Besa MG.

The Valentine Mk XI was the final production model of the tank. It differed from the MK X mainly in mounting a new main gun, the 75mm QF, itself a bored-out version of the previous 6 pdr. The Mk XIs were primarily used as command tanks for anti-tank units.

This Valentine Mk XI was a late production version and could be identified by the 75mm QF gun, the only model fitted with a muzzle brake. Most valentines built had the rack on the rear hull for water cans, but in many ways this Mk XI is similar to earlier models.

This Valentine MK XI was photographed in Hopsten, Germany in the spring of 1945.

These late models were used as command tanks by battery and battalion commanders in self-propelled anti-tank units, typically using M10 tank destroyers and Archers.

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KIT PREVIEW

Dragon 1:35 King Tiger Henschel Turret w/Zimmerit • Kit No. 6840

Incorrect front hull extensions.

Graham Tetley explains how this new King Tiger release differs from the earlier (excellent) CyberHobby kit.

Undersized and incorrect front hull extensions.

One of the two superb cupolas.

CHARGING KNIGHT

B

ack in 2008 Dragon released, under their Cyberhobby brand, this very same kit numbered 6400. It was excellent at the time and we have virtually the same kit re-released here. So how good is it? Read on.

This kit is marketed as a ‘2 in 1’ and this refers to the alternative turret shells in the box. One is provided fully zimmerited, the other with the plain cut-out for the ‘Charging Knight’ Panzer Abteilung 505 marking. Where this kit trumps the Cyberhobby one is in the decals: markings are provided for every vehicle from 1, 2 & 3 Kompanie of the 505th.

We have typical boxful of parts with approximately 60% of it carried over from 6400 but some from the original 2004 King Tiger release. I was surprised to see that the new photo-etched fret is quite comprehensive in that we get a full suite of tool clamps and clasps.

Two gauges of metal wire are provided for the tow ropes and kit is rounded off by Magic Tracks.

So let’s kick off with what is good and bad: • In comparing both kits I spotted something strange. I built 6400 when it came out and fit all round was excellent so I wanted to see if, with the different sprues, this one had any changes made. There has been one that, unfortunately, is just plain wrong. Parts C1 & 2 are the front extensions for the lower hull and are used in this kit but greyed out in 6400. A test fit reveals why – Dragon has put the wrong parts in the box and should have used Sprue ‘D’ from 6400. Worse still is that the CAD artwork on the box rear shows the parts that should be in the box, but are not, on the finished article! Parts C1 & 2 have inferior details, are too short in length are not designed to fit the kits with zimmerit. Why Dragon possess in their inventory the correct parts

but choose not to use them is a mystery to me.

• The tow cables have separate plastic ends but, unfortunately, both gauges of metal wire provided are too thick to fit into the drilled holes in the plastic parts. I have always replaced the Dragon-supplied metal wire with kite string anyway as it is just too inflexible to bend into shape.

• Sprue ‘D’ contains the loader’s hatch and other parts but looks like it has been mastered from Playdoh. The moulding is rough, detail indistinct and totally out of character with the rest of the kit.

So, after identifying the main bloopers, the rest of this kit is very nice. Highlights are: • The decals are the best printed and most accurate that I have seen for this vehicle.

• The moulded Zimmerit is very nicely done although very uniform – if you want to model damage to it you need to be prepared for a lot of work.

• Alternative etched parts for the tool claps and jack mounts.

Dragon ceased giving us this some years ago so, for me, it is great to see the options return.

Clear parts are provided for all periscopes and the tools are provided with both plastic clamps and etched alternatives. We get a full set of engine screens in etch and two of Dragon’s superb commander’s cupolas. The Magic Tracks are back although one criticism is that each one has two knock-out pin marks that will

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need removing. The instructions are clear to follow and each construction step is illustrated by photos of a model during construction.

Construction itself is straightforward and progresses through the usual steps. The torsion bars are not moveable but I would say that, if you are not using all of etched clasps, it is a very easy kit to assemble.

CONCLUSION This would have been an exceptional kit had Dragon put the correct and better moulded parts in the box. They have the parts in their inventory so there are no excuses for these omissions. It would also have been better by having artwork depicting incorrect kit contents. This is a great shame as the majority of what is in the box is exceptionally good with the decals being outstanding.

For the current UK retail price of approximately £50 to £55 you can get more and better in the box from Meng and Takom or indeed searching out one of the earlier Dragon kits on eBay etc. ■

This is what should have been in the box.

The very poor Sprue D.

Lovely Zimmerit texture.

DS Track detail.

EDIT – If you have the Cyberhobby kit 6349 (King Tiger Initial Production) then you have a Sprue ‘D’ in that with a spare set of correct front hull extensions. I have yet to find another Dragon Tiger or King Tiger with unused spares in the box.

Superb new markings.

Alternative turrets.

New photo-etched fret.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Infantry Tank Mk.III Valentine Mk.II/IV • Kit No. 35352

BE MY VAL

What Tamiya brings to the “table is eminent buildability and accuracy... ” 16 Model Military International - August 2017

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ALENTINE

Brett Green adds tank riders to Tamiya’s new 1:35 scale Valentine Mk.II/IV.

T

he Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter of wartime British tank production.

The many variants included riveted and welded construction, petrol and diesel engines and a progressive increase in armament.

It was supplied in large numbers to the USSR and also built under licence in Canada.

Developed by Vickers, it proved to be both strong and reliable.* A

* Historical background courtesy of Wikipedia

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Infantry Tank Mk.III Valentine Mk.II/IV • Kit No. 35352

IN THE BOX

A

B

B Tamiya’s 1:35 scale British Infantry Tank

Mk.III Valentine Mk.II/IV is a brand new kit that was announced at this year’s Shizuoka Hobby Show and released shortly after.

Tamiya’s new Valentine comprises 283 parts in dark yellow plastic, ten polythene caps and markings for three vehicles.

The kit is broken down quite conventionally. The lower hull is made up from separate sides, front, rear and bottom, while the upper hull is split into a main section offering the turret ring and rear, plus forward hull sections and separate track guards.

The turret comprises two curved side pieces, a third piece for the rear, and separate roof and base parts. The gun may elevate and depress thanks to the use of polythene caps.

The running gear is nicely detailed but simple to assemble with a modest number of parts.

Tracks are link-and-length, with subtly sagged upper runs and straight lower runs. Individual links are designed to be glued direct to the drive sprockets and idler wheels.

Alternate parts are offered for the British and Soviet versions, including stowage boxes and mudguards. Full length sand shields are provided for the British version too.

Clear parts are not included but they’re not really missed as there are no clear lenses and vision blocks can be painted quite convincingly.

Surface texture is everything we have come to expect from a new Tamiya release. Cast metal is beautifully depicted on the turret, and raised rivets look great.

Two British Eighth Army crew figures are included. Poses are relaxed and sculpting is very good.

Moulding quality is marvellous. There are just a few very feint circles to clean up on the inside of the big turret hatch.

Decals are included for one vehicle from an unknown British unit in North Africa, 1941-42; with the other two being Soviet Valentines in overall dark green.

A. Tamiya’s 1:35 scale Valentine is a brand new kit.

B. The kit decals supply one option for a British Valentine in North Africa and two Soviet machines.

C. The lower hull is made up from separate sides, front rear and bottom pieces.

D. The turret features very convincing cast texture.

E. The upper hull is split into different sections. This is the base for the mid-rear section.

F. The kit comes with two crew figures.

G. These are up to Tamiya’s recent high standards in terms of sculpting and natural poses.

H. Optional sand shields are provided for the British desert scheme.

I. Layers of vents for the rear engine deck.

J. Upper hull details.

K. The running gear is simply broken down but very well detailed.

L. Tracks are link-and-length.

C

E

D

F

G

I

K

H

J

L

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CONSTRUCTION The model was built straight from the box with no complications whatsoever.

The only modification I made was to thin the top of the turret-mounted vane sight.

I loved the link and length tracks on this model. The subtle drape of the upper run matches wartime photos, and the inclusion of a locating pin for the centre of each long top run is another evolutionary improvement.A

Lower hull parts are laid out and ready for assembly.

Lower hull assembly underway.

Note the mid-mounted bulkhead that adds rigidity to the hull.

Mid-rear upper hull elements.

A view from below the completed lower hull.

The upper hull is built up in a number of layers.

Forward upper hull and the first cover for the rear hull ready to be fitted.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Infantry Tank Mk.III Valentine Mk.II/IV • Kit No. 35352

Bogie elements.

The idler wheels are split into outer and inner halves.

Bogies and idler wheels are ready to be fitted to the lower hull.

One completed bogie and another under construction.

Two styles of bogie are included, so pay attention to their location and orientation when gluing them to the hull.

The basic hull takes shape. Mounts for the idler wheels and drive sprockets.

The drive sprockets are held in place with polythene caps. Although the suspension is not workable, the moveable drive sprocket makes it easier to fit the tracks.

Running gear in place…

…and the wheels fitted.

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All the track lengths and links for one side of the tank have been removed from the sprues and cleaned up.

The subtly sagged top run is fitted first. The centre of the upper run is glued to a raised locating pin on the centre return roller ensuring precise location – a very nice touch.

Individual links are glued to the idler wheels and the drive sprockets.

Shorter lengths join these individual links to the long upper and lower runs.

The completed tracks. Tamiya’s link and length tracks just seem to get better and better.

One of the track guards ready to be fitted into long slots on the hull side.

Track guards and British-style stowage boxes installed.

The muffler and the exhaust… …will soon be covered!

Tools and on-vehicle equipment have been fitted at this time too.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Infantry Tank Mk.III Valentine Mk.II/IV • Kit No. 35352

B

Turret parts.

The rough texture on the turret sides is particularly nice.

The mantlet is fitted using polythene caps, but something is wrong here…

Two seats are provided as mounts for the Commander and Loader.

Vision blocks installed from the inside of the turret roof.

I installed the mount back the front. So much for idiot proof!

I removed the mount and re-installed it the right way around.

That’s better!

The completed turret.

I thinned the top of the vane sight.

There is a vertical join line at the back of each turret side.

These were filled later.

A completed sand shield, plus the elements.

Test fitting the turret.

Looking good.

Surface texture is “ everything we ha

ve come to expect from a ne w Tamiya release...

”

Sand shields and mudguards fitted.

The turret join seam has been filled with Tamiya Surfacer.

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PAINTING AND WEATHERING B The assembled hull and the turret were

sprayed using the base colour suggested

by Tamiya’s instructions – TS-46 Light Sand – direct from the spray can. As this is a lacquer paint I dispensed with my usual grey primer coat. However, once I started spraying I regretted this short cut as the Light Sand was very similar to the colour of the plastic, making it difficult to confirm that all the nooks and crannies were properly covered.

A second coat took care of the poorly covered areas.

Next, the tracks, the tyres, exhaust and tool heads were painted “scale black” – a 50-50 mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown applied by brush. Tool handles and other details were also picked out with a fine brush.

Weathering comprised an overall coat of SIN Industries P400 Grey Filter for Dark Yellow. Chipping was added using a sponge and dark green paint, suggesting the colour underneath.

MIG AMMO Sand pigments were liberally sprinkled over the model and tamped in place with a stiff brush. The excess pigment was simply shaken off.

The exhaust and surrounding areas were treated to several shades of rust pigment. The pigments were mixed with Mineral Turpentine to fix them to the plastic part.

Tracks received a coat of Maru Technics Easy Mud No.21104, Pacific Beach (Buff), which was quickly wiped off the raised surfaces of the track pads. A

Tamiya suggests TS-46 Light Sand as the camouflage colour.

Who am I to argue?

When the paint is wet, the colour is very like the plastic. Next time I will spray a grey primer coat.

Tracks, tyres, tool heads and the exhaust were painted in “scale black” – a 50/50 mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown.

Those hard-to-get-at places were reached with a Micro Brush.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Infantry Tank Mk.III Valentine Mk.II/IV • Kit No. 35352

B

The model after an overall coat of SIN Industries P400 Grey Filter for Dark Yellow.

Kit decals were applied over two coats of Future floor polish.

One of the serial number decals curled up on the brush so I sourced a non-matching number from the spares box. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t!

I wasn’t terribly happy with the effect, but I pressed on regardless.

Chipping was added using a sponge and dark green paint, suggesting the colour underneath.

The excess pigment was simply shaken off.

Tracks received a coat of Maru Technics Easy Mud No.21104, Pacific Beach (Buff), which was quickly wiped off the raised surfaces of the track pads.

MIG AMMO Sand pigments were liberally sprinkled over the model and tamped in place with a stiff brush.

The exhaust and surrounding areas were treated to several shades of rust pigment.

The pigments were mixed with Mineral Turpentine to fix them to the plastic part.

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FIGURES B The bodies received a base coat

of Tamiya TS-68 Wooden Deck Tan straight from the spray can.

Details were picked out using Vallejo acrylics and a paintbrush.

Fine facial details such as mouths and eyes were carefully brush painted with a watered-down mix Vallejo 337 Highlight Ger. (Black), which is actually a dark brown shade. High areas of the face such as the chin, brow, nose, cheeks and ears were painted with paler shades of flesh, while shadow areas under the eyebrows, under the nose and chin received darker shades.

The Mini Art heads were moulded with the eyes wide open so I didn’t really have any choice other than to attempt to paint whites and irises. I wasn’t really satisfied with my attempts.

A coat of AK Interactive Ultra Varnish Matte flattened the finish.

Finally, with the figure painting complete, the handles were extracted and the figures glued to the model.

The Tamiya tank crew figures were painted using the same colours and techniques. A

The poses are great but the parts required a lot of clean-up.

I thought the vehicle looked a bit plain so I decided to add some MiniArt tank riders.

The MiniArt and Tamiya figures were test-fitted prior to painting.

The bodies received a base coat of Tamiya TS-68 Wooden Deck Tan straight from the spray can.

The heads were labelled and painted separately.

Detail painting courtesy of Valleo acrylics.

Corporal Gronk and his Cave Man Squad.

Helmets and weapons were painted separately too.

Tamiya’s crew figures painted and ready to be fitted to the kit’s turret.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Infantry Tank Mk.III Valentine Mk.II/IV • Kit No. 35352

CONCLUSION B With both MiniArt and AFV Club

releasing Valentine kits in the last decade, we certainly haven’t had any shortage of this subject recently.

What Tamiya brings to the table is eminent buildability and accuracy.

I was very impressed with Tamiya’s new 1:35 scale and thoroughly enjoyed building the kit. I hope that we will see different variants in the future. ■

Modelspec Tamiya 1:35 British Infantry Tank Mk.III Valentine Mk.II/IV Kit No. 35352 Accessories Used: Mini Art Item No. 35071 – British Soldiers Tank Riders Modelling Products Used: Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement Revell Contacta Cement Tamiya Putty Paints and Finishing Products: Vehicle - Tamiya Spray Paint TS-46 Light Sand - Tamiya Acrylics: XF-1 Flat Black, XF-2 Flat White, XF-55 Deck Tan, XF-59 Desert Yellow, XF-60 Dark Yellow, XF-64 Red Brown.

- MIG AMMO Sand pigments - SIN Industries P400 Grey Filter for Dark Yellow - Maru Technics Easy Mud No.21104, Pacific Beach (Buff) - Alclad II Klear Kote Flat Figures Uniforms (all Vallejo Panzer Aces acrylics) - 310 Old Wood; 314 Canvas; 333 Germ. Tkcr. (Black); 334 Germ. Tkcr. I (Feldgrau); 335 Germ. Tkcr. II (Feldgrau); 336 Afrika Korps Tankcrew; 337 Highlight Ger. (Black); 338 340 Highlight Afrika Korps Flesh - Base Coat: Vallejo Model Colour acrylics 50/50 mix of 70815 Basic Skin Tone and 845 Sunny Skin Tone.

- Wash: Rowney Georgian Oil Paint 221 Burnt Sienna.

- Variations and Highlights: Vallejo Model Colour acrylics 70815 Basic Skin Tone; 845 Sunny Skin Tone; 919 Foundation White (mixed).

- General Detailing (all Vallejo Model Colour acrylics): Oily Steel; 919 Foundation White; 70950 Black.

- AK Interactive Ultra Varnish Matte ✓ Excellent detail and surface texture; easy to build; useful options; link and length tracks. ✗ Nothing worth mentioning.

Available from Tamiya kits are available in all good model shops Worldwide and distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited www.hobbyco.net

Rating

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The MiniArt figures have been specifically sculpted to fit the Valentine tank.

Tamiya’s new 1:35 scale Valentine is another welcome addition to the growing range of British military vehicles.

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References - Valentine Tank

D The Valentine Mk.II on display at the Tank Museum, Bovington.

VALENTINE IN DETAIL

Andy Wills takes us on a walk around of the Valentine Mk.II at Bovington Tank Museum.

The front hull plate showing round A rivet heads and hexagonal bolts.

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D The closed driver’s hatch.

D The driver’s vision scope.

D The driver’s vision hatch.

D The exhaust and spare track links on the port side track guard.

D The muffler heat guard.

D The pyrene fire extinguisher on the port rear track guard.

D Engine access hatches with prominent hinges and handles.

D A view of the turret from the front.

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References - Valentine Tank

D A gunner’s training stand.

D Rare detail of the 2 Pdr gun breech as fitted to the gunner’s training stand.

D Rear turret detail.

D Texture of the turret.

D Rear starboard track guard.

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D The idler wheel is located at the front of the vehicle.

D Track side detail.

D Track link faces.

C A nice view illustrating the two different sizes of the road wheels.

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KIT PREVIEW

Rye Field Model 1:35 M1 Assault Breacher Vehicle • Kit No. 5011

Charge bag detail is included.

The new upper turret piece, moulded with individual M19 ARAT-1 mounts.

HIGHWAY THROUGH THE MINEFIELD

Turret base.

Andrew Judson examines Rye Field Model’s 1:35 scale M1 Assault Breacher Vehicle.

W

hen I heard that there was a kit of the M1 Assault Breacher in the pipeline, I must admit that I was very excited.

When I heard it was coming from Rye Field, the blood really started pumping.

This beast of a machine is based on the M1 Abrams chassis and is equipped with a large mine plough and line charges, a rocket fired, attached to a line 350 feet long containing 5 pounds of C4 explosive per linear foot. On detonation, it clears a pathway approx. 8 meters wide by 100 meters long. The vehicle is also armed with a .50 cal machine gun for the crewman. It was first used in an active role in 2009 in Afghanistan in the Helmand province. Originally used only by the Marines, the US Army is now also using these in their ordinance as well.

Looking in the box you are greeted with a lot of plastic parts - a lot!! 1062 plastic parts not including the link and length

tracks, plus a fret of photo-etch with some nice small parts there as well. Phew! The plastic parts are all in a tan coloured plastic and very well moulded, with no flash or excess that I could see. Also included in the box are a decal sheet and a set of instructions. The instructions are well drawn and laid out, and include some nice colour profiles for three different schemes, Green with a Sand plough, overall Sand, and overall Green. I must say that any choice, once done, is going to look very impressive.

There are also some colour tech drawing of the plough at the end of the instructions. In total, there are 28 pages to cover during this build.

Looking at the build, it starts with the turret for eight pages, then onto the lower hull over seven pages, then the mine plough for four pages. I was impressed with the weapon system and how the charge bags are moulded into the launch system, though careful painting will be required if

Kit decals are almost exclusively stencil markings.

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you have this opened for display purposes. It is also nice to see link and length tracks, which are very well detailed and should look very cool, weathered up.

There’s a lot of work in this big beast of a kit, and I think as you build you’ll need to take into consideration the painting, depending on the chosen scheme.

Some may need to be done in stages with careful masking as you go. At least it’s not in a camo scheme!

I would say this is for the experienced modeller looking at the part count and level of detail, though that’s not intended to stop one from having a go.

I am very impressed with this kit, I believe it was a great choice for Rye Field, and it is great to see a new variation based on the M1 chassis.

Yes, I would highly recommend this kit, though beginners take caution to the fact, it is detailed and complex and will be a timeconsuming build. ■

Hull armour blocks.

The upper hull parts.

Link and length parts should be straightforward to assemble.

Three varied schemes are offered.

Thanks to Rye Field Models for the sample www.ryefield-model.com

Photo-etched parts are included.

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KIT PREVIEW

Italeri 1:35 M4A3E8 Sherman ‘Fury’ • Kit No. 6529

.30 cal and .50 cal machine guns.

FURY! A nother re-issue from Italeri is this M4A3E8 Sherman and again one that has been around for a long time, however this kit has ‘new moulds’ written on the box. There has been speculation (on the Internet of course so it must be true) that this is a re-pop of the Academy kit but comparing the sprue layout of that kit to this one would indicate it is not the case.

There are four sprues of Olive Drab styrene, two sets of vinyl tracks (T66 and T84E), a length of nylon thread for tying around the logs on the hull side and a decal sheet. Moulding-wise, the quality is okay but there is still a bit of flash on some parts and mould pin marks are evident on the machine guns and their mounts, some sink marks can be seen too. You get a lot of accessories to stick on the model such as crates, weapons, jerry cans, helmets, bags and even two gasmasks but these are aimed at the ‘star’ of the film ‘Fury’ for which this kit has been re-issued however there isn’t a figure of Brad Pitt as ‘War Daddy’ included. Sorry ladies!

Detail is good with casting numbers moulded on the gun mantlet and turret roof (none on the turret side though) although the Commander’s cupola has solid vision blocks. The canvas cover for the gun mantlet is optional and if you want to leave it off then Italeri have made a good go of the anchor points for the cover.

The weld seams on the upper hull are strange as the original grooves are still there but it looks like the weld seams were added later. Unfortunately the seams are off to one side and the original groove is still showing plus Sherman weld beads are raised and not recessed. Also there are raised outlines on the rear hull

to show where the on-vehicle equipment is stored so these will need to be sanded off. There is a mix up as to which rear hull panel should be fitted as there are two different ones but both are marked as part 19. One is greyed out on the instructions as ‘not-foruse’ but assembly shows that that is the one to be used so check your references as Shermans are a REAL can of worms when it comes to details.

The brush guards for the lights and periscopes need thinning down or replacing with etched items as they are too thick and the turret and transmission cover could really do with some texture adding as these were cast items.

The running gear looks good compared to walk around photos found online, as the various nuts and bolts on the road wheels appear to be in all the right places. You have a choice of track types of either the all steel T66 or T84E with the rubber pads so you should check against your references as to which type was fitted. The tracks themselves are one piece vinyl and even though they are ‘rubber bands’ the exterior detail is pretty good, unfortunately every link on the inside face has a mould pin mark either side of the guide horn so have fun removing them.

Apparently you can glue them together instead of using a hot screwdriver but the instructions tell you to use cyanoacrylate rather than liquid glue.

Three decal options are included: ‘Fury’ from the Hollywood film of the same name and the 2nd Armoured Division, 66th Tank Battalion; 3033967 from the 14th Armoured Division, 25th Tank Battalion and 3033055 of the 4th Armoured Division, 37th Tank Battalion all of which were in Germany early 1945. Fury

Andy King reviews Italeri’s 1:35 depiction of the real star of the recent movie, “Fury”.

Road wheels and idler wheel.

is in a two-tone scheme of Olive Drab and black while the other two are overall olive drab.

Decals are printed by Zanchetti Buccinasco and seem okay to use, if a tad on the thick side.

As with all Italeri kits, they do provide a solid basis for further work, it just depends on whether you want to add the extra expense of aftermarket etch, tracks, gun barrel and decent machine guns to make this into a great model, on the other hand if you just want a prop from a movie it’s perfect. ■

…both marked as Part 19!

The turret shell.

The one piece upper hull.

Two sets of tracks are included – T66 and T84E.

Engine deck detail.

Kit decals for “Fury” and two other vehicles.

Thanks to The Hobby Company Limited for the review sample www.hobbyco.net

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Two different rear hull panels are included…

Casting numbers are moulded onto the mantlet.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

AFV Club 1:35 Centurion Mk.5 W/Dozer • Kit No. AF35106

KOREAN WAR

CENTURI

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RION Jim Turner corrects AFV Club’s 1:35 scale Centurion Mk.5 and converts it to a Korean War Mk.3.

The definitive “ difference between the

Mk.3 and the Mk.5 was merely the substitution of the co-axial 7.92mm BESA machine-gun for a 0.30-cal Browning...

”

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W

hen AFV Club first announced a series of 1:35 scale Centurions a few years back, there were two types that I hoped they would cover: an Israeli diesel-engined Sho’t-Kal as used in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and a British Army Korean War Mk.3. They duly obliged with the former, but sadly they have never tooled the latter, even though it shares the ‘short hull’ with the Mk.5 that is the basis of the AFV Club kits. To do it they would have just needed to tool a new turret roof, early fender stowage bins and a few other minor bits and pieces.

The venerable Tamiya Centurion dating from 1972 was a Mk.3 and I actually have an example, so my first thought was to attempt to combine the appropriate Tamiya parts with a newly acquired AFV Club Mk.5. A quick dry fit of the Tamiya turret roof on the AFV Club turret sides showed that this would be a challenge to say the least. The fit problem mostly stems from Tamiya’s dubious turret bustle shape, and furthermore it has other limitations such as an openable commander’s hatch complete with over-scale polythene hinges. Despite this, having the Tamiya kit to hand proved useful, as will be seen.

The best AFV Club kit as a basis for a Korean War Centurion (and the subject of this build) is the Mk.5 Dozer (AF35106), as this includes the early 20-pdr barrel without the bore evacuator. In fact the kit includes decals for a Korean War vehicle, although the Mk.5 was never used in Korea, much less the dozer variant which did not enter service until 1961, so the inclusion of Korean War markings is a mystery.

The definitive difference between the Mk.3 and the Mk.5 was merely the substitution of the co-axial 7.92mm BESA machinegun for a 0.30-cal Browning (the distinction being necessary because of the different ammunition supply requirement), however other minor changes appeared over the course of production, such as the modified turret roof and fender bins mentioned above, so that a number of features differentiate the AFV Club Mk.5 kit from a Korean service example.

The most complete aftermarket solution for this project would have been the Inside the Armour Mk.3 Conversion Set, which included a complete new cast resin turret and replacement stowage bins, LionMarc also made a nice resin Mk.3 turret, unfortunately I couldn’t find a source for either.

Resin producers often do just a single production run, so the lesson is that if you want any aftermarket parts don’t wait like me, get them when they appear! In the end the best I could do was to lay my hands on AEF Designs KI-103 IDF Centurion Mk.III Back Date, a resin conversion set intended to make an early Israeli Centurion, which included a replacement turret roof and stowage bins as well as some parts for an Israeli searchlight that I didn’t need. Immediately this set presented some problems, although the turret roof was clearly patterned on the AFV Club part the fit was less than adequate, probably due to resin shrinkage. Front and middle stowage bins were provided, but not the rear bins. These were deleted later when the Israelis installed Continental diesels in their Centurions, but why they were omitted here I am not sure; anyway I would need to find them elsewhere.

AFV Club produce a set of separate track links for their Centurions (AF35102) that I invested in to replace the vinyl tracks supplied in the kit. They also produce a canvas mantlet cover (AC35008) moulded in vinyl as a separate purchase, not my favourite material but all that was available at the time (DEF Model have since released a resin version). I think that this should really have been included in the kit as operational Centurions are almost never seen without it. It was of course necessary to substitute the coaxial machine gun in the kit; I used a turned brass BESA barrel (LM10014) from LionMarc Model Designs.

I also used a further aftermarket addition - replacement road wheels. A feature of the AFV Club Centurions is the provision of vinyl tyres for the road wheels; I never like them and in this case my problem is compounded by the moulding of the wheel rims on the vinyl tyres rather than on the plastic wheels. Making the rims from flexible material allowed AFV Club to include some re-entrant moulded detail, but the fact that so many aftermarket replacements have become available suggests that I am not alone in not being keen on the decision.

A

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FEATURE ARTICLE

AFV Club 1:35 Centurion Mk.5 W/Dozer • Kit No. AF35106

B From the many aftermarket offerings I went for two,

those from Brach Model (BM093) and Legend Productions (LF1098), since I had more than one kit. The Brach model set was superior in every way, being much more straightforward to prepare as well as being more cleanly cast. In fact I subsequently invested in two more sets from Brach and the Legend wheels will probably not get used. A couple of items I could have scavenged from the Tamiya kit, namely the missing rear stowage bins and the circular hatch on the turret rear which the early Mk.3 inherited from the Mk.2. In the end I decided to keep the Tamiya kit intact and use the parts as patterns for resin duplicates. I used a method that I have used on a couple of previous builds, moulds were made by building up layers of Humbrol Maskol and these were then used to cast new parts using a two-part polyurethane casting resin called Polycraft SG2000 (mbfg.co.uk).

To source some appropriate markings, I opted for Star Decals Sheet 35-899 which covers Centurions of the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars (8KRIH) in Korea, 1950-51. This was the first British Tank Regiment to be sent; arriving in November 1950 to support of the British 29th Infantry Brigade, part of the UN force attempting to stall the North Korean invasion, and from this sheet I opted for ‘Captain Cottle’. I was attracted to this vehicle because it still carried a pre-1949 census number (T351871) rather than the registration plate style that was standard by the time of the Korean War. The number is early in the production batch sequence, suggesting that ‘Captain Cottle’ was a very early production Mk.3, it is even possible that it was built as a Mk.2 and subsequently upgraded by substitution of the main armament from a 17pdr to a 20pdr. This simplifies modification choices, as the earlier option can be chosen in each case with some confidence. I could find only one photograph of this particular tank, on page 15 of Osprey New Vanguard No.68, The Centurion Tank. This gives a partial view of the right hand side of the vehicle which provides some useful information such as the positioning of the tank name, squadron sign plate and census number. Also evident is the use of the turret bin lids for the external stowage of what were probably bivouacs and ground sheets. Unusually, canvas covers were not fitted on the smoke grenade launchers; they are nearly always seen fitted in Korean War photographs, but presumably were removed before going into action. Incidentally, the 8th Hussars named their tanks after racehorses whose names began with the appropriate squadron letter. ‘Captain Cottle’ is probably a misspelling of ‘Captain Cuttle’, the winner of the 1922 Epsom Derby which in turn was named after a character in the novel ‘Dombey and Son’ by Charles Dickens. In fact, although both the Osprey caption and the Star Decals sheet refer to ‘Captain Cottle’, looking at the none-too-clear photograph, it could just as easily be ‘Captain Cuttle’.

THE AFV CLUB KIT The AFV Club Centurions generally fit well and have good detail as you would expect from a modern kit. They include a modest photo-etched fret and a turned aluminium gun barrel as well as metal springs for the suspension, all in a reasonably priced package. They are not without problems however, ‘sprue B’ seemed different to the rest of the kit, having a ‘short run’ feel about it. There were noticeable mould seams on a number of small parts which were fiddly to clean up; furthermore the sprue gates on some of the small and delicate bits were rather heavy, making it difficult to remove the parts without damaging them. For this reason I replaced the numerous lifting handles on the engine deck with 0.6mm piano wire, which seemed less tricky than cleaning up the plastic parts. One feature of the Centurion was that it was liberally decorated with what were officially described as ‘camouflage staples’. These were the small metal loops that were intended as attachment points for camouflage netting and foliage, and are seen on the turret roof, turret bins and armour skirts. To save a lot of work I decided not to replace these with wire, those on the resin turret roof are poorly cast so I covered them with stowage, A

Three turret roofs: Tamiya, AEF and AFV Club. The Tamiya part is noticeably different in shape to the other two. The AEF part is clearly patterned on AFV Club but with early features, such as the deep gutter and reversed loader’s hatch. The circular device on the front left corner of the AEF roof plate is a combined loader’s periscope and 2-inch bomb thrower. This was deleted in later models and the periscope relocated to the sloping cast forward roof. The earlier AEF arrangement is correct for Korea.

Some warpage of the AEF roof was evident, fixed by warming with a hair drier and gentle pressure. Care is needed as the resin becomes surprisingly soft when warm!

The AEF turret roof was undersized, probably due to shrinkage. I aligned the front edges and built up the rear with 10-thou (0.25mm) plastic card and Squadron Green Putty.

Squadron Green Putty was used to blend the joint between the turret roof and sides, although this will be mostly covered by the turret stowage bins; the upper row of turret bin stand-off pins were a casualty of the subsequent rubbing down. The AFV Club loader’s hatch fitted the resin roof perfectly, although the aperture for the commander’s cupola needed a bit of reaming.

The AEF roof doesn’t include a cut-out for the cable reel mounting plate, so this was carved out with a scalpel.

The vinyl mantlet cover fitted to the mantlet, with the plastic moulded Tamiya part for comparison. In my opinion the latter method is a better option, but it wouldn’t readily fit the AFV Club turret.

Since I completed this project, DEF Model has released a resin cover.

AFV Club produce a separate vinyl part to represent the canvas mantlet cover, not exactly the type I needed but close enough. This really should be included in the kit as operational Centurions are never seen without it fitted.

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To fill the cut-out in the mantlet cover I needed something more flexible than Squadron Green Putty to be compatible with the vinyl material. After a search through the garage shelves, I settled on Isopon Black Auto Bumper Filler.

When cured this is tough and slightly flexible and adheres well to the vinyl.

With the mantlet cover fitted, the gun barrel naturally adopted an elevation of about eight degrees. I tried hacking at the mantlet and mounting to get it level but to no avail, however several photographs show Centurions travelling with the gun elevated like this so in the end I was content to leave it.

AFV Club mould the commander’s cupola as a transparent part with a separate binocular periscope that should fit through a slot, however both ends of the periscope are too large to pass through! I had to cut out a section of the cupola rim then replace it with the periscope in place.

This operation was not made easier by the transparent moulding making it hard to see if everything was aligned.

It does make me wonder if anyone at AFV Club actually built the kit before it was released!

To replace the stand-off pins lost when cleaning up the turret roof joint, I drilled locating holes and inserted plastic rod. One pin per bin was replaced with 0.8mm piano wire to strengthen the otherwise rather fragile attachment of the bins.

The armoured cover of the gunner’s periscope on the DEF Model roof is copied directly from that on the AFV Club kit, which includes a transparent window (shown) and a separate periscope top, also moulded in clear plastic, which fits inside it. The resin cover was infilled due to mould damage so I had to carefully hollow it out with a scalpel blade, and just to make life more difficult, in the process of test fitting the periscope part I mislaid it and had to cast a resin replacement using the part from another kit as a master. The earlier style armoured cover lacks the front window and wiper, so this was omitted, and the box for the wiper motor was removed.

Going…going…gone! AFV Club provides metal springs for the suspension, this is by far the best way to represent coil springs, which are usually a pain to clean up as injection mouldings; however when assembly is complete, they are virtually invisible.

Left to right: Legend, AFV Club and Brach Model wheels. The kit wheels had to go because of the vinyl tyres/rims, each hub also has a noticeable sink mark which would have needed filling. I used the Brach Model set to complete the build. They are sharply moulded and cleverly designed with a minimal pour stub on the outside edge that is easily cleaned up with a razor saw and file, while that on the hub is on the locating peg and can be simply clipped off. The Legend set on the other hand would need a lot of work.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

AFV Club 1:35 Centurion Mk.5 W/Dozer • Kit No. AF35106

The AFV Club suspension is workable, but since I was using non-working tracks I installed the units then made sure that the axles aligned on a flat surface before fixing them by flowing Tamiya Extra Thin Cement into the pivots.

The AEF stowage bins show a remarkable resemblance to those on the Tamiya kit but minus the rear bin, however they do correctly include the cut-out for the overlapping turret ring. The AFV Club track guards are narrower than Tamiya, so AEF lost part of the hinge detail to get the correct width.

To get the exact location for the DEF bins, I dry fitted the AFV Club parts and marked the edge position with Tamiya Masking Tape.

Some attempts at casting the rear stowage bins – it usually takes a few attempts to get it right. They are painted green as the cream resin does not photograph well! On the left is a resin casting of the Tamiya rear turret hatch, the AEF version is below it, reverse side up. As can be seen it is much smaller and has what is presumably an Israeli type ‘jerry can’ moulded on. My copy was also missing a hinge.

Using the Tamiya hull as a pattern, I made moulds of the missing rear stowage boxes using Humbrol Maskol, and then used these to cast replicas using polyurethane resin. The results matched the AEF Designs bins, which also appear to be patterned on the Tamiya kit. Of course I could have sacrificed the Tamiya kit and cut out the boxes.

The stowage bins had a single small handle fitted centrally to each bin which I replicated using steel guitar string. They were too fiddly to manipulate using fingers, and holding them directly in forceps risked them ‘pinging’ into oblivion, so I used a small blob of ‘Blu-Tack’ as a grabber to fit them into predrilled holes with cyano glue.

The rear hull plate with the modified tow cable bracket in place. This was made from 30-thou plastic card, plastic rod and tube.

The Tamiya bracket was used as a prototype, but I gave the triangular retaining plate straight sides to match photographs rather than the curved sides of the Tamiya part. The left hand track guard still has the end plate with photo-etched reflector in place, while on the right hand side this has been cut off to match the simple earlier style fender. I should have modified the guards before installation but didn’t notice the necessity until after assembly, making life hard for myself yet again!

The radiator cover handles were replaced with 0.6mm piano wire, fifteen are required. The kit parts are very fine but have a fairly hefty sprue attachment in the middle and also a noticeable mould seam to clean up, so wire replacements are probably less work. I bent the wire using snipe-nosed pliers, by placing the wire in the same ridge on the jaws each time, identical width handles can be made.

‘Captain Cottle’ almost certainly would have had the rear turret hatch fitted. I cast a new hatch from the Tamiya part using the same method as for the stowage bins, although I wasn’t happy with the vague hinge detail so I cut it off and made a new one with plastic rod and plastic card. Notice also the turret lifting lugs, the AEF turret roof lacked the appropriate cut-outs so these had to be cut using a scalpel, the positions being taken from the AFV Club roof.

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The back end of the finished model. The rear turret hatch has a rectangular ‘jerry can’ bracket which is included in the kit as an etched brass part. The ‘jerry can’ itself was used as a template to bend the brass correctly. A retaining strap is also included in brass, I replaced it with paper strips painted with Humbrol 72 Khaki Drill to represent the canvas straps hanging loose.

Immediately above the door is a pair of grab handles made from 0.8mm piano wire.

B while the ones on the skirts I think look reasonable after

painting and weathering.

Apart from the resin additions, the kit was mostly built as per instructions, using optional parts suitable for an early Mk.3 where appropriate. I used the front towing brackets, parts B31 rather than J5 which I believe are specific for the dozer, the wide fan deflector N1 rather than H17, and the early style cable reel face, N5 rather than I39. Centurions in Korea had either two spare track sections on the glacis or a stowage box replacing the left hand spare track. AFV Club provide both options so I went for two spare track lengths which seems to be the less common but earlier configuration, incidentally there seems to be no standard orientation for the spare tracks. The early Mk.3 had a towing cable rear bracket of a different type to that provided in the kit. I fabricated this from 30-thou plastic card, plastic tube and rod, based on photographs and the Tamiya part. The triangular plate on the latter has curved sides, but photos seem to show a straight sided component.

STOWAGE

The ‘tarp’ rolls were made from Milliput, to get the effect of rolled fabric a die was made from paper wrapped around a rat-tailed file and impressed into the end of the Milliput cylinder, which could then be further worked into a more realistic shape.

To add the effect of tight straps to the ‘tarps’, a piece of sewing thread was tightened around the roll while the putty was still soft to give a pinched effect. The straps themselves were thin strips of 10-thou plastic card glued in place with cyanoacrylate when the Milliput had hardened.

Rolled tarps and bivouacs were very commonly seen items on Korean War vehicles, not surprising given the cold and wet weather encountered, I made mine from Miliput standard yellow/grey epoxy putty. I also used a few odds and ends taken from other kits. The engine deck is surrounded by a rubber bumper to protect the gun barrel which also made a convenient enclosed stowage area, so I added a few items there. The British ‘jerry can’ is included in the kit, it is intended to fit in a bracket on the turret rear, but I chose to put it on the deck, mainly because I wanted to use the ‘do not drain’ decal that sits underneath it. It is joined by an American equivalent taken from the Tamiya US equipment set that they include in their Sherman kits, the wooden crate is a ‘Q-Ration’ box from the same source. The US Army was the main UN force in Korea so American supplies were fairly commonplace. The metal box is a 25-pdr ammunition box from a Bronco Valentine kit. The British force included 25pdrs so it is likely that these frequently reused boxes would have been around.

On the turret I added three RAC type steel helmets for the crew, these were identical to those used by the Parachute Regiment, mine were taken from a Tamiya British Paratrooper on Welbikes figure set; the small infantry pack is also from that set, and the larger one from the Tamiya US equipment set. The map pouch and small canvas roll on the front of the turret roof are made from Milliput. Small items like these were sometimes seen placed there, but not so as to block the view from the periscopes. My main reason to add stowage there was to conceal the indistinct camouflage staples rather than have to replace them!

PAINTING & DECALS The AFV Club tracks were clipped together into an upper and a lower run for each side then dry fitted to the assembled and painted suspension. The straight sections were marked before removal then fixed using Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, while the end links were left flexible to allow them to be fitted around the sprockets and idlers, which were left free to rotate to make this easier. When set, they were painted and then returned to the model and fixed by running a drop of Cyanoacrylate into the contact surfaces. Tyres were painted with Humbrol 67 Tank Grey and the tracks were 251 Dunkelbraun with a drybrushing of 56 Aluminium on the ground contact points.

The tracks in place. Centurion tracks seem to usually have been fitted quite tight, and with six return rollers per side, there was little or no track sag. In any case, the upper runs will barely be visible with the armour skirts in place.

In Korea the British Army used Deep Bronze Green as the standard military vehicle colour, replacing the Second World War Olive Drab. However the Star Decals instruction sheet suggests that ‘Captain Cottle’ may have retained the earlier colour, since it carries an obsolete census number. I used the Humbrol mix for British Army OD provided by Mike Starmer via the MAFVA web site (www.mafva.net) of five parts Humbrol 150 Forest Green to five parts 159 Khaki Drab to two parts 33 Black. Although AFV Club suggests painting the pioneer tools steel with wooden handles, I believe that these should be painted in the same colour as the vehicle, I just added a little bright metal to the shovel blades to suggest use. The fire extinguishers were also painted olive drab with brass heads. The exhaust fishtails were painted with Humbrol 98 Chocolate Brown.

Basic painting completed, the whole model then got a coat of Tamiya X-22 Gloss Clear before decalling. The Star decal sheet proved to be an unexpected trial. The first designs I attempted to apply were the large white stars on the armoured skirts, the first one broke up as I tried to position it, so I had to source alternatives from the spares box. To address the problem I then coated the remainder of the A August 2017 - Model Military International 39

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FEATURE ARTICLE

AFV Club 1:35 Centurion Mk.5 W/Dozer • Kit No. AF35106

B sheet with Superscale Microcote. Unfortunately

when I then applied the decals they curled up at the edges and setting solutions couldn’t persuade them to lie flat. In the end I allowed them to dry thoroughly and carefully trimmed off the raised edges with a scalpel blade, fortunately this didn’t result in losing any of the designs. Because of this problem, the only decals I used from the sheet were the vehicle names, serials, stencils and squadron markings.

The actual squadron markings were carried on metal sheets, I replicated these using squares of 10-thou plastic card painted black, with attachment loops made of thin wire. The front track guard brigade symbol and arm-of-service square came from the AFV Club kit decal sheet. The Star sheet instructions also suggest presumed positions for these to be duplicated on the rear plate, but I could find no pictures showing them actually applied there, so I added only the census number and small star.

I usually add weathering with Humbrol Enamels, but on this occasion I thought I would try artist’s oils. To add some contrast, I variously applied mucky looking mixtures of Windsor & Newton Griffin Alkyd Davy’s Grey, Burnt Sienna and Lamp Black heavily thinned with artist’s white spirit to all upper surfaces with a large brush, and then mopped most of it off with a paper towel .The undersides and suspension were given a wash of Humbrol 29 Dark Earth diluted with Humbrol Enamel Thinners, applied by airbrush to get into all the nooks and crannies. Mud splashing was simulated by flicking more Dark Earth, less thinned, from a stiff brush from below, and dabs of the same were added by brush then dabbed and smeared on the armour skirts to resemble the effect seen in the photograph. A little mud was also added around the front deck where the driver would climb in and out in muddy boots. To get the hot metal rusty effect on the exhaust fishtails and exhaust muffler covers I applied 70 Brick Red, 113 Rust and 82 Orange Lining using a dry brush with a stippling action.

The main assembly and painting is complete and the model awaits a coat of Tamiya X-22 Gloss Clear by airbrush, to be followed by decaling, weathering and a final coat of Humbrol Mattcote. The armour skirts were then attached and the weathering touched up.

The whole model then got an airbrushed coat of Humbrol Mattcote thinned 50:50 with enamel thinners. This had the effect of considerably toning down the mud effect, so I added more mud by repeating the previous procedure. The Dark Earth under and over the Mattcote took on a different colour and texture, adding depth to the effect more by luck than judgement!

Finally some fuel spillage was added around the filler caps on the engine deck by applying some clear oil from an unstirred tin of Humbrol 03 Gloss Green, although when the turret is fitted they are not really visible. Note that

the filler cap next to the driver’s hatch is for the drinking water tank, any fuel spillage here would definitely make the tea taste funny.

CONCLUSION It was a little more effort than I had hoped, but worth it to add a Korean War Centurion to my collection. Two more AFV Club Centurions await; an Israeli Sho’t-kal and another Mk.5 that will be painted as a Suez example and these I should be able to build straight from the box…apart from the wheels… and the mantlet… and… ■

An overhead shot showing all the added stowage. Milliput ‘tarps’ are on the turret bins and engine deck, and a Milliput map case and pennant roll on the forward turret roof. The Tamiya US accessory set from their Sherman kits provided the larger infantry pack, the wooden crate and the US ‘jerry can’, while the RAC helmets and smaller pack were from a Tamiya British Paratrooper figure set. The 25pdr ammunition crate is from a Bronco Valentine Mk.XI.

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The cables for the smoke projectors and cable reel were partly moulded on the resin roof; these were sanded off and replaced with thin wire. Finally, the No.19 Radio antenna base was taken from a Tasca British ‘Alamein’ Sherman; surplus since these retained the US antenna bases.

I didn’t fit an antenna to this base because it was too fiddly to drill out! I can live with this since often only a single antenna was fitted. The antenna itself is a length of electric guitar string.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:48 Russian Tank T-34/76 Model 1941 โ ข Kit No. 32515

KRASNOYE SORMOVO FACTORY Nยบ112

Joaquin Garcia Gazquez describes the assembly and painting of a 1:48 scale T-34/76 Model 1942.

T

he T-34 is considered to be one of the best tanks in WWII due to its mobility, armour and firepower. It was also the most produced tank during WWII. The chassis was based on the Christie suspension system. It had five pairs of large road wheels with independent suspension on each one, resulting in low ground pressure that was essential in winter and the melting months.

The hull was sloping, with only three thicknesses of armour: 45mm on the front and both sides, 40mm on the rear and 20mm on the top. Protection was increased by the sloping armour considering that a 45mm armour with 60ยบ inclination was equal to a vertical 75mm was proven. This made the T-34 unbeatable in 1941.

The T-34 was armed with a F34 76.2mm main gun 42 calibres of length. It carried 100 76.2 mm shells and was also fitted with two 7.62mm Degtaryeb DT machine guns as secondary armament. One of them was set on the front and the other was coaxial to the main gun.

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CONSTRUCTION Tamiya calls this model a “T-34/76 1941”. Comparing it with the plans that may be found in the comprehensive book, “T-34 Mythical Weapon”, it is actually a model manufactured at the end of 1942 or even the beginning of 1943 by Factory 122 “Krasnoye Sormovo”.

Tamiya 1:48 models are very popular because of their easy assembly and excellent detail. For assembly, I use some tricks to make the painting process easier due to their size.

A good method to paint the wheels easily is fixing them to the tracks. First I prepared the wheels, removing mould flaws and sanding out the rubber parts to give them appearance of wear and tear.

The wheels are fixed to the vehicle temporarily.

We cover the ejector pin marks with super glue on the interior of the tracks.

Once set, I sanded the surface with a flat rasp. The density of super glue is like plastic, so it looks really good.

Next, the sections are glued with Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement.

When it is dry, they are removed from the chassis, carefully cleaning up the remnants of Maskol.

This assembly will be disassembled and painted later.

Once it was disassembled, I realised that one track section was too straight and had no realistic sag.

To resolve this, I used “Micro Weld” glue, which weakens the Tamiya glue and allows corrections.

This way, links are relocated giving a more realistic sag to the track in this area.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

A

Tamiya 1:48 Russian Tank T-34/76 Model 1941 • Kit No. 32515

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

A. On the turret, there is a slope that does not match the original design.

B. To solve this problem, the area was built up with plastic strip attached with super glue and allowing it to set thoroughly.

C. To smooth the surface, I created a home-made tool with double-sided adhesive tape, 400 grit sandpaper and a clothes peg.

D. An X-acto blade fitted to a 16W soldering gun with a piece of wire was used to create soldering and welding edges.

E. Being careful and helping ourselves with Tamiya masking tape, textures and soldering marks.

F. Finally, the edges are softened with Tamiya liquid glue. I also realised that mantlet’s edge does not have the correct angle.

G. This was corrected with a flat rasp H. For the biggest ejector marks I prepared some plasticard circles using a hole puncher and fixed them with super glue.

I. It was levelled with a curved edge blade.

J. I polished the surface with wet 1200 grit sandpaper.

K. Finally, using diluted putty with acetone we check that the finish is perfect.

L. To detail the mantlet, side reinforcements on the armour are removed‌ M. ...preparing new shapes with plastic sheet featuring the correct forms and thickness.

N. To recreate weld beads, I allowed Tamiya putty to dry for two hours, then I cut it into thin strips.

O. I placed it in its correct location using a cutter P. Using an old brush and acetone, it is adjusted and softened.

Q. The final texture was made by making little cuts with a cutter.

R. The rivet that I added were from Bronco photoetched fret and fixed with liquid glue.

S. I used 0.4 copper wire for making turret grab handles.

According to 1:48 plans, they are 13.5 mm in length.

T. To ensure that they were all the same sizes, I prepared a simple stencil with plasticard.

U. Before fitting them, I made some holes in their final locations using another plasticard stencil to ensure the right depth.

They were glued small spots of superglue applied with stretched sprue.

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Finished and super detailed turret.

Both sides are textured with putty and a stiff brush to imitate the cast surface.

The foundry numbers are sliced from sprues with a new blade and fixed with liquid glue.

The aluminium barrel is by RB Models.

We continue the assembly of the hull using the same techniques as used on the turret and the Hauler photo-etched fret.

Photo-etched parts are ideal to simulate bended and damaged plates.

The completed model ready for paint.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:48 Russian Tank T-34/76 Model 1941 • Kit No. 32515

PAINTING

I chose a typical 4BO green for the camouflage colour.

I started by applying a primer layer using Vallejo “Surface Primer Russian Green 4BO”.

To lighten up the colour and to increase volumes, I added a few drops of Tamiya XF-4 Yellow Green, XF-57 Buff, and XF-2 White to the base colour, applying this mix very heavily diluted.

For the base 4BO Green, I made a Tamiya acrylics mix in the following proportions: 50% XF-61 Dark Green + 25% XF-5 Flat Green + 25% XF-57 Buff. When the mix was ready, I airbrushed the surfaces.

Adding a bit of XF-1 Black to the base colour created soft shades.

The markings are reproduced using Verlinden dry transfers.

When using dry transfers, it is essential to seal them with a varnish layer to ensure that they do not peel off during further painting and weathering.

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Oils are perfect to obtain weathering, damage and dirt effects.

The surface is treated to improve its colour range and to imitate varied weathering effects.

In this picture, you can see the difference between the surface treated with oils (left) and the area that has not (right).

Oils should be put on cardboard for a couple of hours to absorb most of oil and the finish will be really flat. The box will protect the paint blobs against dust and drying.

Taking these precautions, the oils can be used without any worry.

The model after oil application.

The tracks were painted with Vallejo and Humbrol acrylics. Mixing Black (2) and a bit of Ochre (1) were used to paint the rubber parts. Links are painted with a mix made of Tanned Shade (4), Red Brown (5) and a bit of Black (2). To imitate the polished track shoes, silver is applied with dry-brush technique on the areas in contact with the road.

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Mud and dirt is recreated on the wheels using Light Dust, “Kursk Earth” and “Plaster Base” pigment with its characteristic texture.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:48 Russian Tank T-34/76 Model 1941 • Kit No. 32515

The process is easy. We take a bit of “Kursk Earth”...

… and “Plaster Base”…

The mix is flicked onto the model using a toothpick.

…mixing it well with a brush.

The process is repeated all over the vehicle, matching up the flicked mud with sandy oils.

Several layers may be applied, allowing them dry between applications.

It is important to avoid symmetrical weathering patterns to give the model a variety of forms and typologies.

If we go overboard, we can remove the excess or leave a very thin layer with a brush and White Spirit.

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Other interesting effects include dust and earth build-up on horizontal surfaces such as fenders. To recreate them, we deposit Light Dust pigment...

…fixing it with sandy oils diluted with AK-Interactive “White Spirit”.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:48 Russian Tank T-34/76 Model 1941 • Kit No. 32515

The application of these techniques makes sense when they are employed with coherence and keeping in mind the logical areas to recreate them.

Modelspec Tamiya 1:48 Russian Tank T-34/76 Model 1941 Kit No. 32515 ✓ Easy and fast build; high quality mouldings; excellent fit; link and length tracks. ✗ Actually a Model 1942; some accuracy issues.

Bibliography - “T-34/76 Medium Tank 1941–45”; Steven Zaloga y Peter Sarson, Editorial Osprey Military.

- “Soviet Tanks in Combat 1941-1945”; Steven Zaloga, Jim Kinnear, Andrei Aksenov y Aleksandr Koshchavtsev; Editorial Concord Publications Company.

- “T-34 in action”; Steven Zaloga y James Grandsen; Editorial Squadron Signal Publications.

Available from Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited www.hobbyco.net

Rating

Oil and grease stains are obtained mixing 502 Abteilung Asphalt and Black oils.

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The driver´s hatch surroundings was always clean due to crew movements.

The T-34 is “ considered to be

one of the best tanks in WWII due to its mobility, armour and firepower...

”

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KIT PREVIEW

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his is actually the second Takom release of the V-2, with the initial kit containing just the rocket itself. This more comprehensive boxing contains not only the V-2 Meillerwagen that was designed to carry and cradle the rocket, but also the Hanomag SS100 heavy road tractor. Lastly, if you wish to display the V-2 in its deployed position, then parts are also included for the launching platform.

In fact, the only thing this set really misses is the liquid oxygen and other fuelling tanks. I’d like to think we’d eventually see those.

For the moment though, let’s look at the main event. This is a large box, and it is absolutely crammed full of plastic and other goodies, which isn’t surprising when you consider it contains three kits (four if you include the small launch platform). As with much Takom artwork, this one certainly pleases. A Meillerwagen is shown raising the rocket into position onto the launching platform whilst a previously launched weapon is seen rising into the air in the distance. One side of the box shows the Hanomag and trailer, with the V-2 in lowered position.

The other has a sprue and contents map, showing that this project is no weekender. Inside the box there are a total of 17 light grey sprues that are all bagged individually

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BALLIST

Takom 1:35 V-2 Rocket, Meillerwagen, Hanomag SS100 • Kit No. 2030

(except for the main rocket parts), one clear sprue, one small photo-etched fret, two packets containing a total of 15 vinyl tyres, two brass chains, and two small decal sheets. Yup, a real package!

Two instruction booklets are included. One of these concerns the Hanomag alone (as this was a separate release), and the other deals with the Meillerwagen, V-2, and the launching platform. Several painting options are included for all individual components.

HANOMAG Having already seen a release of this as a standalone kit in 2016, it made total sense to include it as part of the V-2 Meillerwagen release we see here. A total of SEVEN sprues and ONE clear sprue go into the construction of this robust-looking vehicle, as well as 7 of the 15 vinyl tyres included in this release. Reading a small number of online accounts regarding the specific Hanomag release, construction appears to be a trouble-free process, and this would look to be the case when you look at the kit engineering. Despite that fact, the Hanomag SS100 is packed full of detail. Construction takes place over 26 stages within the manual, with all of these being depicted in greyscale renders that reference any RLM colours used, as well as codes for Mig Ammo

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paints. Mig have partnered with Takom to bring you their own colour call-outs and profiles for their releases. Four schemes are supplied for the Hanomag, all with starkly different appearances.

These are for vehicles that were used at Peenemunde, Tempelhof, Mittelwerk (Nordhausen), and Belgium. I’m not really sure that all of these schemes were for use in V-2 deployment, for example, the Telmpelhof vehicle. Unless my history serves me incorrectly, no V-2 was fired from Berlin!!

The model includes detailed chassis, with engine, transmission, exhaust system, fuel tanks, and suspension. It’s quite deceptive when you look at the sprues, as the chassis itself is constructed from a number of innocuous looking beams etc. that don’t really make any sense until you look at the in constructional context. This approach certainly adds to the parts and sprue count, and should be real fun to build.

I’ll certainly be expecting this when I begin this soon for Military Illustrated Modeller.

Like them or not, you get vinyl tyres in this release. These are all supplied off-sprue, so there is no clean-up to do with them.

The seam is almost invisible, and moulding detail includes the manufacturer identifying lettering on the side of them. Kit design

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M

allows the front wheels to be positioned together via a working linkage.

Cab detailing is very good, and also quite simplistic, as is commensurate with the real thing.

It appears that the doors can be posed in the open position, but there are internal door panels that are fitted when the external doors are secured within the frame.

Manual illustration doesn’t show an optional position for the doors, other than closed.

MEILLERWAGEN At first glance, this looks to be a daunting project, but having seen one of these being built on YouTube, and thanks to some nice engineering and quirky construction, it appears that you end up with something quite complex in appearance, but relatively easy to build. There are six sprues associated with this vehicle, although not exclusively.

There are some parts on them associated with the launch platform too, which appeared to have been cut down for the release of the separate V-2 rocket in 2016.

Here, those sprues are included in their un-butchered format.

Another twenty-four steps are given over to the construction of this behemoth, with that figure doubling or trebling if you look at the various sub-assemblies

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ISTIC

ESIS contained therein. These stages are shown in a separate manual to the Hanomag, and also containing illustration for building the V-2 and launching platform. As with the Hanomag, multiple colour options are provided for the Meillerwagen.

These are for two machines that operated in Holland in 1944, with one being overall grey, and the more attractive unit carrying the Dunkelgelb, Olivgrun and Shokobraun (Schokoladenbraun?) colours. I don’t know if you’d need to pair the Meillerwagen colour with the Hanomag. It would be quite attractive if you could use odd colours and certainly some visual stimuli.

The Meillerwagen can be built with the lift frame either raised or lowered, and the upper collar can be posed in an open or closed position. The frame contains operating platforms that can be suitably posed, and with these are included two lengths of brass chain for the crew safety barrier.

Eight further vinyl tyres are included for the construction of the Meillerwagen. A series of Hydrogen Peroxide tanks are included within the frame.

A single photot-etched fret provides a small number of parts for the Meillerwagen, and shares itself with a few small details designated for the rocket.

F

James Hatch is impressed with the quality and value of this new release from Takom.

V-2 AND LAUNCHING PLATFORM I suppose it’s ironic that the real star of the show is the one with the least number of parts, but that really doesn’t matter, as detail is every bit as good as that of the Hanomag and Meillerwagen. The rocket comprises of separate front and rear sections, supplied as halves, with the connection ring that fits between them, as per the real thing. Into the lower halves fit the exhaust nozzle and the graphite steering paddles that sat in the rocket’s thrust gases, guiding the V-2 onto its path of destruction. The rocket fins are separate parts, to be plugged into the lower half. Without a doubt, even in 1:35 scale, this is an imposing creation. Externally, detail is given as fine panel lines and rows of recessed rivets.

Cleaning up the seams will mean that some of this may be lost, so make sure that Rosie is available to put back what might disappear under a sanding stick. The rocket is supplied on two sprues, with the main body parts being separate and in their own clear sleeves.

Photo-etch is supplied for hatch latches and the strap which holds the rocket onto the Meillerwagen whilst in transit and being erected.

There are six colour schemes for the rockets, ranging from those built for deployment and test. Whilst there are camouflage

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Meillerwagen detail at the RAF Museum Cosford.

options, I still prefer the black/ white quartered unit whose colours were apparently to gauge telemetry when launched.

Lastly, the launching platform.

As the Meillerwagen is raised, the rocket base is located to the launching platform before the vehicle moves away and the rocket is ready to fire. This little kit comprises the thrust table with its scalloped sides to equally deflect the thrust outwards, manually-operated jacks, and a geared table onto which the rocket sits. A total of around 40 parts comprise this unit.

DECALS Two small sheets are included for the Hanomag and rocket.

These simply contain things such as serials and stencilling for the rocket, and military registration plates and instruments for the Hanomag. These are nicely printed

by Cartograf and in perfect register.

CONCLUSION The only things missing here are the fuelling tanker and the firing cabin. Maybe we’ll see those eventually. Having said that, this is a superb representation of the rocket and her delivery/ deployment train, in the most intricate of detail. Once you get all the sprues out of the box, you’ll be hard-pushed to get them to fit

back in there, there really is so much plastic to work with. This brings me onto the price. MBK is selling this kit for €79,50, and I think that represents excellent value for money for what is really quite an amazing kit of what was ground-breaking technology at the time, leading onto what eventually became a part of America’s space programme and the moon landings.

This is no weekend project (except maybe for the rocket itself), and I think you’ll need a little patience for the Meillerwagen, but the payoff will be a stunning model that will be very different to others on the shelf. ■

Thanks to Modellbau-Koenig and Uschi van der Rosten for the sample. Available from Modellbau-Koenig for €79,50 A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. N. O. P. Q. R. S. T.

One of the Hanomag sprues.

A full engine is included.

Just in case you forgot…

Doors are separate and may be posed open or closed.

Nice tread plate detail.

Cabin elements.

Some of the suspension and engine parts.

Clear parts for the Hanomag.

Instructions are well laid out.

Tyres are vinyl.

Kit decals.

One of the Meillerwagen sprues.

Compass of the launch platform.

Main launch platform base.

Gas bottles.

The two large halves of the V-2 rocket.

Heavy surface detail.

Photo-etched parts are included.

More decals!

Chain is supplied too.

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SHOW REPORT

Tamiya Releases at the 2017 Shizuoka Hobby Show

TAMIYA 1:35

TAMIYA 1:35 SD.KFZ.166 Straight from the Shizuoka Hobby Show, the Editor reviews an early test shot of Tamiya’s forthcoming 1:35 scale Sd.Kfz.166 Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär

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TAMIYA ANNOUNCEMENTS AT THE

2017 SHIZUOKA HOBBY SHOW Alan Harman examines forthcoming Tamiya kits announced at the 2017 Shizuoka Hobby Show.

A

lan Harman from Doolittle Publishing attended this year's Shizuoka Hobby Show where he took photos of a number of forthcoming Tamiya releases.

These include: • 1:32 scale F4U-1D Corsair.

• 1:35 scale Sturmpanzer 43 Brummbar.

• self-adhesive Zimmerit sheet for the new Brummbar.

• 1:35 scale German Tank Crew.

• 1:16 scale static M1A2 Abrams kit.

• 1:16 scale static Jagdpanther kit (based on the R/C kit from a few years ago).

• 1:700 Japanese Navy Destroyer Shimakaze.

Also noted at the show, the 1:10 RC, 1:12 and 1:20 kits of the Tyrrell P34 six-wheel F1 cars are being re-released. ■

Some of these releases were unveiled during the Agents’ Briefing at Tamiya’s Shizuoka headquarters.

amiya’s brand new 1:35 scale 1:35 Sd.Kfz.166 Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär Späte Produktion has nothing at all in common with their 1976 release.

The lower hull is sourced from the Panzer IV kits from the mid-1990s, and the running gear seems to be based on the sprues from the 2014 Jagdpanzer IV release, but all the other plastic parts are brand new.

A built-up example of Tamiya’s new static 1:16 scale Jagdpanther.

Tamiya also announced a new German figure crew set.

The figures from this versatile set will suit a wide range of German vehicles.

The brand new static 1:16 scale M1A2 Abrams.

One of the kit sprues including the .50 cal machine gun.

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The Abrams kit features cast metal swing arms.

A turned metal gun barrel and photoetched fret will also be included.

A view of the torso bars fitted inside the metal lower hull.

13/06/2017 11:05

1:35 BRUMMBAR TEST SHOT PREVIEW

KFZ.166 STURMPANZER IV BRUMMBÄR SPÄTE PRODUKTION. KIT NO. 35353 My test shot comprises 325 parts in light grey coloured plastic, two lengths of black polyethylene (tracks), a length of black string and a bag of polythene caps. The production kit will most likely be presented in Tamiya’s typical dark yellow plastic.

Moulding quality is every bit as good as we have come to expect from Tamiya. Surface textures are convincing and effective, with nicely rendered weld beads and subtle rolled steel texture on the superstructure.

The lower hull is provided as a tub – no flatpack assembly here. Despite its vintage, the detail and moulding quality is well up to the standard of the brand-new parts in the box.

Running gear is simple but crisply detailed.

There are ten sets of all-steel road wheels and eight pairs of rubber-rimmed road wheels. All the wheels are made up from an inner half, an outer half, a separate hubcap and a polythene cap that will permit rotation after assembly and will also make painting a breeze. The earlystyle steel idler wheels and drive sprockets are secured with poly caps too, although the steel return rollers are glued in place.

The instructions suggest two different road wheel arrangements, but most photos that I found suggested that on each side, four all-steel road wheels should be fitted to the front.

Tracks are supplied as two polyethylene lengths representing the final lightweight links almost always seen on late Brummbars.

Personally, I would have preferred to see link and length tracks included in this kit.

Tamiya do these so well, and link and length is an excellent compromise between ease of assembly and a realistic depiction of the track sag so often seen on German vehicles, including the Panzer IV family.

Having said that though, these are very nice full-length tracks featuring crisp detail on the inner and outer faces, as well as correctly “dented” guide horns. The polyethylene lengths may be glued with regular plastic cement too.

The superstructure is moulded as a main shell with separate roof and rear panels. The upper hull is a single piece with an additional layer for the engine deck. The track guards run the length of the hull, effectively acting as sponson covers to blank off the superstructure from the running gear. The commander’s hatch, plus the rear fighting compartment and two small upper turret hatches are all separate parts that may be glued in the closed or open position.

The 15 cm StuH 43 L/12 gun is built up in layers, with the one-piece main barrel sleeve sliding over the inner rifled barrel part. The gun is mounted via two polythene caps which allow

depression and elevation. The mount itself clicks into a plastic base. This permits traverse.

Armour hangers and side skirts are included.

The plastic skirts are individual panels and are labelled with the part number on the inner surface. The modeller may choose to install all or only some of the skirts. Wartime photos show that it was common for some of these skirts to be damaged or missing altogether.

Spare tracks are supplied in injection moulded plastic, and string tow cables are also in the box.

Two figures are included – a Commander and an infantry soldier leaning on the rear superstructure. Both figures live up to Tamiya’s recent high standard of figure moulding. They feature natural poses and realistic faces.

Markings are provided for two vehicles – one with Zimmerit coating and one without.

Tamiya has also announced a separately available self-adhesive Zimmerit coating set, but it was not yet available at the time of this review. ■

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Incoming

MINIART

KIT NO. 35225 US TRACTOR W/TOWING WINCH & CREWMEN

MiniArt has been hitting hard with their range of tractors lately, and this one is a welcome addition to the list.

Tractors were widely used by US forces during WWII in the Pacific and European theatres for clean-up operations, recovery, and general duties.

This kit is not one for the squeamish, as there is a lot to it 631 plastic parts, 4 clear parts, seven photo-etched parts and three bonus figures.

Looking at the well-drawn instructions, this is when one sees just how much work will be required to build this kit. A total of 62 steps are required to go construction.

I must say that I am amazed at the level of detail in this one, with full engine, transmission, chassis, and driveline detail.

The best part is that you can pretty much build the kit before worrying about painting, as the whole thing is the one colour.

Regarding colour, there are two choices offered in the instructions, Olive Drab for a military and Insignia Yellow for a civil variant.

The build starts with the engine over the first 18 stages, then it is onto the chassis for the next 12 stages. Then it is time for the winch system for seven stages, two for the seating, then 20 for the driveline and the last two for the final body parts and tracks. each link requires nine parts, so absolute care will be required there during construction, especially if you want them workable as intended. Fiddly but fun.

I would recommend leaving the engine covers off towards the end, so you can get full paint coverage of the incredibly detailed engine and also for the weathering stages. Same would go for the tracks as well.

I think at the end of the build, replicating all the oil and dust that would build up will be a very enjoyable weathering challenge, especially on the engine and driveline.

As mentioned, there are also three crew figures included. All of these are well posed and will be a great addition for a small diorama and vignette.

In summary, I think that this is a great model of a subject that we haven’t seen much of until now. Yes, it is detailed and complicated, and not for the beginner modeller, but I recommend this to all.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Creative Models Australia for the sample www.creativemodels.com.au Andrew Judson

QUICKWHEEL

1:35 SCALE QW-182 – STUG III FOR BRONCO QW-179 – SU-76M FOR TAMIYA 35348 QW-184 – GEPARD A1/A2 SPAAG FOR TAKOM 2044

QuickWheel has produced a useful tool to assist with one of the least popular chores in armour modelling – painting the tyres of road wheels.

This company offers a range of different masks specifically designed for particular vehicles. We have been provided with masks for Bronco’s StuG III kits, the recent Tamiya SU-76M self-propelled gun and the Takom Gepard.

QuickWheel masks are manufactured from a fairly rigid black plastic backed with a flexible blue membrane. This should ensure nice tight seal against the plastic of the kit’s road wheel. Where applicable, masks are provided for return rollers too.

The painting technique is very easy. Just paint the entire wheel black, press the mask against the wheel, and spray the camouflage colour through the centre of the mask. The masks should be capable of being re-used for many projects.

This is a handy and time saving tool.

Recommended.

Thanks to Creative Models Australia for the sample www.creativemodels.com.au Brett Green

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Figures

- A round-up of the latest figure sets on release...

MINIART

1:35 SCALE FINNISH TANK CREW ITEM NO. 35222

Modellers have been showered with new military figures from many nationalities and eras in recent years, but Finnish figures are still rare in 1:35 scale. This is particularly mystifying as we have a great selection of Finnish vehicle subjects both specific – for example, Sturmi and BT-42 – and general – T-34, KV-1, Panzer IV and more.

MiniArt has now started to redress this shortage with a new set of WWII-era Finnish Tank Crew figures in their growing figure range.

MiniArt’s 1:35 scale “Finnish Tank Crew” comprise five figures made up from 50 injction moulded plastic parts.

Four of the figures are standing, and three of these are wearing black leather tanker outfits. The fifth figure appears to be sitting on the edge of a hatch. These should be suitable for a wide range of Finnish vehicles, although one does seem to be specifically designed to hold on to a T-34 circular hatch.

Detail and sculpting of the figures is excellent with minimal flash and fine sprue attachment points.

It was interesting to compare the quality of this brand-new offering compared the older MiniArt British Tank Riders that I employed on my Valentine earlier in this issue.

The moulding quality is noticeably better in this more recent figure release. The figures are less bulky too, which in my opinion looks more realistic for WWII figures.

These crew figures will be very welcome in dioramas or as adornments to a single military vehicle model.

Highly Recommended.

Available online from Creative Models Australia www.creativemodels.com.au Brett Green

MINIART

1:35 SCALE SOVIET ASSAULT INFANTRY ITEM NO. 35226

Crew figures are handy additions to military vehicles, but we are also seeing more tank riders being released.

MiniArt’s newest set of tank riders is their 1:35 scale “Soviet Assault Infantry, Winter Camouflage Coats”. It includes five figures made up from 58 injection moulded plastic parts.

The figures appear to have been designed for the T-34 tank and its variants (e.g. SU-85, SU-122, SU-100) with four riding on the engine deck or perched on the side of it, and one DP gunner firing over the top of the turret (or superstructure if he is riding on an SU).

All five figures are wearing white winter smocks over their uniforms.

Weapons are a real highlight, being meticulously sculpted and delicately moulded. MiniArt supplies four PPSh-41 sub-machine guns, three 91/30 rifles including the option of one sniper sight, a DP light machine gun with wooden stock and a second DP with metal stock, both with ammo drum and offering the choice of folded or deployed bipod. With these nine weapons, you’ll have four for the spares box.

This is a very high quality set of Soviet winter tank riders that will look great on any T-34 tank or SU tank destroyer.

Highly Recommended.

Available online from Creative Models Australia www.creativemodels.com.au Brett Green

MINIART

1:35 SCALE USMC TANK CREW ITEM NO. 37008

Modern subject modellers have not been forgotten in this latest batch of figure releases.

MiniArt’s 1:35 scale USMC Tank Crew comprises five figures made up from 55 grey plastic parts.

All five figures are standing or leaning. Four are wearing overall tan coloured tankers uniforms, with the fifth in multi-tone camouflage.

The crew figures are wearing body armour and tanker helmets, except the camouflaged figure who wears the standard Marines helmet. The presentation of the body armour is exceptionally crisp and well detailed.

Pockets and seams are well defined too.

These figures will be perfect for a wide range of military vehicles used by US Marines.

Highly Recommended.

Available online from Creative Models Australia www.creativemodels.com.au Brett Green August 2017 - Model Military International 59

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13/06/2017 11:17

1:48 Scale – A round-up of the latest news and releases THE PRICE OF

I

n a departure from what I normally do each month, I’m including a post that appeared on the Track 48 Discussion Forum from Mr Kevin Townsend.

It struck a chord with me and I’m guessing that it may strike one with you as well: “In many ways, we live in a golden age. All kinds of products are available from kits paints, weathering products to groundwork supplies. Technology has given us amazing kits and modern research gives us an unprecedented amount of information - more I dare say, than we ever dreamed possible back in the day. And despite all the doom and gloom in various modelling forums, there are more 1:48 scale kits available than ever before. If you include resin kits, there aren’t too many gaps to speak of. We can order anything we need from any corner of the world while relaxing at home and have it delivered to our doors in mere days. A few minutes on the Web yields more research than an entire library could have given us just a few short years ago. Forums and social media allow us contact with other like-minded folks almost anywhere.

Yet all this comes at a cost.

Just a few minutes from my house sat a hobby shop that was literally lost in time. This place, was straight out of the 1970s. It was an oldstyle brick and mortar shop with no website. When I was there a few months ago, it even had some of the old 1:32 scale kits from the 1970s (you could almost make out which ones through the decades of dust on the boxes). In the magazine rack at the back were publications going all the way back to the late 1960s, but there were rarely many customers. If anyone was there, it was usually a friend of the owner just chatting away. I didn’t often go because while the shop had lots of everything, it was mostly aircraft in which I have little or no interest.

Earlier this month I was at a military model contest in another

S S E R G O R P

local hobby shop. This is a very modern business - in fact, it is three businesses in one. The hobby shop , a Hobby distribution centre and Web centre (where they take and ship orders on line)... It’s a very nice store come warehouse. In fact, I get most of my loot there. I was somewhat encouraged to see several juniors exhibiting models, so maybe the hobby won’t die out with our generation.

I learned while there the gentleman who ran the time capsule hobby shop a few minutes from me had passed away. I stopped at the shop

on my way home as I saw it was open. One of the owner’s friends was manning the shop as they were clearing out the inventory. I’d guess half of the stock had already disappeared.

A couple of points struck me.

First, the place was busier than I’d ever seen before, which says something. But, what struck me most was all this convenience and modern technology is a two edged sword, leaving these absolutely wonderful old shops and the fine people who run them to die and fade into obscurity.

What’s more, new hobby shops are not popping up to replace

them. Many modellers today have probably never had the pleasure of visiting such places, and just talking modelling and anything else with the owner and other customers.

That’s sad.

So yes, the hobby will go on. and amazing things are coming, no doubt. But with the passing of people like the owner of that old shop and with no replacements in sight, we have paid a great price for this progress.”

Until Next Time Luke Pitt

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Luke Pitt hosts MMI’s examination of the growing world of 1:48 scale military models, figures and accessories.

TAMIYA

ZIMMERIT COATING SHEET FOR THE STURMTIGER ITEM NO. 12672

This new set of stick-on Zimmerit is specifically designed and measured for the recently released Tamiya 1:48 scale kit.

Now if you believe everything you read on modelling forums you may have picked up on the fact that some people don’t like this idea. I quite honestly don’t know why.

They will claim that the Zimmerit is too neat or lacks depth.

Well sorry guys, I don’t agree. To my eye, the Zimmerit looks perfect for its intended purpose. I think that there may be some resistance with these sets as most 1:48 scale modellers were once 1:35 scale modellers and back in the day it was a bit of a badge of honour to produce a convincing Zimmerit coating out of putty (or whatever). I have done this myself and I must confess that it is a time consuming process fraught with danger.

This set measures 190 cm x 100 cm and has enough material to cover two complete models. The Zimmerit has the right look and depth to it for a 1:48 scale vehicle, and is simply cut out and applied to a clean surface.

I have used a similar set on a Tamiya Panzer IV and the results were pleasing and, almost as importantly, quick.

Recommended.

Thanks to Tamiya for the sample www.tamiya.com Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited www.hobbyco.net Luke Pitt

GTG RESIN

“SNAP TRACKS” TIGER I MID/LATE TRACKS ITEM NO. ST4802

GTG Resin is a new start up resin manufacturer based in Australia. Most of the current product released (or slated for release) are the same tracks as the now-defunct World War II Production items. It is my hope to run an interview with the owner of this new company, Gavin Cross, in the near future. The first set of 1:48 Tracks sent for review are for the KV-1 & 2 and are in a word superb.

200 very well cast tracks are supplied in two bags of 100 each. The tracks themselves employ the “clink link” method.

By simply inserting the longer pin into the indent on to the opposing track, a length of track will quickly be achieved.

The system has always worked well but on some occasions the pin will break. A quick clean-up of each track is recommended to avoid this. Extra tracks are provided for as you will only require 96 links per side for either the Tamiya or AFV Club kits.

It’s great to have these tracks back in circulation again as they were, and still are, a quantum leap over the kit supplied tracks.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to GTG Resin for the sample www.gtg-resin.com Luke Pitt August 2017 - Model Military International 61

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Contact Details - for companies featured in MMI...

ACCURATE ARMOUR/ ARMOUR DISTRIBUTION

Units 15-16 Kingston Industrial Estate, Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, PA14 5DG Scotland.

Tel; 01475 743 955 Fax; 01475 743746 www.accurate-armour.com

ADALBERTUS

Iberyjska 7/49, 02-764 , Warsaw,Poland adalbertus@adalbertus.com.pl www.adalbertus.com.pl

THE AIRBRUSH COMPANY Ltd

Unit 7 Marlborough Road, Lancing Business Park, Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 8UF. Tel; 08700 660 445 www.airbrushes.com

ALCLAD II LACQUER

5 St Georges Close, Bacton, Norfolk. NR12 0LL Tel; 01962 65216 Fax; 01692 652334

ALPINE, ROYAL MODEL, ARTISAN MORI, YOSCI; SMARTMODELLING No.7 Gordons Way, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0LN. UK Tel; 01883 734746 smartmodelling@smart7.fsworld.co.uk

AMPERSAND PUBLISHING (via Historex Agents in UK)

235 NE 6th Avenue #4 Delray Beach, Florida 33483-5543, USA Tel; 561-266 9686 Fax; 561-266-9786

ARCHER

(Historex in UK)

PO Box 1277 Youngsville, NC 27596-1277, USA www.archertransfers.co

BADGER AIR-BRUSH COMPANY 9128W Belmont Ave, Franklin Park, IL 60131 Tel; 847/678-3104 www.badgerairbrush.com email info@badgerairbrush.com (In the UK from www.shesto.co.uk)

BISON DECALS

Available from www.hannants.co.uk and www.pdi-model-supplies.com

DELUXE MATERIALS www.deluxematerials.co.uk info@deluxematerials.com Tel; 01529 455 0340

DRAGON MODELS

(The Hobby Company in UK)

Dragon Models Ltd, Kong Nam Ind. Building B1-10F, 603-609 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan NT, Hong Kong Fax; (HK) 4110587 www.dragonmodelsltd.com (For 1:6 Action Figures, please contact Amerang in UK)

ECHELON FINE DETAILS

Available from; wwwaccurate-armour.com & http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~kriegsketten/

FRIENDSHIP MODELS

12 Delta Drive, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 8HR Tel; 0131 665 0866 Mobile; 07877166225 www.friendshipmodels.com

GREAT NORTH ROADS

CAMMETT

(Lifecolour, Scale Caliber)

Unit 5 Greenfield Industrial Estate, Forest Road, Hay on Wye, Powys, HR3 5FA Tel; 01497 822757 Email; cammettco@btinternet.com www.cammett.co.uk

CLASSIC PUBLICATIONS

Midland Counties Publications, 4 Watling Drive, Sketchley Lane Industrial Estate, Hinckley, Leics UK. LE10 1YF Tel; 01455 233 747, Fax; 01455 233 737 midlandbooks@compuserve.com www.classic-publications.com

CREATIVE MODELS LTD

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Unit 6-10, Honeysome Industrial Estate, Honeysome Road, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. PE16 6TG Tel; 01354 760022 www.creativemodels.co.uk info@creativemodels.co.uk

DARTMOOR MILITARY MODELS Haylis cottage, Budlake, Broadclyst Exeter, EX5 3LJ, England Tel; 01392 881271 www.dartmoormilitarymodels.com

www.etchmate.com www.missionmodels.com Tel; 818 842 1885 Fax; 818 842 1886 info@missionmodels.com, sales@missionmodels.com, orders@missionmodels.com

THE ARMORY; M&MODELS

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MODEL WHOLESALE UK LTD Tel; 01892 533036 www.modelwholesaleuk.com

ORDNANCE MODELS

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HISTOREX AGENTS

Wellington House, 157 Snargate Street, Dover, Kent, CT17 9BZ, UK Tel; 01304 206720 Fax; 01304 204528. www.historex-agents.co.uk sales@historex-agents.co.uk

HOBBYLINK JAPAN

Sano-shi, Kurohakama-cho 162-1, Tochigi 327-0813, Japan www.hlj.com

HUSSAR PRODUCTIONS, CANADA www.airconnection.on.ca

ICM

Via Hannants in UK

(ETCHMATE, GRABHANDLER, MICRO CHISEL)

HANNANTS

BOOKWORLD WHOLESALE

CALIBRE 35

MISSION MODELS

MONROE PERDU

BLAST MODELS

Unit 10 Hodfar Road, Sandy Lane Ind Est Stourport, Worcs, DY13 9QB Tel; 01299 823330 Fax; 01299 829970 info@bookworldws.co.uk

9 Rannoch St., Battlefield, Glasgow G44 4DF, Scotland Tel/Fax; 0141 633 1400 milicastmodels@hotmail.com www.milicast.com

9a Marcombe Road, Torquay, South Devon, TQ2 6LL Tel; 01803 400436 www.greatnorthroads.co.uk email svfarrugia@yahoo.co.uk

IAN ALLAN

Via AFV Modeller or www.blast-models.com

MILICAST MODEL CO.,

www.ianallanpublishing.com Mail Order Dept 01455 254450 Kiev 02099, Ukraine, Borispolskaya 9 building 64.

Tel/fax; (+38044) 369-54-12 export@icm.com.ua www.icm.com.ua

ITALERI

(The Hobby Company in UK)

Via Pradazzo, 6, I-40012 Calderara Di Reno, Bologna, Italy, Tel; 051 726037 www.italeri.com

JUST BASES

21 Graham Road, Paignton TQ3 1BB Tel; 01803 558520 www.just-bases.co.uk

JUST KITS

4 High Street, Botley, Southampton, SO30 2EA Tel; 01489 781177 www.justkitsandmodels.co.uk

MDC

Model Design Construction, Victoria Place, Victoria Road, Ripley, Derbyshire DE5 3FW Fax; 01773 513344 orders@modeldesignconstruction.com www.modeldesignconstruction.com

MODELING ARTISAN MORI

http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~m.a.mori/index_eng.html

MIG PRODUCTIONS (Creative Models in UK)

C/ Santiago Rusinol 7, Pral 2a, 08750 Molins de Rei, Barcelona, Spain www.migproductions.com

Monroe Perdu Designs, 3168 Renee Court, Simi Valley, CA 93065, USA. www.monroeperdu.com Via; www.steelmodels.com

PACIFIC COAST MODELS Tel; 001 707 538 4850 info@pacmodels.com www.pacmodels.com

PANZERWRECKS

PO Box 164, Heathfield, Sussex TN21 8WA, UK www.panzerwrecks.com

PARAGRAFIX

104 County Street, Suite 101 Attleboro MA 02703 USA Tel: +1 508.431.9800 M-F 9am to 4pm EST http://www.paragrafix.biz pgms@paragrafix.biz

PLUS MODEL

(Creative Models in UK)

SCHIFFER BOOKS

Schiffer Publishing, 4880 Lower Valley Rd, Atglen, PA, 19310 USA www.schifferbooks.com

SCHIFFER BOOKS in UK

Bushwood Books, No.6 Marksbury Avenue, Kew Gardens, Surrey TW9 4JF, UK. Tel; 020 8392 8585, 020 8392 9876, email; info@bushwodbooks.co.uk

SCHUMO KITS

www.schumo-kits.com

SDV MODEL www.sdvmodel.cz

SIMPLE 2 TRADE

No 2 Hollywood Lane, Hollywood, Birmingham, B47 5PP Tel; 0121 474 3030 www.simple2trade.com

SMARTMODELLING

(Swash, Tasca, Gap, Yosci, Royal Model)

No.7 Gordons Way, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0LN UK Tel; 01883 734746 smartmodelling@smart7.fsworld.co.uk

SQUADRON

1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton, TX 75006-1312 U.S.A

SWANN-MORTON

Owlerton Green, Sheffield, S6 2BJ Tel; +44 (0)114 234 4231 Fax; +44 (0)114 231 4966 General: info@swann-morton.com www.craftknives.com

TAMIYA JAPAN

Tamiya, Inc., 3-7 Ondawara Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8610 JAPAN www.tamiya.com

TAMIYA UK;

THE HOBBY COMPANY LIMITED Garforth Place, Knowlhill, Milton Keynes, MK5 8PG, UK Tel; 01908 605686 Fax; 01908 605666 enquiries@hobbyco.net www.hobbyco.net

Jizni 56, 370 10 C. Budejovice, Czech Republic. plusmodel@plusmodel.cz www.plusmodel.cz

TRUMPETER

POCKETBOND

VERLINDEN PRODUCTIONS

(Trumpeter & AFV Club in UK)

Bachmann Europe PLC Moat Way, Barwell, Leics, LE9 8EY Tel; 01455 841756 info@pocketbond.co.uk

PSP MODELS LTD (Mission Models in USA)

Unit 19B, Applin’s Farm, Farrington, Dorset DT11 8RA, UK Tel/Fax; 01747 811 817 www.psp-models.com

QUICKBOOST

www.quickboost.net

REVELL GmbH & Co. KG Orchard Mews, 18C High Street, Tring, Herts, HP23 5AH Tel; +44 (0) 1442 890285 www.revell.eu

SB MODELS

UK distributor for Model Victoria and Royal Model

P.O. Box 114, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA13 0WY. Tel/Fax; 01229 430 749 sales@sbmodels.fsnet.co.uk www.sbmodels.net

SBLC

PO Box 794, Cheltenham GL52 3ZW, UK RICHARDSBLC@aol.com

SBX MODEL SHOP

Norwich Road, Ipswich. IP1 5DN Tel; 01473 464311 www.sbxmodelshop.co.uk

www.trumpeter-china.com Pocketbond in the UK (Historex in UK)

811 Lone Star Drive, O’Fallon, Missouri 63366, USA www.verlinden-productions.com

VALLEJO

(Creative Models in UK)

Acrylicos Vallejo, SL Apartado 337 - 08800 Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, Spain Tel; (34) 93 893 60 12 Fax; (34) 93 893 11 54 www.acrylicosvallejo.com

VLS CORPORATION (LSA in UK)

(TRAKZ, WINGZ, CUSTOM DIORAMICS, WARRIORS); Lincoln County Industrial Park, 1011 Industrial Court, Moscow Mills, Missouri 63362, USA www.modelmecca.com

WHITE ENSIGN MODELS (Toms Model Works)

8532 Lamar Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, USA Tomsmodelworks@aol.com www.whiteensignmodels.com

WWII PRODUCTIONS, AUSTRALIA 12 Prince Street, Waratah, 2298, NSW, Australia Tel; +61 (0)2 4967 3205 Fax; +61 (0)2 4967 3207 ww2prod@optusnet.com.au

ZVEZDA

(The Hobby Company in UK)

Promishlennaia Str.,2, Lobnya, Moscow Region, 141730 Russia office@zvezda.org.ru www.zvezda.org.ru

SCHATTON BARRELS

Industriestrasse 6, 94347 Ascha, Germany Fax; 09961 910 7826

■ Please mention ‘Model Military International’ if you make contact with any of the companies listed above - thanks!

64 Model Military International - August 2017

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13/06/2017 11:19

Next Issue On sale 3 August, 2017 GRIZZLY BEAR The Editor gets his hands on a test shot of Tamiya’s forthcoming 1:35 scale Brummbar.

COMPOSITE FIREFLY

ISSUE No.136 August 2017, Published July 6th 2017 Editor;

Brett Green

Group Editor;

Marcus Nicholls

Publisher;

Alan Harman

Graphic Design;

Alex Hall

Advertising Manager;

Sean Leslie

Office Manager;

Paula Gray

Administration Manager; Hannah McLaurie

Lukasz Kapelski builds Tasca’s 1:35 scale Sherman IC Firefly Composite.

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RHEINTOCHTER!

Chris Wauchop’s 1:35 scale Surface to Air Missile from Bronco.

Reproduction in part of any text, photograph, or illustration without written consent from the publisher is strictly prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure the contents of Model Military International is accurate, the publishers and printers can not accept responsibility for errors and omissions.

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...and much more!

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VENEZUELAN AMX-13/90 Brett Avants presents his Takom 1:35 scale AMX-13.

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August 2017 - Model Military International 65

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The Last Post...

The lower hull is a one-piece tub.

Luke Pitt snaps up this new 1:35 scale Turan I Medium Tank from Bronco.

The upper hull.

HUNGARIAN MEDIUM T he Turan was a Hungarian medium tank based on the Czechoslovakian Skoda-S-llc. The main 40mm gun was the standard Hungarian light anti-tank weapon and could fire the same ammunition as the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft weapon. The gun was mounted in a riveted turret. A total of 285 were produced between 1941 and 1943.

To me, this tank always looked like a beefed up version of the 35(t) and, being a fan of that type, I have always been drawn to it.

When opening the box, the first thing that strikes you is the overall quality of the presented package; it looks and feels like a well thought out kit.

As with most Bronco kits there are parts a plenty and this one is no exception. There are 517 plastic parts over seven sprues, together with 216 track links over 19 runners, 108 photoetched parts together with a medium size decal sheet with 5 marking options. I noted straight off the bat the large photoetch fret and having built and reviewed Bronco’s earlier “Zrinyi” was somewhat dismayed at the time that the side skirts were slightly incorrect as they missed out on the characteristic perforations along the length of the skirt ends. I am happy to report that error has now been corrected, and the ones in this kit look perfect.

The kit made up is now the industry standard of a lower hull tub onto which a hull top is placed. The fit between the two is bullet proof and no filler will be needed on any of the joints.

The next step is to assemble the bogie units.

There are 34 parts that make up one bogie assembly and they are designed to fully articulate (just like the real vehicle). Added to this, the need to multiply this by four (as there are two assemblies per side).you have a whole lot of clean-up. Due to the engineering involved to make each assembly articulate a certain amount of give has been moulded into these parts. This results in an assembly that is tricky to keep straight and true. The whole assembly has a sloppy feel to it.

The next step is to assemble the return rollers each assembly has no less than six parts each, multiply this, by eight as there are four per side and you have a whole lot of clean-up to do.

Some of the parts on these assemblies are ultrasmall such as the end retaining nut for instance, and one has to wonder why Bronco has taken this overly complex approach. Nevertheless,

66 Model Military International - August 2017

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once completed, the assembly is a very detailed and complete unit.

The last part of the running gear is the assembly of the tracks. I generally like individual tracks but these ones are both good and bad at the same time. Each track has three quite heavy sprue attachment points and all of these require clean up. The quite distinctive track pin hole has been reproduced as a raised flat disk, this is not correct. When consulting my quite meagre reference photos, one thing did become clear.

The recessed track pin opening was indeed prominent and it was going to take a lot of time to fix. I note that a Chinese firm by the name of Spade Ace is now producing a set of white metal aftermarket tracks (Item No. SAT-35119) and if the recessed hole bothers you, a better bet would be to purchase a set of these as correcting the track ends would and is a time consuming exercise.

The turret is the last piece of the puzzle and like the hull all the component parts fit very well.

The hatches can be positioned in either the open or closed position and the rivets are masterfully executed.

In summary, Bronco’s Turan I is very well done and a credit to the company for being brave enough to release it. The kit has a number of very good features including the photo-etch being encased in plastic sheeting so that when you cut the parts off from the fret they stay on the plastic sheet, and the option of opening engine panels. The fit of all the parts is also noteworthy and to be honest this is where almost all rivet hull kits are often lacking. With this kit, the mating surfaces are sharp and this results in nice angular joins with no gaps to speak of.

I like this kit as it is refreshingly different and better than I expected. ■ Thanks to Bronco for the review sample www.cn-bronco.com/en/index.php

The turret is conventionally broken down into upper shell and base.

The large photo-etched side skirts feature the distinctive perforations.

Plenty more photo-etched detail on the second fret too.

Individual click-link tracks are included.

The kit decal sheet with five marking options.

Five marking schemes are supplied, including a winter whitewash option.

Clear parts comprise headlight lenses and vision blocks.

13/06/2017 11:21

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