The Gong Tower
April saw Sibo’s visual quiz. This was fun(!)
Winner of the £10.00 voucher kindly donated by Sibo was Richard Lane.
The annual competition for the Memorial Shield received few individual entries, but the results were;
3rd. Sidney Parker. "Yellow Wings"
2nd. Peter James. M4 Sherman "Bastogne"
1st. Roger Doswell. Me262B Nachtjaeger.
Membership News:
We are joined by Rod Chapman. Rod builds 1/72nd aircraft, any era, any nation.
Trade News:
Just too late for the April edition comes the following from Bronco:
In 1/35th scale,
CV L3/33 Tankette (Italian Army.)
German land-Wasser-Schlepper (mid production.)
Humber scout Car Mk. 1 with twin Vickers m.g.
Staghound Mk. 1 with 60 lb rocket projectiles.
Piper Cub "Rosie the Rocketeer"
Hotchkiss H38/39
Staghound MkIII. (Crusader turret.)
A13 Mk. 1 Cruiser tank Mk. 3.
Several treats there for armour fans I see.
Classic Airframe:
Heinkel He51. Legion Condor. New moulding.
TA-4J aggressor.
Dornier 17E
Dornier 17P
Grumman J4FWidgeon / Gosling. . (Inline engine variant.)
DH Venom.
DH Venom NF3
DH Sea Venom FAW.21
All are 1/48th.
Downsizing.
No, not the housing market, but model collections. Now, are you a modeller – i.e. a builder, or a collector, or a hoarder, or just an out of control purchaser? I suspect that most of us are all of these!
I was observing the feeding frenzy, which occurred when I brought David Lane's kit sales in to the club. I am glad to say that the whole lot went very fast, which was the object of the exercise. But how many of these models will actually be seen on the club's tables?
Browsing the Internet, I often look at the sales adverts from modellers. Some of these are the odd models offered for sale or exchange, as interests change over time, new & better examples appear & so on. But, quite often, there are large collections for sale from upset modellers who quote things like divorce, bankruptcy, final threats from spouse etc as the reason for the clear out. Some of these lists run to literally hundreds of models.
When I made the transition from 1/72nd to 1/48th, I started to sell off some of the 400+ models I had unbuilt in the attic. This coincided with a house move, so yes, some of the proceeds went on carpets, but much went on restocking with 1/48th. Then came the realisation that I would never build the 1/72nd scale kits left, so they all went. The next stage was when reality stepped in & I realised that I couldn't afford to indulge all my varied whims as I had in 1/72nd, as storage alone was a problem. Plus, I had been tempted into 1/35th armour as well, so non Luftwaffe & Japanese subjects had to go.
But, unless I stopped going to model shows, browsing the Internet & visiting Salisbury Model Centre, it soon became obvious that purchases would rapidly outstrip building & the attic stash started to grow! New models keep appearing – strange isn't it that with all the lovely models already available, modellers complain if there aren't several hundred new models announced at the various trade fairs each year!
At this point I must add that unlike some unlucky modellers, I have a wife who fuels my temptation for new models! She often suggests, encourages or even purchases new items for me, as she recognises the need for a hobby to keep a husband happy! Luckily, her hobbies are gardening & cooking, so I have something nice to look at as I slowly digest some of the wonderful meals, which she produces – I hope you are reading this dear!
But, I too decided that enough was enough & that it was time for a clear out. Sorting the attic pile into order of subject & manufacturer, I sat down to a hard study of what I really wanted to keep.
I set myself some criteria;
Was it a pig of a kit? After all, with a wide range of interests, why struggle!
Was I really interested in the subject?
Did I have a planned colour scheme for it?
Did I have one already?
Well, this resulted in six kits (3%) being disposed of! With an average annual purchase rate of sixteen new models & an average annual build rate of five models it is obvious that I am fighting a losing battle!
Why do we do this I wonder? Is it something in a modeller's genetic make up? I know that there is the odd member of the club who only has one or two unbuilt kits set aside, but they are in the minority! Like most I am sure, I have a dream of building them all one day. I even have planned marking schemes for over 90% of them. But will I stop buying & allow building to catch up? I very much doubt it! There are only two models announced at this years trade shows which interest me, but there are always those tempting sales boxes at shows, plus new ideas flood in with every new book I read or study. – No, books & the quantity of these, which I have or would like to have, are another problem!
Perhaps the modeller's motto should be, "Veni, Vidi, Visa!" (I came, I saw, I did a little shopping!)
Peter.
Museum visit report:
Visiting number 2 daughter in London gave me the opportunity to visit the IWM outstation of HMS Belfast, moored just above Tower Bridge, on the River Thames.
For the princely sum of £10.30, you get an audio assisted, self guided tour of the ship. So, what do you get for your money? Quite a lot actually, as you will see.
Starting on the Quarter Deck & a visit to the interior of Y turret, you then pass forward, taking in the crews' quarters, sick bay, radio rooms, galleys & the general living & operating areas of the ship. There is also a visit to No. 1 boiler room & No. 1 engine room, where if you care to negotiate the ladders, a total of five levels can be explored. Several machinery parts are either open as if for maintenance or sectioned, so that you can see inside them.
You then pass forward via the barbette of B turret & the interior of A turret. Down then to the ammunition magazine, with a chance to look down into the cordite store. (The shells are wooden by the way!)
Outside again for a visit to the Admiral's bridge & day cabin, navigation bridge, Captain's sea cabin & forward gunnery control before once again entering the starboard side of the superstructure. On the way, you can also see the twin Bofors AA turrets & the 4" high angle, dual purpose guns.
Finally, you find yourself back on the Quarter Deck & the gangplank back to the shore.
The audio guide was a little irritating at times, especially as it was narrated by "Baldric" Robinson! But it was overall very informative. There are also numerous captioned sheets & television screens throughout the ship, giving details of life on board.
The shop has a good selection of mainly naval books.
The whole tour took us three hours & was thoroughly enjoyable. The added bonus was the buy one, get one free offer from Network Rail, which halved our costs!
Peter. Hon. Sec.
Eastern Express: Flamethrower Tank KV-8
1/35th scale.
First of all, I must thank Mick H. for donating this kit to me & sending me further down the WWII Russian armour path & away from my favourite subject, the Luftwaffe!
Anyway to the kit. Historical bit first. This is basically a Klimenti Voroshilov KV-1 with a flamethrower fitted instead of the main armament. This was moved sideways in the turret & downgraded to 45mm, hidden inside the shortened original barrel! As far as I know, only one is preserved, in Finland.
The KV series tanks were incredibly well armoured. One tank was destroyed by the 89th anti tank gun hit, the rest having either bounced off or merely dented the armour & we are talking German 75mm & 88mm guns here! But, it was quite a poor design. It had a crew of five; Driver, hull gunner / co driver in the hull & main gunner, commander / loader & rear machine gunner in the turret. Note, the commander also loaded the gun! In addition, the only turret hatch was over the rear machine gunners station, so the commander had to rely on very poor quality episcopes to see through & conduct the battle. The Germans, whilst impressed by its armour, were very scathing as to the rest of the design.
The kit itself is moulded in a soft, light grey plastic. The first task is to trim off all the flash! It is a good job that the plastic is soft, as there is an awful lot of it. Whilst you are at it, there are the ejector pin marks to deal with as well! These are large & bold, but thankfully most of them will remain hidden after assembly is complete.
Moving on to the fit of parts, there are very few locating pins, mainly butt joints. Not really a problem I agree. Just take it slowly & be prepared to cement in sections as you go along. Oh & by the way, you will need quite a bit of filler too! The coarse sanding sticks, which John Hazell pointed out to me, proved very appropriate for this.
The main surface detail I quite good. There is a fine texture to the armour plate & nearly all details, although moulded in situ, are very crisp & clear. Think 1970's Tamiya quality here, but not the recent everything separate standard.
Eastern Express would have you assemble all the suspension first. I ignored this & built the hull first instead. This was due to the large amount of holding & subsequent filling required. The manufacturer's logo is also neatly embossed on the hull plate. I could have chiselled this off, but I decided to leave it as one does not pick up tanks & turn them over, at least, not if one wishes to preserve their digits! There is a curved panel at the rear of the hull, which puzzled me a little. There are few photographs of the lower, rear hull of tanks in books! The two I found also showed two completely different assemblies, one probably due to battle damage, as the tank in question was a wreck! Then I remembered that great resource in the attic & took a look at the Trumpeter KV-1! This showed that EE have adopted a simplified approach to the rear vents on the hull, but it is mainly hidden anyway, so I can live with that.
Whilst the filler & main joints were drying, I moved on to the turret. This is in two halves with a separate roof panel. Once again, there are no locating points, but photos show that the roof panel really does sit on top, as a separate piece! Once again, filler is required. The mantlet was a bit crude as well. I trimmed off the mounting lugs & cemented everything solid in order to achieve a reasonable fit. The gun barrel is a solid rod & you are instructed to shorten it by an unspecified amount & then drill out the end. I was about to do this, when a chance temptation purchase proved to be my lucky day! I had just bought another KV-1 (1941 Model) from Trumpeter. Studying the instructions, I noted some additional optional parts. These are merely noted as “optional” on the instruction sheet with no other information. They are in fact the alternative mantlet with a flame thrower nozzle & a beautiful gun barrel. Being slide moulded, this features the 47mm barrel nestling inside it. Acting as replacement parts, all you need to do is trim off the lugs on the rear of the mantlet & fit to the Eastern Express turret. Voila!
Returning to the suspension, you will have quite a few spares left over. Like the T34, the KV series had both spoked & solid wheels. Tracks are each two lengths per side, black polythene. The detail on them is quite good though. I was going to use these, but then the Trumpeter kit came once again to the rescue! This kit has both link & length & flexible tracks, so I replaced the tracks, utilising the flexible version from the latter kit, as they were more flexible. Not only that, the Russians have a different mould tooling idea to the rest of the modelling world. They seem to have made as many individual pieces as possible on one sprue frame. Then, if you need for example six of a particular part, at two to a frame, you get three frames. This means that you often get two other spare odd bits left over!
You get loads of goodies to add to the hull. All the fender supports are separate, or will be once you trim off all the flash. There are also some toolboxes, which require careful cleaning up so as to preserve the lid / body line but to eliminate the excess flash. There are also four external fuel tanks, so you can mix & match tanks & boxes. There are no tools, but you do get two tow cables with separate eyelet ends plus tensioners / restraints. Usually only a large saw was carried on the exterior, so this is not a problem. For the turret top, there is also a close defence machine gun on the turret.
Colour scheme seems to be overall green with perhaps some earth brown stripes. There are some turret numbers, but no other markings, not even a, "Long Live Stalin!" slogan.
To sum up, for the £13.00 ish it would have cost me, it is not bad value. Trumpeter have shown just how far we have advanced, but there is nothing unbuildable here & even I, a Tamiya shake & bake man, enjoyed building it. Quality wise, I think that this kit lies somewhere between the Tamiya KV-1 (poorest) & the Trumpeter KV-1 (superb.) I checked on an existing review of this kit on the web & it was reported as being far superior to the Tamiya one & well worthy of consideration. But, Trumpeter hadn't arrived on the scene then!
I have also been dabbling with some Zvezda kits. Once again, if Russian armour is your thing, the T34 series at least is worth a second look. A lot cheaper than Dragon & better than the old Tamiya I feel.
Peter.
1/48 Fonderie Miniature:
Grumman F11F-1 Tiger
Sitting on the US Naval Aircraft SIG table at the 2005 Nationals early one Saturday morning, I noticed someone carrying a box with a painting of a Tiger on it. I asked the owner about the kit and was astounded to learn it was a 1/48 scale offering from the French manufacturers. There had been no hint as far as I was aware of its impending release and as it has been near the top of my wants list for many years, I hot-footed it over to the trader’s stand and bought one. I had had no previous experience of this manufacturer’s products and at £35 it was not cheap, but I had to have one. On opening the box, although not up to the standard of Hasegawa for example, it looked as though a decent model could be produced and I decided to ignore Martin Hales’ laughter when I brought it along to the next club meeting. As usual I put off the building of it until some other modellers had shown the way. After reading two build reports, one in SAM and the other in SAM1, I decided to make a start.
The box contained thirty three plastic, fifteen resin, nineteen white metal, thirteen etched pieces and two vacuform canopies as well as decal options for three aircraft – two gull grey and white aircraft from VA156 and VF21 and one from the Blue Angels. Surface detail was nicely recessed, but I noticed that the surface of the plastic parts was flaking off in certain places.
As usual, construction started with the cockpit, the majority of which came from the resin parts, whilst the etched parts provided the detail for consoles etc. Everything fitted together well, but I added some extra details to the sidewalls as those provided looked a little flat. The biggest problem was that although a brass etched piece is provided for the instrument panel, there are no instruments provided .I backed the instrument panel with ten thou plasticard then punched out the faces from the Reheat sheet, placed them in the panel and when dry, filled the holes with glass varnish. There was no throttle pedestal provided, so I scratch built this, and fitted rudder pedals from the Reheat range The cockpit assembly was painted mainly in dark gull grey with the switch consoles ,instrument panel picked out in matt black. When dry various washes were applied to bring out the detail and then oily steel was used to represent wear and tear.
I then moved on to the main wheel wells. These consist of two resin housings cemented to two plastic bulkheads. Previous reports suggested there were problems with the construction of this assembly and although forewarned, I could not get the assembly to fit into the fuselage. and close the fuselage halves, so I fitted the individual wells into each fuselage half and fitted the fore and aft bulkheads, after a lot of sanding, separately into the starboard fuselage half. The nosewheel bay, after some test fitting, was attached to the cockpit assembly, the strut retraction bays were glued into the fuselage halves ,the gun muzzles were drilled out, and brass barrels were used to replace the kit ones. Lead shot was superglued into the nose area and once again, after numerous dry fittings, the port and starboard fuselage halves were glued together. When dry, the joint was filled then sanded smooth and the last surface detail was rescribed.
The wing halves were removed from their sprues, but due to the thickness of the latter and the extremely thin trailing edges of the former, I damaged the trailing edges and had to resort to superglue to repair them. Etched brass wing fences are supplied, but no location is marked on the wings so, after studying the Steve Ginter book on the Tiger, I marked out the location of the fences and scored grooves with an Alfa P cutter to aid accurate positioning. The wing halves were glued together then filled and sanded. After positioning and fixing the fuselage to a flat piece of wood the wings, followed by the tailplanes, were glued to the fuselage. The latter fitted well, but the former needed quite a lot of Milliput to blend them into the fuselage. After tidying the joint and rescribing where necessary, the four underwing pylons were glued into position, as were the wing fences and the fuselage link collector boxes. The moulded wingtip anti collision lights were cut off, clear plastic was superglued into the gaps and sanded to shape. The detail on the aft canopy plate was supposed to represent the canopy activation mechanism, but was rather insipid so I removed it and scratch-built a replacement. As previously mentioned, the standard of moulding was not of the best, so quite a lot of time was spent identifying, filling and sanding all the pin holes, scratches and flaking plastic areas.
With the main airframe complete, the ancillary components such as undercarriage doors, legs and wheels were tidied up and assembled, as were the two AIM 9B sidewinders from the Hasegawa weapons set. The underwing tanks were consigned to the spares box as Tiger hardly ever flew with them. The kit is supplied with two vac-form canopies in case of mistakes. The surface finish on both canopies contained numerous imperfections and blemishes and , in spite of hours of work with Micromesh and plastic polish followed by a dip in Klear, I couldn’t get rid of them all. Plastic strip, painted matt black, was used to represent the canopy and windscreen framing and this also has the benefit of adding stiffness to these parts. The main airframe and ancillary components were washed and when dry, sprayed with Humbrol white primer. Further filling, sanding and rescribing was carried out, followed by a further spray of primer. The windscreen was attached and blended into the fuselage with Milliput. The leading edges of the wings, fin air intakes and tailplanes were painted with Humbrol gloss aluminium, polished then given a coat of Klear. The jet pipe was tinted with various metallic finishes then rubbed with graphite. After the necessary masking, the under surfaces, upper control surfaces, undercarriage components and missiles were sprayed with Halfords appliance white. When dry, after necessary masking, the upper surfaces were airbrushed with Xtracrylix light gull grey. This was the first time that I had used this paint and I was suitably impressed. The radome was painted Humbrol coal black. I had intended to finish my model on the colours of VF.2 with its colourful Shark mouth, but Phil West reckoned it looked ‘cartoonish’ because the normal red of the shark mouth was yellow and I tended, on reflection, to agree with him. Instead I went for the colour scheme worn by VA-156 ‘Iron Tigers’ during its deployment in the USS SHANGRI-LA 1958-59 and I think I am correct in saying that VA156 was the only attack squadron to use the Tiger. Their aircraft featured Red Fins with a large white lightning bolt, but there was no information as to the exact tone of red. In the end I opted to use Red Arrows red from the Humbrol range. Once the painting stage was over, I gave the airframe a couple of coats of Klear to aid decal application.
The decals in general were awful. It was hard work separating them from the backing sheet and lots of Klear was needed to get them to settle on the model and remove any possible silvering. Where possible, the kit’s decals were replaced with ones from the decal bank. Once the decals were dry, I airbrushed a couple of coats of Klear to seal them in. Panel lines were picked out with a hard pencil, wingtip navigation lights were painted in the appropriate colours and then all the ancillary components were attached to the main frame, after which I airbrushed the model with Xtracrylix matt varnish. The surface was lightly weathered using artists’ pastels, the sliding canopy attached, as were the fin top pitot head and scratch-built FOD covers.
Thus, at last, after many years I had a model of an F11F-1 to add to my collection. This was my first Fonderie Miniatures kit and although not as bad as Martin implied, it was a typical limited run kit. On the plus side a much needed subject with good metal, brass, resin and photo-etched parts, spoiled by poor surface finish, poor canopies, no instrument faces or throttle quadrant. I read a couple of reports written by Frenchmen and I guess I got a Monday or a Friday kit, whilst they got the midweek version.
Bill Allan.
VOLKSWAGEN with a twist
They say a change is as good as a rest, well this little project certainly proved to be a nice excursion into model car building something I normally wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. However it is not out of the box, it has my usual slight sci-fi twist, so with out further ado…
Shutoral Military Polizei VW
"the Shutoral Republic, with its powerful military and police strength ...[were tasked]... to harmonize and restore public peace. In 2877, three Shutoral Army Foreign Legion Corps battalions arrived on Earth, along with three military police battalions."
My build is centred on the 'Airfix' 1/32 VW Beetle 1200. I wanted to make a beefed up VW in use by some near future police force with obvious overtones taken from WW2 styling. I had an 'Aero' 1/35 scale VW beetle but felt it looked to small next to some 1/35 Figures (SF3D Armoured fighting suits) so used the slightly bigger scaled version. Also the Airfix kit is a more modern version, as my 1/35 scale kit has the very old split rear window type.
Modifications are subtle rather than major and are as follows.
Firstly I removed curved arch areas for larger openings on the bulged fenders to allow fitting of bigger wheels. I then beefed up the suspension using parts from a Tamiya Land Rover and extended the height to give higher ground clearance. Also linked in were the Landy’s 4 wheel drive couplings. Because of the use of Land Rover mechanics I changed the VW gear lever to a kinked long reach one, just like my own Landy. Finally fitted were LAV type wheels (big knobbly tyres), which meant reducing the axle length slightly.
A detailed interior was created adding to the supplied front and rear seats and simple dashboard. The interior parcel shelf had some generic military packs added; an AK 74 was put into a rifle stand between the driver and commander. The dash had a small radio receiver added and headphones placed on the front seat with wire leads extended to the set. Masking tape painted grey was cut to match interior shapes for panelling. This panelling was also used to hide the wires running from the front under bonnet void to the rear fenders. More on these later.
As the body shell was separate from the floor pan and interior, I was able to freely paint up the bodywork. As it was to be pseudo German I searched on the Internet for the various modern German schemes. The Green and white scheme of the POLIZEI was painted up, the white areas being the usual challenge. I took the red striped idea for the rear fenders from the big German convoy vehicles/ tank transporters in use today. Johnsons Klear floor polish was used to impart shine as well as to create a barrier between the paint and a very fine wash of dark oils.
The wires connected LEDs, used for white headlights and red brake lights. I drilled out the locations and used a helpful guide to trim down the super white LEDs. The mini red LEDs fitted into tiny holes in the rear fenders. Being so tiny, soldering was difficult so each one was embedded in Milliput. A resistor ensured none suffered from burning out and all the components are hidden under the bonnet with just two wires fed out behind the rear wheels to allow battery connection.
Now the body shell could be permanently fixed in place and I could work on making the vehicle look like 'Rommels staff car' by adding an aerial mast and jerry cans, Fire extinguishers on the front fenders and a spare wheel draped in stowage kit, hung on the rear.
The heavy-duty telescopic aerial has a crow’s foot antenna from dressmakers pins at its top. My Dremal was used to reduce the pinheads into wedge shapes and 4 were then super-glued to the mast. Glazing was as per the kit instructions, cut to have the door portions rolled down using metal tape for window trim and black paint for window seals. One further item was needed before decals, a red and blue beacon bar for the roof; as modern police cars have, rather than a dated blue beacon.
This was made by drilling into the underside of some thick clear plastic strip the indents look like bulbs inside the bar, coloured with Tamiya clear paints.
Just front bumpers (also courtesy of the Tamiya Land Rover) to add with smoke dischargers and it was done, or so I thought. Its Valentines day, I'm about to take some photos and think " Some bulges for weight in the tyres would look good" So I place the VW on some tin foil on a metal sheet and heat the sheet with a gas flame which should be controllable I think. AAARGH! big mistake, the wheels became a mess. Luckily I have 3 spares but in an effort to remove the old ones the suspension was damaged so I was pretty fed up, especially as it would be over a month before I would have time to fix the mistake. When I did find the time it wasn’t to bad. The least damaged wheel was carved back to shape and in filled with putty. The other wheels were replaced and with the addition of light guards and final few details such as the number plates it was finished as the picture shows. It will eventually be placed onto a diorama some time in the future so the last lengths of wire from the lights can be totally hidden.
Sibo
A little something for the Armour fraternity:
Trumpeter PT 76 (Model 51)
This long awaited kit has now arrived on the modelling scene and I obtained an example from LSA Models who provided one very promptly for the princely sum of 20-odd quid. Trumpeter have produced another version with the later, more conventional muzzle brake but I fancied the look of the multi-finned version.
History. This amphibious reconnaissance tank was developed by the Soviets as a result of their Second World War experience, whereby they determined to improve the mobility of any reconnaissance vehicle. Inevitably large and lightly armoured to ensure it could float, it utilised hydrojets to ensure its amphibiosity. It was armed with a 76mm gun which some commentators deride for so large a vehicle, but it should not be forgotten that the role of this tank was reconnaissance, and therefore was not intended to seek combat against more heavily armed opponents. Its suspension and swimming ability certainly ensured its efficacy and it is notable perhaps that the US Army cancelled their planned reconnaissance tank - the interesting T92 - in the 1950s for not possessing this amphibious capability. The PT 76, (Plauschiy Tank - swimming tank) had a crew of 3 and equipped the reconnaissance companies of both the tank and motor rifle divisions of the Soviet Army, operating alongside BRDM armoured cars and M72 motorcycle combinations. Due to its inherent usefulness it was also used by the Soviet Naval Infantry to augment T55s and latterly, T72s.
The PT 76 came into service in 1951 and served until the late 70s/early 80s when the reconnaissance role was taken over by a BMP variant, the BRM. Its successful chassis formed the basis for a whole range of vehicles including armoured personnel carriers, gun tractors, missile carriers, and self-propelled artillery, including the ZSU 23-4.
The Kit. The Trumpeter kit comes in a large, stout box and consists of some 176 parts including some brass etch, cord, and copper wire. The etch is primarily for the engine covers, although the fine, complex headlight covers are also represented together with 2 jigs to facilitate accurate bending. The cord is for the tow ropes and the wire for the turret handrails.
The instruction sheet runs to 10 pages; the decals/transfers sheet is limited to 2 vehicles, with no specific units assigned although one version is for a vehicle that took part in the "Socialist Fraternal Intervention" of 1968 ie the invasion of Czechoslovakia.
At the time of writing this review I am still working on this kit, but so far have encountered very few problems. The fit of some parts such as the roadwheels and sprockets needed a little adjustment but nothing major. The hydrojets are included as 2 curved tubes running from the hull bottom to the outlets in the hull rear.
In its half built state the size of the model is already apparent and one can see why it was slated as a reconnaissance vehicle, but have you ever noted the Bundeswehr's Lynx, or the US Army's Sheridan?
A great bonus of the kit - well, to me at least - is the provision of flexible, plastic tracks. I know some of the fraternity swear by individual links but I feel life is just too short; the ones provided by Trumpeter are fairly well detailed and I would recommend using Superglue to fasten and also to accomplish track sag, so noticeable on this vehicle, by glueing the top run to the road wheels.
The gun, with its impressive muzzle brake, comes in 2 halves so the usual problem of sanding down yet maintaining a tubular consistency will be a problem for some; however, it may well be that the excellent Lou Stener - well known provider of vital Warsaw Pact modelling extras - will be able to supply a metal replacement.
The headlight guards are well depicted in etched brass - any other medium would be practically impossible. The headlights themselves could benefit with lens replacements such as the PSP range or similar.
No crew figures are provided and I plan to use the out of production Dragon Soviet Crew set; however, note that suitable crew figures can be obtained by modifying most plastic crew figures if the base figure is not too encumbered with equipment. Overall-wearing figures are easily adapted and with the substitution of the excellent resin heads produced by Hornet, suitable figures can be devised and installed. If this kit is to be modelled with its large one piece hatch open you will need to populate it with such figures or add to the turret internal detail, as a lot can be seen - or rather not seen! A basic gun breech is provided in the kit but other details including ammunition, radio leads, and other internal stowage etc will have to be manufactured as you see fit.
External fittings are limited to a boat-hook and the only addition I envisage is the inevitable rolled tarpaulin on the turret side, easily made from rolled-out Miliput or white glue-soaked tissue. The antenna base would benefit from an antenna from brass wire or stretched sprue.
The kit includes a Schnorkel tube for the turret rear yet this is not included in the instruction sheet; I suspect it may be from the similar later version, yet could be incorporated in this model if so desired.
Finish is really restricted to an overall green, although the invasion stripes in white add a little; however, a model this size would also benefit from careful dry-brushing and weathering. Colours used by Middle East client states of the Soviet Union should throw up more imaginative schemes although a colourful version could be a Naval Infantry version, sporting the Naval ensign on the hull sides. Crew figures in orange life jackets would all go some way in adding to this not unattractive finish. However, I ultimately plan to display with a BRDM 1 armoured car to exemplify the recce role, but as construction of that little beast is some way off don't hold your breath!
Summary. An impressive depiction of this important post-war vehicle. Not especially cheap perhaps, but a well produced, comprehensive kit (you do get etch and the like). Thoroughly recommended. It is to be hoped that Trumpeter will follow up with some of the many variants.
Afternote: Since this was written Pete Smith has completed his model to his usual high standard and Club members will recall this fairly recently.
Brian Stoddart.
Club Events:
3/6/08 Model show debrief.
17/6/08 Lighting.
John Marriott
15/7/08
19/8/08 What's on the workbench?
All.
16/9/09 Quiz Night.
Brian Rose.
21/10/08 Slide Show.
Dave Berryman.
4/11/08 AGM
18/11/08 Martin Baker
Brian Rose
16/12/08 Mince Pies night.
Theme: "My favourite subject."
Of all the models you have built, or might build, which is your favourite subject – not model. Bring it along, built or unbuilt or on a wish list.
Model Shows:
14/9/08 IPMS Fenland.
Spalding.
17/8/08 IPMS Avon
21/9/07 IPMS Farnborough
15-16/11/08 The Nationals
22/11/08 Middle Wallop Model Show
