VE Day 70th Anniversary
MILITARY MODELLING
Paying tribute to the British Tommy with a 1: 9 scale bust
Marmon-Herrington Building and detailing the IBG Mk.I kit
Setting the Scene Painting a house diorama from Reality in Scale
“Atomic Annie” Dragon’s M65 Heavy Motorized 280mm Gun
1st May 2015
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Vol.45 No.5 2015
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contents www.militarymodelling.com Features
16
16 THE FIRST MARMONHERRINGTON
John Prigent fully details the IBG 1:35 scale kit of the Mk.I version of this South African armoured car.
29 BRITISH TOMMY BUST
Rob Henden paints Sovereign’s new British Infantryman (Devonshire Rgt) bust.
36 NORTH AFRICAN HOUSE WITH GATE
36
Michael McLaughlin builds and paints a Reality in Scale 1:35 scale scenic accessory.
40 “ATOMIC ANNIE”
Steve Zaloga builds Dragon’s 1:72 scale M65 Heavy Motorized 280mm Gun as an out-of-the-box display model.
50 ON TRACK 2014 Robin Buckland escapes cupid’s bow to attend this annual military model show!
50
MARKETING & SUBSCRIPTIONS Sarah Pradhan & Kate Scott
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12 NOTICE BOARD
News for military modellers.
14 WEBSITE PAGE www.facebook.com/MilitaryModelling www.twitter.com/MilModOnline © MyTimeMedia Ltd. 2015
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What’s going on at militarymodelling.com Military Modelling magazine’s website?
54 SMALL SCALE SCENE
Robin Buckland rounds-up the latest news and releases for armour fans.
60 THE MAFVA COLUMN
John Ham describes how to set up a club travel agency.
62 ON PARADE
Recommended books for military modellers.
70 ATTEN-SHUN!
Products’ review section.
80 NEXT ISSUE
What’s coming up in your favourite modelling magazine!
29
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The War & Peace Revival
Scale Scotland Model Show
This year’s event takes place at Folkestone Racecourse, Hythe, Kent CT21 4HX on Wednesday 22nd July to Sunday 26th July. Featuring military and civilian vintage re-enactors and living history, battle re-enactments and arena events, vintage entertainment, shopping, funfair and models it’s a great family day out. The Vintage Village has civilian displays from the 1930s to the 1960s including Home Front, classic cars and support vehicles and much more – something for everyone whether you’re into the military side or just vintage living. Live music day and night gives a real festival feel to the world’s biggest military vehicle event. Travel is very simple with the show ground being just a couple of minutes off Junction 11 of the M20 and the mainline Westenhanger station is immediately next door with direct access from London stations. For those travelling from the continent, the Channel Tunnel terminus is just 5-minutes away and Dover’s ferry port about a 10-minute drive. This year is quite a significant one as it marks the 75th anniversaries of the Dunkirk evacuation and the Battle of Britain, plus the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2. This year the War & Peace Revival will also be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Gurkhas’ service to the British crown. The organisers have lots of things planned to recognise these important moments in history, for further information visit: www. thewarandpeacerevival.co.uk
The above event takes place at the Hilton Hotel, Edinburgh International Airport, EH28 8LL on Saturday 5th, September 2015. This will be Scale Scotland’s inaugural show and it promises to be well worth attending with a great club attendance, competition and comprehensive trade support promised. For more details see: www.scalescotland.co.uk
12
Wombourne ASVC show Martyn Crowther, vice chairman of Wombourne ASVC (Aero Space and Vehicle Club), advises us that their annual show ‘Fantastic Plastic’ takes place on Sunday 6th September 2015. Venue for the event is The Community Centre, Church Road, Wombourne, South Staffs WV5 9EZ. This year sees the club celebrating its 50th year so we can hopefully look forward to an extra special event! Further details on: www.asvc.org.uk
New Expo Drills & Tools catalogue Expo Tools sell a wide range of modelling tools, model kits, model adhesives, airbrushes, RC accessories and many other products suitable for all model makers. Thousands of new and exciting products are in the latest catalogue. As a reader of this magazine you are entitled to a free copy so please visit www.expotools.com
Alternatively, send an email with your name and address to
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Price change Due to ever increasing paper and production costs, we have reluctantly had to increase the cover price to £4.75 from this issue onwards. However, with 84-pages per issue and goodquality paper, we feel that the magazine still provides good value for money when compared to other modelling titles.
Lancing Model Show 2015 The Southdowns Model Group are please to announce that they will holding their 10th annual model on Saturday 9th May 2015 at the Lancing Parish Hall, South Street, Lancing, West Sussex BN15 8AJ. Doors open to the public from 10am till 4pm. There will be Club Displays, Traders, a Model Competition and a Raffle. Refreshments will be available and there’s a special award for past Best of Show winners. For further information please contact, Keith Soutter at
[email protected] or tel: 01273 929457, mob: 07941 817612.
Birchwood Model Show The show is on Saturday 16th May and doors open from 10am till 4pm. The venue is Thomas Risley Church, Glover Road, Locking Stumps, Birchwood, Warrington, Cheshire WA3 7PH. Admission: Adults £2.50, Seniors £2, Children £1.50 (Under 3-years old free). There will be a wide range of exhibits on show: dioramas; kits; toy soldiers; railways; clubs; trade stalls and wargaming to name but a few. All proceeds from the day will be donated to the British Heart Foundation which to date is a phenomenal £15,549.97 (many thanks to all have supported the event over the last 11-years). For further information please contact Paul Gemmell on 07425 141471 or
[email protected]
Postcodes for ‘Sat Navs’ When submitting notices for shows, etc., would organisers please include whenever possible, the postal codes for their venues, which will help prospective visitors using in car satellite navigation equipment to locate their destinations much easier.
Military Modelling Vol.45 No.5 2015
Website
ABOVE: F-102 Delta Dagger built by Jimbo in memory of Tim.
LEFT: One of our members in Greece, Christos, built this Sherman Firefly for our Group build project for Johnny.
www.militarymodelling.com News from the Military Modelling website and forum If you would like to submit an item for the website email Robin Buckland at
[email protected] or come and join our online presence at militarymodelling.com the world of military modelling at your fingertips
O
ur forum has been busy over the last couple of months particularly with a large number of build projects which have been done in memory of two regular members of our website who passed away last year, John Widdowson and Tim White. In keeping with the interests of both of them, it has meant a good variety of modelling going on, with aircraft in various scales, along with both Russian and Allied armour (NW Europe) proving popular.
14
Nigel Norfolk has built this 1:25 scale T-34/85 in memory of Johnny.
A couple of features we have run have included catching up with the end results of Gary Radford’s build of the Trumpeter M1078 with an armoured cab, and a reference piece on a fullsize example of an unusual postwar GMPG, a Hungarian KGK. A set of detailed photos of a deactivated example for this big piece of kit. Couple all this to our regular news items there is always something new to find on our website. One of the advantages of the extra space we have available is that on a good number of our book reviews you can discover a few more examples of what you can find
Website
ABOVE & LEFT: Just one of our recent photo features, Gary Radford built this armoured cab version of the M1078 by Trumpeter.
on the pages within the books rather than just a photo of the front cover, so you can get a better idea of exactly what they might hold for your interests. Robin Buckland MM
ABOVE: Ken Holland completed a project that Johnny had been wanting to do just before he died, a Churchill Log Carpet device.
ABOVE: One of our occasional full-size reference features on our website a set of detailed pictures of this Cold War Hungarian KGK GPMG. LEFT: Just to give more of an idea of size, the KGK alongside the Soviet RPD of the same era.
15
AFV
The First Marmon-Herrington John Prigent fully details the IBG 1:35 scale kit of the Mk.I version of this South African armoured car.
TOP: The author’s completed armoured car model ‘overheats’ in a scenic setting courtesy of Photoshop. RIGHT: Box art for IBG Models’ 1:35 scale Marmon-Herrington Mk.I South African Reconnassance Vehicle kit.
16
S
ome of us know a bit about the South African Marmon-Herrington armoured cars, but how many realise that they weren’t built by Marmon-Herrington and that the Mk.I didn’t even have the Marmon-Herrington components that gave them their nickname? Their story began in the late 1930s when South Africa began thinking about mechanising elements of its army, and in particular about building the needed equipment for itself (presumably it was already recognised that Britishbuilt armoured vehicles were going to be needed by the British Army so wouldn’t be readily available). There was little progress for several years, but it was established that South Africa had the resources to produce its own armoured bodies and two mild steel prototypes were mounted on imported Ford chassis – one of which had two-wheel drive, the other the Marmon-Herrington 4-wheel drive system.
When South Africa declared war in September 1939 work sped up, and in December the design of the South African Reconnaissance Car Mk.I was approved. It was built on the 134” wheelbase Ford 3-ton truck chassis with 2-wheel drive and 135 were produced in two batches between July and November 1940. It was only seen as an interim solution, the 4-wheel drive Mk.II being superior, but production of that version was delayed waiting for the Marmon-Herrington parts to arrive from the US. There were several variations of the basic Mk.I, most noticeably some having riveted and others welded bodies, but other parts changed as well. Photographs show that, for instance, the front doors of some had two hinges with a bump stop central between them while later ones had three hinges with the bump stop relocated above the central one. Even the door locks changed position at some point during production! Early Mk.Is had their headlamps inside their front mudguards behind small hatches but later ones had them inside the radiator doors with the hatches faired over, and a second change saw the ‘bumps’ for the hatches replaced by smooth fronts to the mudguards. The mudguards also changed at an unknown time from having flat tops to having raised areas over the front wheels to give them greater clearance. It is also worth noting that the very first Mk.Is were rushed into service without being fitted for radios and had no unditching channels, being needed urgently to face a possible invasion in the Komatipoort area of the Eastern Transvaal; they were presumably
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Photo 1: This is the accelerator pedal that isn’t in the kit. To be fair to IBG I don’t see how it could be moulded in plastic, but it was easy to make from brass rod with a pedal carved from thick plastic strip. Photo 2: The instrument panel. I didn’t try to paint the dials but asked Black Lion Decals to produce me a set. Photo 3: This is the area under the glovebox with the brackets for a Pyrene fire extinguisher and the handle for opening the radiator doors. Photo 4: This pump by the left front seat seems to be for topping up the radiator water.
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All full-size Marmon-Herrington photos: Ditsong National Museum of Military History.
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Photo 5: One of the front seat bases. Note how the seat back fits onto the slide and the shape of the stop in front of it. Photo 6: Here you can see the driver’s headpad and the central handle for raising the windscreen armour. The handle beyond that is for the roof-mounted spotlight that wasn’t originally fitted to the Mk.I – the spotlight is in the kit if you want to fit it but you’ll have to make the handle, which isn’t. Photo 7: Here’s the inside of the windscreen armour showing how the etched brass ‘handles’ of the kit fit onto it. Photo 8: The inside of a front door showing all the missing details that need to be added. The Ditsong Museum car was fitted with asbestos heat shields but they weren’t present on the first cars built.
reworked as soon as the initial crisis was over. On top of these changes there was also another in the placing of the front doors, some Mk.Is apparently having them moved to the body centre like those of the Mk.II. But although the Mk.II was very similar to the Mk.I it was distinguishable from the Mk.I by the relocation of its stowed unditching channels, which were moved from between the front and rear mudguards to across the rear mudguards, and the lack of any fronts to the front mudguards. As far as I can tell the Mk.I was only used in South Africa and East Africa; the Mk.II was the first type sent to the Middle East, where it got the nickname Marmon-Herrington.
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Photo 9: Here are the stowage racks on the left side, with their strange way of securing the ropes across them. The right side is the same but with a longer extra front rack instead of the vehicle battery. You can also see one of the leather stowage straps on the sidewall and its black backing pad. I speculate that these may have been for the crew’s rifles. Photo 10: This is the stowage bin under the radio batteries’ rack. I can’t decide whether the sloped floor in front of it is canvas-covered or dirty white paint. Photo 11: The inside of the left body vision port is the same shape as the outside part. This one is partly covered by the asbestos heat shield, which makes me think that the asbestos was added later.
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Photo 12: Here’s a good view of the turret seat’s construction, which isn’t difficult to copy. Note the handle beside it, presumably for traversing the turret. Photo 13: This is the turret ball mount. The tube inside it is part of a mock-up MG for museum display, but you can see how the gun fitted onto a slide with locks to hold it in place, the elevation gear for aligning the slide, and the ball’s base with a knob for the travel lock. A vision port’s inside parts are on the left, and the small stowage bin on the right. Photo 14: A detail close-up of the turret rear vision port. Photo 15: One of the turret hatch hold-ups. The latch held it in the chosen ‘up’ position, and extra security when closed was given by the overlap of both hatch halves by the flare port though there doesn’t seem to have been an actual hatch lock.
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Photo 16: A top view of the engine bay shows how the radiator brace fits. Photo 17: This is the left radiator door’s opening mechanism. Note how the actuating shaft from the handle under the glovebox connects to it. Photo 18: The bottom struts in front of the radiator. The preserved car shows the mounts on them for the relocated headlamps. Photo 19: This is how the engine side hatches are secured. Photo 20: Here’s the front mount of the left unditching channel. Open out the undersized bottom of the slot in the mudguard to let it fit through. Photo 21: The right headlamp ‘box’ open. You’ll need to remove the top for it moulded onto the mudguard front, but the one on the mudguard top is correct. Photo 22: Here’s the hold-open strut for the bonnet. It’s fairly simple to make with plastic strip.
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The IBG kit
ABOVE & RIGHT: Views of the engine and radiator. Here the top water pipes are only tacked in place and not yet angled to fit the radiator. Note the angle of the air filter.
I love armoured car models, and can’t resist any that come with reasonably complete interiors so when I heard about the IBG kit I ordered it. This is a neat model of the early production Mk.I with two hinges for the front doors and its headlamps originally inside the front mudguards but relocated to behind the radiator doors, and IBG gives it the raised areas of the mudguard tops as seen on the only surviving example. It comes with a full engine bay and much of the fighting compartment interior, but there are some errors, simplifications and omissions which I decided to deal with as you’ll read later. I also decided to backdate it to represent one of the cars used in the Transvaal with headlamps inside the front mudguards but after their reworking to add the raised sections. The multi-stage instructions begin with five pages of sprue layouts including a list of paint numbers for Vallejo Model Air and Vallejo Model Color. There are five large sprues, a separate turret, five tyres (plastic, not ‘rubber’), a clear sprue with windscreen halves and lamp lenses, and a small etched-metal fret. The 48 build stages have grey photo-type images which aren’t all very clear, so care is needed to align some parts properly, but each stage has a second image with its parts assembled, which helps to sort out what goes where.
Top view of the chassis.
On with the build The chassis from underneath. That rear crossmember should fit in line with the ends of the springs so I had to move it.
Here you can see the difference between the modified front seat and rails and the unmodified one above it. The fuel filler caps are also shown.
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The first two pages of the instructions are subassemblies, which I dislike since assembling smaller parts before they’re needed risks losing or breaking some so I skipped to the first main stage which is the engine – stages 15 to 20. It is nicely detailed but IBG doesn’t give a painting guide. The radiator is supposed to be attached to it now but I kept it separate for painting later and just dry-fitted it to align the radiator hoses, the bottom ones first. They’re not keyed for perfect alignment so make sure they are straight and the radiator sits level. Then add the top hoses, which go at an angle to fit against the radiator. The main engine colour should be Ford Grey, but a Google search produced four different greys used in 1939/40. I settled for Tamiya Dark Sea Grey XF-54 and painted most ancillary fittings semi-gloss black and others in aluminium. I left off the air cleaner in order to show the carburettor in a photo, and to be able to get it at the correct angle later with sides and firewall in place. Stage 21 is the radio, a 19 set so not correct for a 1940 car. I replaced it with a No.11 set from Resicast but left building it until it was needed. Stages 22 to 27 are the chassis and suspension. The chassis parts are all separate components, so you’ll to line them up carefully but all mine fell into line quite easily. Note that the rear crossmember goes inside the longerons in line with the rear springs’ forward spring hangers – not at what look like location marks for it, which are too far back. The rear axle is not so simple to build, its differential in
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RIGHT: This what the rear stowage bin under the radio batteries should look like. BELOW: This is the internal framework of the rear body. The lower sections need to end at the level of the locating slot that the floor fits into later.
These are the parts you need for the ball mount’s mountings, with a completed one showing how they fit together.
three parts is straightforward but each actual axle is in two parts: one each side with a stabiliser bar goes into the differential, and you need to attach the bars’ front ends to the driveshaft and make sure the assembly is straight before adding the outer axles. The front axle is much simpler with only six parts including the spring, but you’ll need to line up the spring and let its glue set firmly as it only has a small attachment point to the axle-beam. Add Cd5 and 6 after that. The front wheels can be set as steered, but it’s tricky to fit their arms Cd1, 2, 3, and 8; I found it best to hold each pair on the axle and push the hub onto them, then add cement from the hubs’ outboard sides. The front wheel hubs have internal stub axles for attaching the wheels which will let them rotate if not cemented too heavily. So do the rear wheels, but you’ll need to cement their caps to the rear axle carefully for the wheels to rotate. More usefully, there’s a little slack in those rear wheels’ pins that makes sure they all touch the ground!
Starting the body Stages 28 to 32 make the body floor and interior. The instructions have you fitting the completed floor to the chassis in stage 36, but I recommend a dry-fit test of the fit as soon as you’ve added underfloor parts A1 and A2 which make up the fuel tanks – at this point you have channels into which the chassis longerons fit, and it’s vital to make sure that they will actually fit completely flat because the clearances are very tight. It’s much easier to scrape off any excess cement or overlooked flash at this point – guess how I found that out! Now we’ve arrived at the first of IBG’s simplifications, the fuel filler points are missing. Drill a 2.5mm hole each side, centred at 15.5mm from the wheel well and 7.25mm from the side. Put a bit of plastic sheet under it to fill the hole, and a small disc of sheet on top of that to represent the actual filler cap. No, I don’t know what the holes in the tops of the wheel wells were for, the surviving car has them as well as another in front of the driver’s seat but they don’t seem to have any purpose –
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maybe something done when that car was used for testing ideas? Moving to stage 29, IBG has simplified the front seats and their rails. The seat bases have oddlyshaped raised sections on their sides, which are supposed to be the stops that prevent the seats sliding forward under hard braking. For accuracy you need to remove those, make smaller versions of them from plastic sheet and fix those to the rails on the floor. Note, by the way, that the sections between the seats’ metal bases and their cushions were unpainted wood. Before fitting B18 in this stage you need to add the stowage bin under it. This is easier to show you than to describe, so check my model’s photo for what it looks like. In stage 30 the only thing to add is the low bin that vehicle battery Ca14 sits in, a simple rectangle of plastic strip. Like the batteries for the radio in stages 31/32 it has a wooden case, not metal. As mentioned at the start of the build, the No.18 set provided is wrong for 1940 but Resicast has the answer in their No.11 Wireless Set (item 35.2328) which provides this in several different configurations. The basic set and power supply unit fit IBG’s mount very well. Stages 33-35 build the machine guns and turret, and there’s quite a lot to do here to correct oversimplifications and add missing parts.
The parts for a ball mount’s outer cover, with an assembled one.
ABOVE: A completed ball mount with the MG in it. BELOW: A close-up of the turret ball mount as seen on the full-sized Marmon-Herrington, from the sequence of reference photos of the vehicle belonging to the Ditsong National Museum of Military History shown on page 18.
Ball mounts IBG provides a simplified version of the balls themselves and the guns to go in them but nothing to represent the balls’ mounts to the turret and body or the guns’ mounts to the balls, and the hinged covers for the balls’ outside openings are completely missing. As you can see the internal mount is rather complex, but a simplified version can be made. I started with four rectangles of 20 thou. sheet, 4 x 7mm, cutting off their upper corners at 60 degrees and scooping out the top between them to match the curve of the balls’ openings in the turret and body. Two need their tops chamfered, the others can be left plain. Then two
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ABOVE: A close-up of one pistol port.
rectangles of 40 thou. are needed, 10 x 2mm, to go between each pair. The ends of these need to be cut into rounded tops, with sections about 0.75mm lower between them and a raised centre. These are sandwiched between the plain and chamfered
RIGHT: This is how the exhaust pipes run under the engine. BELOW: A side view of the complete engine/radiator sub-assembly.
The engine is now in place. Don’t paint all of the areas that I did as I had to scrape most of it off again behind the engine to let the body fit onto the chassis!
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pieces, with bolt heads on their ends. To finish this part a disc of 20 thou. goes in the centre; I think this may be for a travel lock. If you were wondering, the ball sits on a pivot rod inside this mount and can rotate on that to traverse, while elevation is possible because the rod fits into a slot in the bottom of the ball. Fortunately you don’t have to make those parts because they’re invisible under the gun! Now for the covers. They’re domed circles with projections at their tops to cover the sighting aperture and at the side for their hinges. I used circle templates to draw 3.5mm circles on 0.5mm sheet and 4mm ones on 0.25mm sheet – the latter being for the lips of the covers. Then I drew on the projections, the hinged ones at 45 degrees to the sighting apertures and all a bit oversize to allow for trimming to fit, and carefully cut round the sections. After bevelling the 0.5mm ones to produce the domed effects I cemented them together. If you’ve already tested the fit of a Vickers into the ball you’ll have found that it won’t go through; that’s because there should be a slot at the top of the front opening to let the knob on top of the water jacket go through. Find the top of that opening and cut a little slot out, just enough to fit the gun through. Now you need the raised sections that the sighting cover meets when closed; after several unsuccessful experiments I resorted to cutting pieces of aluminium tube to shape and super-gluing those to the balls, but you might find a better way. Once they’re stuck solidly in place you can open out the slots you made earlier so they meet the insides of these covers. The next job is to make the hinges which are very simple, just slivers of 1mm sheet that go against the hinge projections of the covers. Don’t relax yet, you still need the guns’ mounts to the balls! It took me a while to figure these out, because the real ones were rather complicated. If fact the guns rest on cradles inside the balls, whose elevation can be adjusted by the worm and rack gearing you can see in photos of the full-size car, but the cradles and their pivots are completely invisible so I simplified this assembly quite a lot. Start by trimming the sides of the transverse pivot point under each gun – it will slide into place more easily without that, which is only needed for a ground mount’s tripod. Then for each ball cut a piece of .05mm sheet 3mm by 1.25mm, round off one end and cement the other end to the inside of the ball to be the worm gear’s mount. The gun should still slide into place easily, but take it out again after checking. The worm gear needs its rack, which is more 0.5mm sheet cut in an arc 3mm long and 1mm high. Nick some ‘teeth’ into the arc and cement it to the ball right on the edge of the opening for the gun. The worm itself is in the kit,
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as parts Cb2 and 3, but IBG has you assemble it wrongly. Cut off the crosspiece top of the actual worm and add a 2mm bit of 05mm rod under the other end. The handwheel goes onto that. Then cement the whole assembly onto the rounded end of its mount and the work at its top to the rack, making sure that it’s vertical each way. That’s it!
Now for the turret There seem to have been several turret variations with their armour joints in different places, and IBG’s version is quite good so I didn’t reposition the joints and their rivets. But IBG’s part B27 is only the bottom of the turret ring, and the entire internal frame is missing. For the ring I cut a circle of 0.5mm sheet 29mm across and bevelled its outside to let it slip up 3mm inside the turret. Then I cut a 25mm disc out of its centre – what’s left is the top of the turret bearings’ shroud. Next is the inner casing of the shroud, a strip of 0.25mm sheet about 81mm long. Curl it between your fingers and check its fit into the ring – the length needs adjustment for a perfect fit. Now cement it into the ring, making sure the ring’s bevelled edge faces upwards. A final 28mm ring of 0.25mm sheet, 26mm inside, fits on top of the first one. A piece of 0.25 by 1.5mm strip goes round the outside of this, with rivet marks punched into it at 3mm spacing. Mine is 90mm long but yours may vary slightly so make it a bit longer and trim to fit when in place. I used Brach Models rivet punch set BM-A01 to punch my rivets, it’s the best method I’ve found because the punches are just the right length to mark the rivets without pushing them out of the other side of the strip. When you fit the completed ring to the turret, make the strip’s joints come below the ball mount to hide it. IBG doesn’t give the internal framing of the turret, so I made this next. The turret top frame comes needs 0.25 by 0.05mm strip. You need a flat circle inside the turret top, and this strip is flexible enough to let you cement it in place a bit at a time. A second length of the same strip fits against the turret wall under it to complete an L-section. Three riveting strips go below this, in line with the joints outside the turret. Mine are lengths of 0.25 by 2mm strip with rivet marks punched into them at 2mm intervals from the top. Next are the vision slits and their covers. IBG has only moulded the outside of one, next to the hole for the ball mount, but there should be another one on the rear of the turret so copy the shape in 0.25mm sheet and cement it at the same height beside the rear line of rivets. Because IBG’s turret is not identical to the preserved example it’s impossible to place it in that one’s location so I used that seen on Mk.II cars, to the left of the rivets. Note that the ‘point’ of the cover faces forward for this slit. These covers were double-skinned and slid rather than pivoting. I scribed the slits inside the turret first, lined up with the ‘points’ of the outside covers, and added 5mm by 2.5mm inside covers lined up with their flat ends. Above and below these go 0.25mm by 0.5mm strips 8mm long to form their slides. These aren’t really practical to punch for their four rivets on each strip so I used tiny slices of 0.25mm rod cemented in place, the same for the three rivets of each cover, and 2mm lengths with their ends heat-mushroomed for their handles.
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The frames of the turret interior and its base.
They weren’t easy to put in place, so you might prefer to leave yours unriveted! The holder for the turret ball mount can go in now, but trim its base to fit between the hole for the ball and the turret ring. If you’ve got it right the ball will just click into place and remain workable. Around the inside of the ring are four reinforcements at equal spacing, with the first just under the side of the ball’s mount. A single handle for turret traverse, which I made with telephone wire, goes on the second of these on the right side. Halfway between the first and second reinforcements there’s an open-topped bin, with a scoop out of its top, on the turret side. I made mine 6mm long, 4mm high and 2mm deep. The final turret interior fitting is the commander’s seat, and I can’t understand why IBG left out such an obviously important item even if other parts were simplified. I started with the seat pad, 12 by 6mm of 1mm sheet, with a layer of 0.5mm sheet 12 by 5mm under it. On each side is a 4mm length of 0.25 by 1.5mm strip with its front end rounded down, and across under all of these are two 0.5 by 1.0mm strips. The lower struts of the mount are 10mm of 0.5 by 1.0mm strip with each end rounded – drilling the holes for the level adjustment bolts is quite tricky so you might prefer to leave yours plain. The upper struts are more of the same strip with a double bend at the bottom – it accepts the bends without breaking if you’re careful. Five millimetres from their bottoms is a crosspiece of the same strip, with its ends sticking out about 0.5mm. The top supports are 4mm long, and fit onto 6mm brackets that seem to be welded to the turret ring so don’t need the bolt heads of the other joints. The seat-pad of the surviving car looks to be painted wood, but you might prefer to show yours as canvas which is equally likely to be correct.
ABOVE: The completed turret ring. Note the handle at the side, perhaps for traversing the turret.
Close-ups of the commander’s seat showing how it’s made.
Outside the turret Now we’re down to the hatches, which IBG has unfortunately provided without their internal handles and lacking the pivoting cover for the flare port centred on them. Starting with that, it’s exactly the same as the ones IBG moulds on the body sides so make two of that size and shape; the pivot goes on the left hatch B4 pointing to the rear. Because the cover goes over both hatch halves and locks them together you’ll need to show it open, so swing it over the left hatch and put its mate the same way inside the hatch. Note that the handle goes at the centre side of the cover, not the bottom like the ones on the body. These hatches have an unusual hold-open arrangement, with telescoping rods that keep them upright instead of the usual catches to hold them flat against the turret top. This didn’t give the commander all-round vision, so some photos show them removed, with the hatches flat, and others seem to show the hatches completely removed. If you decide to show the hold-opens, as I did for a very early car, you’ll need four mounts for the rods, each with two sides and a centre strip. Start with 0.5mm sheet and cut a strip 4.75mm high, then cut from it eight pieces 2.75mm long and
ABOVE: This is the inside of one of the turret vision ports. You can also see a view of the turret hatch latches from below. BELOW: The turret front interior with that stowage bin on the side. Note also the exterior shape of the vision port, it isn’t rectangular like the inside part.
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For some reason IBG has omitted the internal frames of the body sides, though those for the rear wall, engine bay and roof are on the mouldings.
ABOVE: The body with finished stowage frames. Those twisty wires are what the stowage ropes run through, almost impossible to do in the model but simply tying knots in the right places and gluing those to the frame gives the right impression through the hatches. BELOW: Here I’ve finished off the driver’s area with more framing and added the firewall and that hand pump. Note that the ‘lumps’ that go against the firewall are not the same shape on each side. The front body pillars are very easy to break, as you can see here.
Here are the turret hatch hold-opens and their latches.
BELOW: The engine bay side hatches don’t have hinges – they’re held by these pivoted latches. Mechanics must have said: “Just undo the wingnuts and dodge before the plate falls on your foot”.
trim these to the shape you see in the photo here. Cement these in pairs to each side of a length of 0.5 by 1mm strip and cut each pair from it. They fit with the centres of their pivot points 5.25mm from the centre split of the hatches with their outer tips against the insides of the hatch rims. I made my telescoping rods 6mm lengths of 1mm aluminium tube, inside diameter stated as 0.25mm but my 0.45mm brass rod did fit inside it so I used 8mm lengths of that for the sliding parts and slid them in to fit between the mounts. You’ll also need to add the outside part of that extra vision port, and slices of plastic rod for its rivets and those holding the slides inside the turret – also for the moulded one. Finally, IBG gives you one lifting hook to go at the front left but that by itself seems useless. As far as I know turret lifting hooks were always either in threes or fours, so I added two more made from bits of the etched-brass fret to allow a stable lift when removing the turret.
Back to the body For some reason IBG has omitted the internal frames of the body sides, though those for the rear wall, engine bay and roof are on the mouldings. All upright sections are 20 x 40 thou. strip at right angles to the body side and all but one of the
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horizontal ones are 10 x 40 thou. and fit flat against the body. Measure inside the walls and copy the layout you can see in my model photos. First is the upright behind the doorframe, and its bottom section is 9.5mm. It fits on under of the joint in the armour with its top level with the longitudinal bend, and fixes the positions of all the other side frames so take the time to make sure it is vertical. Cut all your other lower uprights to match it and the top ones to end at the bevel of the walls’ top, where the roof will fit later. All these two-piece uprights were made of separate steel sections so the joints between them should be visible – no filling needed. I won’t give all the places and dimensions, that would make this article even longer and they’re easy to work out once those uprights are in place. But note that the top half of the pair along the bend of each wall behind the door is an L-shape, which I made from plastic strip though you may have an L-beam in your collection to use instead. This is the anchor point for the stowage brackets that you’ll add later. But we’re not quite finished with the body walls. The two pistol ports covers are double-skinned like the turret ones. This means that you don’t have to worry about the absence of anything to indicate their openings inside the body, but on the other hand you need to make and fit the inside sections. Start with rectangles of 10 thou. sheet 4.5mm by 6mm and trim
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them to copy the outside shape. The right one goes with its top 4mm from the outside top of the body and its vertical side 6mm from the 20 thou. upright. The left one’s top is also 4mm down from the outside top of the body but its vertical side needs to be 20.5mm from the 20 thou. upright. At the bottom of their short sides are 2mm rod handles, with pivot pins at the bottoms of their long sides. Remove the ‘pivots’ at the tops of the outside port mouldings, they didn’t exist on the real car. The Ditsong Museum’s car has asbestos sheets inside the body for heat protection, but it I’m not certain whether these were fitted to it when built or as a later addition. If you want to show them you’ll need to cut 10 thou. sheet to fit inside the frames of the upper body walls, with holes for the pistol ports and the side MG mount. They don’t seem to have been fitted to the lower body sides or roof. With the body sides complete you can add the engine to the chassis, then the left body side and firewall, but leave off the right side until later. You might have been wondering why there are only two driver’s pedals in the kit. It’s because IBG left out the accelerator, but I didn’t mention it earlier because it has to fit on the firewall. Use brass rod to make its peculiar snake-like shape and add to its end an oval pedal carved from strip. You can also add the red T-handle beside the driver’s seat from carved strip – I think it might be an ignition cut-out but I’m not sure. Beside the other front seat is a pump, apparently for radiator top-up water. I made mine from a piece of the kit’s sprue filed to shape and wrapped with thing strip bands. Its handle is built from more strip, and the hose from it to the firewall is a piece of thin insulated wire.
Ammunition racks
Cut the bottom at 45 degrees and slice off from there to the tip to make a triangle that also sets the angle of the back piece, then fit it in the rear rack. By the fourth upright there’s what I think must be a floor stiffener; mine is a 10mm piece of 20 x 60 thou. strip with its end and sides chamfered slightly. On top of the racks are rings for a lashing rope. Mine are thin copper wire wound around a drill shaft and cut into segments. This is a rather inconvenient way of securing things in place, so it’s not surprising that later Marks of these cars used the more usual solid bars across the fronts of the racks. It’s an interesting job to paint those rings and run a thread through them without knocking them off, so you may prefer to simply glue thread along the racks to indicate the lashings. Now (at last!) you can add the steering column and then the right body side – the column has to go on first – and right side ammunition racks. Next are the fascia and engine bay top. Alas, IBG does not give decals for the instrument dials; my friend Topoff kindly produced a set of images but my printer couldn’t produce the resolution needed. Instead, Black Lion Decals produced a set for me from my reference photo (
[email protected] if you’re interested in a set yourself). Before you fit the fascia and engine bay top frame to the body there are a couple of additions to make under the glovebox. On its left there should be a Pyrene fire extinguisher, which I found in Aber’s set R-21. To its right is the
ABOVE: Here’s a view of the left interior with the cords for those stowage racks.
‘‘ ” It’s an interesting job to paint those rings and run a thread through them without knocking them off...
LEFT: The instrument dials really need decals, they’d be very hard to paint like this. BELOW: Under the glovebox are this Pyrene fire extinguisher and the operating handle for the radiator doors.
You still need to make the solid parts of the ammunition chest racks. For those you need L-shapes of 20 x 30 thou. strip, with 9mm uprights and 6mm horizontals on top of them. Four are needed on the left side, spaced 6mm apart with their horizontals against that L-beam side member. You’ll also need five on the right, at the same spacing from the rear but with the extra one beside the driver’s door, but put them aside till the body side is fitted. In the rearmost rack each side is some kind of slanted holder. Mine are pewter foil but the thin bottom of a supermarket ready-made pie dish would be just as good. Start with a 6 x 15.5mm strip, then bend the front 2mm downward and the back upward 6mm from it. The back needs a brace made from a 7mm length of 20 x 60 thou. strip.
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AFV RIGHT: Here are the bonnet top and bay frame with their added parts. You can get away with leaving out the one on the frame, but with the bonnet raised the catch on it is very obvious. BELOW: This is the underside of the engine bay frame with the radiator brace in place. You can also see the bonnet lever, the fire extinguisher and the radiator door-operating handle.
ABOVE: Here’s how the windscreen armour handle fits.
operating handle for the radiator doors, which I made with plastic strip and rod; there’s no need to make its rod through the firewall because that part is completely hidden. IBG has you fix PE2 and PE3 to the radiator and then add the bay top, but you’ll find it easier to fix them under the bay top before fitting it. Note that PE3 is bent down and then back, it isn’t straight as you might think from looking at IBG’s diagram. Inside the engine bay you can add a plastic rod for the radiator door-operating shaft, running from the firewall to the side of the radiator, and a thicker one for the rubber hose from the top-up pump to end out of sight beside the radiator.
ABOVE: Here’s how the No.11 radio fits on the wheel well. BELOW: Here’s the completed engine bay. Note the bonnet hold-open prop, mine was made with plastic strip, the radiator brace, and the added bracing under the radiator opening.
BELOW: These are the essential additions if you want to show the front doors open.
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The stowage brackets on the body have been added now.
ABOVE: The driver’s area and instrument panel. RIGHT: A look at the No.11 wireless set. Note that the stowage straps inside the hull need to hang vertically but are thin enough to tweak into shape once the sides are in place.
ABOVE: Here’s the hull MG. I assumed that the ball was painted overall UDF Green at the start and the Light Stone applied later without the gun in place.
Final bits Phew, that’s most of the scratchbuilding done! Not quite all, because for some reason IBG has left out the interior details of the drivers’ doors and got the outside details wrong. The outsides of the vision port covers are shown as trapezoids but should be rectangles, so cut their slanted sides to verticals. These port covers slide up to open and have double skins like the others, so cut two rectangles of thin plastic sheet to match them and fix these inside the doors. Their guides are strip with two rivet heads to match the exterior detail. Three more rivets go at the bottoms of the inside covers, and knobs at their tops to open them. Door locks are also needed; mine are 2.5 x 3.5 rectangles of 2mm sheet with 1mm tongues at their fronts and 1 x 3.5mm strips at their bottoms. I drilled them to accept brass rod handles. Note their positions and angles, vertical to the door’s upper edges and with their top corners in line with the keyholes indicated outside. The bonnet top needs its hold-up if you show it raised. I made mine from plastic strip, copying the reference photo. With the top raised you also need to show the hold-down, which is a simple piece of bent strip engaged by a pivoting handle mounted above the radiator. If you want to show the headlamps inside their ‘boxes’ on the mudguards it’s quite easy. Replace B64 with plastic strip – it’s a cross-member to reinforce the bonnet end – and anyway you should add strip behind the bottom of the body front because that area was made with L-beams not flat ones. Then cut away the tops of the boxes on the
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body front, which are replaced by the ‘eyebrows’ on the mudguards anyway. Finally, cut B64 in half and cement the halves behind the ‘box’ openings. The windscreen halves can be mounted either up or down, but must be down if you want the windscreen armour closed. The armour’s operating handle is B32 if you want the armour up, B33 if you want it down, and either way it’s simpler to fix it to B30 than to the roof as IBG suggests.
A view through the rear doors – it’s crowded in there!
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ABOVE & BOTTOM: The author’s completed model. RIGHT: The finished engine bay. Note how the bonnet’s hold-up strut is fitted to the firewall.
Take care with the towhooks, C11 and C12 are not left and right but front and rear, and will only fit properly in their designed positions. IBG provides etched parts PE5 for the stowage hooks on each body side but I found them impossible to use – they’re so thin that they can’t be super-glued securely in place, and don’t have ‘tails’ that can be glued into drilled holes at their locations. I made replacements from thin wire, which is better anyway because the real ones weren’t flat. Note that the top rows point up and the bottom rows down, not all pointing up as shown by IBG. You also need to use bits of the etched-metal fret to make some of the tools’ brackets that IBG forgot: rear holders for the spade and mattock handle, and both holders and a strap for the mattock head which is otherwise left suspended in midair by some mysterious force.
Painting and markings The fighting compartment and turret interiors are white, apart from the fascia and firewall which are exterior green, with black or wooden details. IBG gives you directions for the exterior that appear correct, though I used Humbrol H86 for UDF Green and White Ensign ARB11 for Light Stone because I don’t have ABOVE: Here’s the turret MG.
the Vallejo colours. Note, however, that the two-colour cars used around Komatipoort only carried one serial number, on the front left mudguard. My experience of Eastern Africa is that even unmade roads have very hard surfaces with no mud outside the rainy season, so I only added light weathering in the form of road dust on the tyres, wheels and lower areas. MM
References There aren’t many published photos of Marmon-Herrington Mk.I cars but the best selection is in Marmon-Herrington – A History of the South African Reconnaissance Car by William Marshall, Model Centrum Progres, 2013, ISBN 978-83-60672-20-4. This also has an excellent set of colour photos of the exterior of a Mk.I, but only a few inside it. I worked on the interior mainly from photos kindly sent to me by Stephen Tegner from the Ditsong National Museum of Military History, many of which accompany this article.
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ABOVE: Box art for the Sovereign 2000 British Infantryman (Devonshire Rgt). LEFT: The author’s completed figure photographed again an appropriate scenic background.
British Tommy Bust Rob Henden paints Sovereign’s new “British Infantryman (Devonshire Rgt)” bust.
F
or modellers of a certain generation busts were not always an alternative. I recall the 120mm scale figure once being sneered upon as “just too big” by many modellers in the early 1990s and, apart from ancient Marble busts from the art world the military model bust was really only considered a curiosity by some modellers. Thankfully they are now a very welcome and established addition to modellers’ staple requirements. The great appeal for many, including myself, is that one can breathe life into all of “the best bits” by painting the face and a sample of the interesting parts of the uniform, instead of all of the mundane bits such as legs and trousers, boots, etc. The bust has evolved over the years and some of those now being produced are nearly half figures with only the lower torso and legs being sacrificed – unlike the ‘classical’ head and shoulders type, which has been produced by Sovereign as this fine study of a British Infantryman. I was very pleased when I was
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asked to paint Sovereign’s new “British Infantryman (Devonshire Rgt)” bust because I rarely get the chance to paint an allied subject and, despite being a fan of most German subjects, I’d rather have a fairly balanced collection.
The kit Sovereign’s bust is cleanly cast in nine resin pieces, the head and torso being together, with separate parts for the personal equipment. It captures the typical British “Tommy” as he would have appeared for the most of the Second World War, wearing the Mk.2 steel helmet, which was practically unchanged from the First World War and even bears a resemblance to those worn at Agincourt! This has been realistically and accurately moulded with its net and scrim camouflage. The figure wears the 37/40 khaki serge battledress, which unlike the later ‘Austerity Pattern’ had all of the buttons “fly-fronted” or
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ABOVE LEFT: The base flesh colour with the whites of the eyes added. ABOVE RIGHT: The pupils were added, initially using a dark colour.
ABOVE LEFT: The lighter eye colour was dotted into the centre of the first brown dot. ABOVE RIGHT: A black iris was painted in the centre of each eye.
concealed with the exception of those on the shoulder straps. This detail is well represented on the bust and I was especially impressed with the detail of the buttons that are not just round discs with four holes, but with the raised rims included. The tiny brass “hook and eye” collar fasteners, often overlooked, are crisply and perfectly represented; the creases and folds of the tunic are just right and naturally sculpted. The regimental shoulder titles are well moulded with good definition and the word “DEVON” (Devonshire Regiment) is moulded sharply in raised relief, making painting an easier task, the two red inter-linking Ts on a black square badge of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division is also moulded on each arm, as are the arm of service colour strips, details that add just a dash of colour to a sea of khaki. The personal equipment on the bust represents the 1937 Pattern webbing, which basically consisted of a waist belt, and two crossed shoulder straps (braces) of a strong cotton woven fabric, with brass fixtures to attach a variety of equipment. The basic infantry items were usually a two-pint enamelled water bottle in its carrier, an entrenching tool in its carrier, a bayonet and frog, and two basic pouches that were later re-sized for Bren Light Machine Gun and Sten Submachine Gun magazines. The basic system could also be added to for ‘Battle Order’, to include such items as a respirator (commonly known as ‘gas mask’), a small haversack, as well as a ground sheet, and an enamelled mug. The bust is designed in this configuration with perfect detailing of the brass buckles and fixtures making the whole thing very realistic. In recent months I have handled and purchased items of 1937 Pattern equipment for WW2 “airsofting” purposes and so I am aware of the finer details of this kit and am impressed with the sculptor’s attention to the finer details; if only all figures were so accurately equipped. The figure was designed as a bust so the front fitted ammunition pouches have been cut away at an angle, as has the small pack/haversack; this has been done well and the piece looks nicely balanced and conveys the effect of the complete equipment. An impressive feature for me was the delicate casting of the handle of the enamelled mug onto the haversack, leaving the beautifully thin-walled cast mug to simply be glued on to look totally convincing and complete. The addition of a shovel instead of the entrenching tool is another good feature of the bust, and has again been moulded in an immaculate fashion. In fact, I had only to remove a tiny hairline mould line from one of the ammunition pouches and, other than the usual removal of resin casting plugs/sprue, left even more time for the fun part – painting!
Painting ‘Tommy’
ABOVE LEFT: A line to represent the eye lash was added to the edges of the upper lids; a little white can be seen on the whites of the eyes as a highlight. ABOVE RIGHT: A pinkish dot was added here to represent the tear ducts.
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The most important stage of painting the bust was to wash the parts in warm water with a dash of washing-up liquid added to remove any residue of mould release agents from the castings. Once cleaned and dried a fine coat of Halfords’ Grey auto primer was applied, which usually reveals any air bubbles or casting seams. However, unlike many resin castings, Sovereign’s were blemish free and the mid grey provided a good neutral colour to paint on.
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My usual order of painting a figure is to proceed as though clothing it, from flesh outwards. The head was airbrushed using a Liquitex acrylic colour labelled as “Sandalwood”, and this makes a perfect base flesh tone. Despite having a fairly well sorted routine when painting a head, I decided to dive straight in with painting the eyes before shading the flesh-tone. I kicked off by painting the ‘whites’ using Lifecolor acrylic matt white with a tiny touch of Liquitex Burnt Umber to dull down the starkness of the white. The best size brush I found for doing this was a Games Workshop produced fine detail brush which appears to be sable and around a ‘OO’ in size. The iris of each eye was added next, as a large dot of Burnt Umber, as this would make a good contrast against the whites prior to adding the actual chosen colour of the eyes – a lighter to medium brown or hazel. As I’d chosen to give the figure medium brown eyes, I mixed up a suitable colour and painted a smaller concentric circle over the Burnt Umber dots leaving a slight ring, I suppose the best way to visualise painting the eyes is to imagine them as RAF roundels or similar and to build up the colours, using the darkest colour first, then lighter and, in some cases, a lighter colour at the ‘quarter to three’ position in a ‘crescent’ shape to give a reflected light effect. Pupils were added to the centre of each iris to complete them; these were dotted in using matt black at this stage, but the whole surface area of each of eye was later glossed using Future (now renamed Pledge Premium Floor Finish), which really gives the figure life and nicely reflects light, giving a liquid appearance. The eyes may look quite stark and un-natural until the top line is bordered, using a dark line to represent the eyelashes, for which I used Burnt Umber mixed with Vallejo’s additive that retains the pigment whilst thinning it to hold a fine line. Once the eyes were painted, the face was airbrushed using a thinned Burnt Umber and Vallejo white mixture. This colour was built up gradually into the recessed and engraved parts of the features to add depth at the sides of the nose, in the crease of the upper lip, under the chin, etc. The best way to do this is to thin the paint with Vallejo’s acrylic thinner, which will thin the paint without the pigment being broken up and so that the colour can be applied very gradually. Once this was done, the fine engraved details of the crow’s feet and other details were lined in using the same mixture to emphasise these areas. The hairline and eyebrows were also blocked in using the same thinned mixture and a more pinkish mixture was applied to the lips. The tear ducts were added in flesh colour with a little scarlet added. Small lines were applied to the lips with a darker flesh shade, before adding a fine line between the lips and highlighting both using a lighter shade. The hair and eyebrows were detailed by adding darker washes carefully applied using Burnt Umber; the engraved detail was such that it held the texture detail well. The flesh colour was mixed with a touch of white and highlights added to the details that had previously been shaded, such as the aforementioned crow’s feet and the edges of the lips, etc. At this stage the face looked a little pale and to add life a tiny amount of greatly thinned Scarlet was loaded into the bowl of the airbrush and
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ABOVE LEFT: The shading was added using the airbrush, mainly seen on his right side here. ABOVE RIGHT: The character lines such as the crow’s feet and frown lines were painted in with a fine brush. These were highlighted with lightened flesh tone and the eyes were clear coated as seen here.
ABOVE LEFT: The moulding of the hair and eyebrows allow careful application of washes of Burnt Umber to emphasise them. ABOVE RIGHT: Looking more like lipstick at this stage the lips were painted in a pinkish flesh tone mixture. BELOW LEFT: The lips have been improved with thin lines of lightened colour to give detail and texture. The flesh tone highlights on the facial detail is more obvious here. The cheeks have been given a very light touch of scarlet using the airbrush to add some life. BELOW RIGHT: The collar was hand painted roughly in the basic colours, mainly to avoid the need to mask up close to the skin tone.
Figures
ABOVE LEFT: Not wishing to mask off the flesh colour in case it was damaged the base khaki colour of the tunic was airbrushed on. ABOVE RIGHT: The ‘Spatter’ technique was used firstly with a Burnt Umber shade to add contrast.
ABOVE LEFT: A lighter colour was used to further texture the material. ABOVE RIGHT: The tunic was airbrushed using a dark mixture to shade around the pockets, etc.
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Burnt Umber mix with the airbrush. Accuracy meant the targeted area took several attempts to get the thinning of the paint correct, and spraying at a piece of paper was necessary before I finally spotted these areas on the model itself. This effect adds more depth to and improves the face.
Clothing
sprayed extremely lightly onto the tops of the cheeks and the ears, giving a pleasant, warm and slightly ‘flushed’ effect, which must be done subtly otherwise an old-style toy soldier appearance could result! The bridge of the nose was also given this treatment, but again this was done very lightly avoiding a harsh and bright effect. The area where the corners of the eyes meet the bridge of the nose was painted using a dark
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Once content with my efforts on the face and the rest of the head, my attention was now drawn to the clothing. I decided that the best way to add the paint was not to risk damaging the painted head by masking it, but to brush paint where the clothing meets the neck then airbrush the details afterwards. With this in mind, I hand-painted the figure’s shirt using Vallejo Olive Drab with Burnt Umber added. The collar, a different colour, was painted in a lighter shade mixed from Lifecolor Olive Drab Green Tone and Burnt Sienna with a little white added to lighten it. The serge material of the British battledress had quite a rough texture, and to experiment a little, I opted to use an airbrush ‘spatter’ technique, achieved by removing both the needle cap (the end part of the nozzle which protects the needle), as well as the next section which controls the airflow to the needle’s tip. To get the best matt finish for the fabric I chose to airbrush the base colour using Lifecolor Olive Drab, and once dry, I spattered the whole tunic with a water-thinned Burnt Umber to produce a textured effect. The ‘spatter’ treatment was repeated, this time with a lightened mixture of the base Olive Drab with white and yellow added to further enhance the textured effect. Once the texturing was complete, the airbrush was re-assembled and the pockets, folds, and creases of the battledress were airbrushed in with Olive Drab with a little black and Burnt Umber
ABOVE LEFT: The ’37 Pattern webbing base colour was brush-painted on. ABOVE RIGHT: The webbing received a darker shade for the shaded areas. LEFT: The webbing also was treated with highlights on the raised edges, and highest points, at this stage the brass fixtures were added using gold printer’s paste, and the smaller details of the tunic - badges, etc., were brush-painted. BELOW: The enamelled mug is beautifully cast and a nice scale thickness. It was airbrushed in Lifecolor Matt Brown LC17, which was then given an acrylic gloss lacquer finish to add lustre.
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The helmet was base-coated, using Vallejo Dark Camouflage Green 71019.
The camouflage net was then dry-brushed using a Khaki/ Green shade lightened with white. The hessian scrim was added later using various shades, and dry-brushed.
ABOVE: When attached to the small pack via its handle the mug looks great, and for me is a really impressive design detail.
added. The webbing, including the magazine pouches, and the small pack were painted using Lifecolor Olive Drab Green Tone VA427. All of these items were first shaded by airbrushing, before ‘bordering’ the seams and details with a darkened shade of the base colour. This was also done to the pockets and seams of the tunic. The brass fittings of the ’37 pattern webbing were first painted in matt black and then painted with gold printer’s ink to look like brass. The mug was airbrushed with Lifecolor Matt Brown LC17 then clear-coated with acrylic clear lacquer to create an enamelled look.
The helmet is very crisply moulded and responded well to painting. Initially it was airbrushed overall in Vallejo Dark Green 71019, and when thoroughly dried, dry-brushed with a Khaki colour to pick out the cast camouflage net detail. A little white was added to give added contrast to really show the net detail off to the best advantage. To finish, the strips of hessian ‘scrim’ were painted in various shades and dry-brushed for effect. The small shovel was the last component to be painted, and this was airbrushed with Humbrol’s superb Metalcote Gunmetal, which looks just like ordinary matt black until it’s buffed to a shine. This was given a wash of rust coloured acrylic that was buffed when dry before being drybrushed with Vallejo Silver to show wear marks
RIGHT: The shovel was airbrushed using Humbrol’s Metalcote Gunmetal, which initially looks like Matt Black, but once burnished looks truly metallic, seen here before buffing. FAR RIGHT: Before buffing to a shine, the shovel was given a wash of a rust colour from the Lifecolor Rust and Dust range. This was left to dry then buffed, leaving the rust in the crevices on the surface of the shovel.
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at it’s edges. The wooden portions of the shovel were added with various shades of brown, applied in small lines in progressively lighter shades to create a wood grain effect. Final details are always different in every project, and so various touches here and there may vary from my description of how I painted the bust. The entire painting process is a constant lightening and darkening of different items to add interest to the shapes and colours of everything. My use of colours often has to be adjusted to improve the contrast of the whole thing as the worst model to me is one that has no contrast, is all mid tones without any tonal range.
Conclusion This bust is beautifully designed and produced, the attention to detail is extremely good, especially the ’37 Pattern webbing with its brass fittings. I was very impressed with the tunic’s hook and eye collar fasteners, and the hooks on the small pack. Mark Day must be congratulated on the quality of his casting work of this piece, as I spent very little time in its preparation and that meant more time to enjoy the painting. I would recommend this bust to any WW2 fanatic, as it really gives the typical ‘Tommy’ a chance to shine amongst the sea of German subjects available. I would love to see the full figure of a 200mm British Infantryman, which would look great in my collection. Many thanks to MM Mark Day for asking me to do this project.
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Diorama
North African House with Gate
Michael McLaughlin builds and paints a Reality in Scale 1:35 scale scenic accessory. TOP: The completed model with an Alpine figure photographed against a sky backdrop.
BELOW: The box art.
E
very year I make the annual pilgrimage to the Euro Militaire show in Folkestone. I, like many others, come home fired up with inspiration from seeing the finest modelling work in the competition, ridiculous delusions of my artistic talents, plus bags full of purchases. I’m usually brimming with ideas and wanting to try out the suggestions made by judges when I’ve asked for their feedback on what I could improve on my models in the competition. Over the years I have learned that it is best to vent all this inspiration on something which is of
very high-quality, quick to build and would let me get to the painting stage as quickly as possible. Over recent years Reality in Scale had provided ideal subjects for this energy and enthusiasm and, at last year’s show, it was no different. On their stand was a pre-release of their North African House with Gate (item 35247) that had been mastered by the extremely talented Roy Schurgers. The model depicts a typical North African style structure which can also be found in the Middle East and Southern Europe.
Construction The model itself is made up from just five resin parts, which feature beautifully moulded detail. The main house is a one-piece casting with only the steps/tiled floor, arched gateway and return wall to add. It did strike me that the construction has been very cleverly thought out and the joins are in places where cracks would naturally appear on a building. A basket of fruit or vegetables is included in the kit and I immediately decided it would be painted as containing oranges which would add a splash of bright colour. I took particular care to ensure that the steps/tiled floor part lined up with the back of the building and glued it in place with Araldite two-part epoxy resin. This resulted in a small gap between the steps/ floor and the wall which was filled with silver sand mixed with watered-down PVA glue to represent the accumulation of small stones and dust that one finds where floors and walls meet. As I would be handling the model during painting I took the precaution of drilling and pinning the parts together
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The primed parts of the kit.
The assembled model.
Fine silver sand and watered-down PVA glue was used to add the grit and dust which collects in the corners of real buildings and Mr. Surfacer was used to cover any blemishes and add texture where required.
with 1mm brass rod and securing them with super glue. The arch and return wall were attached in the same way and the joins disguised with silver sand mixed with watered-down PVA glue. I used Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer 500 to cover the join between the return wall and the steps/tiled floor. While I had the Mr. Surfacer out I brushed some over any irregularities on the back of the model and textured the back of the arch which was too smooth.
Painting I really liked the box-art finish of white with blue details as painted by Roy Schurgers, but I always like to do something different from the box so this finish was discounted at an early stage. As I still wanted a dry sun-bleached and wind-scoured look I decided on that earthy ochre colour which one sees on Middle Eastern buildings, although the idea of a white finish was still tempting me! I gave the model a solid coat of Halfords Grey Car Primer from an aerosol can. Applying the primer
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coat at an early stage will show any imperfections and brings out the detail. I then started painting, broadly in the style that I have used for some years now. This method applies strong shadows and highlights before the base colour and produces a subtle natural effect. I outlined the various features, including the lines between the floor tiles with Vallejo Black 950 applied with a brush to reach the areas that an airbrush can miss. I used my airbrush and well-thinned paint to apply most of the colours to the building. I outlined the various features, such as the exposed brickwork, areas of wear on the steps, iron work etc., with Tamiya Flat Black XF-1 and sprayed the same colour into the corners and recesses to give depth later and sprayed upwards from the base of the building. I then sprayed Tamiya Flat White XF-2 over the highlighted areas of the building and the tiles, working from the roof downwards and paying particular attention to the edges and corners. I also sprayed the areas of the doors which would fade in the strong sunshine and alternate blocks which formed the arch.
ABOVE LEFT: The deepest recesses were filled with black to add depth and to outline details. ABOVE RIGHT: Black was airbrushed from the base of the model towards the top and into recesses.
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White was sprayed over the top of the model and down towards the base to add highlights.
The base terracotta colour was sprayed in light coats, evenly over the model allowing the black and white to show as highlights and shadows.
Buff was airbrushed on the bare stone and brickwork to represent local stone.
Details were added using a brush.
Oil dots were applied randomly over the surface.
The oil dots were blended with a soft brush moistened with white spirit.
A simple base was fabricated to complete the model.
An atmospheric view of the model photographed in the low morning sun on the author’s workbench.
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I then mixed equal parts of Tamiya Flat Red XF-7 and Desert Yellow XF-59 to create a terracotta base colour and sprayed this mix evenly over the preshading and highlighting allowing them to show through the base colour. The bare stonework of the steps and arch were sprayed with Tamiya Buff XF57 and the doors with Tamiya Flat Green XF-5. I next brush painted ragged irregular stripes of Vallejo Dark Sea Grey 991 on the door to pick out the grain and the same grey was also used on the timbers protruding from the walls. I picked out the wrought ironwork in Vallejo Park Green 969 which is a close match of the Tamiya colour but with a subtle difference in shade and satin finish to suggest different materials. I used the same colour, along with Vallejo Silvergrey 883, which I use instead of white on models to colour the tiled floor. There is a fine metal grille cast in the small square window which was picked out with Vallejo German Camouflage Black Brown 822 and highlighted with Vallejo Flat Brown 984 and any other reddish browns that happened to be within reach. This gives the impression of old rusty metal. The recesses behind the ironwork above the door and the windows were filled with successive washes of Vallejo Black 950 to achieve an even solid black background and the same colour was used to pick out ironwork on the doors. The model was heavily varnished with Testors’ Dullcote to create a completely matt finish and protect the underlying acrylic paints from the weathering.
Weathering To add more tones to the model, stains to represent minerals leaching out of the render were applied from dots of red, yellow, white and blue oil paint with a cocktail stick over the model. These were blended into the surfaces creating patches and dragged downwards to form streaks using a brush moistened with white spirit. I soon found that I had applied too much oil paint and spent time removing it with the moistened brush. Eventually I was satisfied with the result of the different tones so I sprayed some heavily thinned Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan XF-78 to blend it together and give it a dusty effect. This was followed by Mig Productions pigment Gulf War Iraqi Sand which I’ve had for years and I still find very useful for desert models. This pigment was mixed with Isopropyl Alcohol and applied as a wash as well as dusted on with a soft brush and fixed with Isopropyl Alcohol.
I wanted to portray the stony desert often seen in wartime photos. I used mud, which I had scraped off my boots and had allowed to dry thoroughly before grinding it down to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar and sifting it through a metal tea strainer to remove any small stones, roots etc. The resultant powder was mixed with silver sand, water, Vallejo Sand Yellow 916, PVA glue and plaster to form the sand. Pieces of cat-litter were used to recreate rocks, pressed into the groundwork while it was still wet, and the groundwork then brushed up to avoid any unrealistic gaps between the rocks and the sand. I sprayed some of the Tamiya Flat Red XF-7 and Desert Yellow XF-59 terracotta mix in random patches and also brushed it onto the ‘cat-litter rocks’ to tie the building and groundwork together. I also sprayed heavily thinned Tamiya Desert Yellow XF-59 and Buff XF-57 over the groundwork before dusting it with Mig Productions pigment Gulf War Iraqi Sand.
Conclusion Another fine model building from Reality in Scale, which is quick and easy to assemble, with plenty of scope for creative painting. The two sections of flat roof, doorway, the gate and tiled area offer endless opportunities for posing figures and creating some MM interesting dioramas.
Suppliers www.realityinscale.com www.acrylicosvallejo.com www.historexagents.com
Base I carefully attached the model to a wooden base, using three 1” M6 wood screws and tightened it down evenly. I built a frame from 3mm square section plastic rod to contain the groundwork and to avoid untidy edges which can let a well-finished model down. I glued the frame together and painted it Satin Black using Halfords’ car aerosol paint. Once thoroughly dry it was glued onto the base.
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AFV
“Atomic Annie” Steve Zaloga builds Dragon’s 1:72 scale M65 Heavy Motorized 280mm Gun as an out-of-the-box display model.
TOP: An interesting view in the motor pool of Battery A, 59th Field Artillery Battalion at Pirmasens, Germany in April 1956. The deployed markings were often more elaborate than those provided in the kit and it will be noted that each gun has its own cartoon character including Sad Sack, Bugs Bunny and Beetle Bailey.
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LEFT: Box art for Dragon’s 1:72 scale M65 “Atomic Annie” Heavy Motorized 280mm Gun.
A
s a young American modeller growing up in the 1950s, one of my ambitions was to buy one of the massive new kits of the 280mm “Atomic Cannon”. Renwal offered one in 1:32 scale, and Adams had another in 1:40 scale. I was not a very patient modeller at the time, which meant that my dad usually had to help me to assemble military kits. The military kits were invariably more complicated than
my usual aircraft subjects. After a frustrating experience with the Renwal 1:32 scale 8” self-propelled howitzer, the edict came down that no more ‘tank’ kits would be purchased
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until I became older and more patient since my dad had no interest in spending his weekends building my ‘toys’. So I never did get an Atomic Cannon! In recent years, the Renwal Atomic Cannon has been periodically released, though the Adams kit remains scarce. The Renwal kit is enormous and a bit clunky; the Adams kit is the preferred option for Cold War aficionados but the moulds seem to have gone missing some decades ago. I was quite happy to hear that Dragon was planning to release a 1:72 scale M65 280mm Heavy Motorized Gun. The current style is to call this weapon “Atomic Annie” which was a local Maryland corruption of Atomic Cannon and Anzio Annie, a well-known fixture at Aberdeen Proving Ground where the M65 was developed and tested. Even in 1:72 scale, the Atomic Annie is a big kit, about 15” in length when completed. It comes in the same size box as many Dragon 1:35 scale tank kits.
Historical background Work on a mobile heavy gun began in 1944 in response to complaints that the existing 8” gun and 240mm Black Dragon howitzer were too cumbersome to deploy. These heavy guns were delivered in two main loads, the barrel and the carriage, and had to be assembled using a crane once in place, (see MM Vol.34 No.11 for an article about modelling these in 1:72 scale). The gun project picked up steam in the early 1950s after the development of the W-9 15 kiloton nuclear warhead that was small enough to be fired in a 280mm projectile. The 280mm gun was heavily influenced by the design of the German 280mm K5(E) railroad gun, known at APG as “Anzio Annie” where several had been shipped after the war. The new T131 280mm gun was delivered by a front and rear pair of T10 trucks. The first 280mm gun batteries were raised in 1952, and a total of 20 of the weapons were manufactured. They remained in
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TOP: An M65 280mm gun in firing position. As can be seen, the work platforms would be folded down when in firing position. Dragon moulds these folded up in the transport configuration and it would be difficult to recreate this detail without some substantial work. ABOVE: Another example of a cartoon character on a M65 280mm gun, in this case Nightmare Alice. This close-up detail photos also gives a good idea of the intricate detail on the M65 gun.
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AFV A view of the M65 Atomic Annie in transport mode at APC in 1952 in test markings. As can be seen, when travelling, the gun tube is locked in horizontal position.
ABOVE: The M249 Heavy Gun-Lifting Front Truck before painting. I replaced the side engine screens with photo-etched metal.
service until 1963, being replaced by tactical ballistic missiles such as the Honest John that had greater range and payload.
Starting the model
ABOVE: The M250 Heavy Gun-Lifting Rear Truck before painting. The delicate mirrors are a hazard when handling the model and I broke one of these off on at least three separate occasions!
BELOW: A M65 280mm gun on display at Aberdeen Proving Ground in September 1952. It is still painted in the developmental markings such as the “US Army Ordnance” stencil on the truck sides.
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My first thought when examining the model was whether I planned to build it out-of-the-box or to do a super-detail job. I had looked over Michael Franz’s excellent soft-cover book on the Atomic Annie, so I had some sense that a kit such as this might take a lot of extra detail work. Once looking over the kit I found that this was confirmed. The actual gun and its two trucks are quite complex with a great many hydraulic lines and other small fiddly bits. The Dragon kit is quite detailed, but it does not capture all of the delicate texture of the real thing. It has invariably been simplified to keep the cost reasonable. Therefore, some items like the side work platforms are moulded in the folded transport mode. I decided that a super-detail job would take months of small work, and the subject didn’t interest me enough to devote this amount of time to it. This would make an excellent super-detail
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project for someone looking for a show-stopper at a modelling contest. However, I decided to build it mostly out-of-the-box as a display model. Another issue is the matter of presentation. I live near Aberdeen Proving Ground, and for many years, the entrance to the museum had an Atomic Cannon nearby. This was presented in ‘museum mode’ with the gun elevated, but still attached to the transport trucks. In real life, this would not happen. In transport mode, the gun would depressed to the
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horizontal position with the gun tube out-of-battery and breech locked to the cradle. The only time the gun was elevated was after it had been emplaced and the trucks removed. Whether it is authentic or not, I wanted my model displayed in ‘museum mode’ since I think it looks more interesting. About the only major change to the model that I made was to replace the screening over the engine opening with photo-etched metal. On the kit, these are moulded solid and the screen pattern is fairly coarse. I used some leftover screen from the old On The Mark 1:35 scale Panther set. The screen on this is a bit too coarse for 1:72 scale, but it looks
ABOVE: A detail view of the M249 (T10A) Heavy Gun-Lifting Front Truck at APG in test markings.
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AFV
ABOVE: The basic M65 gun carriage before painting. The gun tube can be left separate, which is helpful for painting.
ABOVE: A rear view of a M250 Heavy Gun-Lifting Rear Truck at APG in 1952 in test markings. BELOW: An M65 280mm gun in firing position.
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better than the kit screens. I also replaced a few of the handholds on the trucks, and cut out the headlight depressions so that I could use some after-market lenses. The kit is extremely complicated, especially the truck suspensions. The Dragon instructions are not entirely helpful on this in a couple of assemblies. For example, in Step 4, the instructions show the assembly of a winch box (E11, E22, E23, E25, E27) which wobbles badly if assembled as shown. What becomes clearer later in Step 7 is that when the upper
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ABOVE: A detail view of the M249 Heavy Gun-Lifting Front Truck deployed with the 613th Artillery at Fort Polk, Louisiana in October 1955 for Exercise Sage Brush. It now has normal unit markings instead of test markings. The front stencils identify it as belonging to Battery B. BELOW: A detail view of a M250 (T10B) Heavy Gun-Lifting Rear Truck at APG in 1952.
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AFV
TOP: This photo of the 67th Field Artillery during Exercise Cordon Bleu in Germany in October 1955 provides a nice idea for a diorama depiction of the Atomic Annie.
ABOVE & RIGHT: Views of the M249 Heavy Gun-Lifting Front Truck after painting.
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ABOVE & LEFT: Views of the M249 Heavy Gun-Lifting Rear Truck after painting.
BELOW: A view of the M65 Atomic Annie in transport mode from the rear.
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AFV
Another view of an Atomic Annie in the field, this time the 804th Field Artillery Battalion at Grafenwohr, Germany in 1956.
‘‘ ” The one tricky part on painting this model is the section of the gun tube that remained in bare metal.
assembly is added, the wobbly little box is finally stabilized when it is attached. For me, this was a couple of evenings later. Likewise, various bits of the drivetrain are shown miraculously suspended in thin air, and it is not for a few steps later that any assemblies appear in the instructions to provide a proper mating surface for the drivetrain. So some care has to be taken when assembling the chassis. Another problem area of the assembly were the wheels. The method of removing them from the sprues leaves some aggravating sprue gates on the attachment surfaces that can keep the two wheel halves from mating properly. Aside from these glitches, the rest of the assemblies were straightforward, even if complicated. The parts fit was generally good, and there are some commendable features such as the provision to attach the ‘glass’ bits after the truck cabs are assembled and painted.
to pop out the detail. The kit comes with decals for simple markings. The most complicated markings are the yellow strips for the bumpers. I followed the usual procedure to reduce decal ‘silvering’ by airbrushing the decal areas with clear gloss before application to provide a smooth surface. I used Microsol setting agents to help the decals adhere over the small surface detail. Another trick to get decals to sit neatly over surface detail is to use a
Finishing The painting on this the model is very simple indeed, using Tamiya Olive Drab XF-62, lightened a bit with Dark Yellow XF-60 for ‘scale effect’. I wanted a clean display model and in the event, these weapons tended to be kept in clean, peacetime condition. I applied a dark wash and did some dry-brushing
The M65 280mm gun after painting. The large section of unpainted gun tube required some special attention to make it look suitably metallic and I used Alclad metallic paints for this.
ABOVE: The finished model on a simple display base.
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The finished model is a somewhat odd size, being quite long and narrow. I didn’t have any pre-made bases that would fit so I bought a length of 3” wide basswood at my local hobby store, sawed off a proper length, and gave it a urethane finish. On the top, I attached a strip of Evergreen .020 thou. black plastic. This is a simple but effective base for a display model. hairdryer which tends to soften them a bit. The one tricky part on painting this model is the section of the gun tube that remained in bare metal. I used Alclad Polished Aluminium ALC 105 for that area. One trick to improve the metallic appearance when using Alclad paints is to prime the area with a gloss black paint to provide as smooth a surface as possible. Alclad has a dedicated paint for this purpose, Gloss Black Base lacquer ALC 305. Although a bit time-consuming, it provides a very nice simulated metal surface.
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Conclusion All in all, this was a very enjoyable modelling project. I tend to get carried away with superdetailing projects, and so it’s nice to relax every now and then and build a model straight out-of-box with MM minimal weathering. For modellers looking for additional information to detail their Dragon model, Michael Franz’s book in the Tankograd TM series is the best single source.
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Show report RIGHT: A well-finished 1:32 scale Me 163 Komet. BELOW: Junior Best of Show, a Finnish BT-42.
On Track 2015 Robin Buckland escapes cupid’s bow to attend this annual military model show!
M
oved forward a couple of weeks from the normal timing at the end of February, the show was held on Saturday 14th February at the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. A one-day event, and despite clashing with Valentine’s Day, when possibly other celebrations may have caused a clash of commitments for some, I was lucky as my wife came with me, helping to look after our www.militarymodelling.com stand. It was another very enjoyable show, particularly for military vehicle modellers. Visitor numbers did appear to be slightly down, but that is not uncommon for shows in recent years, and it remains a challenge on how to provide enough attractions to draw people in. For me there are three different elements to the show, and these are the Competitions which are a focus for some, the variety of Traders who are there with a wide variety of models and associated tools, books, paints and accessories and all coupled with the chance to meet up with old friends, and make new ones. They are also well attended by
ABOVE: A neatly executed British Mk.VI light tank. BELOW LEFT: Thanks to my wife Una who came with me and helped by looking after our www.militarymodelling.com club table during the day. BELOW RIGHT: This 1:35 scale Minenraumer rusting away in a field was very effective.
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Military Modelling Vol.45 No.5 2015
Show report This 1:35 scale heavy equipment transporter along with the big D9 Dozer was an impressive entry.
model clubs from around the country, and from across the Channel in Northern Europe who all make the journey and put on a display. The main show is organised by Harold Hanna, of Matador Models, while the competitions are all looked after by MAFVA who stage them downstairs in the Channel Suite, with a room alongside dedicated to the displays of the various MAFVA branches. They are also sponsored by The War & Peace Revival show, and with Armourfast supporting the junior classes with more prizes. With a couple of bars, and places to get good food, there is plenty of opportunity to sit and chat to catch up with friends who we may only see on rare occasions. The weather was good on the day, so a pleasant view out to sea from the balconies as well. Support for the competition classes was good, though a couple of them would have benefited from some more entries. What was there though was to a very good standard, and I must include mention of the Junior classes in that, which were
really good to see. Next door to the competition room was the MAFVA room, and some of the displays in here were not to be missed. For visitors back in 2014 there was the stunning Mulberry Harbour display from Barry Sharman to see. Barry was back again this year with a few of his large scale and very detailed ship models. Not only his cutaway 1:72 Flower Class Corvette, to which he has added Colourful modern Russian ‘Terminator’ in 1:35 scale in the competition.
One of the excellent 1:72 scale Vampires in the competition.
BELOW: Entered in the competition a 1:48 scale model of the strange-looking BV 141.
ABOVE: Nicely finished 1:24 scale model of the Bedford OXD.
RIGHT: A well posed small scale model of a WW1 Whippet.
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Show report
ABOVE: Modeller Barry Sharman standing behind his prize-winning model of HMS Help.
RIGHT: Detail from the 1:72 scale model of HMS Help, as scratchbuilt by Barry Sharman and showing the marvellous detailing he has put into it.
BELOW: An attractive small scale diorama with these Bren Carriers moving along a street.
BELOW: A gold-winning 1:700 scale model of a Tribal Class Destroyer, HMS Eskimo.
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all the internal details and lighting, but he also had his scratchbuilt model of HMS Help, a WW2 salvage vessel, and a model which won Best of Show at the big IPMS Scale ModelWorld show at Telford before Christmas. A very worthy winner and another stunning model to see, with incredible attention to detail that includes the paintwork. As for the trade hall, there were a number of regular traders in attendance once again, along with some newcomers. New plastic kits on some stands, with new resin models in both small and large scales. A great chance to see Milicast who had travelled down from Scotland, Resicast over from Belgium, Des Resin from France and both Black Lion and Giesbers Models from Holland. Also there were Inside the Armour, MMS, Sgts Mess and of course Matador Models themselves. With all these ‘cottage industry’ manufacturers with their products on show, and happy to talk about them and often about what they plan next, this is a great opportunity to browse. It is often said that the Internet replaces the value of shows, but I continue to disagree. Here you get the chance to see things ‘in the flesh’ and so often you find things you hadn’t known about or expected. Just as one example, Des Resin had on show the early test castings of a new model from them in 1:72 scale rather than their usual 1:35, the modern French VAB wheeled APC. Prizes were presented by Rex Cadman on behalf of the War & Peace Revival Show, and the junior prizes by Tracy from Armourfast. Best of Show deservedly went to Andy Argent for his quite amazing effects in his ‘Cycle of Life’ diorama. That was it for this year, I’ll leave the rest to the photos, and just round off with thanks to Harold and the Matador Models team, along with MAFVA for their contribution to the day and remind you that the date for next year is already fixed for Saturday 27th February 2016 so you MM can pop it in your diary now.
Military Modelling Vol.45 No.5 2015
Show report
ABOVE: Unusual to see a 1:72 scale model as a new project due for release on the Des Resin stand in the trade hall. BELOW: Some fine detailing in this new update set for a 1:35 scale ZSU-23-4 from Inside the Armour.
ABOVE: Two of Andy Argent’s skilled scenic dioramas, including ‘Cycle of Life’ on the right which was awarded Best of Show in the senior competition.
ABOVE: Rex Cadman presents Andy Argent with his senior Best of Show award for his ‘Cycle of Life’ diorama.
ABOVE: Looking down the MAFVA clubroom. BELOW LEFT: The large range of resin figures by Mitches Military Miniatures. BELOW RIGHT: Wargame demonstration on the main stage.
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ABOVE: Tracy, from Armourfast, presents the Junior Best of Show to Ryan Bolt for his Finnish Army BT-42.
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AFV reviews
Small Scale Scene
ABOVE LEFT: The Early variant of the new Airfix Bedford under construction, with the open cab.
Robin Buckland’s monthly column for military vehicle modellers.
A
s I write this we are in Easter week, and it is amazing how fast the year seems to be going by already. Mind you, the lighter evenings and (hopefully!) the prospect of some warmer weather is worth enjoying. After the annual excitement about what was announced at the Toy Fairs, we have now begun to see the first of these kits going on sale here in the UK. As for building, well recently I have enjoyed working on the M1082 trailer from Trumpeter, and at the same time been building a couple of Dragon’s recent kits, the M65 “Atomic Annie” in 1:72 scale, along with their 1:35 scale Saladin as well. Both have details that can be improved, but equally I have just enjoyed building them. I can also say the same for the first of our new kits looked at this month, as I have started to build both the Early and Late variants of the new Airfix Bedford.
Airfix The Bedford MWD is the first of their two new 1:48 scale vehicle kits planned for this year, and what a little beauty it is. By the start of WW2, the British Army had fully motorized all their infantry divisions, as well as the newer armoured units. A development that the Wehrmacht never managed, even by the end of the war, when horsedrawn transport was still in use among infantry divisions. Part of this motorization was the widespread use of small 15cwt trucks from a number of manufacturers, Bedford being one of these. Their MWD was widely used, although the early version suffered from having an open cab that only had small aero screens rather than a full windscreen, which left the crew exposed to cold and rain, even when a canvas tilt was provided
Box art for Airfix’s new 1:48 scale Bedford MWD kit.
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ABOVE RIGHT: The late version with the enclosed cab also being built.
and only a half height canvas screen for the doorway as well. Later versions were fitted with a full windscreen and an enclosed cab with ‘proper’ doors. Airfix have done a really super job with this one, providing you with the parts to make either the early or late versions. In fact the instructions open with drawings showing three different configurations that can be made from the kit for the early type, and one for the late. Moulded in a grey plastic over three sprues, plus an additional sprue for the clear parts, this is I think a little gem. I am sure that the bestselling point behind the kit will be the RAF transfers provided for the later version, as it will be an ideal accompaniment to their 1:48 scale RAF aircraft kits. Personally though, I am really taken by the chance to do this kit in the early variant and take advantage of its potential use in dioramas for when used by the BEF in France in 1940. In addition to the options for early or late variants, and whether to fit the tilts on cab and body, another choice comes with the bonnet. Two are included in the kit, one closed and the other with one half raised, so you can see the engine detail inside which is also included in the kit. There is scope to add extra detailing such as the wiring, but even if you make it just ‘as per the kit’ it will still look effective. Another point can be made about the tyres as they have a weighted ‘flat spot’ on the bottom, a detail they share with
Airfix’s latest generation of aircraft kits. With the Bedford, you do need to check you fit these tyres in the correct position on the hubs, as they don’t have a locating pin to give the exact positioning on this particular element for all four wheels, though the hubs they fit on are located in specific positions, so just check as you go. With the cabs, detail is very nice and even transfers are provided for the instruments on the dashboard. Optional dashboards/ engine firewalls are provided depending on your choice of early or late variants. For the early one, those small clear aero screens are distinctive, and glazing is also provided for the windscreen and side doors on the later variant as well. The load bed can be done either open or with a full tilt. If you go for the full tilt on the load bed, there are different patterns provided for both early and late variants, indicating the different patterns in the tilt hoops that supported them. Also with the load bed, there is a separate part in the floor, which is an access panel that allowed easier access to the rear axle and differential for maintenance. The options and general look and feel of the kit is really good, and it has bags of character. The only thing to look out for generally during assembly is that there are some seams on parts from where the two halves of the mould joined, and these need to be removed (a sharp craft knife can scrape them down) or a file in order to get a good finish. I
Military Modelling Vol.45 No.5 2015
AFV reviews
LEFT: Box art for the AFV Club 1:35 scale Rota Trailer kit. BELOW: The AFV Club Rota Trailer as built.
ABOVE: Box art for Revell’s 1:35 scale Land-Rover. BELOW: The 1:35 scale LandRover Series 3 from Revell.
felt that the springs in particular needed this doing for a good fit of parts to the chassis and where the axles fit to the springs. Always dry fit parts and check before finally gluing the parts together, a good habit to get into! The instruction booklet is very good and clearly points out the various options as you go. Steps 1 - 18 are common to both early and late versions. It continues on for the early version while you jump to stage 41 for the rest of the details of the later version that has the enclosed cab and different tilt parts for both cab and load bed. Two sets of camouflage and markings are provided for, and with guides in colour provided
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within the instructions for a British Army example in 1940 (the early type) and an RAF truck in 1943 (for the late type). As you may have noticed, I really like this new kit from Airfix, and will certainly be going out to buy some more. Our thanks to Airfix for our sample.
AFV Club One of their new releases is a 1:35 scale model of the British Rota Trailer. This builds into one of their smallest models in 1:35 scale, and is an armoured trailer which carried fuel and additional ammunition for the 2pdr gun mounted in many early-war British tanks. It is quite a ‘complete’ little model, as the
trailer itself is provided on the single sprue in plastic parts, and can be made with the bin lids open, revealing the compartments inside for the hand-operated fuel transfer pump, which is supplied in a small bag of polyurethane resin parts, while the internal ammunition stowage bins, along with some other smaller detailing, is on a fret of etched-brass parts. To round it off, a bag with 24 turned brass rounds for the 2pdr, including a variety of different types, including even practice rounds. To finish it off, a length of black vinyl tubing is supplied for the fuel hoses, so you could make this and fit it up to your chosen tank to show it being refuelled in a diorama. I always think the odd look of the Rota Trailer is due to the large wheels, which are in fact tanks that carry the spare fuel. Used particularly in North Africa, this is a piece of WW2 British kit that I have always found interesting. There is an example on display at the Tank Museum, Bovington. All the detail you can ask for is provided in the box and it’s something certainly different for any diorama. My thanks to Pocketbond Ltd for the sample.
Revell One of the new additions to their range of 1:35 scale military vehicles is the British Land-Rover Series 3. The kit itself is another of their collaborative projects, as this the older Italeri kit, but with new marking options and re-branded for the Revell label.
Moulded in grey plastic, it allows you to make up the canvas tilt covered version of the 109” long wheelbase version. First produced in the 1950s with the series I, it was between 1971 and 1983 that the Series 3 versions were in production. It is perhaps one of the best-recognized vehicles around the world in both military and civilian forms. The overall detail is good, and the fit of parts doesn’t present any particular problems. You do get the canvas sides and roof for the tilt and a nicely detailed chassis and cab. Part of the re-branding means that there are four options for finishing the kit, two British, one Dutch and one Danish. Of the two British options, one is in the classic Green/Black camouflage used in Germany in 1976 while the other is in a sand and pink camouflage, as used by a Helicopter Support unit in Iraq during the first Gulf War of 1991. With the inclusion of marking options for both Holland and Denmark, it helps demonstrate the multi-national use of these Land-Rovers, and will also be a good selling point for European sales of the kit. It is a good basic kit, and there is scope for aftermarket producers to provide stowage, wheels or crew figures to add to it. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit www.revell.de/en or facebook.com/Revell
Giesbers Models We have another of the unusual subject choices which this company are so good at finding,
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AFV reviews
ABOVE: Box art for the 28mm Puma from Italeri. ABOVE: Box art for the Giesbers Models 1:76 scale FV421. BELOW: The component parts of the Giesbers Models FV421 kit.
and modelling. A resin cast model in 1:76 scale of the British post-war FV421, the Load Carrier variant of the FV420 series and predecessor of the better-known FV432 series. There were seven different variants in all: FV420 Tracked Load Carrier; FV421 Cargo Carrier; FV422 Personnel Carrier; FV423 Carrier Command Vehicle; FV424 Carrier Royal Engineers; FV425
ABOVE: Box art for the 1:72 scale T-62M from ModellTrans Modellbau. RIGHT: The T-62M (BDD) from ModellTrans Modellbau built and primed.
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Carrier REME; FV426 Carrier tracked Launcher with Orange William HESH anti-tank missiles. The model covers the Load Carrier variant. Parts are cast in polyurethane resin, with the track units as single-piece castings, and the main body with distinctive sloped cab front also neatly cast in one piece, with the roof and sides for the load body
to fit into place. Instructions consist of a page with one photo of the real thing, then a couple of angles showing a built model. As you can build it with the sides open, you do have an option of adding a load into the body if you want to include it in a diorama. Colour scheme would most likely be Deep Bronze Green, but there seem to be relatively few reference photos of the FV420 series about to go from. It shows some similarities to the Cambridge Carrier that came before it, and the FV432 that followed. I obtained mine from their stand at On Track this year, but the range is available via Black Lion Decals, www.blackliondecals.nl
ModellTrans Modellbau Hailing from Essen, this company produce a range named Silesian Models, which are some excellent resin cast models that we have looked at before. One of their most recent releases is this one, a resin cast model of the T-62M (BDD) complete with the distinctive horseshoe armour around the turret. They have recently switched to using a new grey polyurethane resin rather than their previous sand coloured one, and the new style castings do look to be a crisper, and one which picks up the detail well. There are some casting feeds to be cleaned away, which needs to be done carefully, especially off the lower track runs, and
in cleaning up the engine deck that fits on top of the rear hull. With much of the detail cast on both hull and turret, this isn’t a complex kit, but it does look really good when built. That extra armour on the turret certainly gives it a very distinctive look. Running gear is cast in one piece for each side, with just the outer element of the drive sprocket to fix into place, and the track sag is captured well. Instructions take the form of a single sheet, with photos of the assembled model as a guide. It does look to illustrate all you need to build the kit. Once built, a coat of primer and the model is ready for painting in your chosen scheme. I got my example from their stand at On Track this year, and for more details of the range, see their website at www.modelltrans.de/home
Italeri Now for an interesting release from Italeri on a couple of counts I think. Firstly for being a neat new model of the well known Puma 8-wheeled armoured car. They have done this before in 1:35 scale, but interestingly this is in the smaller scale of 1:56. This may seem at odds to their usual scales of 1:72, 1:48 and 1:35, but this is also known as 28mm scale, and this has seen a good deal of growth in popularity amongst wargamers in recent years. I believe it is their first venture into this wargaming scale for an AFV kit, so it will be interesting to see if there will be more added in the
AFV reviews
ABOVE: Built, but not yet painted, Italeri’s new Puma in 28mm scale for wargaming.
not too distant future. They have clearly had a deal of success with their quick-assembly wargame kits in 1:72 scale, so maybe that has encouraged them try the larger gaming scale of 28mm. Very neatly moulded on two sprues, this assembles very precisely without any issues. It’s nice to see that they provide an option for having the turret hatches depicted either open or closed, and a half-figure for the commander is included. Transfers include individual number for the turret codes, so you can ring the changes if you have more than one model in your gaming unit. I think this is bound to be popular in the wargaming scene. Thanks to UK importers The Hobby Company for our sample.
Tamiya It’s always nice to see something a little bit different and this is one kit I’d definitely put under that heading. Tamiya have released a 1:35 scale model of a Japanese subject from WW2, the Toyota Model AB Phaeton. Still something relatively rare in itself, and one of the early cars to be built by Toyota. The business started in the mid-1930s, and their first
car was the A1, built only as three prototypes. They focused their attention on production of the G1 truck as having greater commercial potential at that time. There were very few civilian cars in use at that time apparently. However, with a bit of redesign, it did eventually go into production as the Toyota AA, with a hard top body. The softtop cabriolet was known as the AB. The engine had been copied from Chevrolet and the chassis and electrical system were from Ford. Over 1,400 of the AA sedans were built between 1936 and 1942, along with around 353 of the soft-top AB Phaeton. These found their way into military service, as they were not within the reach of civilian ownership in Japan at that time. The kit is neatly done as we would expect from Tamiya, and does include a military uniformed figure as a driver. The bodyshell is moulded in one piece, with the remaining parts of the chassis, suspension, wheels, seats etc., on two main sprues. There is also, of course, a small sprue of clear parts for the glazing. You have an option with the roof, of fitting it either erected, or folded down to leave the nicely detailed interior clear to see. This
Box art for the new 1:35 scale Toyota Model AB Phaeton now out from Tamiya.
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ABOVE: The 1:35 scale T-64B Mod 1984 from Trumpeter.
canvas material is also neatly textured. Another option is to fit the two folding seats, located behind the front seats, either folded away, or opened out for passengers to use. Just the one colour scheme is provided for, as seen on the box art, almost a civilian style finish. When you think of the worldwide popularity and success of the Toyota car brand today, it is interesting to see a model where the story really began. Not a complex kit, but certainly something a bit more unusual compared to the usual plethora of Jeeps and Kübelwagens. Our thanks to The Hobby Company for our sample.
Trumpeter Not the first 1:35 scale kit of a T-64 variant in the Trumpeter range, but the first I have had a look at, the T-64B Model 1984. These were fitted with an autoloader for the main gun, reducing the crew to just three. Armed with a 125mm main armament, it was also capable of firing the 9M112 ‘Kobra’ radioguided missile (NATO name AT-8 ‘Songster’) through the main gun tube. Eight of these missiles were carried in the tank. The engine was a more powerful one than that fitted to the earlier T-64A, and a recognizable feature was the ‘Gill’ side skirts used on those early versions were now replaced with full-length rubber sideskirts. Some additional armour materials were used on both the glacis plate and the turret, and in later upgrades they were fitted with reactive armour blocks, but these are not a feature of the variant covered by this new kit. Unlike their earlier MBTs, the Russians didn’t export the T-64, and only after the break-up of the Soviet Union they were split up between the
various Soviet states, many of them in Ukraine where we sadly are seeing them in action on the news footage in recent months. The largest number, about 4,000, remains out of service in Russia, awaiting scrapping. As for the kit itself, it features a one-piece lower hull, and nicely produced suspension components and running gear. The track is provided in a linkand-length style, with longer runs top and bottom, with shorter sections and individual links to put round the idler and drive sprocket. No interior detailing for either the hull or turret is included in this one. The turret has the extra layer of protection over the top, and the fixing points are moulded in place, rather that being provided as a multitude of tiny etched-brass parts as they did on their T-90 kits. I think most modellers will find this a much easier way of doing it, and it looks just as good in my view. The turret carries a lot on the visual interest on the tank, with hatches that can be fitted open if you wish to add a commander figure, and a nicely detailed 12.7mm NSVT antiaircraft machine gun mounted on the cupola. Smoke grenade dischargers are on the left-hand side, and with a stowed snorkel on the back of the turret as well. Using a soft, flexible plastic, they provide two alternatives to use for the canvas covering on the gun mantlet, a material that is also used for a few other parts. There are a number of etchedmetal parts provided for detailing (on three separate frets), including the supports and bands to hold the unditching beam in place on the rear of the hull, while the characteristic Russian Fuel Drums are fitted to the top of the rear engine deck, rather than on the rear plate as was done on the earlier
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AFV reviews
T-55 and T-62. The detail throughout is very nicely done, and I think a good use of etched-brass detailing without going over the top. Only a plain green colour option is provided for, with markings, and this is illustrated on a colour guide sheet that is included separately in the box. This one is in the shops now, and thanks to Pocketbond Ltd who are the importers.
Milicast The Mack NO is a new addition to Milicast’s Premium range of 1:76 scale resin models. By being in the ‘Premium’ range it means more individual detail parts, rather than the simpler, quicker to assemble ‘Battlefield’ series aimed primarily at wargamers, wanting something quicker to assemble and paint ready for the gaming table. In looks, the configuration of the 7½-ton cargo truck is that of a GS truck, but these were used as heavy artillery tractors by the US Army in WW2, commonly seen towing the 155mm Long Tom or the 8” gun on the same style of carriage. It was/is an impressive truck, and examples can often be seen these days, now restored and in the hands of private collectors, at shows such as the War & Peace Revival. The kit is moulded in polyurethane resin, and while the largest parts are the chassis, cab and rear body, there are then a lot of smaller parts cast on lengths of runners. Helpfully, Milicast do provide (as usual) a list of parts so you can check everything is there, and then an illustrated assembly guide, using annotated photos of the model itself. The hoops that would support a canvas tilt are included, as is the hoist fitted to the rear of the truck bed, which could be used to help lift the trail of the towed artillery and support it on the towing eye of the truck, as well as for use as a shell hoist for handling ammunition in and out of the truck bed. I suggest removing the detail parts from the casting runners and cleaning off any fine ‘flash’ there may be, and then that leaves you with the straightforward assembly job to do, using super glue. As trucks go it makes into an impressive model even in this smaller scale. Once assembled, resin requires a coat of primer prior to main painting, and a plain Olive Drab is the standard
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New from Milicast Models is this 1:76 scale Mack NO.
finish for this one. My thanks to Tom Welsh at Milicast for our example, see their website at www.milicast.com
Matador Models A recent release from Matador Models is a 1:76 scale model of the 10-ton Mack NR-1. A 6x4 truck which was updated a number of times and built in large numbers of these various models. Just 90 were built of the NR-1, a good number finding their way to North Africa with British forces, where some were also used as tank transporters. The brushguard and the heatshield on top of the cab are distinctive features of these early trucks. This model features the GS (General Service) cargo body, and is very cleanly moulded in polyurethane resin. The chassis is in one piece, which gives a nice secure base for the model. The GS body is in one part, with the exception of the rear tailgate, plus wheels, spare wheels, fuel tanks etc., to be fitted in place. Not a huge number of parts, and it does come with a nice clear
set of assembly instructions. My thanks to Harold at Matador for our sample. Available via their website at www.matadormodels.co.uk
Figures Another good value, goodquality hard plastic figure set for wargamers from the Plastic Soldier Company. A set of 15mm latewar British Infantry heavy support weapons, including both 3” and 4” mortars, a Vickers heavy machine gun plus a flamethrower operator. What you get in the box are four copies of one sprue. This contains parts for the 3” mortar itself, plus four kneeling crew figures, the larger 4” mortar which has four standing crew figures, then the seated Vickers gunner along with a kneeling loader and spotter. Finally, there is one more standing figure, equipped with a portable flamethrower pack. The Vickers gunner is very neatly worked out, as his legs are moulded along with the tripod for the gun, then separate parts for his body, for the gun itself, including the pipe and condensing tin, all to go
The box for the recent resin kit of Mack NR-1 in 1:76 scale from Matador Models and the layout of parts.
with a loader, who is feeding an ammunition belt into the side of the gun, plus another kneeling figure, armed with a Sten to make up the team. So, a three figure team for the Vickers, four man teams for both of the mortars and the single figure of the flamethrower operator. With four copies of everything in the box, a total of 40 nicely detailed figures, four of the 3” mortars, four of the 4” mortars, four Vickers and four flamethrowers. A colour guide for painting everything is given on the back of the box, while a sheet inside illustrates the parts sprue, along with showing which figures go together with each weapon. This one is on sale now. Thanks to the Plastic Soldier Company for our sample. See their website at www. theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk US Infantry (winter uniform) in 1:72 scale is new set of figures from Italeri and ideal for those planning wargames or dioramas especially set during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, when the wearing of greatcoats was a must in the cold December snow. They are moulded in what I’ll describe as a semi-rigid plastic. It has some flexibility in that details like gun barrels have some flex so are not easily broken off, but equally they are not the soft, very flexible polythene used on the original ESCI or Airfix figures that many of us will remember from our youth. So these are rigid enough that they will take paint well without it flaking off so easily yet reducing the chance of breaking off gun barrels and the like. There are three identical sprues in the box, so with three copies of each figure a total of 36 individual figures. Nicely posed and with equipment such as those with netting covered helmets, while some are also wearing greatcoats. I rather like this set, and good to see that
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AFV reviews
The 1:72 scale US Infantry figures in winter gear is a newly tooled set from Italeri.
A new set of 15mm scale figures for late-war British Infantry support weapons from the Plastic Soldier Company.
Italeri are continuing to produce new small scale figures, aimed primarily at the wargaming market. Thanks to The Hobby Company for our sample.
This new 1:35 scale Opel Blitz bus is due from Roden.
Accessories A couple of new diorama accessories from Ammo in Spain, and these are for sets of individual tree leaves for use on dioramas
and vignettes, and these really are quite stunning. I have two of these new sets to have a look at, one for Maple leaves in the autumn, and another for decaying Oak leaves. Both are really delightful, and the characteristic pattern of the partly decayed oak leaves is a real eyecatcher, and the Maple Leaves such a marvellous colour as well as pattern. There are not a huge
BMP-3 UAE w/ERA Tiles & Combined Screens coming from Trumpeter.
A T-64AV Mod 1984, also due from Trumpeter.
News Plenty of news this month, starting with an Opel Blitz 3.6-47 Type W39 Omnibus Ludewig Early in 1:35 scale from Roden, and this is due in stock with UK importers Pocketbond Ltd for April. At the same time they are expecting a couple of new items from Trumpeter, the BMP-3 UAE w/ERA Tiles & Combined Screens and a T-64AV Mod 1984, both in 1:35 scale. Staying with the larger scale for a moment, AFV Club have a large batch of recent releases, including their second variant of the AEC Matador, this time the mid-production variant, along with some more Churchill variants. These include the AVRE with the fascine carrier
number of these leaves in each pack, so it could get expensive of you want a lot of them, but for finer detailing, such as on a vignette, or just to depict a few fallen leaves on the back of a truck or some other vehicle, then a lovely touch. For details of these and other types of leaves in their range, have a look at their website at www.migjimenez.com/en MM
A Type D carpet layer on the Churchill Mk.III AVRE is out from AFV Club.
ABOVE LEFT: Mid-Production variant of the Matador from AFV Club. ABOVE RIGHT: Box art for AFV Club’s new Churchill AVRE Fascine Carrier.
on the front (though the fascine bundle itself is not included in the kit), along with the Type D carpet layer, the type seen in use in many photos on the Normandy invasion beaches in 1944. This time, unlike their kit of the earlier Type A carpet layer, they do include the material for the carpet matting as well. Bronco have announced a new
version of their little 2.8cm sPzB 41, this time with steel wheels and trailer, also in 1:35 scale. For the small scale modeller, news from Trident Models in Austria as they have four new variants of their pre-assembled 1:87 scale SdKfz 251 Ausf C series, along with a new resin kit of the British 1-ton Land-Rover Ambulance, in the same scale.
Bronco are to release this new version of their 1:35 scale sPzB 41 PaK 28.
ABOVE: Four new 1:87 scale Sdkfz 251 Ausf C variants from Trident Models in Austria. RIGHT: Also new from Trident, this 1:87 scale resin kit of the British Land-Rover 1-ton Ambulance.
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MAFVA
RIGHT: Cambridge MAFVA at Saumur Musée des Blindés Concours International de Maquettes, a weekend of model competition, tank mobility displays, tours of the reserves and picnics.
The MAFVA column News and views from the Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicle Association
John Ham describes how to set up a club travel agency.
C
BELOW LEFT: At the Norfolk Tank Museum a Fox armoured car with a Scimitar CVRT in the background. BELOW RIGHT: A Sherman in Sherwood Rangers Markings at the Dutch Liberation Museum. The regimental museum is a regular exhibitor at the MAFVA Nationals, Duxford.
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lub trips to shows or museums benefit from travelling with companions with similar interests and allow costs to be shared. One of the most travelled clubs is Cambridge MAFVA, which organises a couple of European trips each year. Last year, visits were arranged to the Saumur Musée des Blindés model show, and to the Scale Model Challenge show in Holland. Travelling by car, we also visited other military museums en route. At Saumur, the group stayed at the gite of MAFVA member Bill Hanna, who offers discounted rates to fellow members. The return journey coincided with the 70th Anniversary Normandy celebrations, and we visited Pegasus Bridge and its museum. Scale Model Challenge in the autumn was our other overseas trip. Before the channel ferry, we first visited the Hannants, and the Norfolk Tank Museum (www.norfolktankmuseum.co.uk). This is a private collection of mostly post-WW2 vehicles and memorabilia that holds open days for the public, dates on the website. Owner Steven MacHaye was kind enough to open the museum for us as a MAFVA special interest group.
Arriving in Holland the next day, and before reaching the Overloon Military Museum, we stopped off at the Dutch Liberation Museum mid-journey. This museum tells the story of the Dutch Occupation years of WW2. It has a handful of vehicles and artillery pieces, including a Sherman parked outside. Overloon houses a large collection of mostly US WW2 vehicles, artillery, and other WW2 items. There is a lot to see here, and the vehicles are in good condition or nicely restored. The softskin items have some unusual body types such as pontoon trailers. The museum also hosts an annual combined model show and military vehicle day, where it is possible to have rides on privately owned, restored German WW2 vehicles. Scale Model Challenge, was a very impressive show with a very high standard of competition and organisation, with Continental traders selling items less commonly seen at UK shows. The return trip was via Bastogne in the Belgian Ardennes. The Barracks Museum here, part of the Brussels Military Museum is located in an ex-army barracks, and still run by army staff. This
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ABOVE LEFT: GMC truck with Pontoon trailer at Overloon. ABOVE RIGHT: As big as some museums, BARC amphibian transporter at Overloon.
ABOVE LEFT: A gutted Carrier Conger at Overloon. Seen behind it is the bridge of a Valentine Bridgelayer. ABOVE RIGHT: An SdKfz 7/2 in the Bastogne Barracks Museum workshop undergoing maintenance.
was a specially arranged visit, and incorporated a tour of the WW2 battlefield as well as the museum. A couple of the museum staff, Roni and Bruno, both fellow modellers, took us around the battle sites and a tour of the museum, which included the workshops and close examination of exhibits. Currently in danger of being closed, the museum support site is http://ftr.wot-news. com/2015/01/19/help-the-bastogne-barracksmuseum/ The Bastogne War Museum incorporates an impressive memorial to the American soldiers that defended Bastogne. Laid out in the shape of a US star, from the viewing platform on top of the monument, there is a panoramic view of the battlefield. The museum tells the story with a collection of uniforms and some vehicles. A very enjoyable couple of trips, which may encourage other clubs to set up their own tours.
ABOVE: Mendips MAFVA member Andy Lang’s Gold Medal-winning entry at the Scale Model Challenge show. BELOW: Bastogne War Museum has a good collection of winter uniforms worn by the combatants.
News The MAFVA Jubilee Nationals takes place at Duxford on 21st June. The usual military vehicle show is not being held this time, but there will be other special events. Members are advised to bring their membership cards with them. Finally, there’s a new MAFVA Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ MAFVA/641750925971712?ref=hl John Ham MM
[email protected]
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Books
On Parade Books, magazines and DVDs reviewed The Editor welcomes publications for review. Unless a prior arrangement has been made with the Editor review samples WILL NOT be returned. All samples intended for review in ‘On Parade’ should be sent direct to the Editor at the address listed under ‘Editorial’ on the contents page.
The Encyclopedia of French Tanks and Armoured Vehicles 1914-1940 by Francois Vauvillier. Published by Histoire and Collections. Available in the UK from Casemate UK Ltd, 10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford OX1 2EW. ISBN 978-2-35250-322-4. Price £34.95. casemate-uk@ casematepublishers.co.uk www.casematepublishing.co.uk If you have an interest in the armour of WW1 and WW2, then French armoured vehicles surely have to come into the equation. This new hardback title from Histoire & Collections is immediately at the top of my list for information on French AFVs of the period in an English language book. It is 176-pages, packed with 190 excellent colour profiles, 450 archive photos and details of 100 main vehicle types plus another 285 variants on them. Tanks, SP artillery, armoured cars, mineclearers, bridgelayers, infantry carriers and supply vehicles are all in here. The author, Francois Vauvillier, has made his passion for military history into his career. He founded the publishing house of Histoire et Collection, created Militaria Magazine and since 2006 has
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produced a quarterly magazine GBM (Guerre, Blindes et Materiel). Some of the colour profiles used in this encyclopaedia have been drawn from work done for these magazines. He previously wrote the French language book L’Automobile sous l’Uniforme, 1939-1940, (another favourite of mine) which details all the various trucks and softskin equipment used by the French army of the period, but which only included limited content on armoured vehicles. This one is the result of much more research concentrates just on the armour. It opens with his introduction on what he wanted to accomplish with this new book, and examines what else is available up to now on the subject. It includes a time line of the story of mechanized development in the French military from WW1 through to WW2. He explains his approach, and how he has referenced the 100 main vehicle types, and then added a point number to indicate the variants. So, for example, 5.0 is the number for the prototype Renault FT while 5.25 is a bridgelayer based on the same chassis. The book is then split into three main sections. It starts with The Idea of Strength, then The Idea of Speed and thirdly, The Idea of System, which is then split into sub-sections such as Armoured Motorbikes, Armoured Personnel Carriers, Recovery Machines of Tank Units, Amphibious Armoured Vehicles, MineClearing Tanks and others. Personally, just the book I dreamed of to have for a one-stop reference for French armoured vehicles from both WW1 and early in WW2. This is definitely on my ‘Highly Recommended’ list for any armour enthusiast to keep on your reference bookcase. Robin Buckland
Scale Model Handbook, Figure Modelling 13. Mr Black Publications, PO Box 76341, 17102 Nea Smimi, Athens, Greece. Price 14.95 Euros. Available in the UK priced £13.95 from Historex Agents, Wellington House, 157 Snargate Street, Dover, Kent CT17 9BZ. www.mrblackpublications.com www.historexagents.com The latest edition of Mr Black’s Scale Model Handbook has just landed on my desk, and as usual it’s a pleasure to get the chance to review it. I know I may be repeating myself when I tell you about these publications, but the constant adherence to quality is being retained, and yet again I have in my hands a dualpurpose magazine. On one hand it shows off some superb modelling and painting skills that one can leave hanging around for nonmodellers to appreciate and for us modellers it’s got plenty of ideas and tips from the writers within to help us improve what we already do. Unusually it’s a military only issue. In fairness, and I may be on my own on this one, I feel a bit sad that there’s no inclusion of sci-fi or fantasy pieces this time around. It doesn’t detract from the quality of the models that are featured, but being an eclectic chap regarding subject matter, I do rather enjoy seeing fantasy and sci-fi articles alongside military subjects. However, camouflage is camouflage, leather is leather and flesh-tones are fleshtones – it doesn’t matter really about the subject, just about the techniques, and within the
articles there’s plenty of little tips and tricks to take on board. There’s nine articles spread through the magazine, as usual the advertising is kept to a minimum by just having the inside covers and two pages at the back of the magazine, the rest being devoted to articles and some very nicely presented pictures. Starting off these is Kazufumi Tomori with his 1:9 scale model of the SS Squad Leader from WW2. It’s a Mike Good sculpt for Bonehead Miniatures and focuses on the painting of camouflage, and face painting. The green of the camouflage looks a bit bright, but I’ll come back to that a little later. It’s an 8-page article about a good model, and deserves to be the piece that holds pride of place on the front cover. Second up is the stalwart Ernesto Reyes Stalhuth. A regular for Mr Black, and rightly so. This article covers Stormtrooper Miniature’s 10th Tennessee Standard Bearer – a 200mm scale half figure. The face is nicely weathered, as too is the uniform and equipment, but as with the WW2 German, there’s a brightness to the green of the flag that seems very bright, almost over-exposed. I wonder if the printing process or some point in the proofing of the colours has made these areas seem a little ‘too much’ in some way? Don’t get me wrong, getting from the actual figure to the printed page isn’t simple and goes through many processes, any of which can alter the look of a subject. Both articles still look good, I just wonder if they look that bright in real life. Ernesto continues by writing the third article, this time swapping historical periods to offer up a British WW2 subject of an SAS Trooper from Alpine Miniatures. It’s a 120mm resin kit and Ernesto’s treatment of the camouflage and leather areas is brilliant. A lot of character being added to make the model look realistic and appear to have a ‘lived in’ look to the clothing. Anders Heintz offers up the fourth article, a much more complex task of scratchbuilding three figures to represent 42nd Highlanders at Quatre Bras in 1815. Anders works from basic
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armatures and shows how the figures poses are fixed, sharing with us why he chooses the poses that make this and other scenes he has built look so good. The dynamic stances fill his models with life and make the scene of three figures interesting from all angles. Having sculpted the models, he then goes on to show how they were painted, focusing on some of the details like the tartan kilt, and the patterns on the socks. Daniel Milosovich takes on the Pegaso 54mm Mounted Crusader Knight for his article – the fifth in our line-up, and does a superb job of painting both horse and it’s rider. He admits that unfortunately there are no step-by-step shots of sections as they are being painted, as the article was requested after the model was finished, however he does say that he’ll be back with future articles, and he’ll do more photos showing how he creates the painted effects – and I for one look forward to seeing this. He’s done a very nice article this time though. A much simpler model is the subject of Javier Gonzales ‘Arsies’ article, this time featuring a WW1 Royal Flying Corps Ace. The text and photos focus on the painting of the face in acrylics, and Javier mentions the use of a wet palette, showing how many colours he has on there and taking us through a series of photos as colour is built up on the face to take it from the basic undercoat to a little masterpiece that looks like it’s going to come to life and walk off the page. The rendition of the leather coat isn’t half bad either (okay, a major understatement here!) Returning to a mounted subject, Isaac Jaramillo Sama shows how he approached an older model, that of Napoleon Bonaparte as he crosses the Alps on a very fetching grey horse. The model is Pegaso’s 90mm three-dimensional take on Jacques-Louis David’s famous painting of Napoleon, and Isaac does a very clean and respectable job of assembling and painting a complex kit. It’s good to see kits being used that aren’t the latest offerings.
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We’ve all got them stacked on our shelves and sometimes it’s good to be reminded to delve into the grey army and see what gems are waiting for us to lavish attention on them. Juanma Vergara supplies the penultimate article, with his rendition of Mitch’s Military Models US Paratrooper from the 101st Airborne at Normandy. The figure is carrying a 30 cal. machine gun across his shoulder, and looks in a pretty relaxed pose. It’s a nice piece and looks very good with a coat of paint on. Juanma supplies colour mixes for each area; and has managed to make a clean looking model that still has just the right amount of grubbiness about it to look realistic – very cleverly done. The final piece is the Young Miniatures bust of a Spartan Hoplite. The piece is penned by Ioannis Tsiktsiris and it’s off to a head start because it’s yet another model that I not only like, but actually have on my shelf within the grey army. Ioannis’ rendition is pretty simple and restrained, in fact there’s not over much that you can do to this piece, but I still like the matt effect of the red cloak, the piercing look of the eyes glaring at you through the small apertures in the helmet… it’s all there on a relatively simple canvas. Again, clever stuff. And I suppose again we have to say that although there’s just military subjects here, we’ve got another victory for Stelios and his team of writers. I struggle to find anything wrong with these Mr Black Publications, in fact it’s ever so easy to find all the many things that are right. At the start of this review I mention that this is a dualpurpose magazine, maybe I’m doing it an injustice in that it is in fact fulfilling a third purpose by giving a boost to my enthusiasm, to get up and go put some paint on a brush and get busy with what’s hanging around on my desk. Whilst supplying us with new methods to try and historical information is a good thing, surely lifting out enthusiasm is even better – this series does that in spades! Adrian Hopwood
reference shelf. A second volume is planned to cover those Command vehicles based on captured tanks, tank hunter, armoured cars and half-tracks. Judging by this first volume, that will be another one to look forward to. Casemate Books are the distributors for the RN Publishing here in the UK, and our thanks to them for our copy. Robin Buckland
Befehlspanzer – German command, control and observation armored combat vehicles in World War Two – Part 1: tanks of German origin by Riccardo Niccoli. Published by RN Publishing. Available in the UK from Casemate UK Ltd, 10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford OX1 2EW. ISBN 978-88-95011-08-0. Price £27. casemate-uk@ casematepublishers.co.uk www.casematepublishing.co.uk First in a new series of books from RN Publishing, an Italian based publisher though the text is all in English. This 88-page softcover book deals with German Command and Observation tanks based on German built tank chassis. So here we see it split into sections for those based on the Panzers in sequence, I through to VI (Tigers). The introduction at the start gives a good general background, and includes information about camouflage and markings. Then each chapter provides details of the type, and differences between various versions on the same chassis. All are well illustrated with appropriate archive photos, and then a series of excellent colour profiles that are invaluable as a guide for modellers. Each one of these, and there are some 105 of these profiles included, comes with an informative caption with information about the specific vehicle that is shown. The book is rounded off with a table of the different types of radios carried by German Command vehicles. For modellers and historians interested in the panzer forces of WW2 this will be an interesting addition to your
Mametz Wood by Michael Renshaw. Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS. ISBN 0-85052-664-7. Price £12.99.
[email protected] www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Mametz Wood was the objective of the 38th (Welsh) Division during the First Battle of the Somme. The attack occurred in a northerly direction over a ridge, focussing on the German positions in the wood, between 7th July and 12th July 1916. The author describes the various stages of the fighting in some detail, his text being supported by monochrome illustrations and maps. Also included are sections on the Somme battlefields today, visiting the battlefields, walking and touring, other cemeteries and memorials. Mametz Wood is the latest title in the Battleground Somme sub-series and joins over 100 published titles in the Battleground series. These well-written, illustrated, guidebooks are not only of use to visitors to the battlefields, but are also informative for nontravelling readers. Stuart Asquith
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Books
Airframe Album No.5 The Bristol Blenheim – A Detailed Guide To The RAF’s First Modern Monoplane Bomber by Richard A. Franks. Published by Valiant Wings Publishing, 8 West Grove, Bedford MK40 4BT. ISBN 978-0-9575866-5-9. Price £15.95. The latest addition to the range of soft-cover Airframe Albums by Valiant Wings Publishing, and well timed for those building, or planning to build, the new Airfix kits of the Blenheim. The book commences by covering the development history of the Blenheim, when it started as a private design by the Bristol Aeroplane Company for a modern passenger carrier. It received support from Lord Rothermere who had said he would build “the fastest commercial aeroplane in Europe” in the early 1930s. He heard about the Bristol design and confirmed he would pay for the aircraft to be built. Even in those early days it attracted interest as a potential military type from the Finnish government. When it proved to be faster than the very latest RAF fighter, the British Air Ministry became interested. From there the story goes on as it was developed and operated in various forms by both the RAF and other national air forces, all supported in the book with a good selection of archive photos. The Technical Description section looks
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at the detail of the aircraft, illustrated with many original drawings along with photos of the example being restored (again) at Duxford. This section is broken down into sub-elements on Fuselage, Undercarriage, Tail, Wings, Engines, Weaponry, Electrical and Miscellaneous. This is followed by a section on Evolution, which uses an annotated drawing of each variation, highlighting the differences between each one, from the prototype onwards. Next comes a section on Camouflage and Markings, with the types use as a fighter, a bomber, a Night Fighter, by Coastal Command and even the final variants using the name ‘Bisley’. This includes a listing of all the squadron codes of each squadron that operated the type over its service history, and sections on each of the many foreign operators of the Blenheim. This is accompanied by a number of pages of excellent colour profiles. Then a short section gives a concise history of the full production list, with which type and series of serial numbers were supplied to who, including those built abroad in Canada, Finland and Yugoslavia. The book is rounded off with two appendices which list all the various kits that have been produced of the Blenheim over the years, along with a long list of after-market conversions, accessories and transfer sets which are or have been available for them as well. Another really excellent book, with information for the aircraft historian along with all the detail information that modellers look for to ensure they can get their models just right for a particular aircraft. It adds another fine subject to Valiant Wings Publishing’s list of publications in this Airframe Album series. Thanks to Valiant Wings Publishing for our review copy. Robin Buckland
FUCHS - The Transportpanzer I Wheeled APC in German Army Service by Carl Schulze. Tankograd Militarfahrzeug Specials 5051 and 5052. Tankograd Publishing, Verlag Jochen Vollert, Am Weichselgarten 5, 91058 Erlangen, Germany. UK distributor Bookworld Wholesale, Unit 10 Hodfar Road, Sandy Lane Industrial Estate, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire DY13 9QB. Price £13.99 each.
[email protected] www.bookworldws.co.uk In service now for 35-years, the Transportpanzer was developed to fulfil several roles for the West German Bundeswehr. Over 1,000 of these 6x6 lightlyarmoured amphibious vehicles were purchased. They have a full-width cab at the front and a diesel power pack forward of centre leaving a large rear compartment which can be adapted for various purposes. With many different variants, coverage of them has been split across two books. Book No.5051 covers the development of the vehicle, its technical characteristics and the basic and radio versions. Several alternative and pre-production designs are included, such as vehicles with heavier armament and an eightwheel option. Main focus is on the production version with a detailed technical description, photos of the engine unit and schematics of the power and steering systems. There are 1:35 scale plans of the basic version with general and walkaround photos of this and the radio-equipped and NBC
versions including views inside the cab and the mounting for the 7.62mm MG3 machine gun. All are illustrated with a mixture of black and white and colour photos. The second part, book No.5052, deals with the later versions are fitted with improved armour protection and a 1:72 scale plan shows this but the main coverage is of the Reconnaissance, Engineer and Command variants. For the original Reconnaissance role a MILAN anti-tank missile unit was fitted to the top of the hull, but recently some have replaced this with an external surveillance and weapons station which can carry a 12.7mm machine gun or a 40mm automatic grenade launcher. Fittings for the Engineer version are mostly internal for carrying explosives and mine equipment though they can be recognised by the large round bins for barbed wire on the hull top. Some 1:35 scale plans show these fittings clearly. Command versions have various radio packages fitted so apart from the aerials they look much like the basic model. Photographs are all in colour showing the vehicles in various locations on exercise and peacekeeping missions as well as record shots. Together these give modellers plenty of material and inspiration for these vehicles with the only downside being that both are needed for the full coverage. Peter Brown
Military Modelling Vol.45 No.5 2015
Books
Images of War – Kent at War, 1939 - 1945, Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives by Mark Kahn. Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS. ISBN 978-1-78346-346-6. Price £14.99.
[email protected] www.pen-and-sword.co.uk This new title in the Images of War series looks at one of the stories of the Home Front in WW2. It involves a selection of about 150 photos that are taken from the War & Peace Collection of Rex Cadman, and illustrates what was going on in Kent during WW2. In the most southeastern point of the UK, Kent was always closest to the continent. It was a major route for UK forces travelling to and from Europe, was the major homecoming port for the evacuees from Dunkirk, a background for the Battle of Britain and later the routes of the V-weapons as they made for London. It was also a part of the country which came under direct shellfire from German guns on the French coast. The Home Guard prepared for an invasion, and the countryside provided a useful training ground for the British Army. The county also remained an important farming area, a large part of the ‘Garden of England’, a role also illustrated in the book. The book is divided into 10 chapters, covering The Early Years, The Kent Home Guard, Life During Wartime, Soldiers in Kent, Military Vehicles in Kent During World War Two, VIP Visitors to Kent in Wartime, The War at Sea, Women at War in Kent, D-Day and Kent and finally, The End of the War. Each one has an interesting section of text to outline the stories, then a
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selection of appropriate photos, all informatively captioned. Though I was born after the war, I spent my youth living on the Kent and Sussex border, going to school in Tunbridge Wells, a town which features in a number of the wartime photos. I am familiar with many of the smaller villages around the county, such as Goudhurst which also features in a number of views. Seeing them and recognizing the surroundings helped put some extra context to it all for me. As already mentioned, the photos come from Rex Cadman’s War & Peace Collection, and Rex is the man responsible for the huge annual ‘War & Peace Revival’ show when thousands of military vehicles can be seen and heard travelling the roads and countryside of Kent. The photos are from a series of some 4,000 original glass plate images which were amazingly recovered from a rubbish tip! When you see the quality and interest held in these images, thank goodness they were saved. All in all, a book I found especially interesting, as I am sure will many others who were brought up in Kent or who now live in the area. Robin Buckland Images of War – Armoured Warfare in the Vietnam War, Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives by Michael Green. Pen & Sword Books Limited, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS. ISBN 978-1-78159-381-3. Price £14.99.
[email protected] www.pen-and-sword.co.uk The armed conflicts in SouthEast Asia 1945-1975 included a greater presence of armoured fighting vehicles than previously
Konigstiger by Lukasz Gladysiak, Mike Koenig and Jacek Szafranski. Published by Kagero Books. Available in the UK from Casemate UK Ltd, 10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford OX1 2EW. ISBN 978-83-64596-23-0. Price £15.99. casemate-uk@ casematepublishers.co.uk www.casematepublishing. co.uk More news from Kagero, this time with No.15 in their Photosniper series on AFVs and tackling the King Tiger, making this an ideal reference for modellers. The 80-page book splits into five main sections. The first 16-pages give the development and combat history of the King Tiger, well illustrated with archive photos, some of which are well known, and others which are less so. It includes useful data tables such as monthly production figures, modifications made during the production run and the months they were
thought, and the author sets out to present the full range of such vehicles in this new and profusely illustrated title. The French Expeditionary Force that fought in Indochina from 1945 was largely equipped with American vehicles, including the M5 Stuart, M4 Sherman and M24 Chaffee, many of which went on to serve with the army of the Republic of South Vietnam. The American build up in the 1960s saw M41 Walker Bulldog and M48A3 Patton medium tanks as well as
implemented, armour thicknesses, even the maximum speeds available in each gear. They also mention where examples are now preserved. This is followed by 19-pages of what I will describe as ‘conventional’ 3-view scale drawings in 1:35 scale, while also including additional threequarter view drawings of the whole tank, of the turrets and other specific details. Next comes 33-pages of colour photos focusing on three preserved examples: tanks at the Panzer Museum Munster, which includes detail pictures of the gun outside the turret, along with engine and transmission; the Porsche turreted example at the Bovington Tank Museum; and the one in La Gleize, Belgium. After this, some more text with details of crew uniforms and equipment, along with details of camouflage and markings used on King Tigers. The book is rounded off with seven pages of excellent colour profiles which will be helpful for modellers looking for a camouflage scheme that they might like to apply to their model. Very much a book for scale modellers looking to get specific details right for their models, and at good value for money too. Although the recommended price is £15.99, I’d like to remind any MM website members that there is a discount available from Casemate by quoting the code given on the Casemate advert on our home page. Robin Buckland
the M113 armoured personnel carrier deployed to South Vietnam. The Australian army was equipped with the British Centurion tank. The North Vietnamese were supplied with Soviet and Chinese armoured fighting vehicles, notably the Russian T-54 medium tank and its Chinese copy, the T-59. All these types and many more are described and illustrated with full captions in this book, the latest title in the publisher’s Image of War series. Stuart Asquith
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Product reviews
Atten-Shun! The Product Review Column The Editor welcomes product samples for review. Unless a prior arrangement has been made with the Editor review samples WILL NOT be returned. All product samples intended for review in ‘Atten-Shun!’ should be sent direct to the Editor at the address listed under ‘Editorial’ on the contents page.
Academy T-34/85 “No.112 Factory Production” in 1:35 scale When World War Two came to an end, the Soviets continued the production of their late-war T-34/85 tanks through to the end of 1946. While the main factory in Nizhniy Tagil (No.183) began to shut down in preparation for starting production of the anticipated T-54 tank, Factories No.112 (Krasnoye Sormovo in Gor’kiy) and 174 (Omsk) continued production. A total of 2,701 tanks were built – 493 at No.183, 1,154 at No.112, and 1,054 at No.174. The tanks were nearly the same as the late-war (1945) production but for ergonomic reasons of clearing the turret of propellant fumes early in 1946 the twin ‘Siamesed’ ventilators
at the back of the turret were split, with one being moved over the machine gun and cannon breech and one left at the rear of the turret roof. Also new for 1946 was a new taller cupola with a single-piece hatch flap which replaced the lower cupola with the split hatch flaps. Other new modifications were made but most were internal and not outwardly visible. Until now the only way to get this particular arrangement – and then only with the Factory No.112 ‘hard edge’ turret – was to purchase an RPM conversion set that provided that turret and ventilator arrangement. This new kit from Academy (item 13290) provides for it and also comes with parts to build either a 1945 or a 1946 model of the tank.
The 1945 version comes with the twin ventilators and the low cupola; the 1946 ones provides the split ventilators and taller cupola. The kit also offers a choice between a solid radiator exhaust grille and an etched-metal one, so those who do not like etch can go with the solid one. The kit does also provide link-and-length tracks for the first time with a T-34 kit, but unfortunately each link has two ejection pin marks prominently displayed on the face of the link. There is no interior per se, but it comes with suspension towers and spring units and a firewall between the fighting and engine compartments. The rear radiator exhaust grille also comes with the two louvres (for use with the etched grille) but all hatches except the transmission access hatch are moulded closed. As it replicates Factory No.112 it comes with the full set of tankovyy
LM Decals Decals for Cyprus National Guard Vehicles 1960-75 in 1:35 scale Since independence in 1960, a number of different military vehicles have been used on the island of Cyprus. Among the earliest were several Dingo scout cars which had some unusual and non-original features possibly because they were ‘demilitarised’ by being cut apart then re-assembled with new parts. Whatever, they were used for a few years with different colour and markings. The Soviet BTR-152 armoured personnel carriers were standard items and they operated in different finishes into the 1970s. ZIL 157 trucks were also used to tow 100mm anti-tank guns. A batch of 32 T-34/85 tanks were also bought. These had
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desant handrails around the upper perimeter of the hull. As they come on the same sprue with the ice cleats, you get extras in the kit. This is a simplified kit in that it comes with minimal etchedmetal – all of it is for the seethrough grille and its reinforcing bars. Unlike Dragon T-34s this means that the ice cleats are not strapped down and other details are missing as well. There is also no clear sprue for the headlight or other viewers in the tank. Note that the tow cables are also identified with the breezy “attach freely” which I think means place where you wish, but most have at least one end hooked to a tow hook and the other to a tie-down on the trackguards. The lower hull also only has a single bump stop for the first roadwheel station whereas most 85mm tanks had two (Dragon gives two with almost all of its kits to include early 76mm ones so perhaps a bit
LM35018), taken from photos they show the correct size and style used including different forms of lettering. They are complete down to tyre pressure markings.
different types of turrets and roadwheels making them unusual modelling subjects, not least for the American M2 .50 Calibre machine guns fitted. Markings varied and colour schemes included temporary
finishes for exercises. One had hand-painted slogans for a short period. More conventional markings were used on the LandRover IIA. All known markings are included on this sheet (item
LM35012 for M48 and M88 in Greek service The Greek Army has operated M48-series tanks for over 50-years. Several batches of both new and second-hand tanks have been obtained including former German Bundeswehr M48A2C and US National Guard M48A5. By the early 1990s the total number in service was listed as 1,200 but stocks have been reduced to less than 400 which have been upgraded with the Modular Laser Fire Control fire control system and are known by the acronym MOLF.
Military Modelling Vol.45 No.5 2015
Product reviews
of surgery can correct those kits and this one at the same time!) Six finishing options are provided, three for Model 1945s and three for Model 1946s; all are in 4BO Green. The 1945 options are: Red Army, Berlin, May 1945 (white 904); Red Army, Berlin, May 1945 (white m 08, red stars); Red Army, Yugoslavia Spring 1945 (white bear, Ot Ottsa Shul’gn Syna Kisenko – “From the Father of Shul’gn to the Son of Kisenko”). The 1946 options are: DPRK Army, captured at the Naktong River 1950 (white 738); DPRK Army, North Korea 1950 (white 229); DPRK Army, knocked out in Daejeon, ROK, 1950 (commemorative logo “Knocked out 20 July 1950 under the supervision of MajGen W. F. Dean”). A sheet of decals provides for all markings. Overall, T-34 fans may be a bit disappointed by the overdone casting finish and the ejection pin marks on the tracks as well as minimal etched-metal. But for modellers short on time and who would like a late-war T-34 or Korean War version this is a nice simple build and will certainly look the part. Sprue layouts also indicate more T-34 kits will be forthcoming. Cookie Sewell Price £25.99 UK distributors Pocketbond, PO Box 80, Welwyn, AL6 0ND.
During their service they have been finished in various colour schemes. Initially they were in Olive Drab but since the mid-1970s the standard Greek four-colour scheme based on American MERDC has been used. Coupled with the variation in types they make good modelling subjects. This set offers several choices from the early days through to M48A3 and M48A5 MOLF tanks used in Greece from the 1990s to date in different schemes as well as others with the Cypriot National Guard using three and four colour camouflage. One unusual option is a driver-training vehicle with the turret replaced by a locally made glass structure. Also included are markings for M88A1 and M88A1G recovery vehicles with variations in fourcolour schemes and plain green.
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Poilu Miniatures Private 27th Foot, 1814 in 54mm scale This is one of the first releases from a ‘sort of’ new manufacturer. Alex Williams is the man behind this new series of figures, who once produced a range under the
All decals are waterslide with the main sheet printed by Fantasy Printshop. Each item is in matt finish on its own closefitting section of backing sheet, in addition a small ALPS printed
banner of Cheshire Volunteer. He gave that up to continue his career in teaching, and now with retirement looming, he has returned to his great passion of making figures. In the past, not only did he have his own range as already mentioned, but he was also behind various
sheet (shown superimposed at an angle on the image) will have to be trimmed before use. No instructions are included with the decals, although very detailed and comprehensive
masters made for other companies such as Wolf, Andrea and Verlinden. Good to see him back in action then, and getting into his own series of new Napoleonic figures (there are likely to be WW2 subjects to come as well). So, one of the first figures is this one, a British infantry figure of 1814 (item BN3). He is depicted sitting, with his hat and pack off, while he takes some time out. He is studying a French infantry hat, one that perhaps he has picked up off the battlefield. The body is cast in one piece, in white metal. The figure also includes a base, with arms, head and other accessory bits of kit and plumes to be added. The quality of the casting is good, and the sculpting of the basic figure very clean and neat in style. The relaxed pose is an interesting one and this will paint up nicely. Also good to see is that a painting guide for the basic colours for the uniform and accoutrements is provided. Overall a neat model that is one of the first three releases in this new range. Our thanks to Alex for the sample. Robin Buckland Price £18.50 www.poiluminiatures.com
ones, including original photos and colour paintings, can be downloaded from the company’s website in PDF format. This is a drawback for those who do not have Internet access but it does mean that the content is very good with photos of the real vehicles from various angles and it also does not have any problems with reproduction. Price is a very reasonable 5 Euros each plus a 5 Euros postage and handling fee for any number of sheets to anywhere in the world. They can be ordered through their website with payment by PayPal. Mine arrived only a few days after placing the order which is the same service I have had with all my orders. Peter Brown Prices in text www.lmdecals.gr
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Product reviews
Takom T3 Transporter Bus in 1:35 scale Takom will certainly need no introduction the modelling community as they have brought quite a number of new and interesting releases to the market. This is one of two similar releases that finely compliment other kits in their range. This particular release (item 2013) appears to be a Volkswagen T3 Transporter Bus, also known as a Caravelle, though once again due to licensing issues the brand is not actually mentioned, though one of the sprues includes a few details that can be shaved
Aviattic German WW1 Refuelling Carts in 1:32 scale Anyone that is interested in World War One aircraft will most likely be familiar with the company Aviattic founded in 2005 by antique restorer Richard Andrews and his business partner Harry Green. The company is based in Stroud, Gloucestershire and are best known for their detailed range of WW1 decals they produce in all the major scales. Recently Aviattic have ventured into diorama accessories to accompany the ever-growing range of WW1 1:32 scale aircraft. In 2014 they produced a small German aviation fuel hand-drawn cart (item ATTR 011 price £22) which is suitable for use with the range of fighters
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off to create a logo for the front grille. This kit shares a similar breakdown of parts as per the truck version (item 2014) with three green sprues, one bodyshell, one clear sprue, one figure sprue, five vinyl tyres, one decal sheet, one A5 instruction book and one painting and marking guide. As this kit shares sprues with Takom’s other release it will leave a number of spare items. The sprues are free from flash and exhibit a number of very fine details, although it is the clear sprue that is possibly the weakest part as it is quite thick but at least it’s very clear.
It may be possible to replace some of the clear parts with thin acetate. The moulding is first class and there is some nice detailing incorporated on the body. The body mouldings even feature the fasteners that are used to fix blackout screens when the vehicle is camouflaged. Sprue ‘A’ is shared with the Takom Transporter Truck and includes a number of very fine details. The windscreen wipers are very fine and the modeller will need to ensure that they are not damaged when removing them. Sprue ‘B’ includes the bottom of the ‘flat 4’ engine, chassis and the cabin interior, the front suspension bottom arm and engine components are also included on this sprue. Sprue ‘C’ is the bus interior, the tailgate and the large side door. The side door and the tailgate can be positioned open or closed, as can the cab doors to show the interior. Another curious addition is the towhook as this depicts a civilian type and not the NATO tow pintle that would be seen on a military vehicle. The supplied figure is in a straight up and down pose and is depicted wearing body armour and a beret. The body armour is current issue and not the earlier style that would have been seen in 2002. He is armed with a
nicely rendered Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle. No other pouches are supplied. Assembly is spread over 33 stages there are number of options that are offered during construction so the modeller will need to decide if doors are to be shown open or closed. There are three finishing options provided on the supplied colour profile: a plain green International Security Force (ISAF) Afghanistan 2002; plain lighter green Syrian Army 2006; 3-colour Stabilisation Force (SFOR) Bosnia Herzegovina 1997. Paint numbers are given for Ammo by Mig. Decals for each vehicle are included with the ISAF version being the most comprehensive. Two decals are supplied for the dashboard. The interior will require painting before the bodyshell is closed up and the whole model will require careful masking. This is certainly quite a different and welcome release from Takom and is a simple model that will suit beginners as well as the more experienced modeller. As the vehicle can be found right across the world then finishing options are pretty limitless so it comes highly recommended. Brian O’Donoghue Price £34.99 UK distributors Pocketbond, PO Box 80, Welwyn, AL6 0ND.
and reconnaissance aircraft that are now available. The kit is cast in a light grey resin and has some very fine surface detail, and on my sample the parts had no air bubbles or pinholes that were apparent. There are a total of 12 parts that make up the cart consisting of the tank itself which is basically an oil drum fitted inside a frame, two cart wheels and a block which contains the relevant handles, valves and pump. The parts do suffer from a small amount of webbing but I think this is mainly due to the fine detail and the delicacy of the parts. Once the parts are removed from the block it is a simple case of removing the web and giving them a gentle
clean up using your preferred method. Inside the plastic box the kit comes packed in you will also find a small bag containing a length of spiral tubing for the fuel pipe and a length of thin wire for the bracing guides that support the pump which fits on top of the main tank. For those wishing to add extra detail in this area you could also add either homemade turnbuckles or use some of the after-market products that are now available, the choice is up to the individual. A colour photo is provided of the finished model and is pasted on the box lid. The second kit to be produced by Aviattic, mastered by Szymon Grzywocz, is of the larger upright
Military Modelling Vol.45 No.5 2015
Product reviews
AFV Club Churchill Mk.III Type D Carpet Layer in 1:35 scale Reconnaissance of the beaches to be used for the D-Day landings found areas of soft clay which would not support the weight of vehicles. To get over these some Churchill AVREs were fitted out to lay lengths of hessian cloth reinforced with tubular steel rods. These were carried on large metal drums or ‘Bobbins’ mounted onto the standard mine-roller fittings on the sides of the tanks. Two versions were produced, the smaller one known as Carpetlayer (Type C) Mk.II and one with a larger drum for a longer length of track as Carpet-layer (Type D) Mk.III. AFV Club have released this kit (item AF35274) of the latter version giving modellers an AVRE converted from the welded-turret Mk.III tank with carpet layer and wading gear. Contents mostly come from their earlier Churchill kits with several sprues moulded in
hand-drawn refuelling cart (item ATTR 018 price £26.40) which was mainly used for the bomber aircraft such as the Gotha G.IV and the more recent Wing Nut Wings kit of the AEG G.IV. Like the first kit it comes packed in a sturdy plastic box and is cast in the same grey resin material. The kit is made up of 11 parts with the wheels being considerably larger to the ones in the other kit. On my sample there was a lot less webbing present, the parts again being very finely cast with a good amount of crisp surface detail. There is also a small plastic bag which contains the hose material. One thing I did notice was a small seam line down each side of the upright tank. I can’t see this being a big issue as
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green plastic, a small clear sprue, band-type ‘light’ pattern tracks in flexible black plastic, metal suspension springs and some etched-brass parts. Included in this release is the wading gear from the ‘Dieppe’ Churchill (item AF35176) which came out a few months ago plus of course new parts for the Bobbin and trackway. As a bonus there is also a reproduction of the box art. Parts breakdown and construction is the same as earlier kits with the complicated spring suspension and small roadwheels of the original recreated using a mixture of plastic and metal parts. The AVRE’s main armament of the muzzle-loaded Petard demolition charge thrower comes with various parts inside the turret and can be assembled either in ready to fire position or ‘broken’ for loading. Two Petard rounds are included. Covers over the top run of the tracks are moulded in separate sections so some or all could
be left off as happened on the original tank. Hull side doors, crew hatches, driver’s visor and engine deck doors are all separate so could be modelled open although the only interior items included are for the Petard and machine guns. Two types of commander’s cupola are provided. The main bobbin parts are on two identical plastic sprues for the drum and supporting frame, the trackway itself is assembled from two lengths of pale yellowcoloured rough sticky-backed paper with the reinforcements made from long square-section wooden strips which have to be cut to length and placed at intervals along one plastic strip before the second placed over the top. The rough surface is a good approximation of the hessian texture but the strips are solid square section not hollow tubes. Replacing them with suitable plastic rod or tube might be more realistic. One oddity is a set of parts shown on the instructions to be fitted around the spindle of the bobbin which I could not find in the box. Wading gear consists of two long tubular exhaust extensions and three rectangular ‘tubes’ slide-moulded as single items to fit over the air intakes. These are supported by plastic rods which may need trimming for a tight fit. A small piece of sticky-backed strip is included
it can quite easily be cleaned up with a Flex-i-File. The tank also has a resin plug on the bottom that will need removing but this is nothing unfamiliar to anyone that has built resin kits before. While on the subject of sanding and cutting resin Aviattic do provide a warning on the side of the packaging boxes about the dangers and how to prevent harm to yourself. There are no instructions supplied with either kit but you only need to look at the box art photos to sort out where the various parts go. However, if you do require a set of instructions these are available on a pdf file to download from their website. There are also photos of the finished item on there too.
to be trimmed to size and fitted to cover the lower part of the rear air intake, although it may be easier to make up this part from thin plastic card or other material. This covers the metal parts of the wading gear well enough but the hull side doors, driver’s visor, engine, driver and co-driver’s hatches, hull machine gun, turret ring and guns were waterproofed using various compounds or canvas fixed in place with heavy-duty waterproof adhesive which will need to be scratchbuilt to achieve the full effect. Only one colour and marking option is provided. As usual the listed colour “Dark Green” is best ignored in favour of SCC2 Brown for D-Day or possibly SCC15 Olive Drab. Decals are limited to serial numbers and a small name although other unused items are on the decal sheet including the 79th Armoured Division sign. This is an unusual addition to AFV Club’s Churchill series. Apart from the reservations mentioned above a good model can be built. It will need additional work for the wading equipment if modelling a tank used on D-Day or you might prefer to leave that off to depict a tank in training beforehand. Peter Brown Price £47.99 UK distributors Pocketbond, PO Box 80, Welwyn, AL6 0ND.
All in all, both of these kits would enhance any diorama, or simple vignette, that features one of the many WW1 aircraft available today. Having looked at Aviattic’s website I see they also produce two German ground crew members that are moulded in poses to represent them operating the equipment which could come in very useful. At the moment the kits are only available from the manufacturers as far I as I understand but this may change as they become more popular. Gary Radford Prices in text Aviattic, Unit 22/23, Bonds Mill, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL10 3RF. www.aviattic.co.uk
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Product reviews
35-923 35-926
35-924
35-927
35-925
Star Decals Decal sets in 1:35 scale Several more sets of decals have been released by Star Decals covering a range of periods and subjects. Format is the same as usual. Individual decals are clearly printed in matt finish with each item on its own small section of backing sheet so some subjects may need slight trimming. Multi-view coloured drawings show vehicle colours and markings placement details are included along with a useful ‘map’ showing where each decal is on the sheet. Production is by Carl’s Stickers, Armnat-Charoen, Thailand.
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35-923 is Tanks in Bosnia and has markings for a turretless BRDM-2 armoured car in blue operated by the Serbian Military Police, a Serbian PT-76B in more usual plain green, T-55A from Croatian and Bosnia-Hertzogovenian units in green and multi-coloured schemes respectively, a Serbian Militia T-34/85M with M2 .50 Cal with mud camouflage and two M59/53 Praga wheeled antiaircraft vehicles in two- and fourcolour schemes. Price £5.60. 35-924 covers Cold War Russian T-54 and T-55 and has several options for different countries operating these widely used
tanks. These include T-54A and T-55 with the Finnish Army at different times in the green/ green/black ‘splinter’ camouflage, two Romanian operated vehicles with one with anti-Communist forces in 1968, two T-54A with Czech units in two- and fourcolour schemes and a T-55A in plain green, a Polish T-55A and two Soviet ones in plain green and winter schemes. Price £5.60. 35-925 is Finnish Tanks in WW2 and has decals for five captured T-28 tanks. Three are Model 1938 in plain green, Soviet three-colour and winter camouflage, one is a Model 1938 with additional armour in green, sand and brown and the final option is a Model 1940 with additional armour in the same colours. Markings include the then current Finnish hakaristi in various styles and colours as well as tactical markings. Price £5.60.
35-926 covers the French Renault UE in French and German service. These include options for French Army tanks in 1940 including instruction and warning notices, a couple taken over by German troops in 1940 with decals to make an air-ground recognition flag and others modified for use in Russia to carry the 3.7cm PAK and another with an added rear ‘cabin’ as a command vehicle. Price £6.99. 35-927 is for the 15cm sIG 33 auf PzKpfw 1B and gives a wide range of options for this selfpropelled gun. These include vehicles in France in 1940 in Grau/Braun and plain Grau and later in Russia with several alternative names for one unit. Price £6.99. Peter Brown Prices in text www.star-decals.net
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Military Modelling Vol.45 No.5 2015
Product reviews
Tommy’s War Officer, Grenadier Company 42nd Highlanders, Sevastopol 1854 in 54mm scale Most of us will be familiar with the marvellous WW1 figures from Tommy’s War. Now Darren has ventured into a completely new period, as he starts with a range of figures under the banner “Victoria’s Heroes”. The second release in this new series (item VH54002), sculpted by Helder Agostinho, is a Highlander Officer at Sebastopol way back in 1854. With the distinctive British red coat, along with the highlander’s
bonnet and a kilt, there is plenty of occupy most figure painters. The example used on the box art, painted by Juan Manuel Jurado, is very neatly done and will certainly inspire you to have a go. Cast in polyurethane resin there is some assembly to do but nothing difficult. The overall anatomy is nicely proportioned and the relaxed stance works well. As ever, take care removing the parts from their casting feed blocks, but this certainly isn’t difficult. Texture detail for items like the bonnet and sporran have come out very
nicely. Once assembled, I’d suggest a coat of primer before starting on the main paintwork. It’s good to see this move for Tommy’s War into a secondary range of figures in a different period, and I think that it certainly adds to their established WW1 range. My thanks to Darren at Tommy’s War for our sample. Robin Buckland Price £14 Tommy’s War, 29 Newquay Close, Hinckley, Leicestershire LE10 1XN. Tel: 07958 626236. www.tommyswar.com
gun and the radio sets on the firewall between the fighting compartment and the engine compartment. Still, these are nicely done. Painting schemes and markings are included for three vehicles: Pz.Jgd.Abt Heersgruppe Mitte, Warsaw 1944 (green over sand, black
57); Pz.Gren.Div Hermann Goering, East Prussia 1945 (3-colour, white 212); Unknown Pz.Jg.Abt., 1945 (3-colour, black crosses). A small sheet of Cartograf decals is provided. Overall it is nice to see Dragon revisit this popular vehicle (albeit I think Tamiya releasing one may have something to do with this!) and it is a massive upgrade to their older Jagdpanzer IV kits. Cookie Sewell Price £49.99 Dragon Models Ltd., Kong Nam Industrial Building, 10/F, B1, 603-609 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories, Hong Kong. Tel: 2493 0215. Fax: 2411 0587.
[email protected] www.dragon-models.com UK distributors, The Hobby Company, Milton Keynes MK5 8PG.
Dragon Models Ltd Jagdpanzer IV L/48 July 1944 Production w/Zimmerit in 1:35 scale Dragon has now gone back to their old line of Jadgpanzer IV kits and upgraded them, as this kit (item 6369) is based more on the recent Jagdpanzer IV/70 kits but is ‘backdated’ to the L/48 version. The model uses all of Dragon’s ‘Slide-Moulding’ techniques on those sprues and generic Panzer IV sprues and includes casting numbers moulded onto the sprue runners for diehard detail fans (these have to be removed with a scalpel or single-edged razor blade, as a point of warning). This particular kit uses the 40cm DS Plastic track runs and also uses styrene schürzen armour shields instead of the original brass ones.
Takom T3 Transporter Truck in 1:35 scale This second T3 Transporter release from Takom (item 2014) is also known as a DoKa which comes from the German word Doppelkabine (double cab). Once again the model appears to be based upon the Volkswagen Transporter although due to licensing issues the brand is not mentioned. As before, one of the sprues includes a few details that can be shaved off to create a logo for the front grille. This kit shares a similar breakdown of parts as the bus and the sprues are once again free from flash and exhibit a number of very fine details. The front doors are separate items so it will be possible to
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The kit includes a lot of tiny details such as full and half wing nuts and other small items, but all are styrene; there are only nine etched-brass parts for the vehicle, the largest of which is the sliding traversing cover for the periscopic sight. The only interior components are the main
show these open, though they are not operable. There are three finishing options provided on the supplied colour profile: Bundeswehr, German Army (HEER), Germany; Lebanese Army T3 of the 12th Mechanized Brigade, April 2011; a civil version. Paint numbers are given for Ammo by Mig.
The Bundeswehr is in a typical 3-colour scheme, the Lebanese is in plain green while the civil version is depicted as medium blue. However, there’s no reason why the civilian version couldn’t be painted in any number of colours and, with suitable decals or masks, it’s options could be endless. Waterslide decals
are provided and include a Bundeswehr number plate, Syrian unit badge with number plate and finally the word “Stichel” for the civil version. There are two decals for the dashboard and a number of warning chevrons for the civil version. This type of vehicle is used by many different users and government departments including the German Post Office (DPD) and the Fire Service. The only feature missing on this model is the cargo frame that is sometimes seen on this variant. Another most welcome release from Takom and one that comes highly recommended. Brian O’Donoghue Price £34.99 UK distributors Pocketbond, PO Box 80, Welwyn, AL6 0ND.
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