Model Military International - Issue 142 (February 2018)

■ All the information you’ll ever need to create the best military models... ■

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FOR SUBSCRIBERS! DETAILS INSIDE...

Issue 142 February 2018 www.modelmilitary.com

FANTASTIC FELINE Tamiya 1:35 scale Panther Ausf. D

BEETLE TANK

Tamiya 1:35 scale German Assault Team & Goliath Set

QUEEN

Takom’s new 1:35 scale M3 Grant

INSIDE: p 01 CoverMMI 142B 1

OF THE DESERT

Dragon 1:35 Befehls Panther ■ Bronco 1:35 GAZ 131 ■ Meng 1:35 Panther Ausf. A Late ■ DSPIAE Cutters ■ and more...

February 2018 / £4.75 / Issue 142

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NEW in the ‘HOW TO BUILD...’ series

How to Build... TAMIYA 1:32 F4U-1A and F4U-1D CORSAIR

When Tamiya released their 1:32 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc in 2009, they set a new standard for plastic model kits. Each model since then has seen incremental improvements. Just when you think the series can’t get any better, Tamiya goes and proves you wrong. Their 1:32 scale Birdcage Corsair was released in mid-2013. This was an outstanding kit in every respect. Tamiya expanded their 1:32 scale Corsair family with an F4U-1A in late 2014. This kit included several new sprues and offered a wider range of camouflage and marking possibilities. Tamiya has now completed the -1 trio with their new 1:32 scale F4U-1D Corsair. Once again, this kit includes a significant number of brand new sprues to depict the unique attributes of this variant. We can also marvel at the kit’s subtle surface textures, high level of detail, clever parts breakdown and accuracy. In this new book, we provide an exhaustive stepby-step illustrated guide to building and detailing the 1:32 scale F4U-1D and F4U-1A, offering plenty of inspiration with two different configurations and colour schemes.

Only

£14.95 plus p&p

We have also a bonus Chapter on building Tamiya’s 1:48 scale Corsair family, offer some tips for painting pilot figures and include a helpful walk around of a Corsair under restoration.

ALSO AVAILABLE Visit doolittlemedia.com for details PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW ON TEL: 01525 222573 FAX: 01525 222574

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Contents - Issue 142 February 2018 REGULARS 14

p 4 NEWS

What’s new in the world of military modelling

p 41 INCOMING

New accessories, tools and decals in 1:35 scale

p 58 BOOKS

The latest military and modelling titles in print

p 60 1:48 SCALE

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

26

p 66 LAST POST

Tamiya 1:35 M4A3E8 Easy Eight Korean War

FEATURES p 6 THINK TANK

M3 Grant Close-Up by Brett Green

p 12 PREVIEW

Dragon 1:35 Befehlspanther

p 14 QUEEN OF THE DESERT

Tasca’s new 1:35 scale M3 Grant by Pawel Rzymski

p 24 PREVIEW

Bronco 1:35 GAZ-131

p 26 BEETLE TANK

Tamiya’s new 1:35 Goliath by Brett Green

34

p 32 PREVIEW

DSPIAE Sprue Cutter

p 34 SUEZ DEFENDER

Dragon 1:35 Soviet SU-85M Tank Destroyer by Jim Turner

p 42 “D” IS FOR DEADLY

Chris Wauchop’s take on Tamiya’s 1:35 scale Panther Ausf. D.

p 50 SHOW REPORT

Tank Museum Model Show 2017 by Julian Shawyer

p 54 PREVIEW

Meng 1:35 Panther Ausf. A

©Doolittle Media Ltd 2018 Tel: (UK) 01525 222573 Fax: (UK) 01525 222574 Email: [email protected] Address: Doolittle Media Ltd., Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, UK

48

Model Military International is published monthly by Doolittle Media Ltd Ltd. Reproduction in part or whole of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure the contents of Model Military International is accurate, the publishers and printers cannot accept liability for errors or omissions.

ISSN 1749-8864 February 2018 - Model Military International 3

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Newsline - February 2018 NEW DRAGON T

MMI Newsdesk, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, UK Tel:01525 222573 Fax:01525 222574 Email:[email protected]

he Panzerbefehlswagen Ausf.K was designed to serve as a command tank for the German Army but, unlike preceding Panzer III command vehicles, it retained a main armament in the form of a 5cm KwK39 L/60 cannon. A total of 50 of these armed command tanks were produced between December 1942 and February 1943. It was based on a standard Panzer III Ausf. M chassis, and a star antenna was used instead of the previously favoured frame antenna. The turret, adapted from a Panzer IV Ausf. F, featured a shorter mantlet, while the coaxial machine gun was deleted and an extra visor was added to the turret front. Dragon previously released a Pz.Bef.Wg.III Ausf.K (Item No. 9118 in the Orange Box range), but this latest 1:35 scale kit has nothing in common with that release. This new command tank takes the most updated components from the latest Panzer III and IV kits in Dragon’s Smart Kit range. In addition, the horizontal upper-hull plate is new to fit the larger Panzer IV turret that was installed, plus the turret frontal armour, truncated gun mantlet and visor are new. Also new is the superstructure frontal armour plate plus three spare antennas stowed on the right-hand fender. Modellers seeking something a little different from a run-of-the-mill Panzer III need look no farther than this well-armed command tank. Thanks to The Hobby Company Limited for the information and images www.hobbyco.net

NEW LIFECOLOR ACRYLIC SETS The Airbrush Company Limited has announced two new sets in the LifeColor range, in stock now. These are water soluble acrylic colours for modelling and hobby. LifeColor is excellent for paint brushing or airbrushing on plastic, resin, metal, vinyl, wood, cloth and ceramic. The sets are:

THE SALE OF HARDER & STEENBECK

MAVFA NATIONALS 2018 LC-CS41 - LifeColor British Uniforms WWII set: UA 440 Water Bottle Bag UA 441 Green Tone Gears UA 442 Yellow Tones Gears UA 443 Battledress Light Tone UA 444 Battledress Dark Tone UA 445 Leather Jacket

LC-CS42 - LifeColor Russian Uniforms WWII set: UA 446 Helmet UA 447 M35 Tunic UA 448 M35-41 Tunic UA 449 M43 Tunic UA 450 M35-41 Trousers UA 451 M43 Trousers Available now from The Airbrush Company www.airbrushes.com

The Annual Model Show of the Miniature AFV Association will take place on Sunday 24th June 2018 at the Burgess Hall, Westwood Road, St. Ives Cambridgeshire, PE27 6WU. Doors open at 10.00hrs for the public who will find a hall full of traders both home based and from the continent, displays from MAFVA branches and from clubs covering not only military vehicles, but all forms of model making. In addition will be the legendary 'Bring & Buy' upstairs, and the competition, with classes for both MAFVA members and non-members. All are welcome, with free entry for members and accompanied children, £1.00 for adult visitors. For more information visit www.mafva.org Any enquiries to Paul Middleton, [email protected]

PLYMOUTH MODEL SHOW 2018 The Plymouth Model Show will be held on Saturday 30th June 2018 at Plymouth Guildhall. The show will be open to the general public between 10.00am & 4.00pm. A number of clubs & traders have already confirmed attendance. Disabled access is available. Further details may be obtained from by emailing [email protected]

Harder & Steenbeck has sent the following Press release about the sale of the company: ‘During the last 21 years, Jens Matthiessen has built a small German company into the world leader in airbrush technology and performance that Harder & Steenbeck is today. Now, with his desire to move into the next stage of his life, Mr. Matthiessen has found the ideal partner who truly understands the philosophy of excellence, and serving the creativity of the customer. In January 2017, ANEST IWATA purchased the Harder & Steenbeck company. Both have recently celebrated their 90-year anniversaries, and each has a deep respect and understanding of the other's heritage. Please be assured that nothing changes for you as our customer. H&S airbrushes will continue to be manufactured at our headquarters in Norderstedt, Germany. Our company is proud to call our products "Made in Germany" and will continue to develop Harder & Steenbeck products to our high-quality standards even further. We invite you to enjoy the continuing growth and innovations with us that will result from this new partnership, as we remain committed to you, our loyal customer and dealer network, to the Harder & Steenbeck brand, and your success with it. “I am confident,” Mr Matthiessen says, “that I have made the right decision in choosing ANEST IWATA to continue my life’s work - my passion - while remaining true to the Harder & Steenbeck way. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks for all of you who have contributed significantly on this remarkable journey, and wish you continued success in this new and exciting phase with Harder & Steenbeck.” Masato Suzuki & Jens Matthiessen’

4 Model Military International - February 2018

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Think Tank - M3 Grant Close-Up

CloseThe in

Australian M3 Grant at Melbourne Tank Museum, mid 1990s.

M3 GRANT CLOSE-UP The Editor takes a close-up look at several Australian M3 Grants, inside and out.

T

he M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. In Britain, the tank was called by two names based on the turret configuration and crew size. Tanks employing US pattern turrets were called the "Lee", named after Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Variants using British pattern turrets were known as "Grant," named after Union general Ulysses S. Grant. Design commenced in July 1940, and the first M3s were operational in late 1941. The U.S. Army needed a medium tank armed with a 75mm gun and, coupled with the United Kingdom's immediate demand for 3,650 medium tanks, the Lee began production by late 1940. The design was a compromise meant to produce a tank as soon as possible. The M3 had considerable firepower and good armour, but had serious drawbacks in its general design and shape, including a high silhouette, an archaic sponson mounting of the main gun preventing the tank from taking a hull-down position, riveted construction, and poor offroad performance. They were extensively used in northern Africa. Its overall performance was not satisfactory and the tank was withdrawn from combat in most theatres as soon as the M4 Sherman tank became available

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in larger numbers. In spite of this, it was considered by Hans von Luck (a Colonel in the Wehrmacht and the author of Panzer Commander) to be superior to the best German tank at the time of its introduction, the Panzer IV, at least until the F1 variant. Despite being replaced elsewhere, the British continued to use M3s in combat against the Japanese in southeast Asia until 1945.*

The gr

M3 GRANT CLOSE-UP The Melbourne Tank Museum was the personal collection of John Belfield, open to the public and located in several large sheds in Narre Warren. When I took these photographs in the mid-1990s, Narre Warren was a semi-rural area on the southeastern outskirts of Melbourne, but now it is a fully developed suburban commuter hub. Sadly, the collection was sold in 2004 and the museum closed. In its day, the Melbourne Tank Museum was a treasure trove of vehicles, some of which had been lovingly restored and many other hulks and unrestored examples. During a full day of photography in the 1990s – film photography in those days of course – I spent a fair amount of time in and around three Australian M3 Grants in John’s collection. Let’s take a closer look. ■

A front view of the Grant at Narre Warren.

This A

*Historical summary courtesy of Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3_Lee

13/12/2017 15:02

Close-up view of the headlight guard with the headlight missing. The intricate horn cover may be seen here too.

This Grant, in common with many in Australian service, is fitted with WE210 Double I track links.

The grouser rack on the front of the Grant’s hull.

This Australian Grant uses Sherman-style bogies with the straight return roller mount.

The characteristic sponson for the 75 mm gun.

Right rear hull and a good side view of the stowage box. February 2018 - Model Military International 7

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Think Tank - M3 Grant Close-Up

This is

Restricted view of the left mid hull, including the side crew hatch.

Right rear corner.

Nice ti

The corresponding left corner and a nice view of the tail light.

A murky view of the vehicle from the rear. Note the line of large screws at the top of the rear plate.

Cast texture and casting marks underneath the turret overhang.

Detail

The left side rear stowage box.

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This is another M3 Grant at the Museum located outside. Note that the rougher texture of the cast turret.

Right side view of the turret and the side visor.

Nice tidy weld seam on the front left side of the hull. The spally texture of the armour plate is interesting.

Left side low angle view of the turret.

Looking across the upper hull crew hatch.

Detail photo of the crew hatch on the left side of the hull.

The two-part armoured engine hatch. February 2018 - Model Military International 9

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Think Tank - M3 Grant Close-Up

Filler ports on the engine deck.

Vent and vision block opening over the sponson.

A close-up of the opening for the turret gunner’s sight.

Close-up view of the turret hatch.

A rare

Antenna mount and turret roof.

A view

3.7 cm turret gun mantlet.

Fightin

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A rare opportunity to climb around the interior of an unrestored Grant interior.

A view of the driver’s position from the right side.

Fighting compartment aft of the turret basket.

Driver’s position including the transmission. Now here is a challenge for the determined weatherer!

Inside the turret basket looking toward the sponson mounted 75 mm gun. Note the 37 mm ammo racks.

The sponson mounted 75 mm gun breech. February 2018 - Model Military International 11

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KIT PREVIEW

Dragon 1:35 Befehls Panther Ausf.G • Kit No. 6847

Antenna parts Marking options

Graham Tetley reviews the newest incarnation of Dragon’s Befehls Panther Ausf.G.

COMMAND PANTHER

I

had a strange feeling of déjà vu upon opening the box of this kit. After digging through my stash, my suspicions were confirmed that this is a re-release of the Cyberhobby kit 6551 from 2009. Dragon has included two extra Panther G mantlets in this kit (yeah!) but has swapped the individual Magic Tracks with DS Tracks (boo!). This kit will allow you to build a replica of the Pz.Kpfw.V Ausf.G Panther in its command tank, or Befehlspanzer configuration. Based upon the original Panther Ausf.G Smart Kit from DML, extra parts have been added for the command radio antenna arrays. In addition, the extended mast for the star antenna is provided and can be shown stowed or erected. Metal tow cables are provided (although the gauge is too thick to fit inside the plastic cable ends) and two etched fret gives us the engine deck screens and tops for the cupola periscope covers. Detail generally is sharp and well defined with there being no flash or imperfections at all and the standard Panther sprues. However, one thing that I noticed straight away is that the antenna sprues G, L & N are in a lighter coloured plastic and have softer detail with more flash than those in 6551. The DS Tracks have some fine detail but, as is standard for them, there is flash that is almost impossible to remove. I will be replacing mine but for many they will do just fine.

CONSTRUCTION I built 6551 when it came out so the insight from that should apply to this kit. We kick off with the lower hull and alternate idlers are provided. The torsion bar swingarm units are separate parts and can be made moveable if you snip off the little peg on the lower

hull. The idler wheel swing-arm is moveable and I would recommend not gluing it until you are satisfied with the tension of the track. The standard rubber-tired road-wheels contain some lovely detail and feature 32 rim-bolts and fine rim detail. The hull rear plate fits to the lower hull like a glove but I recommend you fit this first before the interior fan & radiator parts. Early exhaust pipes are provided with optional welded and cast armoured guards. The two rear stowage bins are nicely done and correctly stand proud of the hull but you may find fitting them easier by snipping off the locating pins. The final items are a multi-part vehicle jack, convoy light including clear part, and U-shaped tow clevises which are all beautifully detailed.

UPPER HULL Nothing has been missed here, from the headlight mount and power conduit to the clear parts for the periscopes. Weld detail is very realistic and the gun travel lock can be positioned open or closed. For the engine deck, we get etched brass screens for the various air intake & exhaust grills. Optional engine hatch plates and fan housings are provided so check your references for whichever vehicle you plan to build. On the rear hull we have some lovely slide-molded mounting frames for the spare tracks which depict the U-shaped track hangers complete with small holes for the separate L-shaped holding pins. The hangers are a bit thick scalewise and I remember having to thin mine down a little to get the spare track links to fit properly. Speaking of the separate links, Dragon provide four smaller

sprues that have a total of 16 track links with separate, fully detailed, guide horns. Another 200 more would have been nice! No Schürzen plates are provided. The rails on either side of the superstructure side plates are there, as are the hooks (in styrene). The problem here is that period photos of R01 show it with a full set of side skirts present. Okay, you can make then yourself but I feel they should have been in the box.

Star aerial but note the flash

Roadwheel detail

TURRET The turret is standard Dragon Panther G and flawless. We get a one-piece plastic barrel topped off with a lovely muzzle brake. A basic gun breach is included but the cupola parts are absolutely stunning. A plug is provided for the gun mantlet where the MG-34 would normally go, a feature that was new when this was originally released.

New, reinforced, mantlet

Etched engine screens & cupole parts

CONCLUSION Out of the box this will build a stunning and accurate Panther G. It is a shame about the missing Schürzen plates and the antenna sprues being inferior in quality to the rest of the kit but, overall I like it. Highly recommended. ■

Detail on the muzzle brake

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

Nothing missed on the hull roof

DS Track face detail

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Tools with molded on clasps

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Takom 1:35 M3 Grant • Kit No. 2086

T

he M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. In British and Commonwealth service, the tank was called by two names based on the turret configuration and crew size. Tanks employing US pattern turrets were called the "Lee", named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Variants using British pattern turrets were known as "Grant," named after Union General Ulysses S. Grant. The U.S. Army needed a medium tank armed with a 75mm gun and, coupled with the United Kingdom's immediate demand for 3,650 medium tanks. Design commenced in July 1940 and the Lee began production by late 1940. The design was a compromise meant to produce a tank as soon as possible.

The first M3s were operational by late 1941. The M3 had considerable firepower and good armour, but had serious drawbacks in its general design and shape, including a high silhouette, an archaic sponson mounting of the main gun preventing the tank from taking a hulldown position, riveted construction, and poor off-road performance. They were extensively used in North Africa. However, its overall performance was not satisfactory and the tank was withdrawn from combat in most theatres as soon as the M4 Sherman tank became available in larger numbers. In spite of this, it was considered by Hans von Luck (a Colonel in the Wehrmacht Heer and the author of Panzer Commander) to be superior to the best German tank at the time of its introduction, the Panzer IV (at least

until the F1 variant). Despite being replaced elsewhere, the British continued to use M3s in combat against the Japanese in Southeast Asia until 1945.

TAKOM’S 1:35 GRANT When Takom announced their M3 Grant and M3 Lee kits I knew that it was time to make my first M3 Tank. I think it was the box art that made me choose the Grant over the Lee kit. The kit comes in a compact sized boxed with a very nice North African theatre of operations box art. Inside is packed with the turret, lower hull, 12 sprues of very nicely moulded parts in light grey plastic, small PE sheet and clear lenses for the headlights. There is also a small decal sheet with four marking options.

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QUEEN

OF THE DESERT Pawel Rzymski builds Takom’s new 1:35

scale M3 Grant

When Takom announced “ their M3 Grant and M3 Lee

kits I knew that it was time to make my first M3 Tank...

”

CONSTRUCTION The build started with the lower hull and construction of bogies. The hull is pretty straightforward construction with only 10 parts to fit. The bogies are a different story. One needs to assemble 17 parts to get one bogie done. The good news is that everything is well thought out and if you read the manual carefully there should be no problem. After completing all six bogies and fitting the idler and sprocket the link-and-length T51 smooth pad tracks were assembled. Next came the casemate and upper hull. It is a multi-part build that can give some headaches as all plates the casemate is made of are separate parts. It started with attaching the sides to the hull. Adding front plates followed.A

Beginning of work on the lower hull.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Takom 1:35 M3 Grant • Kit No. 2086

Workable bogies done.

Workable road wheels construction.

Complete suspension x 6 ready.

When suspensions meet the hull!

B The next step is the construction of the

roof with the 75mm gun. The gun’s moving mechanism has an interesting approach to stay workable. As the manual states, you need to flatten Parts E15 and D18 with a hot screwdriver or another metal tool (children, please ask your parents for help!). This is a way of assembly only rarely seen in modern kits. If all the parts are correctly fit there should be no problem. The engine deck is the last main sub-build

of the upper hull. It comes with a photo-etched brass grille and four small etched knobs. It is made of a central part where on board tools and towing cable are placed, and two side panels caring stowage boxes. Those 3 parts come well together. Fitting the rear deck is easy as long as there were no misaligned parts in the previous steps of the build. After adding the rear mudguards and several

The tracks on.

parts on back plate, the last thing to do is to attach the sand shields covering the upper part of the tracks. I must admit that it isn’t the easiest thing to do as the access on is quite limited with the running gear and tracks. Careful adjusting and gluing is recommended! Last but not least is the British style turret. It is a quite simple and a pleasing step to end the build. A

Armoured plates in place.

The view from the other side. Casemate and 75mm gun

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Rear deck parts.

Rear deck ready.

Looking the part!

M3 Grant ready (minus turret)

Upper turret shell with cupola in place.

Bringing the turret together.

Turret base.

Mantlet armour in place.

The hull is pretty “ straightforward construction

with only 10 parts to fit. The bogies are a different story...

”

Basic build complete.

Detail is nice straight from the box.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Takom 1:35 M3 Grant • Kit No. 2086

Model primed with Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black.

A first very light base coat of Tamiya XF-2 White, XF-57 Buff and XF-3 Yellow.

Second coat of XF-57 mixed with XF-2 White. Masking with Patafix.

Green mix of XF 67 Nato Green XF-58 Olive Green.

Green camouflage sprayed.

B PAINTING

Decals of 7th Armoured Div., 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars, Battle of Al-Gazala 1942

Not being a frequent British armour painter, some research had to be done to find at least an approximate Tamiya paints mix. From what I’ve read about and saw on WWII pictures, in 1942 British Army was using a very pale sand colour called Light Stone 61. The whole model was primed with Tamiya NATO Black XF-69 the light sand base mix of XF-2 White with few drops of XF-57 Buff and even less XF-3 Yellow was sprayed in several thin layers. The result was not quite as pale as expected but after some hesitation I decided to apply few thin layers of Tamiya XF57 Buff and XF-2 White to add just a little bit more of sand color. The hard-edged camouflage pattern was achieved by applying pattafix mask all over the model and careful spraying a dark green mix of Tamiya XF-67 Nato Green and XF-58 Olive Green. After airbrushing Klir in some specific areas in order to avoid the silvering effect, the kit water slide decals of 7th Armmoured Div., 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars, from the Battle of Al-Gazala 1942 were applied.

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Heavy brown washes applied to the boxes and tarps.

Basic painting of Value Gear stowage accessories. Painting and weathering of the tracks on the front using one paint and two pigments.

Grey filter done using DAK filter and grey oil paint. Chipping with Vallejo acrylics.

10 washes applied using the Mig Productions ready to use wash liquids (still in service after several years!)

WEATHERING My personal approach to fighting vehicles of all kinds can be described with the good old modeller’s expression: “Less is more”. No… “more is better”!! Following this righteous path I started with the chipping. For that I used two Vallejo acrylic paints Iraqi Sand 70819 and German Camo Black Brown 70882. The chips were painted with 5/0 Red Sable Kolinsky brush. First thing to do was a filter. I decided to make a grey one as the paint seemed to be too vivid for a desert vehicle. For that I used AK Interactive DAK filter as a carrier that, for my taste, was too orange/yellow anyway. To obtain the grey colour I mixed in a small recipient the filter with Paynes Grey artist oil paint. After careful mixing the filter was a thinly applied with a flat brush. The model was left to dry for almost 24 hours in order to let the oil mixture dry. Next, two pin washes were applied using my old Mig Productions products: Brown and Dark. Those were my first ready to use washes I bought several years ago. They are still in service! A

…and from the rear.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Takom 1:35 M3 Grant • Kit No. 2086

This really adds to the effect.

Streaking done using AK Interactive Rust Streaks and Streaking grime.

North African dust application using AK North Africa Dust Effects.

Blending using odourless thinner and flat brush.

Fuel stains on both side of the hull were recreated using AK Interactive Fuel Stains

Pigments in action to add.

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The final touch to the tracks using AK Interactive Dark Steel pigment and a silicone brush.

Front view with weathering almost done.

Grease traces around the turret ring done using mix of Wet Effects and AK Interactive Fuel Stains.

A close-up view of the completed weathering.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Takom 1:35 M3 Grant • Kit No. 2086

B Washes were applied in all

recesses and around bolts and other raised parts adding more depth to the whole model. In order to emphasise the worn aspect, dirty streaks were added with the help of Streaking Grime and Rust Streaks from AK Interactive. First, thin lines were painted with a brush. They were left for around 10-15 minutes to settle down and dry a bit. Using a flat brush dampened with white spirit the streaks were gently faded. What was left of them created nice, dirty smudges on the vertical parts of the hull. The next day the same technique was used with Africa Dust effects. There was however an important difference in the amount of the product applied. The dusty mixture was applied in a much more dense way to simulate better the sandy and dusty desert environment. To add some more different effects fuel stains were applied around in the fuel inlets. To do it quickly, the AK’s Fuel Stains product was put to use. At the end, dry pigments were generously applied on the whole vehicle. Many shades were used (all from Mig Productions I bought years ago): Gulf War, Dark Mud, Rubble Dust, Beach Sand, African Earth, Industrial City Dirt. On the horizontal panels pigments were fixed with odourless white spirit. On the vertical parts of the hull they were just gently brush on. I tried to apply them punctually having two or three different shades brush on just one beside the others. It helped to create nice delicate contrast creating a more random dusty appearance. Once happy with the result, I took my super soft pencil and coloured with it edges to give them a metallic look. After being painted with Panzer Aces Rubber acrylic paint and washed with dark wash, the tracks received a pigment treatment too. The pigment was applied with a large silicone brush. I have just found the tip of using the silicone brush for the application of steel/ worn metal pigment over a specialised YouTube channel and must admit that it gives a lot of control and good effect. You can find this type of brush in most of store selling creative products, paints etc. Highly recommended! The final step of the weathering consisted of adding some greasy stains around the turret ring. The small accessories were added at the end. The Panzer III tracks were added as additional front armour protection. Even if this was not seen in North Africa, I decided that it looked pretty cool, so happily claimed artistic license over historical fact! The rear deck was stacked with ammo boxes, blankets and tarps from the Value Gear range of resin generic products. All these objects were glued with super glue and dusted up with pigments to match the overall model look. ■

British M3 Grant (left) and Lee (right) at El Alamein (Egypt), in the Sahara Desert, 1942, showing differences between the British turret and the original design.

M3 Lee and M3 Grant.

Stowage on board.

Panzer III tracks are used for additional front armour.

Modelspec Takom 1:35 M3 Grant

Kit No. 2086

✓ High level of detail; links and length tracks; good fit. Available from Takom kits are available online and from hobby stores worldwide.

Rating

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Grant in profile.

Packs and tarps are from Value Gear.

From what I’ve read about and seen in WWII pictures, in 1942, the British Army was using a very pale sand colour called Light Stone 61.

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KIT PREVIEW

Bronco 1:35 Russian Zil-131V Tractor Truck • Kit No. CB35194

The Editor examines Bronco’s 1:35 scale Zil-131V tractor truck.

The engine bay frame is a cleverly moulded part that is protected inside this stout cardboard box.

PRIME MOVER, SOVIET STYLE

T

he ZIL-131 is a general purpose 3.5 tons 6x6 army truck designed in the Soviet Union by ZIL. The basic model being a general cargo truck. Variants include a tractor-trailer truck, a dump truck, a fuel truck, and a 6x6 for towing a 4-wheeled powered trailer. The ZIL-131 also serves as a platform for the 9P138 rocket launcher, a 30-tube variant of the BM-21 “Grad”. The ZIL-131 has a civilian version the ZIL-130. Both were introduced in 1967 as a family of two trucks sharing identical components. The ZIL-131 6x6 has the same equipment as the GAZ-66 and Ural-375D. The ZIL-130/131 was in production at the “AMUR” truck plant (as the AMUR 531340), with both gasoline and diesel engines, until 2012 when AMUR shut down and filed for bankruptcy.* Hot on the heels of their 1:35 scale Zil-131 cargo truck, Bronco

has released the Tractor Truck version. The truck is made up from 519 parts in grey plastic, 24 parts in clear plastic, one photo-etched fret and markings for five vehicles. The model is very well detailed. The front of the body is moulded as a single parts as a perfect example of the benefits of modern slide moulding technology. It is packed into its own stout cardboard box - a thoghtful touch to protect this delicate part. Apart from this, the truck is broken down into what appears to be as many parts as possible. The rest of the cab is provided as separate parts - sides, rear, windscreen, roof and doors. Full chassis detail is included, once again broken down into its major and minor components including separate rails, exhausts, suspension and detail parts. Transmission, differentials and associated parts are also multipart sub-assemblies.

Vinyl tyres are moulded with a slightly raised centreline seam that will be tricky to clean up.

An incredibly detailed engine compartment is offered, and this may be shown off thanks to the separate hood. Tyres are vinyl. They are nicely enough detailed but there is a slight raised centreline seam on each of the eight tyres that will be tricky to clean up. I really would prefer if manufacturers provided injection moulded plastic tyres, even as an option. I’m sure the after-market resin accessory industry is pleased about the vinyl tyres though! The cab is well fitted out, and the doors may be posed open or closed. Clear parts are provided for the winscreen and windows. Optional parts are supplied for fully open or fully closed driver’s and passenger’s windows. The open option is essentially just the closed front quarter window. Poseable photo-etched sun shields are included too. The cab roof is moulded with two small separate hatches that may also be posed open or closed. The trailer hitch system and skids are well represented on the rear of the truck too. I wonder if we’ll see a separate trailer at some stage? Photo-etched parts are supplied for fine details. Markings are offered for five vehicles - Russia, Ukraine, GDR, Soviet Troops in Germany and Czechoslovakia - in any colour you like as long as it is Russian Green. Decals are in register and colours look good. This is a highly detailed model of a widely used Cold War and modern era Russian truck. The high parts count and the tiny pieces will make this most appropriate for experienced (and patient) modellers. ■

Markings are offered for five vehicles.

Thanks to Bronco for the sample www.cn-bronco.com/en/index.php

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*Historical summary adapted from Wikipedia.

The multi-part cab.

The kit contains many small detail parts.

Clear sprue.

A photo-etched fret is included.

The kit decal sheet.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 German Assault Team & Goliath Set• Kit No. 35357

BEETLE TANK Brett Green gets hold of a test shot of Tamiya’s 1:35 scale German Assault Team & Goliath Set and cannot resist building it!

T

he Goliath tracked mine - complete German title: Leichter Ladungsträger Goliath (Goliath Light Charge Carrier) was a name given to two German Unmanned ground vehicles, disposable demolition vehicles, used during World War II. These were the electrically powerd Sd.Kfz. 302 and the petrol-engine powered Sd.Kfz. 303a and 303b. They were known as beetle tanks to the Allies.

Employed by the Wehrmacht during World War II. They carried 60 or 100 kilograms (130 or 220 lb) of high explosives, depending on the model, and were intended to be used for multiple purposes, such as destroying tanks, disrupting dense infantry formations, and the demolition of buildings or bridges. Goliaths were single-use vehicles that were destroyed by the detonation of their warhead.

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Two complete Goliath models are included.

The link and length tracks look delicate but they were fast and easy to remove and clean up.

The three figures features feature good detail and nice sculpting.

A length of copper wire is included for the control cable.

GOLIATH AND FRIENDS IN THE BOX Tamiya has slipped this new release in under the radar - or perhaps I should say under the barbed wire - although they did release a 1:48 scale Goliath and Kettenkrad set some years ago. I received a plain white box with a set of test shot sprues during the week. Tamiya's brand new 1:35 scale German Assault Pioneer Team & Goliath Set comprises 111 parts in light grey plastic and a spool of fine copper wire. The light grey plastic is probably for the test shot only and I think we are more likely to see Tamiya's more familiar dark yellow plastic in the production kit. The set provides two complete Goliath models made up from 39 parts each, including link and length tracks. Surface textures are nicely done as you would expect from Tamiya, with raised rivets, pressed panels and recessed panel lines. The Goliath units are quite diminutive when built at less than 45mm in length. Three figures are also included. These are up to Tamiya's most recent high standards in terms of sculpting, uniform drape, facial realism and natural poses. There is a kneeling NCO with binoculars up to his eyes, a pensive looking operator with the wired remote-control box and a third team member lying on the ground. Copper wire is provided for the cable between the Goliath and the remote control. There are no decals - at least there are no decals with my test shot. I assume that there won't be any in the production kit. The real Goliath was devoid of markings, so the only decals possible would be for uniform insignia anyway. A

The sides ready for assembly. Some of the sprue attachments extend onto the rear surface of parts. These should be cleaned up prior to assembly.

Goliath’s upper and lower body parts.

The small road wheels and return rollers are moulded onto each hull side as a single part. The drive sprockets are keyed to ensure perfect fit of the link and length tracks.

The Goliath is very small in 1:35 scale.

Idler wheels, track adjusters and the rear guards.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 German Assault Team & Goliath Set• Kit No. 35357

Two plastic parts make up the cable drum.

The copper wire is wrapped around the drum.

The drum is fitted to the Goliath here. The separate hatch may be posed open to display the cable and drum if you wish.

Here are all the track lengths laid out in order of part number, ready for assembly.

B ASSEMBLY AND PAINTING

It's not often that I build and paint a model plus three figures in two days, but that is exactly what happened with this test shot of Tamiya's Goliath Set. The Goliath was assembled in a couple of hours. I deviated slightly from the instructions by partially assembling the tracks into four sections that were not actually glued to the running gear at this stage. The Goliath was painted using Mission Models' acrylic Dark Yellow applied with Meng's new airbrush, which I have been testing out too. Weathering comprised an overall dark acrylic wash (Future floor polish, water and a few drops of dark brown paint; followed by MIG Productions’ Neutral Wash. The tracks were painted a mix of Tamiya acrylic XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown before the four sections were glued to each side, following the sequence suggested in the instructions. A few of the joins needed to be touched up, but this was far easier than trying to paint both track runs in situ. Following installation, the tracks were treated to a brushed coat of Easy Mud Item No. 21105 – European Earth. While it was still wet, the excess was rubbed off the high sections of the tracks with a clean cloth. This left a residue of dried mud in the recesses of the tracks. Figures were mostly painted using Vallejo acrylics. A

I partially assembled the tracks into four sections, taking care not to glue the tracks to the running gear at this stage.

Mission Models acrylic paint was used for this project. Two versions of Dark Yellow are available. I used the darker version, which actually looks paler than this when dry.

The track sections were temporarily attached to a small box using Blu-Tack.

The instructions suggest the sequence of assembly. I roughly conformed to this sequence.

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Mission Models' acrylic Dark Yellow was applied using Meng's new airbrush. The model was dry-brushed with two progressively paler shades mixed from Vallejo acrylics.

Dry-brushing highlights the raised detail and edges.

Weathering comprised an overall dark acrylic wash (Future floor polish, water and a few drops of dark brown paint; followed by MIG Productions’ Neutral Wash.

The four track sections were now glued to each side of the running gear.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 German Assault Team & Goliath Set• Kit No. 35357

B CONCLUSION Tamiya’s brand new 1:35 scale German Assault Pioneer Team & Goliath Set is a nice addition to the military range. With the addition of a simple base it will be an interesting standalone vignette, or it might lend additional colour to a larger scene. ■

Modelspec The tracks were treated to a brushed coat of Easy Mud Item No. 21105 – European Earth. While it was still wet, the excess was rubbed off the high sections of the tracks with a clean cloth.

Tamiya 1:35 German Assault Team & Goliath Set. Kit No. 35357 Tools and Modelling Products: Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement Revell Contacta Plastic Glue Selleys Super Glue Tamiya Surfacer Paints and Finishing Products: Vehicle: Tamiya Spray Cans - Grey Primer; Fine White Primer Mission Models acrylic paint – MMP-011 Dunkelgelb RAL 7028; Polyurethane Mix Additive; Thinner Airbrush Cleaner. Easy Mud Item No. 21105 – European Earth Future Floor Polish dark wash (custom mix) Mig Productions P222 – Neutral Wash Prismacolor Pencil – Sepia Alclad II Klear Kote - Flat Figures: Uniforms - (all Vallejo Panzer Aces acrylics) – 333 Germ. Tkcr. (Black); 334 Germ. Tkcr. I (Feldgrau); 335 Germ. Tkcr. II (Feldgrau); 337 Highlight Ger. (Black); 338 Highlight Ge. I (Feldgrau); 339 Highlight Ge. II (Feldgrau). Flesh Base Coat: Tamiya acrylic XF-15 Flat Flesh. Wash: Rowney Georgian Oil Paint 221 Burnt Sienna. Variations and Highlights: Vallejo Model Colour acrylics 70815 Basic Skin Tone; 845 Sunny Skin Tone; 919 Foundation White (mixed). General Detailing (all Vallejo Model Colour acrylics) – 847 Dark Sand; 70862 Black Grey; 70865 Oily Steel; 919 Foundation White; 70950 Black; 70957 Flat Red.

Accessories and weapons are also included.

The figures are broken down into multiple pieces.

The bodies received a base coat of Tamiya Grey Primer.

The bodies were assembled without the heads.

✓ Good detail; excellent fit; fast build; great figures in natural poses. ✗ Nothing much worth mentioning. Available from Thanks to Tamiya Japan for the sample www.tamiya.com Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited www.hobbyco.net

Rating

The heads were mounted on toothpicks to make handling easier during painting. They were labelled according to the sprue letters to make sure they were glued to the appropriate bodies!

The bodies following dry-brushing and a dark wash of Future floor polish, water and a few spots of dark brown paint.

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An enamel wash of Burnt Sienna was brushed over the acrylic flesh base colour.

The heads after detail painting with Vallejo acrylics.

The bodies were painted next. I used two versions of Field Grey as supplied by Vallejo acrylics.

Details such as bread bags, canteens, shoulder boards and collar insignia were now picked out with a fine brush.

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The heads were glued in place and the figures received a flat coat.

Three men and a Goliath!

This was a fast and fun little project. Now perhaps I need to build a T-34 and create a larger scene of the Goliath sneaking up from behind!

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KIT PREVIEW

DSPIAE Single Blade Nipper 2.0 • Item No. HRC58~64

The tool features an adjusting screw to set the “bite”

The packaging.

The nippers are used in the usual way.

The set includes the cutting tool and a holster.

SINGLE BLADE CUTTER James Hatch is impressed with a new style of sprue cutter from Breveco Modelling

W

ithout a doubt, the finest pair of cutters that I ever owned was a 1980s pair of Lindstrom electronic side-cutters. These seemed to be built to last an entire lifetime, and their cutting edges, even after time trimming resistor and capacitor legs, were still like brand new. They weren’t cheap either. I remember in the 1990s, these were around £70. Unfortunately, they now seem lost, and for a while now I’ve been using a Xuron sprue cutter. Very recently, Evert and Corien at Breveco Modelling, asked me if I would like to take the new DSPIAE Single Blade Nipper 2.0 for a spin. I’d heard good things about these in terms of quality and operation, so thought this was a perfect opportunity to lay the ghost of my old lost Lindstrom to rest. This tool comes in a box which I can only say is as good as anything Apple produce, and very reminiscent of the Beats headphones I recently got with my MacBook Pro. Construction of the packaging is hard-core, with an explosion-proof tray with a lid that holds itself almost through air suction! The attractive packaging has an outline drawing on the lid, and an ID number on the side, to indicate this is a genuine DSPIAE tool. When you lift the lid, the first thing you see is a removable tray that contains a holster for the tool. This appears to be leather, or something similar, and it’s embossed with the company

name. An explanation is also given for the design of the tool, having only a single blade. More on that soon. This tray also contains an inventory that says there is a cleaning cloth in the packet, although I can’t see one in mine. Also in this tray is a plastic cap for the cutter, presumably in case you don’t use the leather holster. Removing this tray reveals the tool itself, sat neatly into a foam cut-out, plus an adjustment tool. The tool is there so you can a small limit regulator that prevents the user from forcing the cutting edge and cutting face together too hard, and possibly lessening the life of the tool. This is adjusted by holding the tool to the light, and setting the screw so that the blade and face only just come together. One thing that hits you is that the spring on these isn’t particularly high tension, meaning that little force is needed to close the cutter and cut plastic. The handles are also very ergonomic and extremely comfortable to handle, unlike the square appearance of my old Lindstrom tool. As for the cutter part, only one blade is present, and this is super sharp. The opposing face, instead of being another blade, is simply a flat, stopper surface. To test, I cut plastic from various manufacturers. These were Zoukei-mura, Eduard, Hasegawa and Tamiya, and what I found with all of them was an almost zero-resistance result

during cutting, even with the low tension spring. Generally, you could barely tell you were cutting through any plastic, and that includes some of the thicker sprue plastic. Removing individual parts, from fuselage halves, down to small detail parts, was less than effortless. Quite remarkable. The cuts themselves are very neat, with no crushing, and if you look at the cut sprue image, you’ll see that both faces are practically vertical, almost as if separated with a razor saw. Of course, you need a clean cut, and this is exactly what this tool delivers.

Note the straight cut all the way through the sprue.

The nippers holstered.

CONCLUSION You can probably tell that I’m very impressed with these. In fact, I’d say these are the most precise cutters that I have used in 40 years of modelling, and it’s actually a total pleasure to use and handle them. If you are doing a lot of parts removal, it could well be worth investing a little time during each session to ensure that the limit regulator is still set correctly so that you can’t force the cutting edges together too hard. I really can’t praise this useful tool highly enough. It really is superb. Available from Breveco Modelling for €34,50 Highly Recommended. ■

One face is flat.

The cutting face.

Thanks to Breveco Modelling for the sample www.brevecomodelling.nl A vinyl shroud is also included.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Dragon 1:35 Soviet SU-85M Tank Destroyer - Premium Edition • Kit No. 6415

SUEZ DEFENDER Jim Turner converts Dragon’s 1:35 Soviet SU-85M Tank Destroyer into an Egyptian SU-100 using Accurate Armour’s multimedia parts.

W

hat to do with a surplus Dragon 1:35 scale SU-85M? I purchased it very cheaply from a Hong Kong based online store some time ago with the intention of using it to upgrade a Tamiya SU-85, but the arrival of a newly tooled SU-85 from MiniArt rendered the project redundant. I also have the Dragon SU-100 kit, so I wasn’t really interested in building an SU-85M, it was just an SU-100 fitted with the 85mm D-5S gun of its SU-85 predecessor and for me didn’t look sufficiently different. However, the Bovington Tank Museum SU-100 is finished in a striking desert colour scheme and prominent white crescent on green disc markings, which together with some constructional differences gave it appeal as an interesting alternative build. As is quite well known, the Bovington SU-100 was captured by the British Army from the Egyptians during the militarily successful but politically disastrous Anglo-French ‘Suez Operation’ of 1956. It is a very well

photographed museum piece, so it seemed that reference material would not present any problems.

BACKGROUND & RESEARCH The Dragon SU-100 and very similar SU-85M kits represent standard wartime production Soviet Army vehicles. After the Second World War, SU-100 production continued with some modifications as the SU-100M, intended primarily for export, and licensed production was also undertaken in Poland and Czechoslovakia with minor but characteristic differences. By 1956 the Egyptian Army had received about one hundred SU-100s; many, possibly all, being Czech production vehicles. Most of these were deployed against the Israelis who had launched an attack across the Sinai, but a few engaged British and French airborne and amphibious forces that had landed around the northern end of the Suez Canal. Three were dug in around the airfield at el-Gamil west of Port Said, the site of the British parachute landings, a few

more arrived later and were used singly as artillery support, shelling British and French positions until they were destroyed or abandoned. The Bovington SU-100 is a Czech production example captured by the British 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. There are several photographs of it immediately after capture, many of which are actually stills from a Pathé newsreel. This shows it in various locations being driven around by a crew from the 6th Royal Tank Regiment, until apparently being driven into a small palm tree! Its identity is not immediately apparent as the number ‘3’ has been crudely painted by the British over the crescent-on-disc markings. The Arabic numeral ‘3’ also appears top right on the glacis plate and this is also currently present on the repainted Bovington exhibit. It was my original intention to model this specific vehicle, however in the end I chose another vehicle that appears to be almost identical, photographs of which

appear on the excellent web site ‘WWII after WWII’ (wwiiafterwwii. wordpress.com). These show one of the dug-in SU-100s at el-Gamil Airfield, seemingly captured intact by British Paras. In one picture it has been reversed out of its revetment and so was still driveable, although I am sure that it is not the Bovington vehicle. Photos from three sides are available, only the rear is not shown. It carries a full set of white crescent on green disc Egyptian national markings and what is probably a small Arabic number ‘four’, just visible on the top right corner of the glacis plate – possibly identifying the vehicle-in-battery. The attraction of this example are the many spent shell cases strewn around, obviously the result of some intense firing, including what appears to be at least one on the engine deck. I expect that the shell cases were thrown from the open ammunition hatch located on the rear of the roof when in action to prevent them cluttering the fighting compartment. There are also large sheets of canvas

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or similar material surrounding it, probably used for concealment. This project is well served by specific aftermarket accessories. Star Decals Sheet 35-946, ‘Egyptian Tanks in the 1950s’ provides all the necessary markings, while Accurate Armour Set C071 ‘Egyptian SU-100’ includes most of the parts needed to convert either the SU-85M or SU-100 Dragon kits. The Accurate Armour conversion kit comprises parts in resin, brass and braided wire, a turned aluminium barrel, and fully comprehensive instructions for the construction of a Soviet SU-100M, a Czech or Polish equivalent, or an Egyptian Army modified variant. Note that the specifically Egyptian modifications were made after the 1956 campaign and are not actually appropriate to this project; in fact both the Bovington example and my chosen subject are closer to the standard Czech production build. After capture, what was to become the Bovington SU-100 was handed over to a NATO test and evaluation team for about a year; A

The superstructure rear plate was simplified for the post-war production, the ammunition loading hatch door was deleted as were the fillets between the superstructure and engine deck sides. The former was fitted and filled with Squadron Green Putty, while the latter were filled with scraps of plastic card and sanded flush.

The Accurate Armour set contains several parts that are necessary for this build, most conspicuous being the large resin stowage bin. I also used the resin parts for the hull front joint, the heavy exhaust covers, the wire and resin unditching gear and the triangular infantry call button housing. Some parts are duplicated in the Dragon SU-100 kit, but when starting from the SU-85M basic kit as I did then also required are the SU-100 resin gun mantlet, aluminium 100mm D-10S barrel, front fenders (modified) and brass etched engine grille. From the Accurate Armour etched brass fret I used the mesh grille for the engine deck and lifting handles for the external tanks and stowage bin. The tie-down loops looked undersized and are inevitably flat in cross-section, but should be round, so were better replaced with wire. Sadly, the Arabic number plates are appropriate for a 1967 war or later vehicle so couldn’t be used for this build.

Here’s the Dragon SU-85M mantlet alongside the Accurate Armour resin SU-100 replacement. The latter is identical to that in the SU-100 kit so either can be used. The texture of the Bovington SU-100 mantlet is quite subtle and the part does not require enhancing – in general Czech production finish was of a higher standard than Soviet.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Dragon 1:35 Soviet SU-85M Tank Destroyer - Premium Edition • Kit No. 6415

B this included testing the 100mm

D-10S gun, which may have been dismounted. It is worth noting that it has a few bits and pieces that are currently missing, most notably the headlamp and the hinged rain cover over the gun mantlet. The Tank Museum was able to furnish me with photographs of the vehicle being delivered to them and both of these items were fitted at that time. There are also some characteristic weld scars on the left side of the cast mantlet, these are not visible on any photographs taken at capture, nor on any other SU-100 as far as I have seen so I assume they are a result of the NATO testing.

CONSTRUCTION By following a combination of the Dragon and Accurate Armour instructions as appropriate, construction proceeded with few major problems, the main ones being those inherent in the Dragon kit. The available contemporary photographs provided information on which modifications to incorporate, and where they were not helpful I resorted to the plentiful supply of clear photographs of the museum exhibit on the web, my assumption being that these two vehicles would be more or less identical. The Dragon SU-85M kit includes separate link tracks that look adequate on first inspection. Unfortunately they are not the bagged ‘Magic Track’ separate link type, but are attached to sprues. The large sprue gates are attached to the link edges and wrap around the edge, making it necessary to reshape the edge of each link rather than just having to file the sprue tab flat. I first cut off and cleaned up a few links to make the spare track section, and having found this to be difficult and time consuming, I decided to replace them for the main tracks so I bought the recently issued MiniArt ‘T-34 Wafer Type Workable Track Link Set’ (Kit No. 35207), as included in their SU-85 and SU-122 kits. These are also on sprues, but the attachments are on the hinged edges of the links. They also require careful clean-up to ensure a good fit, but this is easier and quicker than for the Dragon links, and also the exposed track edges are cleanly moulded and look better when assembled. In addition, the MiniArt links are better detailed, having an indentation on the outer face representing the hollow guide horn, and also tiny casting numbers on the inner faces – actually readable with a magnifying glass! They are not without some problems

however. They are supposed to be articulated via two tiny pins that engage indentations in the adjacent link. I found these to be far too delicate and as often as not they broke off when I tried to snap them together, so in the end I had to treat them as non-articulated tracks and glued them together in sections before painting. The rear plate of the fighting compartment was simplified on the SU-100M and Czech production. The vertical section of the ammunition loading door was deleted so this was filled with Squadron Green Putty. The fillets between the engine deck sides and superstructure sides were also deleted, the locating slots being filled with plastic card. The superstructure side plates should overlap the rear plate slightly, this was represented with strips of 30-thou (0.75mm) plastic card attached and then sanded flush with the sides. The commander’s cupola is of the larger single-hatch type fitted to the late model T-34-85, fortunately this is included on the Dragon sprues, the mounting lip needs to be cut off and the vision slits need to be repositioned. As suggested by Accurate Armour, the weld between the superstructure side and the cupola bulge should be much more prominent. I glued plastic rod into the join and softened it with plenty of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, then worked it with a spatula tip to give a rough welded appearance. In the T-34 and derivatives the front edge of the hull was formed by a beam with weld beads above and below where the glacis and bow plates respectively were welded to it. Accurate Armour provides an alternative to the kit part in resin which is more sharply angled and has a weld bead above only. It appears as though the beam was deleted and the two plates were welded together directly. The spare track section appears to have been shifted down so I removed the eight mounting posts and added new ones from plastic rod. The track is attached to the posts by large bolts, Dragon supply specific links with the bolts moulded on, but only three (one per track sprue) whereas four are needed. I added the fourth using short lengths of plastic rod, fixed in place then filed down to the appropriate height. The front fenders of the SU-100 should be the standard squaredoff type for this vehicle. These are provided in the SU-100 kit but not the SU-85M that I had, which has rounded fenders. Accurate Armour supply resin fenders for the late Egyptian conversion. These are

Those terrible ice cleat tie-down loops (that is what they are supposed to be) just had to go! They were replaced by loops of wire, actually steel electric guitar string.

The basic SU-85M kit comes with a solid engine grille, but does have the underlying radiator shutter surround. The ‘Premium’ kits include etched brass shutters to go with an etched brass mesh grille but I used the resin shutters that were included with the Accurate Armour set.

The rectangular blocks that fit just in front of the drive sprockets are track pin knockers intended to push home any track pins that work themselves out. There are no positive locating marks on the Dragon hull and the instructions give little help, so I aligned them using T-34-85 plans in the Michulec and Zientarzewski book ‘T-34 – Mythical Weapon’.

The terrible fit between upper and lower hull is disappointing for a modern kit, and I experienced the same problem when building the Dragon T-34 Model 1943 ‘Hexagonal Turret’, so it may well be common to all Dragon T-34 kits.

Tamiya masking tape wasn’t up to the job of holding the gap closed and I had to resort to clear parcel tape, unfortunately this left an adhesive residue that had to be removed with alcohol.

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the square type but are raised to allow the adjustable front idler to be rotated up so as to improve vertical step performance, however this modification was made after the 1956 campaign. I had to reverse the Egyptian modification by cutting them back to their original size, fortunately I found the resin to be readily workable with clippers and a file. Accurate Armour provide resin replacements for the external fuel tanks with mounting brackets integrally moulded and lifting handles supplied as etched brass parts. These have better detail than the Dragon brackets, however I used the Dragon parts as my vehicle had just one external fuel tank fitted, the other three positions being occupied by brackets only. Rather than having to remove the brackets from the Accurate Armour parts I chose to use the Dragon ones. The hull locating slot positions differ from those moulded on the kit. The original slots were filled and new ones positioned to match photographs using a 1mm pin drill and pointed scalpel blade. Dragon have the retaining bands aligned with the brackets, this is wrong – they should be alongside, so I sanded them off and replaced them with 10-thou (0.25mm) plastic card strips. The four tightening bolts were represented by short lengths of electric guitar string. Finally, I filed off the moulded lifting handles and replaced them with the Accurate Armour etched parts. The left-hand tool box is relocated further back, almost level with the back edge of the superstructure and covering the two-man saw. Accurate Armour provides an alternative resin saw with a straight mounting bracket. Although the saw is missing, the Bovington SU-100 is fitted with the V-shaped saw bracket as supplied by Dragon, so I used that. Not included in the Accurate Armour set is the large fire extinguisher fitted to the left track guard, I fabricated this from sections of round sprue filed to shape. The dimensions were estimated from photographs of the Bovington SU-100 and I think are pretty close. When I say large – this thing is a monster, it must be nearly a metre long and would have been quite a handful for one man. Not mentioned in the Accurate Armour instructions but visible in the model photographs, there is a small rectangular block welded to the side of the cupola bulge just below the vision slit. There is also one on the opposite side of the hull that Accurate Armour missed but is clearly present in various photographs including those of the Bovington example. I added these

with scrap plastic, what they are for is a mystery to me. The large stowage box should have lifting handles fitted front and back, locating marks are moulded on the part but the instructions omit to mention them. The small triangular resin part fitted to the left rear side is identified as a rear light in the Accurate Armour instructions; however other sources (I believe correctly) describe it as an infantry call button. This was a specific feature of Czech-built T-34-85s and SU-100s and is present on the Bovington SU-100. Why such a small device required such a large armoured housing is hard to say – Warsaw Pact engineering at its finest! The photographed vehicle has two towing cables attached, one each to the front cleats and stowed to the left. I decided to add just one, however the Dragon kit does include eyes for two cables. The kit provides string for the cable itself, but I substituted braided picture wire. The cleats have small spring-loaded retaining clips above them, they must be added after the cable eye is positioned as it is not possible to fit the cable eye once the clip is in place. The cable assemblies on the left side of the superstructure are sometimes identified as towing cables but I believe Accurate Armour correctly describes them as unditching straps. T-34 tracks have a pair of bolt holes in alternate links used for securing the spare track or attaching ice cleats, and it appears that these cable assemblies could be fitted similarly. They are provided by Accurate Armour in resin with braided wire for the cables themselves. I replaced the fragile resin stand-off pins by carefully drilling out the resin parts and using 0.8mm piano wire for a more robust assembly. Various grabhandles, characteristic of many Soviet designs, were also replaced with 0.8mm piano wire. The right hand side one aft of the cupola was deleted and a new one added on the right side rear edge of the roof. The small handle on the circular transmission access hatch on the rear plate was of a smaller gauge and was replaced with electric guitar string. The ice cleat tie-down loops are shapeless blobs that look like something from a 1960’s kit. Accurate Armour provide photoetched brass replacements, but these are undersized and in any case flat brass parts are not the best representations of round section wire loops. I replaced them with electric guitar string. Note that the locations differ from the kit positions. I wouldn’t think that the Egyptians would A

The heavy scalloped exhaust covers and large hinges are Accurate Armour resin parts. Note that the hinges are positioned differently to the originals, with two bolts per side outboard and five between. I attempted to carefully shave off the two relocated bolt heads to reposition them, but they were eagerly consumed by the carpet monster! I added new bolts with short lengths of plastic rod, shown in place. When set, they were cut and filed down to an appropriate height. The resulting bolt heads are of course circular in plan form not hexagonal, but this is not really noticeable. The radiator slats and surround was sprayed in an oily steel colour. Humbrol used to do a shade in their old ‘Authentics’ but sadly it is not duplicated in their current range, so I mixed up an approximation using Humbrol 56 Aluminium and 53 Gunmetal. Later the area got a coat of Tamiya X-22 Acrylic Clear followed by a light wash of thinned Lamp Black oil paint.

The hull front beam was replaced by the sharper and wider Accurate Armour resin part that has a weld bead on the upper surface only. A bit of Squadron Green Putty was required, top and bottom. I have also marked the positions of the spare track mounting posts that need to be moved down. For the sole external fuel tank fitted I used the Dragon parts rather than the Accurate Armour resin, so that the mounting brackets all matched. The moulded retaining straps were sanded off and replaced with 10-thou (0.25mm) plastic card strips. These sit alongside the brackets, not aligned with them as Dragon would have it. The green spots are where I filled the moulded-in dents, since the actual tank appeared to be in better condition than the Dragon parts! The tightening screws are short bits of electric guitar string and the brass carrying handle is from the Accurate Armour fret. The moulded spare track mounting posts were removed and replacements made from plastic rod were glued to the track section. One long pin engaged a hole drilled in the glacis to get the alignment correct. The Accurate Armour resin front fenders have been attached after being cut down to be flush with the track guards rather than elevated. The Dragon SU-100 kits already include the correct square fenders.

The original fuel tank mounting bracket slots were filled and new ones cut with a 1mm drill and squared off with a sharp pointed scalpel using the AA resin tanks/brackets as a template. This was trickier than just cutting the locating tabs off the brackets and mounting them flush, but I thought it was worth it to give a stronger joint. The left-hand tool box has been relocated to be flush with the rear edge of the superstructure. On the roof can be seen an extra antenna mount and just in front of it a mysterious ‘L’-shaped tube made from plastic rod and plastic card. On the right hand side the ghastly moulded plastic lumps that were supposed to be ice cleat tie-down loops have been replaced with electric guitar string. The grab handles have been replaced by 0.8mm piano wire and an extra one added to the rear edge of the superstructure roof. The white strip of 30-thou (0.75mm) plastic card represents the extended superstructure side plate. February 2018 - Model Military International 37

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Dragon 1:35 Soviet SU-85M Tank Destroyer - Premium Edition • Kit No. 6415

B have had much use for ice cleats,

although perhaps they may have been of some value in loose sand. Nevertheless the Czechs seem to have supplied the vehicles with a full set of such cleats, I added just three. Dragon provide plastic retaining straps moulded flat which have to be bent to shape, these invariably snapped when I tried this so I replaced them with painted paper strips. I used Tamiya Acrylic XF-52 Earth Brown for this as the paper seems to retain more flexibility than if painted with enamels. I also fitted a couple of artillery ranging poles under them made from 40-thou diameter (1mm) plastic rod. I used 57mm lengths which would give a scale 2m pole. The Egyptians seem to have deployed the SU-100 in an indirect fire role, so it is a reasonable addition, and something resembling these are visible in the historical photos, though alternatively they may be gun cleaning rods. The headlamp is missing from Bovington’s SU-100, but the bracket is still in place and this resembles the T-34 type rather than that supplied by Dragon, fortunately the T-34 lamp and bracket are included so I used those parts.

PAINTING AND MARKINGS Bovington’s SU-100 has a nice unblemished and shiny paint job, and has clearly been repainted by the museum. I wanted to reproduce the operational appearance of the vehicle as it was at the time of its capture. Fortunately a number of photographs exist taken by the British forces at the time. The whole model, less wheels and tracks, first received a coat of my favourite Citadel ‘Chaos Black’ Primer from the can. It is evident from photographs that the paint finish was peeling off in some quite large areas. I assume that the vehicles were originally factory-painted green and later repainted in desert sand without adequate preparation, resulting in poor paint adhesion and resultant peeling. To achieve this effect I gave the model an overall coat of Xtracolor X811 Russian Tank Green by airbrush. I then applied Humbrol ‘Maskol’ latex masking fluid using a toothpick and to the areas requiring chipping. I used the photographs as a guide rather than trying to mimic the real thing exactly, which would not have been easy. I could find no references to the correct colour for Egyptian armour of

this period, so I based my choice on the current appearance of the Bovington vehicle. This is painted in quite a rich sand yellow, for which the best match by eye was Humbrol 93 Desert Yellow. This happens to be the same colour as the old Humbrol Authentic HM2 ‘Afrika Korps Desert Yellow’, maybe the Egyptians found a stock left over from the war, or maybe Bovington had some left over from painting their Panzer III! When the top coat was thoroughly dry (overnight) I set about removing the ‘Maskol’ with a wooden toothpick, the resulting effect certainly looks a lot better than adding chipping afterwards with a brush. The displaced dry enamel paint is actually quite adhesive and can stick back on the model, I found that by first wetting the area being treated this is prevented. The second difficulty with this process was remembering where all the Maskol had been applied! Next was an airbrushed coat of Tamiya X-22 Acrylic Gloss diluted 1:1 with Tamiya Acrylic Thinner as a basis for decaling and weathering. I have found before that Star Decals can be quite brittle, and in fact two of the national markings broke in half when released from

The included Dragon track links on the left and the MiniArt replacements on the right. The difference doesn’t look dramatic, but getting the MiniArt links cleaned up was much easier and the hollow guide horns are also present on the latter. Note the missing section of sprue – this had become the body of the fire extinguisher!

the backing paper, however I was able to position them such that the joins were invisible. I also added a small Arabic number four to the right upper front plate. This is just visible if the appropriate photograph is enlarged and the contrast enhanced. All decals were applied to flat surfaces so no decal solutions were required, just water and a tiny amount of detergent to aid wetting. When the decals were thoroughly dry they got a second coat of X-22 over the top to seal them. Further weathering consisted of a wash of Windsor & Newton ‘Griffin’ Alkyd Oil Paints heavily thinned with Artist’s Oil Thinner, mainly Davy’s Grey and Burnt Umber with a little Lamp Black around the exhausts, wheel hub grease points and fuel filler cap. The Russian V-2 Diesel is one dirty beast and there is always a heavy deposit of soot around the exhausts. Alkyd oils are much faster drying than traditional oil paints, and I find that leaving them overnight is adequate. When the oils had dried, I applied a thin coat of sandy dust – Humbrol 72 Khaki Drill, again heavily thinned, this time with Humbrol Enamel Thinners, via airbrush

…the Bovington Tank “ Museum SU-100 is finished in a striking desert colour scheme and prominent white crescent on green disc markings...

”

The tracks are fitted as an upper and lower run while the glue sets. The wheels are not fixed in place at this stage so that the whole running gear can be removed for painting.

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The tracks were painted with Humbrol 251 RLM81 Dunkelbraun then drybrushed with 56 Aluminium.

to the wheels, tracks and lower hull. The effect looked rather bland, so when it was just dry I partially removed it with a broad flat brush dampened with more thinners, especially on the wheels, to improve contrast and texture. To further aid the contrast I also added a ‘pin wash’ of 29 Dark Earth to the wheel bolts and rims with a fine pointed brush.

The whole model got a coat of Citadel Chaos Black Primer from the spray can, followed by an airbrushed coat of Xtracolor X811 Russian Tank Green thinned with Humbrol Enamel Thinners, about 2:1. When the green base coat was thoroughly dry, I applied Humbrol ‘Maskol’ latex masking fluid with a toothpick. You can use a brush, but it will never be fit for anything else again! I based the application loosely on available photographs, but also where it seemed that wear and tear would be likely.

The main colour, Humbrol 93 Desert Yellow, was then airbrushed overall and left overnight. Once thoroughly dry, the ‘Maskol’ and overlying paint can be removed with a toothpick. I recommend wetting the area first to prevent the loosened paint re-adhering.

FINISHING TOUCHES I liked the idea of the strewn empty shell cartridges suggesting recent action. Fortunately MiniArt has released a set of Russian 100mm ammunition and crates (Kit No. 35088), suitable for both the T-54 and SU-100. I deepened the open ends of the spent cartridges with a 2mm drill bit in a pin vice and used a 0.75mm bit to add a small depression to the centre of the base to represent the striking plate. Mini Art suggest using Humbrol 16 Gold to paint the cartridges but I found this to be too rich a colour for brass so I used a 1:1 mixture of 16 Gold and 56 Aluminium. To represent the scorched interior of the case I added about an equal part 33 Black to this mix and for the striking plate I used 53 Gunmetal. The shell cases were then fixed to the engine deck with cyanoacrylate in a suitably random arrangement. There seemed to be a large blank area on the left side of the engine compartment that needed filling, so I decided to add a casually thrown tarpaulin of the type that can be seen surrounding the vehicle in the historical photos. I made this from a single ply of blue paper towel, when wetted and applied to the model it dries out and retains its shape, so can be carefully removed for painting and then glued back in place. Finally the whole model got a final airbrushed coat of Humbrol ‘Matt Cote’ thinned with Humbrol Enamel Thinners, 1:1. A

The decals have been applied over a coat of Tamiya X-22 Acrylic Clear and sealed under a second coat of the same, and the model is now ready for some weathering. Looking a bit like an art materials catalogue shot, it is sitting on a pad of Windsor & Newton disposable palletes. These are ideal for mixing oil paints and artist’s white spirit, which is what they are intended for after all! Upper surfaces got a very thin wash of Windsor & Newton ‘Griffin’ Alkyd Oil Paints, mostly Davy’s Grey, with a little Burnt Umber and Lamp Black as appropriate.

To make the tarpaulin, I cut a rectangle from a single ply of blue paper towel roll and folded it a couple of times, then screwed it into a tight ball and carefully teased it out again, this gave it some texture. It was then wetted and applied to the model. When dry it became sufficiently stiff to be carefully lifted off and was then sprayed with grey auto primer, as seen here. It was then painted with Humbrol 168 RAF Hemp and glued back in place.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Dragon 1:35 Soviet SU-85M Tank Destroyer - Premium Edition • Kit No. 6415

On the right-hand side of the completed model three ice cleats and a couple of ranging poles have been added, with tie-down straps made from paper. The tie-down loops themselves are electric guitar string, twelve are needed for the ice cleats and there is another just in front of the rearmost fuel drum bracket for the towing cable. A small block, purpose unknown, made from scrap plastic is visible just below the vision port on the cupola, another is on the opposite side just above the unditching straps.

B CONCLUSION In summary, the basic Dragon SU-85M kit is not the best starting point for this conversion, and if I were to purchase a kit specifically for it then I would go for the SU-100. The Dragon SU-100 ‘Premium’ kit includes ‘Magic Track’, the correct squared off front fenders, a braided wire towing cable, as well as many etched brass parts, it is however quite a lot more expensive. The Accurate Armour set was acquired originally for the

prominent stowage box and other bits, but it turned out that a further big advantage was the detailed information included. Resin manufacturers obviously need to research their products for accuracy, but it is surprising that they often don’t pass it on! Finally, the project was inspired by the Bovington Tank Museum exhibit, and I would like to thank Katie at the Museum Archive and Library for her assistance in finding relevant historical photographs. ■

Left side modifications include the relocated tool box, unditching straps, scratch-built fire extinguisher, infantry call button housing and tarpaulin, the latter filling a large blank looking space on the hull side. On the rear left corner of the roof is the extra antenna mounting and just in front of it is an L-shaped tube of unknown purpose. The hinge pin of the ammunition loading hatch was extended with stretched sprue.

The rear plate has various Accurate Armour additions – relocated and larger resin hinges and heavy armoured exhaust covers and an etched brass engine grille. Also the transmission hatch handle was replaced with electric guitar string. Note plenty of soot from that dirty Soviet diesel!

Discarded shells are scattered on the rear deck.

Overall, the basic Dragon SU-85M kit is not the best starting point for this conversion, and if I were to purchase a kit specifically for it then I would go for the SU-100.

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Incoming MENG

PANTHER AUSF A LATE PRODUCTION ZIMMERIT DECALS, 1:35 SCALE TYPE 1 – ITEM NO. SPS-050 TYPE 2 – ITEM NO. SPS-051 TYPE 3 – ITEM NO. SPS-052 TYPE 4 – ITEM NO. SPS-053

MENG

1:35 SCALE GERMAN MEDIUM PANTHER LATE PRODUCTION TRACKS & MOVEABLE RUNNING GEAR PARTS • ITEM NO. SPS-049 (SUPPLIES SERIES)

Coinciding with the launch of their 1:35 scale Panther Ausf. A, Meng has just released a number of accessories for the brand-new kit. The first is a set that supplies fully workable parts for the suspension. As it is supplied, the kit has fixed plastic swing axles and individual link tracks that are glued together. For those who would prefer to have fully workable running gear, this upgrade set will transform the kit. The set supplies 16 metal wire torsion bars (these will actually twist like the real thing when installed), 17 mounting blocks, a full set of swing arms and replacement workable tracks. The tracks are supplied in black plastic. Like the kit tracks, these are completely free from ejector pin circles and feature two separate hollow guide horns per link. The main links are attached to the sprues via seven points each. The links are joined using two metal pins - one for each side. Presumably the best method of attachment will be a tiny spot of super glue, applied sparingly and carefully! The metal pins are handed left and right, so make sure you use the correct ones. Instructions are supplied on the back of the simple black-and-white box. This is an impressive upgrade for the lovely new Meng Panther. If you want workable running gear, this one is for you! Recommended. Thanks to Meng for the sample. Brett Green

Meng has also released four separate decal sheets with different Zimmerit patterns for their 1:35 scale Panther Ausf. A kit. The decals are each printed onto one large sheet with the patterns in relief. Please note that you do not have to cut these out of the sheet – each decal is an individual decal with virtually no decal film surrounding the raised zimmerit. Very clever. Individual decals are supplied for all the various nooks and crannies, including the lower hull, mantlets and tricky areas on the rear armour plate. The pattern looks nicely raised on the sheet and should be quite visible on the model after painting. A subtle wash and dry brush will help further emphasise the Zimmerit pattern. I recommend that you should apply a primer coat plus gloss coat as a base for the Zimmerit decals. This is without doubt the easiest way to apply Zimmerit to your Meng 1:35 scale Panther, and the choice of four patterns means that Meng has most of the common variations covered. Recommended. Thanks to Meng for the sample. Brett Green

AMMO BY MIG

WEATHERING SET, GERMAN CAMO ITEM NO. A-MIG 7443

It is always great when building a model to have products that can the modeller achieve a specific finish. Mig is a very well known company in our hobby and so is his company Ammo by Mig. Here we are presented with yet another great weathering set to achieve great paint fishes on German Camo, from Fading, streaking to dust effects. The set comes in the form of five standard Mig 30ml jars with different mediums as follows: A-Mig 1751 Dry Steppe , Mud and Splashes A-Mig 1000 Brown wash for German Dark Yellow A-Mig 3007 Dark Earth Pigment A-Mig 1203 Streaking grime A-Mig 1510 Tan for 3 tone Camo Filter With this set, one has pretty much all they need to be able to achieve a great finish on a German subject, although in reality you could use this on others as well, depending on the colours used, making this a very versatile set to have.

I would recommend this set to those who want to go the next step on the finish of their current project, or those just starting out who want a simple but easy to use set. Recommended. Thanks to AMMO of Mig Jiminez for the sample www.migjimenez.com/en/ Andrew Judson February 2018 - Model Military International 41

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FEATURE ARTICLE

T

Tamiya 1:35 Panther Ausf. D • Kit No. 35345

amiya has dipped its toe in the Panther pool a few times already, with releases in 1:25, 1:35 and 1:48 scales over the last five decades. The first attempt in 1:35 scale was an Ausf. A from 1976. This kit was typical of its era, with a hull modified for motorisation and cable remote control, and suffering a number of accuracy and dimensional problems. A Jagdpanther based on the running gear of this kit was also available. Tamiya released their newtool 1:35 scale Panther Ausf. G in 1993 to great acclaim. In typical Tamiya fashion, detail was good and it was a fast, accurate build. The initial release was an early version Ausf. G, followed by a late version and a steel wheel variant. Two Jagdpanthers were also offered. Tamiya brought the Panther into the 21st Century with a completely new 1:35 scale Ausf. D. in 2015 This kit has absolutely no parts in common with the 1993 Ausf. G.

Tamiya’s Panther Ausf. D In the Box

Tamiya’s box art.

Tamiya’s 2015 1:35 scale Panther Ausf. D comprises 311 parts in dark yellow plastic, two lengths of flexible vinyl track, a spool of fine copper wire, a length of white string plus polythene caps in two sizes. Surface texture is beautifully presented. The rolled armour plate features subtle pitting, while the weld beads and torch cuts are some of Tamiya’s best yet – and that is saying something! The lower hull is presented as a tub with the sides, lower rear and floor moulded as one. Axles are separate parts, each keyed with a large locating hole and a raised peg. If you with to pose the vehicle on uneven ground, you may simply snip

The kit features gorgeous surface textures including subtle pitting, torch cuts and weld beads.

off the pegs and reposition the axles. The road wheels are moulded as inner and outer halves with the tyres in place. The small hub covers are separate pieces. Bolt and rim detail are very nicely done. The road wheels, drive sprockets and idler wheels are held in place with polythene caps. Even if you’re not likely to roll your Panther along the floor, this makes life easier for painting. The tracks supplied with the kit are full-length flexible vinyl. These are nicely done, but the limitations of the moulding technology mean that the guide horns are solid. Quality is very good though, with no flash present on my sample and only

a small raised pip on the inside of every 23rd link – not much clean-up required here! The tracks may be glued with regular model cement. If you are not a fan of vinyl tracks, Tamiya has already released a separately available set of individual click-together links. Each link is made up from two parts, featuring excellent detail inside and out including hollow guide horns. The upper hull is also presented as one piece with the engine deck and four rectangular grilles moulded in place. The engine hatch and the two circular vents are separate. Tamiya supplies radiator and cooling fan detail to be fitted

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The kit

“D”IS FOR

DEADLY Chris Wauchop adds extra detail an stamp onto Tamiya’s 1:35 scale Pa d his individual nther Ausf. D.

The kit includes 12 two-part spare track links.

The full-length flexible tracks are nicely detailed.

beneath the engine deck. Glimpses of these will be visible through the engine deck grilles. If you’d like to add more detail, Tamiya also offers a simple aftermarket engine bay (this was initially released for the Panther Ausf. G but is equally applicable to the Ausf. D), and a set of six photoetched mesh grille covers. These are both available separately. The areas above the tracks are blocked off with sponson covers, and Tamiya supplies the typical earlystyle long front mudguards and a full set of Schurzen. Each side of the Schurzen is moulded as a single piece, so you’ll need to do some minor surgery if you want to depict

a few panels missing or misaligned. The driver’s visor and gunner’s front slot may be posed open or closed. Their hatches include pad detail on the underside, although you won’t be able to see this on the completed model even if the hatches are posed open. Tools and other fittings look well detailed with clasps moulded in place. The mounting frames for tools are separate pieces. The drawing cable loop is supplied in fine copper wire, and tow cable is depicted by nylon string. A few spare tracks links are provided too. The turret continues the high moulding and detail standard. All the pistol ports and hatches are

Tamiya supplies markings for three Panthers at Kursk.

Tamiya offers a set of individual two-part track links, available separately.

separate pieces. The rear hatch may be made workable with a little care. In an impressive example of attention to detail, Tamiya has moulded the diagonal notches in the bottom corners of the front turret armour. These were typical of early Panther Ausf. Ds seen at Kursk. The gun will elevate and depress after assembly due to the use of polythene caps. Tamiya continues its aftermarket spree with another optional set – this time providing a fully detailed gun breech and turned metal barrel to replace the kit’s gun assembly. I had assumed that the breech would be the same as Tamiya’s after-market set for the

recent Jagpanzer IV/L70, but it is in fact a new moulding. Two really nice crew figures are included too. Tamiya has come a long way with the quality of its figures in recent years, and these follow the trend. The Commander is peering over the top of the cupola, while a crew member is hunkered behind, crouching on the engine deck and checking out the action with a pair of binoculars. Facial features and poses are very good. Markings are provided for three vehicles present at Kursk. All three are finished in similar soft-sprayed schemes of Red Brown and Dark Green over Dark Yellow. A

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 Panther Ausf. D • Kit No. 35345

Construction

First order of business was to add some detail to the rather sparse interior of the kit commander’s cupola and after hours of searching the net I could not find any clear reference for this feature. The closest I could find were some interior photos and illustrations of Bovington’s early Tiger 1 which has a similar dustbin type cupola. Using these pics as my reference I added the detail you see here using plastic card and rod.

Missing weld beads were added using lengths of Evergreen plastic rod and stretched sprue. Once glued in place these were drenched with Tamiya extra thin liquid cement to soften them up. They were then shaped using the point of a needle mounted in a pin vice. Existing weld beads were also beefed up using the same method.

It’s not 100% accurate but it looks a lot better than nothing. Of course, since completing the model I did find some good pics of the Panther D’s turret interior and surprisingly my effort is pretty close!

The kit’s smoke grenade launcher brackets were replaced with finer items made from .020 thou plastic card. In this shot you can also see some of the existing weld beads which have been given some extra body.

Lenses cut from clear acetate were glued to the inside of the periscope openings before the other interior detail was added.

Plumbing for the launchers was added using brass tube and fine wire.

Model Point 90mm Nb.k.wg smoke/grenade throwers (empty), item number 3551-1 were used to replace the kit parts.

Launcher wiring connected.

The same Aber update set as the MG 34 also includes a turned aluminium KwK 42 L/75 gun barrel and eight piece turned brass and photo-etched muzzle brake.

A new support bracket for the exhaust pipes was made using Evergreen plastic strip to replace the heavy looking kit part. The bracing rod in the open end of each pipe was added using stretched sprue.

The turned brass MG 34 muzzle from Aber’s update set 35 L-184 was used in the absence of any kit offering for the turret mounted coaxial machine gun.

A new support bracket for the exhaust pipes was made using Evergreen plastic strip to replace the heavy looking kit part. The bracing rod in the open end of each pipe was added using stretched sprue.

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Extra detail was added to the jack and fire extinguisher using plastic card, plastic rod and brass wire.

Even though I didn’t use the metal gun barrel from Tamiya’s Detail-Up set, I did use the plastic parts for detailing the turret interior. These include the rear end of the coax MG 34, the binocular main gun sight and the breach for the main gun (above). As these parts may be glimpsed through open turret hatches, they received a quick paint job.

Kit external tool racks were used with the addition of some extra detail in the way of Aber’s workable photo-etched clamps and clasps.

Left side tool rack with extras.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 Panther Ausf. D • Kit No. 35345

Painting The hull and turret with most extras added, these include the photo-etched Grille Set 12666 from Tamiya, most of the bits from the very fragile Gum Ka photo-etched set T-07 and lots of plastic and brass wire bits from me. The whole thing has been given a coat of red primer.

Most of the external stowage painted, weathered and ready to be attached.

Road wheels, drive sprockets and idler wheels have all been painted and weathered prior to installation.

With the finished running gear in place, the WWII Productions resin individual track link sets were cleaned up, assembled and painted before being very carefully installed. These tracks are workable but the click together joining system is inherently weak and during installation several breaks did occur. Very annoying and very time consuming to repair. I don’t think I will be using them again. Also in this shot you can see along the bottom edge of the upper hull that I have used plastic strip to beef up the attachment points for the photo-etched hangers and side skirts from Armorscale. These will replace the overly thick plastic kit parts.

The completed model showing the Armorscale side skirts painted and hung. Also in this shot can be seen Tamiya’s photo-etched grille set and brass radio antenna from Adlers Nest. Securing the tow cables, spare track links and tow hooks are lots of photo-etched chains and pins from Gum Ka. The bucket hanging from the jack handle was found in the spares box while the straight-sided can next to it was scratch built from plastic card and wire. The exposed hinge teeth of the the spare track links were drilled and pins made from brass wire were selectively inserted.

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I don’t normally add figures to my models but these guys looked much better than Tamiya’s usual offering so with a bit of extra detail added here they are. I’m not really happy with my effort but I suppose they do add an element of life and a sense of scale.

Tank No.745, 7th Company, 52nd Panzer Battalion, 39th Panzer Regiment, Kursk, July 1943

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 Panther Ausf. D • Kit No. 35345

Modelspec Tamiya 1:35 Panther Ausf. D

Kit No. 35345

After Market accessories:

The track treads were treated to silver Prismacolor pencil, representing worn bare metal.

• Tamiya Item 12666 Panther Ausf.D Photo Etched Grille Set • Tamiya Item 12664 Panther Ausf.D Metal Gun Barrel Set • Gum Ka T-07 Panther D Exterior • Aber 35L-184 Armament for Panther Ausf.D 75mm KwK 42 L/70, 2xMG34 • Aber 35A20 Movable Clamps and Clasps • Modelpoint 3551-1 90mm Nb.k.wg smoke/grenade thrower (empty) • Karaya TCR 01-Tow Cables • Adlers Nest ANM-35009 Brass Radio Mast • WWII Productions 35006 Resin Panther Early Track Set • Armorscale P35-006 Shurzen for Panther Ausf.D, A • Echelon Fine details AXT 351009 Decals for Panther Ausf.D • Evergreen plastic strip and sheet Paints Used: • Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black, XF-2 Flat White, XF-64 Red Brown, XF-60 Dark Yellow • Gunze Sangyo Aqueous Hobby Color H-17 Cocoa Brown, H-80 Khaki Green Reference: Ground Power Special Issue Mar ’07 Camouflage and Markings of German AFV Vol:1 Pz.Kpfw. V Panther ✓ Great kit, ease of construction. ✗ Lack of any detail on interior of turret cupola. Available from Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited www.hobbyco.net

Rating

The right side balkenkruez was relocated to the position seen in a reference photo.

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The hanging buckets lend a bit of extra character to the finished model.

Tamiya’s Panther Ausf. D is an impressive kit.

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TANKMOD 2 SHOW REPORT

TANKMOD 2017

T

his was the second model show of the year at the The Tank Museum in Dorset, the first being back in February. February and October were the months that the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton held their twice yearly model shows for many years. With the cancellation of both of these shows, the Tank Museum came to the rescue to fill the gaps, and both appear to have been a success. First a few words about the museum itself. Situated at Bovington, this is the home for the Tank Museum, it's also where the Royal Armoured Corps among other military units are stationed, and has been a British Army Base since 1899. The museum has several first class exhibits including, The Trench Experience, Warhorse to Horsepower, Battlegroup Afghanistan, and the Fury exhibit from the film of the same name. From Spring 2017, and running for two years, there is the outstanding Tiger Tank Collection. In a world first, the museum has brought together every member of the Tiger Tank family in one display. The second TANKMOD show was on Saturday 7th October. The show consisted of 37 clubs and exhibitors. These included IPMS clubs, R/C clubs and model tank clubs. There were also 14 Traders, selling models, books and tools. The club displays and traders were amongst the tanks on exhibit. Some of the clubs were also in the suites, that are used for conferences and lectures. Overall, the lighting was very good which enabled the displays to be viewed and photographed to their best advantage. Being called TANKMOD, I expected to find more armour than at other shows, and was not disappointed. There was an excellent array of

tanks, trucks and other vehicles. This included a rather nice collection of Soviet radio vehicles. There was of course a large number of aircraft models, which included civilian and military aircraft with a few helicopters on show as well. A club stand with radio controlled warships was present. These ships were large and very well detailed. A number of figure modellers also attended, these included military and science fiction figures. Outside the museum there were displays of both radio controlled tanks and fixed wing aircraft.

Facilities at the museum includes a restaurant, which is on the upper level of the museum, which is spacious. On the day of the show, they offered cooked breakfasts first thing, then a main meal at lunch time. This was very popular amongst the visitors and exhibitors alike. Additionally, there were pasties, sandwiches and confectionery available. Downstairs, there was a cafe with seating should you just want a drink. I thought the show was very well organised, and hopefully will grow larger in the next few years. The standard of modelling was excellent, and across the show it was apparent, the effort the modellers had put into their displays. ■

King Tiger and Elefant

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D 2017 A nice side view of the Tank Museum’s Tiger II.

The Tank Museum at Bovington hosted the TANKMOD model show on 7 October 2017. Julian Shawyer attended.

Tiger I from the rear.

Fury with its movie stowage.

This is an impressive vehicle close-up.

Movie star! M4A3E8 Sherman “Fury”.

Fury movie prop heads.

Tank Museum’s Archer tank destroyer viewed from above.

Rear three quarter view of the museum’s Elefant. February 2018 - Model Military International 51

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SHOW REPORT

TANKMOD 2017

Early version Sd.Kfz.250 in 1:35 scale.

L4500 Maultier truck.

Berlin Brigade Centurion as part of Dartmooor IPMS’s display.

An impressive collection of Russian missiles.

An Eastern Bloc of trucks!

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Apollo 12 in its film studio setting…

Thunderbirds are GO!

More movie-related content, this time Oddball’s Sherman from Kelly’s Heroes.

Bronco’s 1:35 scale Comet.

A remarkable WWI tunnel diorama. February 2018 - Model Military International 53

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KIT REVIEW

Meng 1:35 Panther Ausf. A Late • Kit No. TS-035

Meng has released a brand new 1:35 scale late model Panther Ausf. A. - the first new Panther Ausf. A kit in this scale since 2002. The Editor takes a close look at the contents.

NEXT GEN PANTHER A T

he Panther was a German medium tank deployed during World War II on the Eastern and Western Fronts in Europe from mid-1943 to its end in 1945. It had the ordnance inventory designation of Sd.Kfz. 171. The Panther was intended to counter the Soviet T-34 and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV. Nevertheless, it served alongside the Panzer IV and the heavier Tiger I until the end of the war. It is considered one of the best tanks of World War II for its excellent firepower and protection, although its reliability was less impressive. The Panther was a compromise.

While having essentially the same engine as the Tiger I, it had more efficient frontal hull armour, better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger I. The trade-off was weaker side armour, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire. The Panther proved to be effective in open country and long range engagements, but did not provide enough high explosive firepower against infantry.*

*Historical summary courtesy of Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther_tank

THE PANTHER AUSF. A IN 1:35 SCALE

IN THE BOX

There have been a number of Panther Ausf. A kits available in 1:35 scale, dating back to Tamiya's kit from 1976. This kit was typical of its era, with a hull modified for motorisation and cable remote control, and suffering a number of accuracy and dimensional problems. A Jagdpanther based on the running gear of this kit was also available. Although Dragon released a number of Panther Ausf. F and G kits in the mid to late 1990s, their first new tool Ausf. A was launched in 2002. This was considered a landmark kit in its day but it is beginning to show its age now.

Meng has now entered the Panther market with their brand new 1:35 scale Ausf. A Late Version. The kit comprises 427 parts in primer red coloured plastic, 672 parts in black plastic, 14 parts in clear, 41 photo-etched parts on two frets, two lengths of twisted metal cable and markings for six vehicles. Although the total number of parts may appear intimidating, it should be noted that the nearly 700 black parts are all destined for the tracks with another 92 optional ice cleats on the red sprues. You can also subtract a number of optional parts, bringing the actual number of plastic parts used for

The track links are made up from a main part plus two separate hollow guide horns. There are no ejector pin marks on the links at all. A “ski ramp” jig is supplied for assembly of the individual link tracks.

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the kit (minus the tracks) down to something close to Tamiya's recent Ausf. D and fewer than Dragon's Ausf. A. Of course, the two photoetched frets will lend more detail to Meng's plastic parts. The first two aspects of the kit that caught my eye when looking through the sprues were the hull peppered with openings, and the skeletal framework of the turret. Both of these features suggest that Meng is planning different versions of the Panther in future. Assembly starts with the running gear and lower hull. The road wheels, idler wheels and drive sprockets are attached via polythene caps, which should make painting the layered suspension arrangement a bit easier. The lower hull is made up from a flat pack of sides, rear and bottom. This is made rigid by two braces fitted to the inside. Suspension swing arms are separate and designed to be glued in place. The individual track links are made up from three parts each one remarkably cleanly moulded main link (no ejector pin marks visible at all) and two individual hollow guide horns. Optional ice cleats are also included. Each main link is connected to the sprue via six attachment points, with the guide horns attached by one each. The extra time you spend removing the links will be compensated by the lack of ejector pin circle cleanup. The links are designed to be assembled on the included jig, moulded in a ski-jump shape. The links are a nice firm press fit and are designed to be glued together. Alternative exhausts are included - one three-pipe exhaust plus one

single pipe or two single pipes. The rolled armour plate texture on the separate hull front and sides is very authentic. These panels are glued over the top of the main hull part. Cast texture elsewhere is equally good. The driver's visor and the upper hatches may be posed open or closed. Another interesting option is a plug on a chain for the front machine gun position. The gun crutch may be posed raised or lowered. Early-style full front fenders plus feeler poles are provided as options too, as are two styles of gun cleaning rod tube.. Fan and engine detail is supplied on two individual parts that are glued in place underneath the engine deck grilles. Photo-etched covers are included for the engine deck grilles. Side skirts are included as an option, and track hangers may be mounted on the sponson covers. Individual bolt heads are offered for the top of the track hanger rack. Spare tracks and pins are included too. Stowage includes two styles of water bucket, two spare road wheels, a number of jerry cans, engine deck stowage box, and two unditching beams with nice wood texture. One of the photo-etched frets has the star aerial of the Befehlspanther command vehicle too. The individual turret panels are designed to be glued to the skeletal framwork. The gun is moulded with basic breech detail - sufficient to satisfy if glimpsed through the open turret

hatch. The gun barrel is turned metal with a three-piece plastic muzzle brake. Clear parts are included for the vision blocks. Two styles of MG 34 machine gun are offered, plus an ammo belt and a detailed mount with spent shell bag. Markings are supplied for six vehicles, all with white numbers. One captured Soviet scheme is offered, plus five German schemes in standard mid to late-war three colour camouflage. Decals are well printed.

CONCLUSION Meng's 1:35 scale Panther Ausf. A Late is a high quality package. The level of detail is impressive, Meng has supplied many useful options and plenty of stowage yet basic construction of the hull and the turret does not look too daunting. The kit breakdown suggests that other versions will be available too.

The track links will be time consuming to clean up, but their assembly should be within the grasp of any moderately experienced modeller. If you crave fully workable suspension, you are in luck. Meng has produced a fully workable suspension set (available separately) including flexible metal torsion bars and individual link tracks held in place using metal pins. As far as I am aware, there is virtually no way to avoid Zimmerit coating on a late Panther Ausf. A. Once again, Meng has you covered here with four different Zimmerit pattern decal sheets, all available separately. We have been overdue for a state-of-the-art 1:35 scale Panther A, and it looks like Meng has now delivered! ■

Thanks to Meng for the sample.

Six marking options are offered.

A turned metal gun barrel and two lengths of wire are in the box too. The two photo-etched frets.

Clear parts are supplied for the vision blocks.

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11/12/2017 14:37

Book Reviews AIRCRAFT AND MILITARY VEHICLE PRODUCTION CLEVELAND PLANT 2 (1942-1970) BY DAVID DOYLE G-104 PRESS ISBN: 978-1-7750133-0-3

David Doyle has long been producing books on Military Subjects in ranges such as Ampersand and Squadron Signal. This title is similar in format to Squadron Signal title being a soft cover landscape format but this time published by G-104 Publishing and covering the huge manufacturing Plant “Cleveland Plant 2,” which manufactured a diverse range of aircraft and military armoured vehicles during its life. The Cleveland Plant No. 2 was constructed to meet US wartime requirements adjacent to the Cities Airport and scheduled for completion in 1943. It was a 1.7million square foot factory with two 750 ft long assembly lines and owned by Fisher designed with the sole purpose of building Fisher manufactured B29 Bombers. This was cancelled in July 1943 and the plant tasked to build 2500 P-75A Eagle Fighters, a long-range escort fighter of Fisher design. The P-75A used a number of proven aircraft components but ultimately only 30 were contracted as the P-51 and P-47 had proven themselves superior. A further 24 were cancelled and the aircraft faded into obscurity. The Cleveland plant was tasked with manufacturing B-29 components such as outboard wing panels, nacelles, tails etc. When the Air Force decided that there should be an alternate power plant for the B-29, Fisher was tasked to explore the fitting of the Allison V-3420. Tests were made and fitted to a Douglas XB-19 but the end of the war saw the plant closed. The National Air Races of 1947-48 were held at the facility along with its use as civilian warehousing. In August 1950, the Ordnance Department took over the plant and production of the M41 tank and M42 Gun Motor Carriage commenced later that year. Successive US AFVs were then produced including the M56 Scorpion Tank Destroyer, The M114 C&R carrier, the M551 Sheridan, M108 and M109 SPG and culminating in the MBT 70 project. All production ceased in 1970. This is an unusual title in that it covers production of both aircraft and AFV in the same facility. It contains a history of the plant at various times in its life and is well supported by a huge collection of photographs in B&W and colour. These photographs are not confined to the production but also cover in service use of the later vehicles particularly in Vietnam. These are clear, well printed and large images and will prove very useful to enthusiasts and modellers alike. I would recommend this to former employees, historians, aircraft and armour enthusiasts as a great collection of photos. Recommended. Thanks to G-104 Press for the review sample. Al Bowie

FACING ARMAGEDDON, THE FIRST WORLD WAR EXPERIENCE EDITED BY HUGH CECIL & PETER LIDDLE PUBLISHED BY PEN AND SWORD MILITARY ISBN178346169-1

There are many books out there on the subject of World War One, most covering specific subjects or on a general note. This new title, Facing Armageddon, is quite a comprehensive book in paperback form, with 938 pages, and a further 32 pages of black and white photos. The book contains the writings of 64 scholars from across the world, describing the experiences of civilians, serviceman and women on land, sea and air. It analyses the strategies, tactics, logistics and weaponry used. There are eleven sections broken down into 61 chapters covering all topics, experiences, and conflicts throughout the war. I believe that this is an incredible insight into WWI from all viewpoints. It is not going to be an overnight read, but you will learn much from this very detailed book on the subject. I recommend this to all with an interest in WWI. Recommended. Thanks to Pen and Sword Books for the sample https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Andrew Judson

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RUSSIA’S LAST GASP THE EASTERN FRONT 1916-17 AUTHOR, PRIT BUTTAR PUBLISHED BY OSPREY ISBN 978-1-4728-1276-6

Here we have a new title from Osprey on an aspect of WWI that is not very well known, although it was a major and bloody campaign of the time. This title covers the Russians actions in the Brusilov Offensive. The book comes in the form of a hardback with 472 pages and a further 26 pages of black and white photos of key persons and wartime images. There are 14 chapters, a list of illustrations and maps. The Brusilov Offensive was an assault intended to ease the pressure on Russia’s British, French and Italian Allies by diverting the Germans from the West and knocking Austria -Hungary out of the War. It is written from both first-hand accounts and archival research, creating a vivid account of the year on the Eastern Front, and one of Russia’s greatest successes on the battlefield. This is an interesting title that should be read by all interested in WWI. Recommended. Thanks to Osprey Publishing for the sample www.ospreypublishing.com Andrew Judson

PANZER ACES MAGAZINE NO. 51 SPECIAL - WINTER CAMOUFLAGES ACCION PRESS

Panzer Aces Magazine is well known across the globe nowadays, and always have great articles by brilliant modellers from across Europe. In this Special, it looks at winter based vehicles and how to achieve winter effects on your projects. The magazine comes A4 soft cover format, printed on high grade paper, with 96 pages and packed with great articles in the usual high standard. Every page is alight with brilliant detailed photographs and well written content on the topic, making it very nice when learning and being able to understand the process. The articles in this issue are as follows: • 1:35 Cruiser Tank A-30 Challenger • 1:35 Bison 1 • 1:35 T34/76 Factory • 1/35 Marder III • Dio, Crush this B@####d 1/35 • Techniques in Winter Camouflage • 1:35 Sd.Kfz. 251/9 • Modelling Lesson, Tree Stump in Snow As you can see, this is a great range of subjects, all with thorough descriptions in the individual articles. This is another great issue from the publishers at Accion. Recommended. Thanks to Euro Modelismo for the sample www.euromodelismo.com Andrew Judson

PANZER ACES MAGAZINE NO 52 SPECIAL - BLITZKRIEG ACCION PRESS

Here we are with another issue of the great magazine, Panzer Aces. This time, we have a special on vehicles used in the Blitzkrieg. In this issue, there are fewer articles, although they go into a lot more detail on the subjects. As usual, the magazine is A4 format, printed on high grade paper with 72 pages. Each article is well presented with excellent photos, and well written content, easy to understand and follow. Articles within are as follows: • 1:35 Panzerbefehlswagon PZ. BFWG 38 T AUSF B • 1:35 Renault FT17 • 1:35 Stug III AUSF B • Sd.Kfz. 232 • 1:35 Dio, Waiting for the towing vehicle, France 1940 • Modelling Lesson - MUD All articles are to the usual high standard, and are very informative. I would recommend this to all modellers interested in this era and subject. excellent. Recommended. Thanks to Euro Modelismo for the sample www.euromodelismo.com Andrew Judson

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1:48 Scale – A round-up of the latest news and releases TODAY’S EXPERT WAS YESTERDAY’S BEGINNER

Q

uite a number of enthusiasts are not active modellers themselves. They study, admire and praise other people’s efforts and they often buy construction kits too, even if they don’t actually build them. A stock excuse for the lack of actual modelling is “I’m not in the same league so I couldn’t compete” or some similar comment. If these enthusiasts are typical then, by scaling up the cross-section, there could be nearly as many keen inactive modellers as there are active modellers! However, I must admit that the standard of modelling today is very high and might even be an intimidating turn-off to the average Joe. Even so, one should take comfort from the fact that today’s expert modeller was yesterday’s beginner, some of them not too long ago either. The key to success if you too fall into the “keen but inactive” category lies in three positive steps that anyone can take, assuming of course that you already know your own fields of interest. One: Make something your way. Get a feel for a subject and make something fairly simple. This is where 1:48 scale armour shines as it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Two: Do plenty of research and study the real

RED ZEBRA

1:48 SCALE ABRAMS STOWAGE SET ITEM NO. NOT SPECIFIED

This set is specifically designed for the new Tamiya kit and it fits like a glove in the rear turret basket. Consisting very well cast grey resin pieces, it includes various tarps, two modern jerry cans, a round cooler and a couple of modern US back packs. The new 1:48 scale Tamiya Abrams kit is good but this update will make it even better, and take a whole lot less time than if you did it yourself. Thanks to Red Zebra for the review sample. They can be purchased from their web shop on the following address: https://www.redzebramodels.co.uk Highly Recommended. Luke Pitt

thing. This step keeps your interest going and will reduce your chances of making technical mistakes. Three: and I think that this is the most important: Try to appreciate your limitations from the start. This in my opinion turns a lot of modellers off the term “shake and bake” is simply not true. No model ever was or ever will be made that way.

Sure, some models are easier to build than others but all require some form of technical skill to put together and paint. Anyway that’s my little soap box sermon for this month. Now I’m off to get me some bench time!

until next time Luke Pitt

ETA DIORAMA ACCESSORIES

1:48 SCALE ITEM NO. 1503 - 1:48 SCALE WWII ROAD SIGNS ITEM NO. 612 - 1:48 SCALE GERMAN WWII MAPS AND PROPAGANDA POSTERS I said this last month but it remains true - the finishing touches to any vehicle or diorama are the little details that are not often seen but are often discovered by detailed inspection of the completed piece. ETA Diorama Accessories hails from Greece. They produce highly detailed colour printed paper cards with a number of different items on them. The first item up for review is coded 1503, printed on two thin sheets of high quality paper card. Measuring 11.5cm x 8cm they include 19 road signs from various theatres of war, together with 65 signs from all sides and providing signs such as “stop - road mined” to “dust means death” (I kinda like that one) to standard ones like “first aid station”, “training camp” etc. These are printed in full colour and the printing as well as colour density is first rate. The second item is “622” and includes German Maps and Propaganda posters. The maps and posters are presented on thin paper and both the colour density and printing is again first class. I can’t recommend these little sheets highly enough - they will not disappoint. Highly Recommended. ETA Diorama Accessories are available online from http://www.eta-diorama.com/ Luke Pitt

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NORTH STAR

1:48 SCALE HUFFERS MD-1 FLIGHT DECK TRACTOR ITEM NO. NSP-48902

Aircraft carriers have limited deck space in which to position and move aircraft. This is where a rather unsung workhorse of US Naval Aviation come into its own. To move these aircraft around, the US Navy uses flight deck tractors. The introduction of jet aircraft to US Navy flight decks in the 1950s posed a whole new set of problems with flight deck tractors. The US Navy introduced the MD-1 flight deck tractor which was the first equipped with a gas turbine unit to assist in starting the modern jet powered aircraft. For this reason they become known by the name “huffer.” Huffers served on the served on Essex / Oriskany, Midway and Forrestal / Kitty Hawk class carriers of the U.S. Navy until the mid-1960s. They were also used by the Royal Canadian Navy aboard the HMCS Bonaventure. This new kit from North Star is rather neat and comprises 52 limited run plastic parts over three sprues , 8 resin parts, 13 photo-etched parts and one decal sheet. When one thinks of limited run, you might be tempted to think low quality. This is simply not the case here as the parts are very well moulded. I particularly like how the wheels are done as they have overcome the age old problem of no tread detail on the wheels by providing the wheels as multiple flat disks. The system is not new but it’s the first time I have seen this approach in a limited run kit. The model quite frankly is a little gem and deserves every success. Thanks to North Star Models for the samples https://northstarmodels.com Highly Recommended. Luke Pitt

CORSAR REX

1:48 SCALE US PARATROOPERS, 82ND DIVISION ITEM NO. CR48030

I showed these figures to our Editor and he uttered three words: “Wow, wow and wow!”. Yep, these are simply that good. I may go out on a limb here and say that these are some of the best 1:48 scale US resin figures that I have seen to date. These are right up there with the limited run German Tankers from “Figures with attitude”.in what I would describe as top shelf 1:48 scale resin figures. The set consists of five finely rendered multi-part figures cast in medium grey resin. Each figure has its own product number and will be sold separately if your budget doesn’t stretch to the combined set. Let’s look at each figure individually. The first figure is coded CR-48025 and is a standing paratrooper with a Thompson sub machine gun slung over his shoulder. I particularly like the way the hands grip the both weapons and the rendition of the boots. The helmet is provided separately as are some of minor items like the canteen. The second figure is labelled CR- 48026 and maybe my favourite. This one is standing with a BAR held by the front of the barrel over the shoulder. The uniform details on this one are just outstanding as are the fabric folds and the all-important facial details. The third figure, labelled CR-48027, is standing but this time drinking from a bottle. Again the uniform detail is outstanding and very difficult to fault. The fourth figure is labelled CR-48028 and is another favourite. This fellow is intended to sit on the rear end of a Tamiya Jeep but with a little modification could be used almost anywhere. The uniform detail is crisp and I particularly like the way the right hand grips the M-1 rifle. Two helmets are provided - one plain and the other with webbing included. Both are very well done. The final figure is labelled CR-48029 and is designed again to fit into the Tamiya Jeep. The figure is posed reading a map on very well printed paper map. Two helmet choices are also offered - one plain and the other webbed. If you like 1:48 scale figures or want to see how good a figure can be in this scale, you would be crazy not to buy these. The detail is as good if not better than some 1:16 scale figures that I have seen. Our thanks go out to Corsar Rex for providing the review sample. The figures can be purchased directly from their web site on the following address http://corsarrex.com/ Highly Recommended. Thanks to Corsar Rex for the review sample www.corsarrex.com Luke Pitt

February 2018 - Model Military International 61

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Available in the ‘HOW TO BUILD...’ series How to Build... Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib New and revised for 2017 now including the Car Door and Bubbletop builds. The complete guide to building the amazing Airfix 1:24 scale Hawker Typhoon, written by Brett Green of HyperScale and Model Military fame. This new book features an exhaustive step-by-step guide to construction with modelling contributions by James Hatch, Brett, and Chris Wauchop. Hundreds of construction photos, reference images, a museum walk around, and how to get the very best from your big Typhoon kit a must have before you build the model!

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Contact Details - for companies featured in MMI... ACCURATE ARMOUR/ ARMOUR DISTRIBUTION

Units 15-16 Kingston Industrial Estate, Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, PA14 5DG Scotland. Tel; 01475 743 955 Fax; 01475 743746 www.accurate-armour.com

ADALBERTUS

Iberyjska 7/49, 02-764 , Warsaw,Poland [email protected] www.adalbertus.com.pl

THE AIRBRUSH COMPANY Ltd

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

ALCLAD II LACQUER

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

ALPINE, ROYAL MODEL, ARTISAN MORI, YOSCI; SMARTMODELLING No.7 Gordons Way, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0LN. UK Tel; 01883 734746 [email protected]

AMPERSAND PUBLISHING (via Historex Agents in UK)

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

ARCHER

(Historex in UK)

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

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

BISON DECALS

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

DELUXE MATERIALS www.deluxematerials.co.uk [email protected] Tel; 01529 455 0340

DRAGON MODELS

(The Hobby Company in UK)

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

ECHELON FINE DETAILS

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

FRIENDSHIP MODELS

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

GREAT NORTH ROADS

CAMMETT

(Lifecolour, Scale Caliber)

Unit 5 Greenfield Industrial Estate, Forest Road, Hay on Wye, Powys, HR3 5FA Tel; 01497 822757 Email; [email protected] www.cammett.co.uk

CLASSIC PUBLICATIONS

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

CREATIVE MODELS LTD

(Mig Productions, Vallejo, Accurate Miniatures)

Unit 6-10, Honeysome Industrial Estate, Honeysome Road, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. PE16 6TG Tel; 01354 760022 www.creativemodels.co.uk [email protected]

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

www.etchmate.com www.missionmodels.com Tel; 818 842 1885 Fax; 818 842 1886 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

THE ARMORY; M&MODELS

9329 S. Cicero Ave, Oak Lawn, IL 60453, USA http://home.earthlink.net/~mmodels/

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

ORDNANCE MODELS

Harbour Road, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 2LZ, Tel; 01502 517444 Fax; 01502 500521 www.hannants.co.uk [email protected]

HISTOREX AGENTS

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

HOBBYLINK JAPAN

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

HUSSAR PRODUCTIONS, CANADA www.airconnection.on.ca

ICM

Via Hannants in UK

(ETCHMATE, GRABHANDLER, MICRO CHISEL)

HANNANTS

BOOKWORLD WHOLESALE

CALIBRE 35

MISSION MODELS

MONROE PERDU

BLAST MODELS

Unit 10 Hodfar Road, Sandy Lane Ind Est Stourport, Worcs, DY13 9QB Tel; 01299 823330 Fax; 01299 829970 [email protected]

9 Rannoch St., Battlefield, Glasgow G44 4DF, Scotland Tel/Fax; 0141 633 1400 [email protected] www.milicast.com

9a Marcombe Road, Torquay, South Devon, TQ2 6LL Tel; 01803 400436 www.greatnorthroads.co.uk email [email protected]

IAN ALLAN

Via AFV Modeller or www.blast-models.com

MILICAST MODEL CO.,

www.ianallanpublishing.com Mail Order Dept 01455 254450 Kiev 02099, Ukraine, Borispolskaya 9 building 64. Tel/fax; (+38044) 369-54-12 [email protected] www.icm.com.ua

ITALERI

(The Hobby Company in UK)

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

JUST BASES

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JUST KITS

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MDC

Model Design Construction, Victoria Place, Victoria Road, Ripley, Derbyshire DE5 3FW Fax; 01773 513344 [email protected] www.modeldesignconstruction.com

MODELING ARTISAN MORI

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MIG PRODUCTIONS (Creative Models in UK)

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

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

PACIFIC COAST MODELS Tel; 001 707 538 4850 [email protected] www.pacmodels.com

PANZERWRECKS

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

PARAGRAFIX

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PLUS MODEL

(Creative Models in UK)

SCHIFFER BOOKS

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

SCHIFFER BOOKS in UK

Bushwood Books, No.6 Marksbury Avenue, Kew Gardens, Surrey TW9 4JF, UK. Tel; 020 8392 8585, 020 8392 9876, email; [email protected]

SCHUMO KITS

www.schumo-kits.com

SDV MODEL www.sdvmodel.cz

SIMPLE 2 TRADE

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

SMARTMODELLING

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No.7 Gordons Way, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0LN UK Tel; 01883 734746 [email protected]

SQUADRON

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SWANN-MORTON

Owlerton Green, Sheffield, S6 2BJ Tel; +44 (0)114 234 4231 Fax; +44 (0)114 231 4966 General: [email protected] www.craftknives.com

TAMIYA JAPAN

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

TAMIYA UK;

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

Jizni 56, 370 10 C. Budejovice, Czech Republic. [email protected] www.plusmodel.cz

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POCKETBOND

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(Trumpeter & AFV Club in UK)

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PSP MODELS LTD (Mission Models in USA)

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QUICKBOOST

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

SB MODELS

UK distributor for Model Victoria and Royal Model

P.O. Box 114, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA13 0WY. Tel/Fax; 01229 430 749 [email protected] www.sbmodels.net

SBLC

PO Box 794, Cheltenham GL52 3ZW, UK [email protected]

SBX MODEL SHOP

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

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

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

VALLEJO

(Creative Models in UK)

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

VLS CORPORATION (LSA in UK)

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

WHITE ENSIGN MODELS (Toms Model Works)

8532 Lamar Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, USA [email protected] www.whiteensignmodels.com

WWII PRODUCTIONS, AUSTRALIA 12 Prince Street, Waratah, 2298, NSW, Australia Tel; +61 (0)2 4967 3205 Fax; +61 (0)2 4967 3207 [email protected]

ZVEZDA

(The Hobby Company in UK)

Promishlennaia Str.,2, Lobnya, Moscow Region, 141730 Russia [email protected] www.zvezda.org.ru

SCHATTON BARRELS

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

■ Please mention ‘Model Military International’ if you make contact with any of the companies listed above - thanks! 64 Model Military International - February 2018

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Next Issue - WINTER SPECIAL! On sale 1 February 2018 SHELF QUEEN CORONATION Tamiya 1:35 scale U.S. M8 Light Armoured Car Greyhound by Gary Edmundson.

ISSUE No.142 February 2018, Published 4th January 2018 Editor;

Brett Green

Group Editor;

Marcus Nicholls

Publisher;

Alan Harman

Graphic Design;

Alex Hall

Advertising Manager;

Sean Leslie

Office Manager;

Paula Gray

Administration Manager; Hannah McLaurie MMI Website;

Doolittle Media Web Team

Printed by; Henry Stone Ltd, Oxfordshire Distributed by; Seymour Distribution 2 East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT Tel; 020 7429 4000 Newstrade; Select Publisher Services 3 East Avenue, Bournemouth, BH3 7BW Tel; 01202 586848 Email; [email protected] Model Military International is published on the first Thursday of each month by; Doolittle Media, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX UK www.modelmilitary.com Tel; +44 (0)1525 222573 Fax; +44 (0)1525 222574 Editorial enquiries; Email; [email protected] Advertising enquiries; Tel; +44 (0)1525 222573 Email; [email protected]

Konrad Dzik presents his Dragon 1:35 scale Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf.L.

COUNTERFEIT TIGER Brett Green builds Tamiya’s new 1:35 scale M4A3E8 “Easy Eight” Sherman with a striking Tiger face.

FOR YOUR SAFETY Don’t forget, when using solvents such as glues, paints, thinners and cleaning agents, always ventilate your work area thoroughly and wear a face mask. When using power tools, side cutters or any tool that can suddenly break or create highspeed airborne particles, wear approved eye protectors with hard, clear lenses. Please always model in safety!

...and much more! Due to many influencing factors, we cannot guarantee the appearance of the above projects, but we’ll try our best!

WINTER JAGDPANZER

Subscription enquiries; Tel; +44 (0)1525 222573 Fax; +44 (0)1525 222574 Email; [email protected] Reproduction in part of any text, photograph, or illustration without written consent from the publisher is strictly prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure the contents of Model Military International is accurate, the publishers and printers can not accept responsibility for errors and omissions. Advertisements are accepted for publication in Model Military International only on Doolittle Media’s standard terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising department. Please write to the address above. All advertising, circulation and subscription enquiries should also be directed to the UK address above. Subscription rates are; 1 year (12 issues); £47 UK £59 Europe £72 Worldwide (Airmail)

Tracy Hancock places Dragon’s 1:35 scale Jagdpanzer IV in a wintry scene.

Binders; £8.50 plus postage (UK £2.45, Euro £4.45, World £6.45) For all orders, please call; (UK) +44(0)1525 222573 or visit www.modelmilitary.com Back Issues; Back Issues are available at the current cover price. See the latest back issues advert or visit www.modelmilitary.com The paper used in this magazine is manufactured at the Leipa Georg Mill and is 100% recycled using de-inked pulp. The mill conforms fully with the requirements of both FSC and PEFC and carries the full accreditations for their environmental policies.

© Doolittle Media 2018

The paper used on this title is from sustainable forestry

Order online now at; www.modelmilitary.com

EASTERN WORKHORSE

February 2018 - Model Military International 65

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The Last Post... KOREAN WAR EASY EIGHT

A totally new sprue is included.

TAMIYA KIT NO. 35359 - M4A3E8 SHERMAN “EASY EIGHT” KOREAN WAR

Tamiya has just added a Korean War M4A3E8 “Easy Eight” to its growing Sherman range. The Editor takes a look.

T

he M4A3 was the first Sherman variant to feature HVSS (Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension) as factory fitted equipment. HVSS suspension was equipped with wider tracks to distribute weight more evenly. These wider tracks allowed more armour to be fitted and offered a more comfortable ride for the crew, but also required narrow track guards to be fitted to the sides of the hull. With its experimental E8 designation, the smooth ride of the HVSS led to the nickname Easy Eight for this Sherman variant. The M4A3E8 first entered service in Northern Europe during December 1944, and the variant continued on the front lines post-war, including service in Korea. In late 2015, Tamiya expanded its WWII Allied catalogue with a new 1:35 scale M4A3E8 Easy Eight Sherman. This kit had nothing at all in common with the Tamiya Easy Eight released around 1970. The 2015 kit was almost all new. The running gear sprues are taken from Tamiya’s 2011 Israeli M51 release and the only other recycled sprue was the .50 cal machine gun, which dates from 1998. Tamiya has now expanded the family with a Korean War version of the Easy Eight. This model features T80 flexible tracks (these first appeared in Tamiya’s 2011 M51 kit), a brand-new sprue with two Korean War crew figures, an impressively textured mantlet waterproofing, a new engine deck and a very striking scheme for one of the two marking options. Tamiya’s 1:35 scale M4A3E8 Easy Eight Sherman comprises 278 parts in olive coloured plastic, ten parts in clear and two black full-length flexible tracks. Tamiya has also included the venerable 1:35 scale GAZ-67B Field Car as a bonus in the box. The Sherman kit features the T23 turret with the oval loader’s hatch and subtle cast texture wherever appropriate. The running gear includes the later Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS) suspension units, and full-length flexible T66 tracks. All of the other key features of the M4A3E8 are there too, including the 47°

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glacis hull with the enlarged hatches, the correct rear deck configuration and 76mm gun barrel with muzzle brake. The lower hull is made up from a “flat pack” arrangement of separate floor, sides and engine firewall. The track guards and sponsons are cleverly moulded as one piece per side. The diagonal supports are supplied as separate parts. Detail on the new T80 tracks is very good. They look thin, but comparison with reference photos suggests that Tamiya has got this right. The guide horns are moulded onto the tracks with an indentation front and rear to suggest the hollow nature of the real thing. There is one raised pip on the inside of every 16th link, but these will hardly be visible once the tracks are fitted. The tracks may be fixed with regular plastic glue. Note that the idler wheel mounts are also workable track tensioners. Do not glue these parts in place initially, as you may want to swing the arms to tighten the vinyl track when it is installed. The Commander’s cupola features separate clear vision blocks fitted from the inside. All hull and turret crew hatches may be posed either open or closed. A pillar-mounted .50 cal machine gun is also supplied. The package is rounded out with two nicely moulded and animated crew figures. Tasca has set the standard for Sherman kits for nearly ten years, so comparisons between Tasca’s 2010-release 1:35 scale Easy Eight and Tamiya’s new kit are inevitable. Both look great when complete, but the approach of the two kits is markedly different. Whereas Tasca’s kit comprises more than 800 parts, Tamiya’s is less than 300. A good example of the different design philosophies is the running gear. Tasca’s suspension units are made up from 17 pieces each, and may be articulated when assembled. Tamiya’s are made up from eight pieces, including the road wheels. The only compromise is lack of articulation – the running gear can be posed any way you want as long as it is flat on the ground. For most modellers, this will not be an issue. This is another interesting and useful addition to Tamiya’s new generation Sherman family. Guess what I’ll be building next… ■

Texture is impressive on the new mantlet waterproofing cover.

One of the crew figures and spare T80 track links. Optional headgear is included.

The second new crew figure.

The full-length flexible T80 tracks.

The kit decal sheet.

The second marking option is a bit more subdued.

Tamiya’s old GAZ-67B Russian Field Car is included in the box.

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

Detail is basic on the GAZ-67B kit but it still looks pretty good when built.

13/12/2017 15:53

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12/12/2017 10:59