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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

Takom’s new
1:35 scale M3 Grant
QUEEN OF THE DESERT
INSIDE:
February 2018 / £4.75 / Issue 142
Dragon 1:35 Befehls Panther ■ Bronco 1:35 GAZ 131 ■ Meng
1:35 Panther Ausf. A Late ■ DSPIAE Cutters ■ and more...

p 01 CoverMMI 142B 1 13/12/2017 13:50

 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 step-
by-step illustrated guide to building and detailing
the 1:32 scale F4U-1D and F4U-1A, offering plenty Only
of inspiration with two different configurations and £14.95
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We have also a bonus Chapter on building Tamiya’s
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ALSO AVAILABLE Visit doolittlemedia.com for details

PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW ON TEL: 01525 222573 FAX: 01525 222574
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p 02 Corsair Book 142.indd 8 11/12/2017 14:44

 Contents - Issue 142 February 2018
REGULARS
p 4 NEWS
14 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

p 32 PREVIEW
34 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: enquiries@doolittlemedia.com
Address: Doolittle Media Ltd., Doolittle Mill,
Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, UK
Model Military International is published monthly by
Ltd. Reproduction in part or whole of
Doolittle Media Ltd
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

48 printers cannot accept liability for errors or omissions.

ISSN 1749-8864

February 2018 - Model Military International 3

p 03 Contents 142B.indd 3 13/12/2017 15:00

 Newsline - February 2018
MMI Newsdesk, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane,
Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, UK
Tel:01525 222573 Fax:01525 222574
Email:editor@modelmilitary.com

NEW DRAGON
T
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
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

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
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, liaison@mafva.net
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

PLYMOUTH MODEL SHOW 2018

will result from this new partnership, as we remain
committed to you, our loyal customer and dealer
LC-CS42 - LifeColor Russian Uniforms network, to the Harder & Steenbeck brand, and your
WWII set: The Plymouth Model Show will be held on Saturday success with it.
UA 446 Helmet 30th June 2018 at Plymouth Guildhall. The show will “I am confident,” Mr Matthiessen says, “that I have
UA 447 M35 Tunic be open to the general public between 10.00am & made the right decision in choosing ANEST IWATA to
UA 448 M35-41 Tunic 4.00pm. continue my life’s work - my passion - while remaining
UA 449 M43 Tunic A number of clubs & traders have already confirmed true to the Harder & Steenbeck way. I would like to
UA 450 M35-41 Trousers attendance. Disabled access is available. extend my heartfelt thanks for all of you who have
UA 451 M43 Trousers Further details may be obtained from by emailing contributed significantly on this remarkable journey,
Available now from The Airbrush roger_eileen.haskell@live.co.uk and wish you continued success in this new and
Company www.airbrushes.com exciting phase with Harder & Steenbeck.”
Masato Suzuki & Jens Matthiessen’
4 Model Military International - February 2018

p 04 News 142B.indd 4 13/12/2017 15:01

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 Think Tank - M3 Grant Close-Up
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 off-
road 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
6 Model Military International - February 2018
p 06-11 M3Grant TT 142B.indd 6
Close-
The in
Australian M3 Grant at Melbourne Tank Museum, mid 1990s.
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 south-
eastern 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
A front view of the Grant at Narre Warren.
John’s collection.
Let’s take a closer look. ■
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. This Grant, in common with many in Australian service, is fitted with WE210 Double I track links.
The intricate horn cover may be seen here too.

The grouser rack on the front of the Grant’s hull. The characteristic sponson for the 75 mm gun.

This Australian Grant uses Sherman-style bogies with the straight return roller mount. 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. The left side rear stowage box. Detail

8 Model Military International - February 2018

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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. Close-up view of the turret hatch. A rare

Vent and vision block opening over the sponson. Antenna mount and turret roof. A view

A close-up of the opening for the turret gunner’s sight. 3.7 cm turret gun mantlet. Fightin

10 Model Military International - February 2018

p 06-11 M3Grant TT 142B.indd 10 13/12/2017 15:02

 A rare opportunity to climb around the interior of an unrestored Grant interior. Driver’s position including the transmission. Now here is a challenge for the determined weatherer!

A view of the driver’s position from the right side. Inside the turret basket looking toward the sponson mounted 75 mm gun. Note the 37 mm ammo racks.

Fighting compartment aft of the turret basket. 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
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 swing-
arm units are separate parts and
can be made moveable if you snip
off the little peg on the lower
12 Model Military International - February 2018
p 12 BefehlsPanther Pre 142 12
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 scale-
wise 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
Antenna parts
Marking options
Graham Tetley
reviews the newest
incarnation of
Dragon’s Befehls
Panther Ausf.G.
Star aerial but note the flash
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 Roadwheel detail
a full set of side skirts present.
Okay, you can make then yourself
but I feel they should have been
in the box.
TURRET
The turret is standard Dragon New, reinforced, mantlet
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.
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 Detail on the muzzle brake
to the rest of the kit but, overall
I like it.
Highly recommended. ■
Thanks to The Hobby
Company Limited for the
sample www.hobbyco.net
Nothing missed on the hull roof
DS Track face detail
Tools with molded on clasps
13/12/2017 16:01
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p 13 CreativeModels 142.indd 1 13/12/2017 15:57

 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.
14 Model Military International - February 2018
p 14-23 M3Grant 142B.indd 14
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 hull-
down 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.
13/12/2017 15:04
 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 Beginning of work
on the lower hull.
sides to the hull. Adding front plates followed.A

February 2018 - Model Military International 15

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 FEATURE ARTICLE Takom 1:35 M3 Grant • Kit No. 2086

Workable road wheels construction. Workable bogies done.

Complete suspension x 6 ready.

When suspensions
meet the hull! The tracks on.

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
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

16 Model Military International - February 2018

p 14-23 M3Grant 142B.indd 16 13/12/2017 15:04

 Rear deck parts.

Looking the part!

M3 Grant ready
(minus turret)
Rear deck ready.

Upper turret shell Bringing the

with cupola in place. 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.

February 2018 - Model Military International 17

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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 camouflage sprayed. Green XF-58 Olive Green.

B PAINTING
Not being a frequent British armour painter, some
research had to be done to find at least an approximate
Decals of 7th Tamiya paints mix.
Armoured Div., 8th From what I’ve read about and saw on WWII pictures,
Kings Royal Irish in 1942 British Army was using a very pale sand colour
Hussars, Battle of called Light Stone 61. The whole model was primed with
Al-Gazala 1942
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 British M3 Grant (left) and Lee (right) at El Alamein
(Egypt), in the Sahara Desert, 1942, showing differences
on the vertical parts of the hull.
between the British turret and the original design.
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 M3 Lee and M3 Grant.
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. Stowage on board.
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! Panzer III tracks are used
The final step of the weathering for additional front armour.
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 Modelspec
protection. Even if this was not seen in
Takom 1:35 M3 Grant Kit No. 2086
North Africa, I decided that it looked
pretty cool, so happily claimed artistic ✓ High level of detail; links and length tracks;
license over historical fact! good fit.
The rear deck was stacked with ammo
Available from
boxes, blankets and tarps from the Value
Gear range of resin generic products. All Takom kits are available online and from hobby
these objects were glued with super glue stores worldwide.
and dusted up with pigments to match Rating
the overall model look. ■

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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
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
Vinyl tyres are
moulded with a
slightly raised
centreline seam
that will be tricky
to clean up.
Markings are offered for five vehicles.
24 Model Military International - February 2018
p 24 GAZ101 Pre 142B 24
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 multi-
part sub-assemblies.
The Editor
examines
Bronco’s 1:35 The engine bay frame is a cleverly moulded part that
scale Zil-131V is protected inside this stout cardboard box.
tractor truck.
An incredibly detailed engine
compartment is offered, and this
may be shown off thanks to the The multi-part cab.
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 The kit contains many small detail parts.
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. Clear sprue.
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. A photo-etched fret is included.
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. ■
Thanks to Bronco for the sample
www.cn-bronco.com/en/index.php
The kit decal sheet.
*Historical summary adapted from Wikipedia.
13/12/2017 15:07
p 23 AirbrushCo 142.indd 8 12/12/2017 10:58
 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.

26 Model Military International - February 2018

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 Two complete Goliath models are included. The link and length tracks look delicate but they were The three figures features feature good detail and nice A length of copper wire is included
fast and easy to remove and clean up. sculpting. 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 The sides ready
German Assault Pioneer Team & for assembly.
Goliath Set comprises 111 parts in Some of the sprue attachments extend onto the rear Goliath’s upper and
light grey plastic and a spool of surface of parts. These should be cleaned up prior to lower body parts.
assembly.
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
The small road wheels and return rollers are
wired remote-control box and a
moulded onto each hull side as a single part.
third team member lying on the
ground.
The drive sprockets are keyed to ensure
Copper wire is provided for the
perfect fit of the link and length tracks.
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 Goliath is very

small in 1:35 scale.

Idler wheels, track adjusters

and the rear guards.

February 2018 - Model Military International 27

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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 The drum is fitted to the

wrapped around Goliath here. The separate
the drum. 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 I partially assembled the tracks into

It's not often that I build and paint four sections, taking care not to glue the
a model plus three figures in two tracks to the running gear at this stage.
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 Mission Models acrylic paint was used for this project. Two versions of Dark Yellow are available.
XF-64 Red Brown before the four I used the darker version, which actually looks paler than this when dry.
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. The track sections were
Figures were mostly painted temporarily attached to a
using Vallejo acrylics. 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.

February 2018 - Model Military International 29

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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
Tamiya 1:35 German Assault Team & Goliath Set.
a brushed coat of Easy Mud
Kit No. 35357 Item No. 21105 – European
Tools and Modelling Products: Earth. While it was still wet,
the excess was rubbed off
Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement the high sections of the
Revell Contacta Plastic Glue tracks with a clean cloth.
Selleys Super Glue
Tamiya Surfacer
Paints and Finishing Products:
Vehicle:
Tamiya Spray Cans - Grey Primer; Fine White Primer Accessories and
Mission Models acrylic paint – MMP-011 Dunkelgelb weapons are also
RAL 7028; Polyurethane Mix Additive; Thinner included.
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: The figures are broken
Uniforms - (all Vallejo Panzer Aces acrylics) – 333 down into multiple pieces.
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; The bodies were assembled without the heads. The bodies received a base coat of Tamiya Grey Primer.
919 Foundation White; 70950 Black; 70957 Flat Red.

✓ 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 The heads were mounted on toothpicks An enamel wash of Burnt Sienna was brushed The heads after detail painting with Vallejo acrylics.
Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by to make handling easier during painting. over the acrylic flesh base colour.
The Hobby Company Limited www.hobbyco.net They were labelled according to the
sprue letters to make sure they were
Rating glued to the appropriate bodies!

The bodies following dry-brushing The bodies were painted next. I used two versions
and a dark wash of Future floor of Field Grey as supplied by Vallejo acrylics.
polish, water and a few spots of
dark brown paint.

Details such as bread bags,

canteens, shoulder boards and
collar insignia were now picked
30 Model Military International - February 2018 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!

February 2018 - Model Military International 31

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 KIT PREVIEW DSPIAE Single Blade Nipper 2.0 • Item No. HRC58~64
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
32 Model Military International - February 2018
p 32 DSPIAE Pre 142B 32
The packaging.
The set includes the cutting tool and a holster.
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
The tool features an adjusting screw to set the “bite”
The nippers are used in the usual way.
Note the straight cut all the way through the sprue.
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 The nippers holstered.
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.
CONCLUSION
You can probably tell that I’m One face is flat.
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
The cutting face.
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. ■
Thanks to Breveco Modelling
for the sample
www.brevecomodelling.nl
A vinyl shroud is also included.
13/12/2017 15:12
 BINDERS
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p 33 ADs Collated 142.indd 8 12/12/2017 11:01

 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

34 Model Military International - February 2018

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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
p 34-39 Su-100 142B 35
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 Here’s the Dragon SU-85M mantlet alongside the Accurate
flat in cross-section, but should be round, Armour resin SU-100 replacement. The latter is identical to
so were better replaced with wire. Sadly, that in the SU-100 kit so either can be used. The texture of the
the Arabic number plates are appropriate Bovington SU-100 mantlet is quite subtle and the part does not
for a 1967 war or later vehicle so couldn’t require enhancing – in general Czech production finish was of
be used for this build. a higher standard than Soviet.
February 2018 - Model Military International 35
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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
36 Model Military International - February 2018
p 34-39 Su-100 142B 36
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 Those terrible ice cleat tie-down loops (that is what they are supposed to be) just
on the SU-100M and Czech had to go! They were replaced by loops of wire, actually steel electric guitar string.
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 The basic SU-85M kit comes
and superstructure sides were with a solid engine grille, but
also deleted, the locating slots does have the underlying
being filled with plastic card. The radiator shutter surround. The
superstructure side plates should ‘Premium’ kits include etched
brass shutters to go with
overlap the rear plate slightly,
an etched brass mesh grille
this was represented with strips but I used the resin shutters
of 30-thou (0.75mm) plastic card that were included with the
attached and then sanded flush Accurate Armour set.
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 rectangular blocks that fit just in front of the drive sprockets are track pin knockers
the join and softened it with plenty intended to push home any track pins that work themselves out. There are no positive
of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, then locating marks on the Dragon hull and the instructions give little help, so I aligned them
worked it with a spatula tip to give using T-34-85 plans in the Michulec and Zientarzewski book ‘T-34 – Mythical Weapon’.
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 The terrible fit between upper and lower hull is disappointing for a modern kit, and I
appears to have been shifted down experienced the same problem when building the Dragon T-34 Model 1943 ‘Hexagonal
so I removed the eight mounting Turret’, so it may well be common to all Dragon T-34 kits.
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 squared-
off type for this vehicle. These are
provided in the SU-100 kit but not
the SU-85M that I had, which has Tamiya masking tape wasn’t up to the job of holding the gap closed and I had to resort
rounded fenders. Accurate Armour to clear parcel tape, unfortunately this left an adhesive residue that had to be removed
with alcohol.
supply resin fenders for the late
Egyptian conversion. These are
13/12/2017 15:29

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
p 34-39 Su-100 142B 37
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 grab-
handles, 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 photo-
etched 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 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 included Dragon track

links on the left and the
MiniArt replacements on the
“ …the Bovington Tank
Museum SU-100 is finished
right. The difference doesn’t
look dramatic, but getting in a striking desert colour
scheme and prominent
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
white crescent on green
disc markings...
”
– this had become the body
of the fire extinguisher!

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.

38 Model Military International - February 2018

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 The tracks were painted with Humbrol
251 RLM81 Dunkelbraun then
The whole model got a coat of Citadel
drybrushed with 56 Aluminium.
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
to the wheels, tracks and lower ‘Maskol’ latex masking fluid with a
hull. The effect looked rather toothpick. You can use a brush, but it
will never be fit for anything else again! I
bland, so when it was just dry I
based the application loosely on available
partially removed it with a broad photographs, but also where it seemed
flat brush dampened with more that wear and tear would be likely.
thinners, especially on the wheels,
to improve contrast and texture.
To further aid the contrast I also
added a ‘pin wash’ of 29 Dark The main colour, Humbrol 93 Desert
Earth to the wheel bolts and rims Yellow, was then airbrushed overall and
left overnight. Once thoroughly dry,
with a fine pointed brush. the ‘Maskol’ and overlying paint can be
removed with a toothpick. I recommend
FINISHING TOUCHES wetting the area first to prevent the
I liked the idea of the strewn loosened paint re-adhering.
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 The decals have been applied over a coat of Tamiya X-22 Acrylic
Black to this mix and for the Clear and sealed under a second coat of the same, and the
striking plate I used 53 Gunmetal. model is now ready for some weathering. Looking a bit like an
The shell cases were then fixed to art materials catalogue shot, it is sitting on a pad of Windsor &
the engine deck with cyanoacrylate Newton disposable palletes. These are ideal for mixing oil paints
and artist’s white spirit, which is what they are intended for after
in a suitably random arrangement. all! Upper surfaces got a very thin wash of Windsor & Newton
There seemed to be a large ‘Griffin’ Alkyd Oil Paints, mostly Davy’s Grey, with a little Burnt
blank area on the left side of Umber and Lamp Black as appropriate.
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 To make the tarpaulin, I cut a rectangle from
a single ply of blue paper towel roll and folded
and applied to the model it dries it a couple of times, then screwed it into a
out and retains its shape, so can tight ball and carefully teased it out again,
be carefully removed for painting this gave it some texture. It was then wetted
and then glued back in place. and applied to the model. When dry it became
Finally the whole model got a final sufficiently stiff to be carefully lifted off and
was then sprayed with grey auto primer, as
airbrushed coat of Humbrol ‘Matt seen here. It was then painted with Humbrol
Cote’ thinned with Humbrol Enamel 168 RAF Hemp and glued back in place.
Thinners, 1:1. A

February 2018 - Model Military International 39

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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.
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.

B CONCLUSION prominent stowage box and

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
other bits, but it turned out that
a further big advantage was the
detailed information included.
Resin manufacturers obviously The rear plate has various
Accurate Armour additions
need to research their products for – relocated and larger resin
accuracy, but it is surprising that hinges and heavy armoured
they often don’t pass it on! exhaust covers and an
Finally, the project was inspired etched brass engine grille.
by the Bovington Tank Museum Also the transmission hatch
handle was replaced with
exhibit, and I would like to thank
electric guitar string. Note
Katie at the Museum Archive plenty of soot from that
and Library for her assistance dirty Soviet diesel!
in finding relevant historical
photographs. ■

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.

40 Model Military International - February 2018

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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 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
MENG note that you do not have
1:35 SCALE GERMAN MEDIUM PANTHER LATE PRODUCTION TRACKS & to cut these out of the sheet
MOVEABLE RUNNING GEAR PARTS • ITEM NO. SPS-049 (SUPPLIES SERIES) – each decal is an individual
Coinciding with the launch of their 1:35 scale Panther Ausf. A, Meng has just decal with virtually no decal
released a number of accessories for the brand-new kit. film surrounding the raised
The first is a set that supplies fully workable parts for the suspension. zimmerit. Very clever.
As it is supplied, the kit has fixed plastic swing axles and individual link tracks Individual decals are supplied
that are glued together. For those who would prefer to have fully workable for all the various nooks and
running gear, this upgrade set will transform the kit. crannies, including the lower
The set supplies 16 metal wire hull, mantlets and tricky areas
torsion bars (these will actually twist on the rear armour plate.
like the real thing when installed), The pattern looks nicely
17 mounting blocks, a full set raised on the sheet and
of swing arms and replacement should be quite visible on the
workable tracks. model after painting. A subtle
The tracks are supplied in black wash and dry brush will
plastic. Like the kit tracks, these are help further emphasise the
completely free from ejector pin Zimmerit pattern.
circles and feature two separate I recommend that you should
hollow guide horns per link. The apply a primer coat plus
main links are attached to the sprues via seven points each. The links are joined gloss coat as a base for the
using two metal pins - one for each side. Presumably the best method of Zimmerit decals.
attachment will be a tiny spot of super glue, applied sparingly and carefully! The This is without doubt the
metal pins are handed left and right, so make sure you use the correct ones. easiest way to apply Zimmerit
Instructions are supplied on the back of the simple black-and-white box. to your Meng 1:35 scale
This is an impressive upgrade for the lovely new Meng Panther. If you want Panther, and the choice of
workable running gear, this one is for you! four patterns means that
Recommended. Meng has most of the
Thanks to Meng for the sample. common variations covered.
Brett Green 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 I would recommend this set to those who want to go the next step on the
A-Mig 1203 Streaking grime finish of their current project, or those just starting out who want a simple but
A-Mig 1510 Tan for 3 tone Camo Filter easy to use set.
With this set, one has pretty much all they need to be able to achieve a great Recommended.
finish on a German subject, although in reality you could use this on others as Thanks to AMMO of Mig Jiminez for the sample www.migjimenez.com/en/
well, depending on the colours used, making this a very versatile set to have. Andrew Judson

February 2018 - Model Military International 41

p 41 Incoming 142B 41 13/12/2017 15:14

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

T Tamiya’s Panther Ausf. D In the Box

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’s box art. The kit features gorgeous surface textures including subtle pitting, The kit
Tamiya released their new- torch cuts and weld beads.
tool 1:35 scale Panther Ausf.
G in 1993 to great acclaim. In Tamiya’s 2015 1:35 scale Panther off the pegs and reposition the axles. a small raised pip on the inside of
typical Tamiya fashion, detail Ausf. D comprises 311 parts in The road wheels are moulded every 23rd link – not much clean-up
was good and it was a fast, dark yellow plastic, two lengths of as inner and outer halves with required here! The tracks may be
accurate build. flexible vinyl track, a spool of fine the tyres in place. The small hub glued with regular model cement.
The initial release was copper wire, a length of white string covers are separate pieces. Bolt If you are not a fan of vinyl
an early version Ausf. G, plus polythene caps in two sizes. and rim detail are very nicely done. tracks, Tamiya has already released
followed by a late version Surface texture is beautifully The road wheels, drive sprockets a separately available set of
and a steel wheel variant. presented. The rolled armour plate and idler wheels are held in place individual click-together links. Each
Two Jagdpanthers were also features subtle pitting, while the with polythene caps. Even if you’re link is made up from two parts,
offered. weld beads and torch cuts are some not likely to roll your Panther featuring excellent detail inside and
Tamiya brought the Panther of Tamiya’s best yet – and that is along the floor, this makes life out including hollow guide horns.
into the 21st Century with a saying something! easier for painting. The upper hull is also presented
completely new 1:35 scale The lower hull is presented as a The tracks supplied with the kit as one piece with the engine
Ausf. D. in 2015 This kit has tub with the sides, lower rear and are full-length flexible vinyl. These deck and four rectangular grilles
absolutely no parts in common floor moulded as one. Axles are are nicely done, but the limitations moulded in place.
with the 1993 Ausf. G. separate parts, each keyed with a of the moulding technology mean The engine hatch and the
large locating hole and a raised peg. that the guide horns are solid. two circular vents are separate.
If you with to pose the vehicle on Quality is very good though, with no Tamiya supplies radiator and
uneven ground, you may simply snip flash present on my sample and only cooling fan detail to be fitted

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The kit includes 12 two-part spare track links.
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 photo-
etched mesh grille covers. These
are both available separately.
The areas above the tracks are
blocked off with sponson covers, and
Tamiya supplies the typical early-
style 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
p 42-49 PantherAusfD 142B 43
“D”IS FOR
DEADLY
Chris Wauchop adds extra detail an
stamp onto Tamiya’s 1:35 scale Pa d his individual
The full-length flexible tracks are nicely detailed.
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
nther Ausf. D.
Tamiya supplies markings for three
Panthers at Kursk.
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 after-
market 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
February 2018 - Model Military International 43
Tamiya offers a set of individual two-part track links,
available separately.
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
13/12/2017 15:35
 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.
Model Point 90mm Nb.k.wg smoke/grenade throwers (empty),
item number 3551-1 were used to replace the kit parts.
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.
44 Model Military International - February 2018
p 42-49 PantherAusfD 142B 44
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 Plumbing for the launchers was added using brass tube and fine wire.
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.
Launcher wiring connected.
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.
Lenses cut from clear acetate were glued to the inside of the
periscope openings before the other interior detail was added.
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.
13/12/2017 15:36
 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 Left side tool rack with extras.
workable photo-etched clamps and clasps.

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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 The track treads were treated
to silver Prismacolor pencil,
After Market accessories: 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 tanks, trucks and other vehicles. This included a Facilities at the museum includes a
the year at the The Tank Museum in rather nice collection of Soviet radio vehicles. restaurant, which is on the upper level of
Dorset, the first being back in February. There was of course a large number of the museum, which is spacious. On the day
February and October were the months aircraft models, which included civilian and of the show, they offered cooked breakfasts
that the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton held military aircraft with a few helicopters on show first thing, then a main meal at lunch time.
their twice yearly model shows for many years. as well. This was very popular amongst the visitors
With the cancellation of both of these shows, A club stand with radio controlled warships and exhibitors alike. Additionally, there were
the Tank Museum came to the rescue to fill the was present. These ships were large and very pasties, sandwiches and confectionery available.
gaps, and both appear to have been a success. well detailed. Downstairs, there was a cafe with seating
First a few words about the museum itself. A number of figure modellers also attended, should you just want a drink.
Situated at Bovington, this is the home for these included military and science fiction I thought the show was very well organised,
the Tank Museum, it's also where the Royal figures. and hopefully will grow larger in the next few
Armoured Corps among other military units are Outside the museum there were displays years. The standard of modelling was excellent,
stationed, and has been a British Army Base of both radio controlled tanks and fixed wing and across the show it was apparent, the effort
since 1899. aircraft. the modellers had put into their displays. ■
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
King Tiger and Elefant

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

A nice side view of the Tank Museum’s Tiger II. Tiger I from the rear.

Fury with its movie stowage.

Movie star! M4A3E8 Sherman “Fury”. This is an impressive vehicle close-up.

Fury movie prop heads. Tank Museum’s Archer tank destroyer viewed from above. Rear three quarter view of the museum’s Elefant.

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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
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.
IN THE BOX
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 photo-
etched 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
p 54-55 PantherA Pre 142B 13
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.
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.
February 2018 - Model Military International 13
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.
13/12/2017 15:41
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and includes: • 2x Classic Fine point blades #11
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p 56-57 Subs offer MMI 142.indd 3 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

58 Model Military International - February 2018

p 58-59 Books 142B 58 13/12/2017 15:43

 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 PANZER ACES MAGAZINE NO 52
ACCION PRESS
Panzer Aces Magazine is well known across the globe nowadays, and
SPECIAL - BLITZKRIEG
ACCION PRESS
always have great articles by brilliant modellers from across Europe.
Here we are with another issue of the great magazine, Panzer Aces.
In this Special, it looks at winter based vehicles and how to achieve
This time, we have a special on vehicles used in the Blitzkrieg.
winter effects on your projects.
In this issue, there are fewer articles, although they go into a lot
The magazine comes A4 soft cover format, printed on high grade paper,
more detail on the subjects.
with 96 pages and packed with great articles in the usual high standard.
As usual, the magazine is A4 format, printed on high grade paper
Every page is alight with brilliant detailed photographs and well written
with 72 pages.
content on the topic, making it very nice when learning and being able
Each article is well presented with excellent photos, and well written
to understand the process.
content, easy to understand and follow.
The articles in this issue are as follows:
Articles within are as follows:
• 1:35 Cruiser Tank A-30 Challenger
• 1:35 Panzerbefehlswagon PZ. BFWG 38 T AUSF B
• 1:35 Bison 1
• 1:35 Renault FT17
• 1:35 T34/76 Factory
• 1:35 Stug III AUSF B
• 1/35 Marder III
• Sd.Kfz. 232
• Dio, Crush this B@####d 1/35
• 1:35 Dio, Waiting for the towing vehicle, France 1940
• Techniques in Winter Camouflage
• Modelling Lesson - MUD
• 1:35 Sd.Kfz. 251/9
All articles are to the usual high standard, and are very informative.
• Modelling Lesson, Tree Stump in Snow
I would recommend this to all modellers interested in this era and
As you can see, this is a great range of subjects, all with thorough
subject. excellent.
descriptions in the individual articles.
Recommended.
This is another great issue from the publishers at Accion.
Thanks to Euro Modelismo for the sample www.euromodelismo.com
Recommended.
Andrew Judson
Thanks to Euro Modelismo for the sample www.euromodelismo.com
Andrew Judson

February 2018 - Model Military International 59

p 58-59 Books 142B 59 13/12/2017 15:43

 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 thing. This step keeps your interest going and will Sure, some models are easier to build than others
already know your own fields of interest. reduce your chances of making technical mistakes. but all require some form of technical skill to put
One: Make something your way. Get a feel for a Three: and I think that this is the most important: together and paint.
subject and make something fairly simple. This is Try to appreciate your limitations from the start. Anyway that’s my little soap box sermon for this
where 1:48 scale armour shines as it can be as This in my opinion turns a lot of modellers off - month. Now I’m off to get me some bench time!
simple or as complex as you want it to be. the term “shake and bake” is simply not true. No until next time
Two: Do plenty of research and study the real model ever was or ever will be made that way. Luke Pitt

RED ZEBRA
1:48 SCALE ETA DIORAMA ACCESSORIES
ABRAMS STOWAGE SET 1:48 SCALE
ITEM NO. NOT SPECIFIED ITEM NO. 1503 - 1:48 SCALE WWII ROAD
This set is specifically designed for the SIGNS
new Tamiya kit and it fits like a glove ITEM NO. 612 - 1:48 SCALE GERMAN
in the rear turret basket. WWII MAPS AND PROPAGANDA POSTERS
Consisting very well cast grey resin I said this last month but it remains true
pieces, it includes various tarps, two - the finishing touches to any vehicle or
modern jerry cans, a round cooler and diorama are the little details that are not
a couple of modern US back packs. often seen but are often discovered by
The new 1:48 scale Tamiya Abrams kit detailed inspection of the completed piece.
is good but this update will make it ETA Diorama Accessories hails from Greece.
even better, and take a whole lot less They produce highly detailed colour
time than if you did it yourself. printed paper cards with a number of
Thanks to Red Zebra for the review different items on them.
sample. They can be purchased from The first item up for review is coded 1503,
their web shop on the following printed on two thin sheets of high quality
address: paper card.
https://www.redzebramodels.co.uk Measuring 11.5cm x 8cm they include
Highly Recommended. 19 road signs from various theatres of
Luke Pitt 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

60 Model Military International - February 2018

p 60-61 48Scale 142B 60 13/12/2017 15:44

 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

p 60-61 48Scale 142B 61 13/12/2017 15:51

 BUYERS GUIDE>>>>>>>>>
AVID READER PARABELLUM
Tel: 01299 823 330 Fax:01299 829 970 Tel: 0121 551 8878 Fax: 0121 707 1471
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VALLEJO PAINTS, MAIL ORDER
WWW.BOOKWORLDWS.CO.UK 1/48 website: www.parabellum.co.uk email: sales@ parabellum.co.uk
INFO@BOOKWORLDWS.CO.UK VISA/MASTERCARD/MAESTRO MASTERCARD/VISA

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p 62 Buyers Guide 142.indd 62 11/12/2017 14:42

 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
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a must have before you build the model!

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p 63 Typhoon Book 142.indd 8 11/12/2017 14:43

 Contact Details - for companies featured in MMI...
ACCURATE ARMOUR/ DELUXE MATERIALS MILICAST MODEL CO., SCHIFFER BOOKS
ARMOUR DISTRIBUTION www.deluxematerials.co.uk 9 Rannoch St., Battlefield, Glasgow G44 4DF, Scotland Schiffer Publishing, 4880 Lower Valley Rd,
Units 15-16 Kingston Industrial Estate, info@deluxematerials.com Tel/Fax; 0141 633 1400 Atglen, PA, 19310 USA
Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, PA14 5DG Scotland. Tel; 01529 455 0340 milicastmodels@hotmail.com www.schifferbooks.com
Tel; 01475 743 955 www.milicast.com
Fax; 01475 743746 DRAGON MODELS SCHIFFER BOOKS in UK
www.accurate-armour.com (The Hobby Company in UK) MISSION MODELS Bushwood Books, No.6 Marksbury Avenue,
Dragon Models Ltd, Kong Nam Ind. Building B1-10F, (ETCHMATE, GRABHANDLER, MICRO CHISEL) Kew Gardens, Surrey TW9 4JF, UK.
ADALBERTUS 603-609 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan NT, www.etchmate.com Tel; 020 8392 8585, 020 8392 9876,
Iberyjska 7/49, 02-764 , Warsaw,Poland Hong Kong Fax; (HK) 4110587 www.missionmodels.com email; info@bushwodbooks.co.uk
adalbertus@adalbertus.com.pl www.dragonmodelsltd.com Tel; 818 842 1885
www.adalbertus.com.pl (For 1:6 Action Figures, please contact Amerang in UK) Fax; 818 842 1886 SCHUMO KITS
info@missionmodels.com, www.schumo-kits.com
THE AIRBRUSH COMPANY Ltd ECHELON FINE DETAILS sales@missionmodels.com,
Unit 7 Marlborough Road, Lancing Business Park, Available from; wwwaccurate-armour.com & orders@missionmodels.com SDV MODEL
Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 8UF. http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~kriegsketten/ www.sdvmodel.cz
Tel; 08700 660 445 THE ARMORY; M&MODELS
www.airbrushes.com FRIENDSHIP MODELS 9329 S. Cicero Ave, Oak Lawn, IL 60453, USA SIMPLE 2 TRADE
12 Delta Drive, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 8HR http://home.earthlink.net/~mmodels/ No 2 Hollywood Lane, Hollywood,
ALCLAD II LACQUER Tel; 0131 665 0866 Birmingham, B47 5PP
5 St Georges Close, Bacton, Norfolk. NR12 0LL Mobile; 07877166225 MODEL WHOLESALE UK LTD Tel; 0121 474 3030
Tel; 01962 65216 www.friendshipmodels.com Tel; 01892 533036 www.simple2trade.com
Fax; 01692 652334 www.modelwholesaleuk.com
GREAT NORTH ROADS SMARTMODELLING
ALPINE, ROYAL MODEL, ARTISAN 9a Marcombe Road, Torquay, South Devon, TQ2 6LL MONROE PERDU (Swash, Tasca, Gap, Yosci, Royal Model)
Tel; 01803 400436 Monroe Perdu Designs, 3168 Renee Court, No.7 Gordons Way, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0LN UK
MORI, YOSCI; SMARTMODELLING www.greatnorthroads.co.uk Simi Valley, CA 93065, USA.
No.7 Gordons Way, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0LN. UK Tel; 01883 734746
email svfarrugia@yahoo.co.uk www.monroeperdu.com smartmodelling@smart7.fsworld.co.uk
Tel; 01883 734746
smartmodelling@smart7.fsworld.co.uk
HANNANTS ORDNANCE MODELS SQUADRON
Harbour Road, Oulton Broad, Via; www.steelmodels.com 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton, TX 75006-1312 U.S.A
AMPERSAND PUBLISHING Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 2LZ,
(via Historex Agents in UK)
235 NE 6th Avenue #4 Delray Beach,
Tel; 01502 517444 PACIFIC COAST MODELS SWANN-MORTON
Fax; 01502 500521 Tel; 001 707 538 4850 Owlerton Green, Sheffield, S6 2BJ
Florida 33483-5543, USA
www.hannants.co.uk info@pacmodels.com Tel; +44 (0)114 234 4231
Tel; 561-266 9686
sales@hannants.co.uk www.pacmodels.com Fax; +44 (0)114 231 4966
Fax; 561-266-9786
General: info@swann-morton.com
ARCHER HISTOREX AGENTS PANZERWRECKS www.craftknives.com
Wellington House, 157 Snargate Street, PO Box 164, Heathfield, Sussex TN21 8WA, UK
(Historex in UK)
Dover, Kent, CT17 9BZ, UK www.panzerwrecks.com TAMIYA JAPAN
PO Box 1277 Youngsville, NC 27596-1277, USA
Tel; 01304 206720 Tamiya, Inc., 3-7 Ondawara Suruga-ku,
www.archertransfers.co
Fax; 01304 204528. PARAGRAFIX Shizuoka 422-8610 JAPAN
www.historex-agents.co.uk 104 County Street, Suite 101 www.tamiya.com
BADGER AIR-BRUSH COMPANY sales@historex-agents.co.uk
9128W Belmont Ave, Franklin Park, IL 60131 Attleboro MA 02703 USA
Tel; 847/678-3104 Tel: +1 508.431.9800 TAMIYA UK;
www.badgerairbrush.com
HOBBYLINK JAPAN M-F 9am to 4pm EST THE HOBBY COMPANY LIMITED
Sano-shi, Kurohakama-cho 162-1, http://www.paragrafix.biz Garforth Place, Knowlhill, Milton Keynes, MK5 8PG, UK
email info@badgerairbrush.com
Tochigi 327-0813, Japan pgms@paragrafix.biz Tel; 01908 605686 Fax; 01908 605666
(In the UK from www.shesto.co.uk)
www.hlj.com enquiries@hobbyco.net
BISON DECALS PLUS MODEL www.hobbyco.net
Available from www.hannants.co.uk and
HUSSAR PRODUCTIONS, CANADA (Creative Models in UK)
www.airconnection.on.ca Jizni 56, 370 10 C. Budejovice, Czech Republic. TRUMPETER
www.pdi-model-supplies.com
plusmodel@plusmodel.cz www.trumpeter-china.com
BLAST MODELS IAN ALLAN www.plusmodel.cz Pocketbond in the UK
www.ianallanpublishing.com
Via AFV Modeller or www.blast-models.com
Mail Order Dept 01455 254450 POCKETBOND VERLINDEN PRODUCTIONS
(Trumpeter & AFV Club in UK) (Historex in UK)
BOOKWORLD WHOLESALE ICM Bachmann Europe PLC
Unit 10 Hodfar Road, Sandy Lane Ind Est 811 Lone Star Drive, O’Fallon, Missouri 63366, USA
Kiev 02099, Ukraine, Borispolskaya 9 building 64. Moat Way, Barwell, Leics, LE9 8EY www.verlinden-productions.com
Stourport, Worcs, DY13 9QB
Tel/fax; (+38044) 369-54-12 Tel; 01455 841756
Tel; 01299 823330
export@icm.com.ua info@pocketbond.co.uk VALLEJO
Fax; 01299 829970
www.icm.com.ua (Creative Models in UK)
info@bookworldws.co.uk
PSP MODELS LTD Acrylicos Vallejo, SL Apartado 337 - 08800
CALIBRE 35 ITALERI (Mission Models in USA) Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, Spain
(The Hobby Company in UK) Unit 19B, Applin’s Farm, Farrington, Tel; (34) 93 893 60 12
Via Hannants in UK
Via Pradazzo, 6, I-40012 Calderara Di Reno, Dorset DT11 8RA, UK Fax; (34) 93 893 11 54
Bologna, Italy, Tel/Fax; 01747 811 817 www.acrylicosvallejo.com
CAMMETT Tel; 051 726037 www.psp-models.com
(Lifecolour, Scale Caliber) www.italeri.com
Unit 5 Greenfield Industrial Estate, VLS CORPORATION
Forest Road, Hay on Wye, Powys, HR3 5FA
QUICKBOOST (LSA in UK)
Tel; 01497 822757
JUST BASES www.quickboost.net (TRAKZ, WINGZ, CUSTOM DIORAMICS, WARRIORS);
21 Graham Road, Paignton TQ3 1BB Lincoln County Industrial Park, 1011 Industrial Court,
Email; cammettco@btinternet.com
www.cammett.co.uk
Tel; 01803 558520 REVELL GmbH & Co. KG Moscow Mills, Missouri 63362, USA
www.just-bases.co.uk Orchard Mews, 18C High Street, www.modelmecca.com
Tring, Herts, HP23 5AH
CLASSIC PUBLICATIONS JUST KITS
Midland Counties Publications, 4 Watling Drive,
Tel; +44 (0) 1442 890285 WHITE ENSIGN MODELS
4 High Street, Botley, Southampton, SO30 2EA www.revell.eu (Toms Model Works)
Sketchley Lane Industrial Estate, Hinckley,
Tel; 01489 781177 8532 Lamar Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, USA
Leics UK. LE10 1YF
Tel; 01455 233 747,
www.justkitsandmodels.co.uk SB MODELS Tomsmodelworks@aol.com
Fax; 01455 233 737 UK distributor for Model Victoria and Royal Model www.whiteensignmodels.com
midlandbooks@compuserve.com MDC P.O. Box 114, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA13 0WY.
www.classic-publications.com Model Design Construction, Victoria Place, Tel/Fax; 01229 430 749 WWII PRODUCTIONS, AUSTRALIA
Victoria Road, Ripley, Derbyshire DE5 3FW sales@sbmodels.fsnet.co.uk 12 Prince Street, Waratah, 2298, NSW, Australia
Fax; 01773 513344 www.sbmodels.net Tel; +61 (0)2 4967 3205
CREATIVE MODELS LTD orders@modeldesignconstruction.com
(Mig Productions, Vallejo, Accurate Miniatures) Fax; +61 (0)2 4967 3207
Unit 6-10, Honeysome Industrial Estate, Honeysome
www.modeldesignconstruction.com SBLC ww2prod@optusnet.com.au
Road, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. PE16 6TG PO Box 794, Cheltenham GL52 3ZW, UK
Tel; 01354 760022 MODELING ARTISAN MORI RICHARDSBLC@aol.com ZVEZDA
www.creativemodels.co.uk http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~m.a.mori/index_eng.html (The Hobby Company in UK)
info@creativemodels.co.uk SBX MODEL SHOP Promishlennaia Str.,2, Lobnya, Moscow Region,
MIG PRODUCTIONS Norwich Road, Ipswich. IP1 5DN 141730 Russia
DARTMOOR MILITARY MODELS (Creative Models in UK) Tel; 01473 464311 office@zvezda.org.ru
Haylis cottage, Budlake, Broadclyst C/ Santiago Rusinol 7, Pral 2a, www.sbxmodelshop.co.uk www.zvezda.org.ru
Exeter, EX5 3LJ, England 08750 Molins de Rei, Barcelona, Spain
Tel; 01392 881271 www.migproductions.com SCHATTON BARRELS
www.dartmoormilitarymodels.com 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

p 64-65 Contact NI 142B 64 13/12/2017 15:54

 Next Issue - WINTER SPECIAL!
On sale 1 February 2018 ISSUE No.142 February 2018,
Published 4th January 2018
Editor; Brett Green
Group Editor; Marcus Nicholls

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CORONATION
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...and much more!

above. All advertising, circulation and
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cannot guarantee the appearance of the Subscription rates are;
scale M4A3E8 “Easy 1 year (12 issues);
above projects, but we’ll try our best!
Eight” Sherman with £47 UK
£59 Europe
a striking Tiger face. £72 Worldwide (Airmail)

Binders;
£8.50 plus postage

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February 2018 - Model Military International 65

p 64-65 Contact NI 142B 65 13/12/2017 15:54

 The Last Post...
KOREAN WAR EASY EIGHT
Tamiya has just added a Korean War M4A3E8
“Easy Eight” to its growing Sherman range.
The Editor takes a look.
TAMIYA KIT NO. 35359 - M4A3E8 SHERMAN “EASY EIGHT” KOREAN WAR
T
he M4A3 was the first Sherman
variant to feature HVSS (Horizontal
Volute Spring Suspension) as fac-
tory fitted equipment. HVSS sus-
pension 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 vari-
ant 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 run-
ning 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 col-
oured 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°
66 Model Military International - February 2018
p 66 LastPost 142B 66
A totally new sprue is included.
glacis hull with the
enlarged hatches, the Texture is impressive on the new mantlet
correct rear deck con- waterproofing cover.
figuration 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 One of the crew figures and spare T80 track links.
moulded as one piece Optional headgear is included.
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 refer-
ence 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 The second new crew figure.
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 worka-
ble 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 full-length flexible T80 tracks.
The Commander’s cupola features sepa-
rate 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 nice-
ly moulded and animated crew figures.
Tasca has set the standard for Sherman
The kit decal sheet.
kits for nearly ten years, so comparisons
between Tasca’s 2010-release 1:35 scale
Easy Eight and Tamiya’s new kit are inevi-
table. Both look great when complete, but
the approach of the two kits is markedly dif-
ferent. Whereas Tasca’s kit comprises more
than 800 parts, Tamiya’s is less than 300.
A good example of the different design The second marking option is a bit more subdued.
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 run-
ning 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 addi- Tamiya’s old GAZ-67B Russian Field Car is
tion to Tamiya’s new generation Sherman included in the box.
family.
Guess what I’ll be building next… ■
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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