Military in Scale 01 2007

Replicating the short-bodied M2(A1), the kit provides everything that you'll probably ever need to build a highly detailed model of this attractive vehicle - Photos 1 & 2. The '2 in 1' tag that accompanies the kit's main titling -along with the progressively familiar "Smart Kit' logo... leads the way to a kit that allows the production of the standard M2 with its low-profile lines, .30 Cal armament and nose mounted roller and the beefier A1 version, with pulpit mounted .50 Cal and nose mounted winch, set into a very large extension to the basic chassis. Along the way, all of the relevant internal changes are also possible, all of which are highlighted in the well-drawn instructions. Well appointed from the ground up, there is so little missing as to be almost irrelevant -unless you really must have every minute detail in place in your kits - making this a perfect 'out-of-the-box' build. From front to back, top to bottom. you'll find a complete chassis Photos 3 & 4, well appointed engine - invisible on the completed model unless you take a razor saw to the bonnet sections - sensational tracks and roadwheels, Photo 5, excellent interior and beautifully rendered body work and small details, such as the .30 and .50 Cal machine guns and their mounts.

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Military in Scale 05 2007

All the major scratch building was now done and it was time to turn to the small items and the aftermarket sets that I had purchased for this model. The first items I started on were the fenders - Photo 1, I used the older Aber set for the, Panzer IV, with a multiple piece frame under the tread plate, whereas the newer one comes with this frame as one piece. The frame was soldered together because there are relatively small contact areas between each of the frame parts. Onto this the tread plate pieces were then fixed using superglue, which was chosen for two reasons; firstly, it allows me a little flexibility and extra time in the positioning of each of the tread plate pieces; secondly, my soldering skills are still fairly limited! With all the tread plates glued in place, attention turned to making the front and rear fender flaps. On a Panzer IV front fender flap, there was a metal tube along the bottom edge that followed the shape of the flap. In the Aber set however, you are given a flat etched piece for this component and it doesn't look right. Instead, I substituted it for a small strip of wire. The Aber fender flap was shimmed up with another sheet of brass to get the wire centred on the edge. It was then soldered to the Aber flap from what would become the inside of the flap.

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Military in Scale 02 2006

Once again, modellers from all over the world make their way to Telford for the UK IPMS Nationals, better known as Scale ModelWorld 2005. We are not sure whether it is the biggest model show in the world, some of the ones in Japan look pretty big and busy, but ours is the biggest IPMS show. Traders and Club stands occupied two and a half of the halls at the Telford International Centre this year. The competition area was moved into the same hall as the refreshments area, along with a handful of club stands. This move was a vast improvement, much more space around the competition tables and the lighting looked better too. Another move that helped relieve the congestion around the competition was the completion of the judging, followed by the opening of the competition area, mid-afternoon on Saturday. The usual crush on Sunday morning to see the results of the judging was avoided. It was all much more civilized. It is difficult to tell whether competition entries were up or down on last year as it appeared that more table acreage had been provided for the models. There appeared to be fewer gaps, the vast majority of classes were well supported. What is sure is that the standard of the models was staggeringly high. Small scale aircraft, armour and ships models exhibited some superb skill.

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Military in Scale 05 2006

Inside the sturdy tray type box are 60 parts moulded in light grey plastic. 20 clear injection transparencies. 29 resin and 29 photo etched parts and a small but beautifully printed decal sheet for just one airframe from 287 Sqn. in 1944. The grey injection parts have delicately incised panel lines, the wings in particular are excellent. The wheel wells have a nicely detailed insert panel and the undercarriage, although a little chunky, looks pretty good also. The nose wheel well is produced in resin as are the finer cockpit details and sidewalls. Also in the resin pack are the Hercules engines, which are superb, the wheels and a pair of hedgehog type exhausts along with various engine intakes. The photo-etched sheet covers such things as the instrument panel, for which a photo-negative is provided, the seat belts, various control levers, aerials and intake mesh guards. A dry fit of the major airframe parts revealed no major fit problems, although being of short run technology, there are no locating pins or tabs. However, a short spar section is included to give a more positive location for the wings. The instructions are very good indeed. They are easy to follow and clearly printed on glossy paper. A full colour sheet depicts the colour scheme and paints are called out from four different manufacturers - Humbrol, Agama, Model Master, Gunze Sangyo - and also FS numbers. A brief history of the type is also featured.

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