Verlinden Modeling Magazine Vol.1 No.4

The value of a bulldozer for removing obstacles or debris became clear in WWII. The advantage of having such a device mounted on a combat tank, which in the mean time regained its fire power, was even greater. In WWII, dozer blades were mounted on the M4 Sherman which on many occasions came to the aid of stranded convoys while under fire, capable of anticipating any hostile threat. After WWII, dozer blade kits were mounted to the M46 and M47 tanks to further improve the system, but test results were considered to be unsatisfactory. However, when the M48 tank became available, a standardized M8 bulldozer blade assembly was fitted and more test runs were accomplished. This was in the late 1960's. Fitting of the bulldozer blade to the M48 called for a complex installation of the hydraulic feed lines to operate the blade assembly. With the arrival of the new M60 tank series, a study was made to simplify the hydraulic feed system. A modified version of the M8 blade, designated M9, only needed one hydraulic reservoir mounted on the left rear fender and dual feed lines running underneath the hull to the front of the vehicle. The M9 type bulldozer blade became the standard configuration and was also used on the M728 CEV (although with a different installation kit), an M60 derivative with a 165mm demolition gun in lieu of the 105mm gun and an operating boom/winch assembly fitted to the front side slopes of the turret.

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Verlinden Modeling Magazine Vol.1 No.3

The BTR-60PB is an Armored Infantry Vehicle developed sometime in 1965 and it is still used today by the Soviets and their allies. Although the BTR-60PB was not designed an Infantry Fighting Vehicle in the true sense of the word, adding it's 14.5mm KPVT machinegun and six gun ports was a step in the good direction. This eight-wheeled vehicle is powered by two GAZ49 gasoline engines (diesel fuel is scarce in the USSR), which are also being used to power the BRDM-2. The vehicle has room for 3 crewmembers and an additional 8-man squad. THE MODEL. Regular VP customers will be familiar with the set-up of this Trophy kit. They look so much like the VP releases because the same casting method is used to produce these accurate replicas of a machine-tooled master model. To simplify casting and to eliminate shrinking of matching parts as much as possible, the hull is casted in one piece. A massive piece of resin measuring 200x80x45 mm (8x3x2in). Additional parts such as turret, hatches, wheels and headlights have to be cleaned from flash (which is virtually non-existent) and separated from the casting earner which can easily be done with a pair of flush-cut nippers.

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The Verlinden Way - Military Models And Dioramas Volume 4

For those modelers who love ultimate detail and are charmed by aviation technology and everything it takes to fly an airplane, Esci has taken the initiative to produce large 1/12 scale cockpits of wellknown aircraft. The first kit to be released was the F-16 cockpit, followed by the F-104. The F-16 is reviewed here for the simple reason that the F-104 cockpit was not yet available when this book was set up. Opening the box is a breathtaking experience. First of all it takes a while to get used to the size of the model. The large bathtub and big parts of the seat and instrument panel is beyond the experience of most modelers. The detail is at first sight overwhelming. You cannot help but being amazed by the molding detail on the panels, switches, seat and so on. However, if you know your bits and pieces of the F-16 and start checking out the detail, you will find various mistakes. But they are not of such a nature that it is close to impossible to correct them. The biggest problem is the headrest of the seat. Even without correcting these faulty details the kit is very impressive when finished. The model depicts an F-16A block 10 cockpit, but for those who want to make a block 15 cockpit, it is a piece of cake. You just have to change the location of some panels and instruments and make two new ones. Our book 'Lock-on n° 2 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon' will prove to be a great help both in completing the kit as is or converting it into a block 15. And if you want to go for the ultimate realism, we produce authentic film-type instruments for this model. Their use is depicted in this chapter.

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Verlinden Modeling Magazine Vol.1 No.2

More prejudices surround figure painting than any other aspect of modeling. How many times have you heard, 'I would love to paint figures but you have to be a master to do it well', or, 'I couldn't do that even if I tried' when, in most cases they haven't tried. Many of us build impressive models, display them in well executed dioramas, and then leave out the most important part, the figures. Figures add more realism to a diorama than any other item, but there are many lifeless dioramas simply because we are afraid to take that first step, the dreaded face. The rest of the figure is something most people will attempt because it can be done with enamels, but, the face, that is done with oil paints. Funny, but there is something sinister about artist's oils to many modelers. In this section, we are going to attempt to dispell the anxiety of using oils and painting faces. Although there are many methods and styles, most are complicated and tend to discourage rather than encourage the beginning figure painter.

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