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The meeting minutes:
Well folks, considering the temperature and
snow we had a good turnout at the meeting. I was in Detroit and
Anniston Alabama this month so I’m getting to the newsletter
really late. Hope fully this won’t get to be a regular problem.
On the subject of being out of town a lot, I will probably miss
the February meeting due to a trip to Camp Dodge from 9-11
February. Mike, please take the notes and send me the write up
for the newsletter. To start out with, we did something different
at this meeting. Ed Wahl brought a big pile of kits for the first
club “$20 challenge”. The premise is simple; you pick a kit from
the pile, give Ed $20 and get entered on the challenge sheet.
Next December you bring the built model back for the meeting. If
you build it, you get your $20 back, plus you got a kit. If you
don’t build it, well, you just got a decent deal on a kit……
We had a visitor at the meeting this month,
Pete Hudik, from IPMS Richmond,
teaches at the Army Logistics Management College, where I was
working on my Masters. I had him for a class and told him that if
he was ever up in the QC teaching a course to stop by. Shawn gave
a presentation on figure painting during the meeting; I copied a
few notes and printed them below. We also had chapter elections.
Bob Horton was reelected as chapter contact, I was reelected as
President and Mike Vinson was confirmed as Secretary/Treasurer.
The club voted to pay for his IPMS National membership this year.
We also had a little show and tell action going on as well. I got
a call this week from Fred
Lue,
he is looking for a Lindberg LCI. Please contact him at 309
792-8777 if you can hook him up. Plan on doing a little bring and
build for the next meeting to get something done for our show and
the Regional. The newsletter is a little light this month because
I didn’t get that much material this month from the wrecking crew
and I didn’t get a chance to do some
additional prices I was working on due to my schedule. As usual, I
make my plea for more newsletter articles. In fact, I didn’t get
a chance to finish the newsletter until the Saturday before the
meeting so my apologies to Mike for getting it to him several days
late. And now on to the good stuff.
Figure Painting with Shawn
Drovesky
The first thing you need to do is know your
subject, a good artist observes and watches natural lighting. I
recommend you use good lighting when you paint figures, I use a
combination of regular and fluorescent lights and try to get the
lighting to mimic that one would see in a contest room. Once the
figure is assembled and ready to paint, I drill a hole in one foot
of the figure and super glue a piece of wire in to pin the figure
to a clump of clay while I’m painting it. I use modeling clay as
it lasts longer than Styrofoam blocks. I start with the dark
colors and work out; I also usually use a black primer, unless
it’s a lighter color and then I use red oxide as a primer, or grey
for a white color. I use Krylon paints
from Walmart or K-Mart as my primer. I
also usually paint in batches and get a little assembly line
action going. Before you move on after priming, you need to spend
some time making sure that all of your joints are cleaned up. If
you see some problem areas, you can fill and sand, then repaint
wit primer and recheck. The paint I use is acrylic
Ceramcoat paints from Ben Franklin or
Hobby Lobby, they dry quickly and are
very easy to brush right out of the bottle. They come in a wide
variety of colors, and I also mix my own colors when necessary.
They do require thinning for washes. I don’t use oils personally,
as I don’t like how long they take to dry. To digress for a
moment, I use sable or camel hair brushes; if you want to get good
results you need good brushes. For dry brushing I use brushes
that I cut down close to the ferrule. I also use paper towels to
wipe the paint off of the brush when preparing to dry brush.
Anyway, back to the figures. Eyes are a bitch, you could make all
of you figures passed out, but that’s not cool. I use a
Shep Paine technique for the eyes;
don’t use white paint as that will give you the “pop eye” look I
use a shade several tones lighter than the skin tones to paint my
eyes, I paint the iris as a dark vertical line, then use red brown
to outline the eye, then the eye lids are done by painting a
crescent. I use a small dot of pinkish red to the corners of the
eyes on larger figures. Also, eyes are shiny, so I use fingernail
polish for my large figures as well. For the eyebrows, I don’t
use black or red as they are very hard to do as a dark and a
highlight unless it’s a large figure. For my flesh tones I use
red oxide as a base color. I use Ceramcoat
colors right from the bottles as my flesh tone shades, there are
so many different colors I usually don’t have to mix my own. When
you get ready to paint the face, take a look at your own face in a
mirror to see where the highlights and shadows are. The lips are
a shade or two darker than the skin tone with a little brown mixed
in. For blending, I use dry brushing rather than blending with
oils for the reason I mentioned earlier. I will put together a
list of the colors I use for my flesh tones and bring that to an
upcoming meeting. I don’t use washes too much when painting
figures, unless the figure is wearing chain mail, or I may use a
wash of blue on white cloaks. I highlight black cloaks with light
gray. I plan to have some follow on sessions, so if you have
questions, let me know.
Show and tell:
We had some interesting stuff on the
tables, an unbuilt Revell 1/72 scale GATO class sub. This kit has
a lot of plastic in it. A 1/32 Roden SE 5A along with a pile of
new Dragon armor kits such as the Panther G “smart kit”, Puma
and M4A3 105mm. Ronbo bought the new
Dragon 1/32 P-51 at Major’s right before the meeting that has
tones of detail as well as some PE and wiring for the landing
gear, he also brought in a 1/20 Tamiya Renault RE 30B Formula I he
is building for the Regional.
Brian brought in an NX-01 Enterprise that
he had displayed at MVR hobby. It’s a very impressive kit with
multiple metal panels. It took him two weeks just to mask the
paint job. He used a Sharpie pen to highlight the panel lines.
Glen W. brought in two unbuilt kits, the
Enterprise NX-01 and Polar Lights NCC-1701A that will be over
three feet long when done.
Mikey brought
in a Plano tackle box that he uses to keep all his modeling tools
in. This has an amazing amount of space, the trays fold up and
out when the lid is opened. It can carry all his building stuff;
he bought it at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
The Dates:
February 10: Chapter meeting. Bring and
build
March 10: Chapter meeting
March 31: Quad Cities Show.
Clarion Hotel, 5202 Brady Street, Davenport,
IA.
April 14: Chapter meeting.
Road trip to Des Moines?
April 14: IPMS Plastic Surgeons 14th Annual
Plastic Surgeons Model Contest. Contact: Greg
Metge
gmgha@mchsi.com 3635 E.P.True
Parkway West Des Moines, IA 50265 our website
http://www.ipmsplastic/ surgeons.com
May 12: Chapter meeting
June 9: No chapter meeting! We will be at
the Regional!
June 8-9: Region V Regional, Knights of
Columbus Hall 401 West Main Street, Ottawa, IL 61350 Contact:
Steve Stohr: 815-434-7279, 2615 Cherie
Lane, Ottawa, IL 61350
thestohrs@aol.com
Some industry News:
RC2 has announced that they will be
discontinuing ERTL and AMT products to focus on their children’s
toy lines. Big surprise there.
Military Wisdom:
Some of these you’ve seen before, but what
the heck – I need filler.
"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade
launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite
unpopular in what's left of your unit."
- Army's magazine of
preventive maintenance.
"When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend. -
U.S. Marine Corps
"If the enemy is in range, so are you." -
Infantry Journal
"It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you
just bombed." - U.S. Air Force Manual
"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the
sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons."
- General Macarthur
"Try to look unimportant; they may be low on
ammo." - Infantry Journal
"Tracers work both ways." - U.S. Army
Ordnance
"Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last, and don't ever
volunteer to do anything." - U.S. Navy
Swabbie
"Bravery is being the only one who knows
you're afraid." - David Hackworth
"Any ship can be a minesweeper.
Once."
"Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do." -
Unknown Marine Recruit
"Don't draw fire; it irritates the people
around you." - Your Buddies
"If you see a bomb technician running, follow
him." – EOD Tech
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."
"When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have
enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash."
"Without ammunition, the USAF would be just
another expensive flying club."
"Never trade luck for skill."
The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in
aviation are: "Why is it doing that?", "Where are we?" And "Oh
S...!"
"Flying the airplane is more important than
radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of
understanding or doing anything about it."
"There is no reason to fly through a
thunderstorm in peacetime." - Sign over squadron ops desk at
Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970
"If something hasn't broken on your
helicopter, it's about to."
"You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes
full power to taxi to the terminal."
As the test pilot climbs out of the
experimental aircraft, having torn off the wings and tail in the
crash landing, the crash truck arrives,
the rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks "What happened?"
The pilot's reply: "I don't know,
I just got here myself!" - Attributed to Ray
Crandell (Lockheed test pilot)
M4A2 Tarawa
Dragon Models 1/35 6062
MSRP - $41.50
Courtesy of IPMS Tacoma
WOW….That was my first impression on opening
the box. The first thing you see is a 5x7 card holding etched
brass, decals, metal tow cable, clear parts, and the track. Then
as you pull out the out wrapped styrene sprues, the wows keep
coming. Dragon’s M4A2 “Tarawa” is sure to please even the
pickiest of Sherman enthusiasts. I am sure there are those out
there in modeldom that will find
flaws. I once knew a fellow model builder that cut the AFV Club
M730 Chaparral in half length wise because he said it wasn’t wide
enough. To me, if it looks like a Sherman then it is. This baby
looks like a Sherman plus. The model comes packed in the standard
Dragon sturdy cardboard box. The box art shows 2 M4A2’s advancing
on an inland beachhead. The sides are covered with the neat
features included in the neat and there are many. The box
contains 5 sprues of light gray styrene parts, the lower hull, and
transmission cover. The gray styrene totals 305 parts, of which
63 aren’t used. That is not counting the sprue containing the
rivet heads (more on that later). You also get a sprue of 20
clear parts, of which eight aren’t used. These are the
periscopes, lights, and searchlights. The etched brass set
contains 42 pieces including rivet heads. You get a metal tow
cable, 2 beautifully molded T54E1 steel chevron vinyl track, and a
nicely done decal sheet. The decal sheet allows you to build one
of six vehicles of Co C, 1st Marine Amphibious Corps
Tank Battalion and one machine from Co. D.
All vehicles being on Tarawa in 1942. Some Quick first look
notes: Make sure that you drill out the hull (pioneer tools) and
the turret (spotlight) before gluing if you plan on using these
items. For the rear hull rivets, you get a choice. The
instructions say use the photo etch but they include the styrene
rivets as well. The kit comes with painted dots on the rear hull
where to put the rivets (very nice touch). You also get three PE
foundry markings to apply to the rear of the turret. My only con
and it is not mine per se, is that unless you want to go front
fender less, you will have to use the photo etched parts or find a
set in the spares box. However, this kit will give anyone that
has not yet ventured into the photo etched realm their first
chance to do so with a minimum of trouble.
Some tidbits from Mike Scheel:
New Series on the Military Channel “Tank
Overhaul” (rebuilding armor in private hands)
Tuesday Feb. 6th at 1900
The DVD of Flyboys will be out Tuesday. Best
Buy's flyer has it listed as $16 and $23 for the "special edition"
Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited 1/72 Armor
Pro Kit No. 7274; M4A3(105mm) VVSS Sherman; 147 parts (117 parts
in grey styrene, 27 etched brass, 2 tan DS plastic track runs, 1
length of twisted steel wire); retail price US $13.95
By Cookie Sewell
Advantages: amazing amount of detail in a
1/72 scale kit; very nicely done with new parts breakdown; DML
discovers weld beads!
Disadvantages: either
pantographed or victim of same research error (see text)
Rating: Recommended
Recommendation: for all
Shermaholics and 1/72 scale modelers. DML continues its
effort to "run the table" with nice new small-scale kits of the
Sherman family, and this version of the
howitzer tank follows on its larger scale cousin.
The model is an early production howitzer
Sherman - VVSS suspension, 47 degree ("big hatch") hull,
high-bustle turret with loader's hatch, early style exhaust
deflector, and a "slide molded 105mm barrel. The hull has two odd
holes in the bottom which appear to have something to do with the
preassembled variants (perhaps the base mounts for the
pre-assembled ones; they are too small for screws). Barring that,
the upper hull is again "slide molded" in one section and has the
mounts for the side shields on it with bolt holes clearly visible.
The smaller tools (e.g. mattock, tanker's bar, and axe) are molded
in place, but the remaining ones are separate. The suspension is
unique, as it does not copy that of the larger Sherman kits and
differs slightly from the earlier Sherman releases. The bogie
assemblies consist of a VVSS spring set, a bogie outer section
with an "flat" return roller molded in
place, a rear section, and a twin road wheel set with the rear
section of the
articulating arms molded in place. Net result is that with only
four parts you get a nice, neat finished bogie assembly. The
wheels are the "cast" type with covers in place; likewise it comes
with solid (e.g. matching) idlers and "solid" ring drivers. The
tracks are T48 type with rubber chevrons. The turret consists of a
top and bottom with the pistol port molded in place, but the cover
left separate. This is again a "slide molded" part to get the
detail resolution. (Note that everything with a casting number
except the mantlet has one, even though you will need a jeweler's
loupe on some of them!) The turret is quite complete, with a very
nicely done machine gun with parallel heat jacket at the rear of
the barrel and separate spade grips. However, even though it is
the VVSS version only the later commander's "vision" cupola is
included and not the early production "split hatch" one. The
etched brass parts replace some of the detail parts provided in
styrene, such as the front fender tips, the rear luggage rack, and
some of the tool racks. The parts are called out on the directions
with blue for parts to be trimmed or removed and a mustard color
for the brass parts to be installed; this is quite helpful as the
directions are thankfully in black and white and parts are thus
much easier to see. But unlike previous DML efforts, this is the
first one to include the same error noted in the larger kit. While
apparently not pantographed, it
manages to retain the too narrow mantlet discovered on the M4A3
(105) 1/35 scale kit (no. 6354.) Terry Ashley at the Perth
Military Modeling Society site noted that the original 105mm
howitzer mantlet was 40 5/8" wide, or what works out as 1033 mm.
In 1/35 scale, that comes out as 29.5 mm.
DML's new kit has a mantlet only 27mm wide, which is
slightly noticeable. In 1/72 scale this should make the mantlet
14.3 mm wide; but on the kit it is exactly 13mm. Ergo, both kits
are approximately 9% undersized, and in this scale it will show.
Finishing instructions cover three tanks in winter whitewash
camouflage: two vehicles from the 6th Armored Division, Luxembourg
1945 and one from the 8th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, in
France 1944. A "targeted" set of Cartograf
decals is provided. Overall this is a really nice kit of the
howitzer Sherman, and a shame that it too has a too-narrow mantlet
to detract from its accuracy. Thanks to Freddie Leung for the
review sample.
In box review:
Trumpeter 1/350 Scale USS England DE-635
By Glen Broman, IPMS Quad Cities
As many of you know I tend to dabble in ship
models. For some reason, I’ve been looking forward to this
release. The last Destroyer Escort model I built was the old
Revell kit which must have been back in the mid 70’s and I’ve had
a hankering to do another one. I bought my kit at Great Hobby
Adventures in Des Moines after the January meeting. Although the
instructions really don’t go into too much detail on the ships
history, Greg Metge, the store owner,
told me that the England sank six Japanese submarines between 19
and 31 May 1944. The England was working in concert with two
other ships, as the other ships would try and fail to sink the
submarine contact they were prosecuting, the England would take a
turn and sink the sub on their pass. The ship is just a little
shy of a foot long in 1/350 scale. The kit has three sprues of
plastic, plus a separate lower and upper hull, hull plate if you
want to go with a waterline model and the main deck. There is
also a small sprue of photo etched brass. Oddly enough, no
railings are provide, just the depth charge racks, some parts for
the hedge hog launchers and the radar antenna. A stand is also
provided. To finish this kit, you are going to have to invest in
an after market PE railing set. My guess is that by the end of
the month, Tom’s Modelworks, Gold
Medal Models and White Ensign will all have PE sets available.
Eighteen parts are listed as not being used, so that would seem to
imply future releases of other ships in the class. There is a
nice full color painting guide included with Gunze Sangyo colors
called out in an overall Navy blue vertical surfaces and deck blue
horizontal surfaces scheme. I can’t remember the painting Measure
number off hand (Measure 31?). There are only three deals
included, two hull numbers and the ships name for the fantail.
There is also a US flag decal and some other decal that’s hard to
make out, but no mention is made of them in the instructions or
painting guide. That’s about it for ship markings
Sportsfans, if you don’t like doing
decals, come over to the dark side. The instructions pretty clear
and should present no problems. Not that any of use real modelers
would use them anyway. Can I get an Amen Brothers? The PE fret
looks okay, it’s workmanlike and will get the job done, but you
may as well go with aftermarket all the way as they should be an
overall better quality if past aftermarket releases are any
indicator. The moldings are excellent and some of the best I have
seen for any ship model. The parts are delicate and look like
they will be a challenge to safely remove from the sprue. Once
again, this looks like a job for PE razor saws to remove parts
from the sprue without damage. The 3” guns are very nice and the
20mm guns are the best I’ve ever seen in plastic. The gun tubs
and hull fittings are usually way over scale in a ship of this
size; in this case they are commendably thin and are again head
and shoulders above many injected ship model kits. As Brad is fond
of saying, Prisoner #7 has earned an extra ration of rice for this
one. No rigging diagram is provided; you can use either the box
top painting or your references. Overall, an excellent effort
from Trumpeter and I only hope that these show up on the shelves
of Hobby Lobby as I would like to build several. At $32 each they
are more expensive than the 1/350 USS The
Sullivans destroyer kit that Trumpeter just released, so
getting a few at 40-50% off would be nice. Highly recommended for
all ship model fans, and if you are looking to build your first
ship model, this would be a good choice.
Kit Review: Panzershop
1/35 Scale Warsaw Pact Series Complete Kit No. PS35C13-HT; P-40
LONG TRACK Self-Propelled Surveillance Radar 1RL128D; over 900
parts (365 etched brass parts, 293 parts in grey-green and cream
colored resin, one and a half sets of Fruil
ATL-11 T-54/55/62 track, 7 parts of printed clear acetate); price
US $350.00 (available from Chesapeake Model Designs, PO Box 393,
Monkton, MD 21111 or http://
www.chesapeakemodels.com)
By Cookie Sewell
Advantages: ONLY kit of this vehicle likely
to be made; gorgeous etched brass radar screen and accessory
parts; clean, straight, warp- free resin casting; extended
Fruil tracks solve problems of fitting
track to the model
Disadvantages: radar antenna is complex and
will have to be soldered together; very, very expensive kit
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for all Soviet air defense
fans and anyone wanting an air defense diorama centerpiece
F I R S T L O O
K
When the Soviet Union decided that
antiaircraft guns would no longer be able to stop an aviation
threat, they turned to surface-to-air missile systems to solve the
problem. While the S-25 (SA-1) and S-75 (SA-2) solved their
initial problems, they soon realized that they would need highly
mobile system to protect their forces. During the 1960s they
produced several systems in short order for regimental level
(SA-9), division level (SA-6 and SA-8) and army and front level
(SA-4) air defense. Each system above regimental level required
several types of radars to operate: a long-range
target acquisition radar, a short range target tracking radar, and
a fire control radar, all linked by either cable or digital data
systems in order to provide a cohesive air defense picture for
allocation and engagement of targets. The SA-4 and SA-6 units were
among the first to get the 1RL128 high mobility long- range target
acquisition and surveillance radar. The 1RL128 was mounted on an
Article 426U chassis. This was created from various engineer
vehicles using a lightened version of the T-54/ T-55 chassis
(Article 401 and others) and powered by the same V-2 series
twelve-cylinder tank diesel engines. But due to the bulk and
weight of early radar sets, as well as the size of the antennas
needed, the Article 426U chassis saw the base chassis extended by
another two pairs of road wheels, making seven per side. A large
casemate type structure was placed on the rear of the vehicle,
providing both a mount for the antenna as well as housing for the
system crew of six and an on-board generator to provide system
power. Modified a number of times, the system is still in service
with some units as well as many client states who bought the SA-4
or SA-6
missile system. Panzershop from the
Czech Republic is rapidly establishing itself as
a first-rate resin accessory and kit manufacturer, and this
particular kit will probably be one of the best ever produced.
Albeit a somewhat offbeat subject, it is quite impressive and
provides the modeler with many options. The kit is very, very
complex, and this has to be stated up front.
Panzershop places a warning to that effect on the box top
and unlike
many US ones which provide recommended ages, mostly I think to
pump up the feelings of first timers who can build the kits
without problems, they are not kidding! The box is very sturdy and
the parts inside are either bagged on
their casting wafers, wrapped in bubble wrap, or packed with foam
peanuts for safety. All of the etched brass is inserted in
ziplock bags with a stiff section of
cardboard to eliminate damage in shipment. The lower hull is cast
as a single part with internal bulkheads for stiffness, and the
suspension is provided separately. Late T-55 "starfish" type
wheels are provided - 28 of them - and they are all of the correct
width, which is a rare thing to find with many T-55 based vehicle
kits. Other than the casting bars or wafers, cleanup is minimal.
The other major assemblies are the cab, the casemate, and the cab.
All are packaged separately and require only minimal cleanup. The
LONG TRACK comes with the main engine and all of its systems
provided, and an etched brass hood covers it when assembled and
installed. 31 resin parts are provided just for this installation,
and the radiator takes another four resin and seven etched brass
parts. Next is the cab, and while it is formed from the usual
mixture of resin and etched brass Panzershop
provides pre-color acetate parts for the five windows and two
instrument panels. The rubber seals are painted onto the windows,
which really does simplify the task of the modeler. Once the cab
and floor are mounted on the chassis, the next step involves the
installation of the casemate. As it is closed and there is no
interior, all that is required are adding the external details
such as the generator intake and exhaust components (etched),
various air tanks and fire extinguishers (I counted at least four,
all made up of multiple components), and the vents and covers over
the sides and top of the casemate. The radar antenna is the most
daunting component of the kit. It uses a resin base and
feedhorn assembly but the
feedhorn mount and reflector are
etched brass and until complete all are very, very fragile. There
is no other realistic way to assemble them but soldering, so that
will the one restrictive skill set for most modelers in assembling
this kit. The directions are typical of most low-production rate
resin kits, mostly photos of parts and 'stick here' photos of
subassemblies, but Panzershop provides
four nice neat drawings of the antenna assembly with keyed numbers
so that advanced modelers will be able to get the antenna properly
shaped and formed. The directions unfortunately do not show a
finished but unpainted model, but most modelers who get this far
will not have a problem finishing up the model. It offers few
display options - open or closed windows, open or closed cab
doors, open or closed vents, and open or closed hood panels. But
the greatest saving grace of all comes from the fact that the
model also includes a very nicely done CD that covers most of
these things in fine detail! The disk contains about 400 Mb of
photos of the model as complete,
every step of construction, and a great selection of photos of a
Czech Republic vehicle on public display. As such, the kit's paper
directions are essentially only the "Cliff's Notes" version, but
you will either need a handy computer or printouts of all of these
files for reference. Color references are thus "by eyeball" so the
results you get depend on your own personal color vision! Note
that basic JPEGs and HTML files are both included on the disk.
Decals are also provided for the specific vehicle that is on
display, so the modeler will have one finishing option right out
of the box. Overall this is not a cheap kit, but the general
quality, excellence of the castings and etched brass, use of prime
components like the Fruil track sets,
and the outstanding CD of instructions and
references combined make this a reasonably priced package. Thanks
to Bill Miley of Chesapeake Model
Designs (the US importer) for the review sample.
Trumpeter 1/35 JGSDF NBC Detection Vehicle
An in box review by Glen Broman, IPMS Quad
Cities
I was wandering around the kit stash in the
basement looking for something a little unusual for this month’s
in the box review and I found this one. Since I worked in the
Chem Bio Defense field for many years, I have a tendency to pick
up all of the kits that hit the shelves of NBC vehicles. This
vehicle is used b the Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces and is a
modification of their standard Type 82 armored six wheel chassis.
It has a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) sampling suite
similar to the US M93A1, Stryker NBC Recon vehicle and the German
Fuchs. You have to love the Chinese translations though “its
weathercock-looking measuring instrument was replaced with
high-tech sensors makings its appearance smarter.” I’ve been
trying to make my appearance look smarter for years, maybe I
should take note. On to the plastic.
Years ago, I built Trumpeters first armored car kit, a Chinese
WZ-901. It was a piece of crap and no known glue then in
existence would stick the pieces together. I think I used a MIG
welder I had down in the shop to make the kit. This new kit
highlights the huge improvement in molding and quality that
Trumpeter have made. The kit has four
separately bagged sets of sprues, a set of photo etched, three
metal axles, some string for cable and a few clear plastic parts.
The lower and upper hull pieces are packaged separately. The
parts are well modeled with plenty of detail. It looks like the
.50 caliber machine gun ammo box is the same type used on the M16
Quad 50 mount. There is no visible flash or ejector pin marks
where they would show. One of the sprues that have some delicate
looking parts has been wrapped in an extra layer of bubble wrap,
that’s a nice touch. Here’s a set of five Japanese soldiers
included in the kit that are nicely molded. The tires are a let
down as they are not as well done as the rest of the kit and are
certainly not as accurate as they could be. The wheels are split
vertically which means a little filling and sanding will be in
order. They will work, but after market would be better, if they
exist. To date, I have not seen any resin wheels for the Type
82. The lower hull assembly looks pretty straight forward, not as
complicated as the Revell kit of the Fuchs NBC vehicle. There is
a shaded area on the lower hull piece that has a shaded area with
an arrow pointing to it that says “repair”. I have no clue but
will probably figure it out once I start building this puppy.
There is a basic interior provided for the
drivers compartment, with a little work, it can look
decent. All color call outs on the instruction are for Gunze
Sangyo paints. Early and late type sampling arms are provided and
are clearly identified on the instructions. There are no interior
parts for the aft crew compartment, so you will either have to
leave the commanders hatch closes, add the crew figure or scratch
build one. The periscope housings in the cupola are molded hollow
so you can either fill them with white
glue, add the kit transparencies or devise some other method to
show the periscope glass. The information on markings and
painting is a little sloppy in that there is one page with a five
view of the kit showing the camo
demarcation lines and it shows that they are either the standard
JGSDF dark green and dark brown or field grey or earth brown.
There is no mention of which the early or late version is or which
decals are used. Tamiya have released several new colors in their
paint range, including modern Japanese dark green and dark brown
and I intend to use these to paint the vehicle. When I built the
Japanese Type 90 tank I used RAF dark green and dark brown, they
look close, so if you don’t feel like springing for a few extra
bottles of paint, you can always go with those two colors for a
pretty accurate match. Overall, this is a very nice looking kit
with some painting and marking issues. I recommend this kit if
you want to try some thing a little different. I purchased my
sample at MVR Hobby in Davenport, Iowa.
Some local modeling news:
There are some new “old” kits on the
consignment shelves in the basement at Major’s, go check them
out. If you are interested in selling off some of your old kits,
you can drop them off at Major’s, they
charge 20% for a consignment fee. I’ve found this to be a pretty
good way to get rid of some kits that I didn’t want to mess around
with on Ebay.
Hobby Lobby should be having a 50% off sale
pretty soon, so keep an eye on the paper or check
www.hobbylobby.com.
Hobby Town on Kimberly has moved inside the
Old Towne mall and has restocked. They occasionally have sales so
it’s always worth while to check in and see what’s new. They plan
on having an in store contest at some time in the future. I’ll
keep you posted when I hear more.
MVR Hobby has done a little remodeling inside
and now has probably the best paint selection in the Quad Cities.
They also still have quite a few kits marked down from the
December sale still on the shelves. MVR has the best selection of
car kits in town and are always worth a stop.
After a lot of requesting, cajoling and
discussion, Barnes and Noble will start carrying Military
Modelling, Scale Aircraft
Modelling and Military
In Scale in February. They will be
getting five copies of each issue. If we want to keep adding
magazines unavailable in the Quad Cities to their inventory, we
need to make sure that they sell out every month.
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