H = ie Creating an el ETC) ) for ean a a ili 2‘Meng’s Menacing Merkava Medic! Resuscitating the WC-54 . PLC anaplastic" suryery ges theo alr kit in gat ACherry Chi-Ri and a Crunchy Chi-T The FineMolds kits Why have just oe, hen yo Cah bate the pice Diagnosis Diorama: Creating an Ardennes backdrop for the M10. Rberto Reale tales won ari o Patrol in the Debris Field M17: Russkie Meat Chopper om nd ease tem Features Short T: Ten Cm an ai preety {feature from the talonted hands of Roberto Reale of Royal Models This eee eae nt Bene ee snd Pek crate cane aera Reena er neerer ont ra pre nenarnec ea y pertinent nyFr Where's my magazine? OTT Were 18 Soar magazine? Hopeful its ight In your hande—bere ts supored tae, has FOUN inter not deen coming ot as eeu a = should, So the question really is: Why is my maga- EEROM tine oot cing cata the expected interval? ‘el Fam beret ellyou. wilt fy saving ‘that this is not an explanation, or an excuse. What follows are simply the plain fut Ifel tat that owe this story to or loyal auence, especial those tat ave pt tls ard earl money up ota suse 1200, wat wasenceAmpersa Publishing o, ne. bcame a whol owned subsidiary of Hobby Japan, The esting company was sanded and wn one wascrested ale The Ampere Gr, Ine ‘At that point, we embarked upon a rapid expansion. We hired several people, changing the structure of the compa We also moved our ceo sag, defeated bulng We i allthis inl create a ound ral platform forthe putin of MMR, Ale As and alloour ther pdt Ita decided to mae sro an deter at puting ou ten company ‘onthe map once and fra ‘his sical raion to make bat was imatel sce, We eee a anne year in 2010 releasing a bumper cop of pation and general growing We were ver fount have de ‘elope elatioship with and remain eteraly rtf forthe willngneso assis nobaning bur snes gal Our partnership with HL created a financially secure environment that allowed us to grow rapidly— vot avs a xy thig fer ary company to accomplish, What i ot ele the ine was tha or success was solidly tied to that of HL. "The Has bins model of HL! is vey sina to hat ofthe Japanese expt companies you may have head of Companies like Tet, Nisa, Honda sia and others sell produets overseas, reeving ther income in ilar and Burs Beng basen Japan alo their expenses arin en, ‘Afavrabl exchange ite can make sch basineses very eran fa was this fromble chang rate that eked the access and expansion of mary these companis an ta includ HL More enor th dlr iat males patel word un Historical the rate werd around 11 115 to the dollar, once going as high as 123. However, unknown to many Americans, a substantial financial Cris developed in Japan nmi 910 andthe aloof the Yen decreased ap aling io, Tis asc Compan by th ger rani so downf the al oh words mar ecnomies (Ataf which could fill all 80-pages of this magazine, so I'l stick to the basics). This was prety ou uf Imagine If your paycheck was sudden reduced hy a third. The ancl appt fo parenteomparyeaperated in manner of months, Tis was partial rat 8 ‘ere ery chs t the pint here tel support was no lnger necessary. We had ey raced he pimmacl four expansion nd were within ay of our als "he sation at that time was prety drat. The ome oifice was expe: tur back the gro. Stink down to where twas In att had to be sunk past where we were. More direction: hunker dna wal T wort eae al the boring detail ofthe intr, but sufice i to say we ut ey lose to packing it inmore than one. Having arowy mised ur window rl Idepenence, we were now ene dependent oar parent compar or fiancialseistance a tine when thee was most none tbh Thedemma was ayy, hw does one expan histo the sabueriber? Especially when there wee so nary unknowns and so much fix. No one realy new when and ifthe ata station was goings Chango (ean state tat tid git worse nthe third quatro 2011 when the Yen hit its ime kw 5 tothe dolla) Darngthistine we prodced te magatne when we cud an at wast bes, interment So twas tena mate of wating or news when there vas mo news. Les fast forward it Things have changed forthe beter A sigan shit bean take place in the Japanese econ a the ed ols ea The Yen startingclinbig back up. i wrth, he ale ‘sack 108 tothe dla high not see sine 208 Dueto anew arangement wh IL} or medte priory wast develop apr hat coal staln us we we completed ur eee. bleh th prof mut ete one ta ashe tpt for success. In development for over eight years, this became the Sherman book, So, although we continued tocrete material for MMI, Aled Ars and The Val Hise series we were nsirced Yo make he competion ofthis prod our highest ory Unortanaey ts aed hngsto eligi Worse before that goat betters worse for MR in that we stil realned susan bein sede ‘Now that the Sherman reference tle behind ws andthe fisal ouoak mach improve, we an tn ‘our full attention to MMIR (the Sherman modeler's guide is also well along). What you are holding in your hands ia paral res ofthat er ‘Alot wih th onganiatn rena commited tour products ad oa etstomer ase HLS back via engeane baring become a much mre licen conpary a eae tiir mean ines They Ive substantially increased thelr inventory aprons andar nawone othe lest bby reales inthewed Wel cone tafe what we elie ithe est miltary modeling again out thee AS the year pgs ole lt more! ‘There sai varity of material within he pages su 81 hope to continue making susan ‘positive changes to our content and format throughout the coming months, As always, I sincerely appreciate your readership and your business. Put Stansell Miniter ‘Subscription Manager ‘Some ofthe Photography Re 255M bt ac Ste Belay Bo Rew crt? at ter 01308 208720 Pac O13 SON eee ‘im pn may nos rerossed hr oes ea oot seer errs sae Sn ee Shwincnennccos aoe ‘ane’ tun outs tacematt synoal nr ewey ocnerce oft (aka Sete van ConeShort Takes what’s new, anyway? corny et mee en 18229, German King Tiger “Last Production.” est et rennet neers eerie coe nt eer eT oe an es engine deck screens, wo figures and two mark Pe Cee eS Pea Poe in es emt et ss Pree Renn aren] Srna eet eee Roemer Tt eo ea coon) ee Nien e etm kes sion set for Hasegawa Jeep (with two crew Porn aera) creme ma err acer Tonia re ACM16008, Modern Brit (New SA80 with, COTM EMBEDS Loerie 80, Reena ec Bust; ACMIZBL1, German Officer in Tarn PO a or ey eres ee eee eatAFV Club Anything rom AFV Cub gets us Juzed up. Ou favorite since the las. time we talked s 35109, MIO9A2 Howitzer. ‘Other bot kts on this ist re the Bofors guns: 85163, Bofors 40mm ‘Automatie Gun M1 and 35187, Bo- {ors Ani-aireraft Gun British Ver- son, We built both of them and are still walting forthe dizzy spells to subside. The ammo set for these is. ‘AG35040, 40mm Ammo Set. Brtsty Commonwealth ans find love with their new Dorchester kit 95227, ABC “Dorchester” Armoured Command Vehicle. Yes, it has a fll interior "There were also two new Dusters: 35192, MA2A1 Duster (Early Type) and 35866, Flavierling 88; 35170, Bussing Nag 145008; 35109, Valentine Mk. IV Soviet Red. Army: ‘35226, Track Link for US. Water Buffalo, IVT (Workable); 35246, US. MHB 50 Cal Machine Gun set WAMS tripod & M63 Anti- Aireraft ‘Mount; 35825, Tiger 1 (Transport Mode); ‘85852, Churehll Mk VV/ 75mm Gun and 35967, ROC Marine AAVP-7AL. The AAVP-7AL is actually Tbh Boss re-box. We liked it ‘Website: www.meritint.com (US. Importer) German Flakpamer M42A1 Duster ani ‘hwo new Srads: 35282, Sé.Kfs. 232 8 Rad. (Eariy Version) an 35268, Panzer- ‘unkwagen Sd.Ktz. 263 Sad. The other tasty stuff that we were privy ‘toforthis issue 8514, T3476 1942/48 Factory 183 Full Interior Kit; 35149, AK Interactive Due For Panzer Grey iter; AK76, Fil AK Interactive proved ws wit a touny of Por NATO Tanks; AKOQ2, RAL 900) Cre good ners The abunuty mst ex thing mevelo, AKO, Interor Wash AKO, foing on there & FAQ TL This i Streaking Grine For Interior, AKITA Sere to Mig simen seminal bok Brass Photoctch Burishing that changed the way everyone {nfAK12, Aeple Thinner fishes hear models ‘These gis aren just ding Ante puleatn tha cag pains, weathering eects and our eve as AK49, 1045 German tools ete They have a selec Coors, Camoutiag: Profile Guide tion of German Dry Transfers that a ompliment fo thei pit (AKI05112), "German. Dise st AKA, 1945 German Late Camouflage (AK-157158) and ‘War Colors Set some nce Tenses (AK-200-228) Some of the other pant sets ‘They sent sa selection of the voshouldkeepaneyeoutor ae tenses and the came in had for [AKO1, Interior Weathering rent projects Tere was bunch Set and ARSSL, Rast Effect afethersut onthe wettest ike Colors We ied he Rast Bl this and naa sujet weathering set fr a recent prot and were products but we are simply out of tap wh the eli soon, soma ste chee oa onthe web Hore are some ofthe indkidual fishing Wepottes: www aX-interactive-usa.com prot: AKOG5, Aka Kors Fiter,AK7l, WepaiiniersctnccoaCod Pa ead Pee a Pree Me URL e ees Uility Truck (Mod.1942) w/lO-ewt Trailer & rome or mre ame IE OI ue RVers POCO me ene Lets not forget about that new monster sub PCC MCC MLS Sen See Momence ney Pee eee oe Invasion Glider DFS B-1 w Paratroopers Or) Cerner eer Cores rede etn at 9°08 0:00 cone ed een Sat era CSCaN Leen) crt perenne ere et era pene ee have been Cos ara ere) eee ee Pees rest dice Patrol No.2; F35073, I Peet tenn Israeli Soldiers Patrol Big Set Eonar er ean es ee cay ere aes erence eta ea) CoOMcu La esi! Pert COA e errs Lae Pen ee es eee) ae 35060, US Team RSOV 3 fig; F35061, US ee Oe eg Pee een ee Det (€B35139, US M24 Chaffee Light Tank in Ko- rean War; (B35140, WWI British & Common- Sr ear Ee ee ae a XO ea ee CaO Light Staff Car w/ Crew & IFS Infantry Cart and CSS ects piven es Deen eo eee Ee Sy eer eT Tea oes mer ene Pratt ee a ey Seo mene ne Serer even ec Tce ee Rene ee Pe ey es Equipment Set; AB3560, Russian 650mm OMSH eee are Le Se Rea Phen Coca Ma Es Pz.kpfw.85() in conjunction with SKP; (€B35072, M24 ‘Chaffee’ (Post War Version) Service In Asian Army Force; CB85007 Panzer. eee ee eC ee Ree enn ae Su-152 (KV-i4) (September 1943 Production); (1535110, Rusian Heavy Tank KV85;CB35113, re ear seme CSE) ae ane Tan Flak 41 Ant-Airerat Gun w/Sd.Ah.202 Trailer, oer nee retort (Mod.1939); CB35127, Sehwere Panzerspac- tO Crm ac a See CULTS RC et Pe The newer figure kts, especially the British 25 Pa. ne be aera Perna CMM eT ne ena en foe ot et enero Soar or RU Pee rt ee erroDragon ‘Dragon has their usual avalanche of reat its ‘Thebes othe bunch was 6767, Imperial Japan- ese Navy Type 95a Go! Ligh Tank Early Pro- deton: Go ge this one today even you are not into Japanese armor. This Rp the smart back inSmart Kit and satu superior made Ther were also same other sues fom the Pace theater that caught our eye: 6554, US. Marines, Pella 1944; 6555, A lafantry Beleio 1944 an 6712, IN Type 2 (Ka-M) Amphibious ‘Tank w/Floating Pontoons (Lae Prod.) ‘There were a few allied WWIE releases ton: (6573, Sherman III DV Early Production; 6738, French Infantry Sedan 1940; 6748, Armored 1/4 Ton 4x4 Truck w>Bazooka; 674, Soviet Infantry Winter 1941; 6760, Sexton Il 25pde SP Tracked, 6750, 1-28 Super Heavy Tank; 6724, SAS 1/4 ‘Ton 4x4 Patrol Commander's Car and 6774, British 25pdr Field Gun Mk.Il w/Limber. The rest isan eye-numbing litany of panzer madness: 6428, Sd.Ktz.181 Panzerjager Il fir aK 40/2 “Marder I” 6435, P.38(1) AustS & Fuel Drum Trailer, 6480," PzKpfw.l AuslB Ladungsleger; 6543, Po-Kptwll Aust.J (Tp) Barly Production; 6550, Flakpanzer IV “Ost- wind;* 6565, Flakpanzer IV Ausf, G *Wirbel wind” Early: Production w/Zimmerit; 6582, S.Kb.167 StuG.1V Mid Production; 6591, Le- Jette (Punk) Px-Kptvl Aus. A; 6598, StwG.Il ‘Aus. G, Dec 1944 Production; 6611, Pz Kptv.1V ‘Aust. Mid-Production w/Zimmerit; 6633, StuG.Il Aus.G w/Zimmerit, July 1944, Late Pro- duction; 6639, ‘Pu.Kpfwill (Sem) Aus.G, Sd.Ktz 141, Early Production; 6643, Lebstan- Dd Peper Poems in) Pereira re rae a Ae eran ee enn Pern ore Model Boss eens earn tn arte Waffen $8, Klelsonra Pass 1941; 6089, PxKplwV /70(A); 6691, RSO/O1 Type 470; (6705, German Winter Combatants 194345; (6706, Das Reich Division, Eastern Front 1942- 43; 6707, German Elite Infantry Russia 1941- 43; 6723, Rommel and His Staff, North Aftica Production; (6742, Gebirgsigers Crete 1941; 6748, German Brandenburg Troops, Leros’ 1943; 6747, PuKpiwlV Ausf.A; 6749, 15em SturmInfan: ‘eriegeschotz 33; 6761, German Half-Track ‘Truck “Maultien:” 6764 PzKpfw1V AustB mit Ge- landepfiug and 6772, SLKD.234/4 Panaerspal- ‘wagen- Premium Editon Last but not least are the Orange Box and Cyber Eight Wheels Good Craig Elis has released! another print-ondemand volume on the Panzer 1V called PeKpf IV at the front UPDATE, No.l. Panzer IV fans should reall check this one ou, a8 the first four hooks in the series were superb. Go t ‘worm blurb.co.uk/ on the web and type the title into the search engine on the home page and youl find a really nie 42 page preview ‘Hobby editions, Orange Box output included: 9138, SA9 Gaskin + Motor Ritle Troops; 9139, T- ‘385M + NVA Sapper Team; 9140, German V2) Rocket + Communications Center; 9141, MAL wMine Plough “Desert Storm” + 15 Infantry Di- vision Big Red One Figure Set; 9142, Tiger 1 arly Production (Px.Kptw. VI Ausf. E, Sd. Kt 181) LAH Di, Eastern Front 1943; 9148, Stag. IML Ausf A "Michael Wittmann” + Panzermeyer AH Division and 9144, Sd.Kt. 182 King Tiger Henschel Turret + ‘Ambush at Poteau” (Or. ange) Cyber Hobby’ st was alte shorter and all German: C¥6720, Sem Pak 38 auf Sd.Kt.250 ‘Aus{B; C¥6765, Sd.kt- 141 Pz KpfwAll (8.7em) (1) Aust. and C¥6768, Sa.KE:a Maulter Half ‘Track mit 3.7em Flak 37. ‘There were some really interesting 15 scale and 1:72 releases out since our last update 100 ‘and we encourage you to browse at the Dragon USA website Websites: www.dragon-models.com and wor dragonusaonline.comCor eer PO ce eC Sa ee ey Poa CA eed Army Infantry Set is the real standout Pen a iene ern) ihe march with all the Infantry ce 3 ' aay rather unique. Is thelr venerable Type 3 kit Se ee es er DD Sr Por ere Ca omer coreg re eo Dos eee et is sill busy churning out ground vehicle items Se eer cats Perr se are ny Seen ey een oT eT eRe aT Hobby Boss Hobby Bos has really grabbed our attention Seger eee ‘ver they want, They are aso very prolif late aS Ty recs ere UA Ste ere M a ee ane Pe ee ee aor Seon eon AL MINCE a CS a ens ee a om NCE UT ee FTL ene NCCE) Cee Rc LLU Inert Se a Ca Le er ae Nun ANC ae Dem nC CML rea Nec SOK nea Pe ene asa) Ce ee Deru Ta eed Pee ee Cory Lae et Laer Rocket Launcher (Bronco); HLU35057, GAZ- WHEN EL Mey CME a eRe Cee eee eS) (Ranger Special Operations Vehicle) RSOV an ues Pees oe an lty Vehicle Hardtop Version A; $2473, PLA COU ee a eee a (LIC); 82478, Hungarian Light Tank 38M Told PTCA RUSE rk erase) eed rer ear cont aren he look on their website next time you are eis foe ed Se ae Aer noe Pesan 7 82495, Pere ene rt eC ono Pao Se ssquadron.com (US. Importer)Hussar Hussar has long been knove for making the best resin wheels in the busines, Their Tatest releases have a decidedly German 'USR 35081, Ford V3000 Wheels; HS. ex Wheels; HSR 1 Wheels; BSR 3510 Wheels and HSR 35104, Kinheltsdiesel Type 8 Wheels. Website: www-airconnection.on.ca Pe ae Caner one than happy to spread the word that does he have some great hard cover books Presents crear’ en! eae Soro Seren Tigers oes received copies of Technical Sem Lanes Dea eRe etd 194. 1945 Vol. 2; Panzerjager, Technical mcm eee eer Technical and Operational PC ets tes cary a hefty price tag, Preemie eis Perens Porat nse rats Dea Logena ‘Legend from Korea has been concentra: ingon modern armo from the US. and Israel lately to sc LP1246, SPARK Mine Roller for Humvee; LF1247, IDF M51 De- talling Set; LF1248, M60 AV/AB Detailing ‘Set (Tamiya); LF1249, M60 Tank Cupola; LF1250, Merkava 3D. Detailing Set; LP1251, IDP Mt 1973 Update Set 11252, IDP Tiran 6 Conversion Set and LEOI38, US Sniper Team Camouflaged, The —detal sets forthe MOO are very weleome for this long elected but stil very popular sub ject and the MSL set for the new Taniva release is super Websites: www legendusa.net and welegend.co kr 1m Coe ore eee erent Reeser Tunes pee ere eee Ce eee LIS00A KFZ.70 Personnel Car and 35613, Sore Sno at set seems tobe the standout here. It inclu Se re cosem hi coe et Perinat) Sas Italer as gone into the pant busines folks! ‘They have done so with a vengeance too. A total of 87 aenie colors are now avallable and hope: fully we wil start to se racks popup tthe local ‘hobby shops. Along with the individual 2m bot ties, there area number of si-colr sets. Most the curtent sets are areraft colors but there are ‘wo exceptions: 438, WWI German Army and 440, WWII Military ‘Allied Army. Italeri has not given up on plastic kits either ‘They have revised their PT boat kt to make the mast famous one of them all: 5618, PT109 Motor Tor- ‘pedo Boat. Other new re eases from them are of very Italian flavor. 6490, Cannone da 47/32 mod, 39 with Crew; 6492, Italian Paratroopers Look forthe paratroopers nan upcoming edition ‘of Mini Men. Websites: wuw.modelrec.com (US. importer) and woe italer.comrd (Our favorite little turned barrel ma Ceara ‘We did spot these two items from them: 1110046, 105mm Barrel for Hungarian CO CECE gd Pere Lets emt eer ey ‘numberof lines that are otherwise pretty Pre errs er enn rs Sere en nny es Poe ey Meng Leave it to Meng to come up with s thing completely unexpected. The release "T8003, AMX-30B MBT took everyone com pletely by surprise since the only version of ‘he ANDO aallale until now was that old Heller ki Wel they dd stop there with the chasis, no sit TS-004, AUFI 155mm Self- propelled Howitzer is the French 155 mounted on the AMO chassis And to the delight of contruction equip ment enthusiasts everywhere, they are on ine to produce a styrene kit ofthe DOR Doobl Ar sored Bulldozer. Another variation on their Merkava kt is 118005, Merkava Mk. Baz w/ Nochri Dat ine roller System. Meng has als teed thelr a figures lately, releasing the very rele ‘ant HS-O01, Middle Easterners. Website: www:mengsmodel.com DSRLive Resin Live Resin’ latest i a trio of super detailed grunts: LRM-35001, US Army Modern Soldier; ‘LRM-35002, US Army Modern Soldier and [LRM.85008, US Amy Modern Soldier. All we can say is wo We cently received a healthy assortment of samples fom Live Resin and decide that it was high time fora photo report. The first thi broke open was the sample for the M2 Automatic Weapon (LRE 35086). This item could be best described asa mini kit andthe ‘lity was unparalleled, There are aso versions ofthe M240 medium machine gun and the MAG '58,version alongwith extra amano belt. Live resin has a pretty nice selection of ‘modern US. small arms. The rifle sets such as [LRES5033, US Army M16A4 MWS Automatic rifle with M208A1 40mm Grenade Launcher come with a variety of accessories and several rile sets come with separate magazines. The PAGST helmet kits (LRE 5040-44) are aso lable with a wide variety of attachments. The grenade launcher kits were our hands: down favorites, We built up a couple of them. The Parts count is high and some of pieces are very delicate. There were some small mismatches on ars, but nt in places that you wil notice when the ginis assembled. We were stunned by the end result and seriously questioned whether there was actually a vehele kit worthy of mounting them. There are two different versions availabe, ‘the M10 and the Mk. 47. They bath have amin ‘ogling array of options for each version and each comes ina diferent kits ranging from LRE 35060) to 35070 and the separate armmunition packs are LRE 35080-35084, Website: http-/Aiveresin.com 6861 JINIS SYAGTING T3GOW ONIANAS STIVLAG NIS3Y pue Sivoad ‘SYa4SNVUL AUG Catalog, nf & shop ——ies Senn any {ses and then some, It used to be that they had a ea) Cec is or et eo Pee ese oa 170 VK, German Military Staff Car and 3531, a Lecce ed (Car. 35112, “Where Are The Damned Roads?” Pierre ore y ree ar Te les ofboth types of VI from our buddies at Dragon USA. These kits have complete power trains and lis of nice litle touches some other ome oe eee Porter anes Bec one US. Chil War Series leads off for figure releases. No, its not a mechanized era topic but the a ee nee Se a ane eat erry Po ee coe ae ae CeCe Ree eee cg ra en ee ec ene eee eed GEA eae Perot a en a aes Crs ana Reena Girone reer nti Per a eee ge cae pete eer een er tt everyone: 35089, US. 101st Airborne sion (Normandy 1944); 35108, MB TYPE. Cabrio Saloon; 35128, Japanese Tank Crew ER a rarer LTT) roe 35133, GAZAAA Mod.1943 Cargo. Truck; Sa ae eae CS cme TUR eee) Artillery Tractor, 35141, German Tank Crew Se car EMRE AUS Roe ee esa Pere one ot ses ‘Miniman Factory ‘The truck-meisters over at Miniman Factory have pled a fast one, They actually released tracked vehicle! Amphibious ‘Truck will leave you short of breath and short of cash This is a fll esi kt with a detailed cab, workable features and Frullmodel racks. Another recent development fs 85085, KrAZ ‘man Tankers", A Break Between Battles; 35150, Snore ernie eo oe er et roe See ener cy pee ee Pa) PO OREO) Comer Cone ca arty Pee eae 35153, Soviet Tank Crew at Work und 351 Cee ta Seren ey ee Sues ree ees Peperemr ar erin nen a Eee rt eer ea shop; 36024, Ardennes Street 36026, Norman Street; 36050, ee ann eames) eng aes Street Section w/ A Now normall iid at 1:72 seale dio Sunita em ret Ste iy 7 coe ea re ee as! Teena iy re es 255 Gun Truck. This isa variant on their re oubtable KeAZ kit with a D-90 12mm howitzer mounted inthe back. Website: ww.minimanfactory.comPerfect Seale Modelibau LLAVaystem is also available separately a8 35113, Perfect Seale is the absolute best place on naar ook earth to go looking for those litle extras or your Le ih their website and Leopard | and2 kts. Lately they have been going willbe very pleased, You can also get an ene d after the older Hale! Revell Leopard Kit witha tallsin thre diferent packages: 35104, Leopard vengeance, 35106, Leopard I “Early Batches” 1 Powerpack and 35105, Leopard 1 Engine {Italeri/Revell) was the most eye-catching r- Compartment are the two sold separately while lease, Tis conversion kit 35025, Leopard 1 Power Tacks the plastic itt pack & Engine Compa the very early production iment ithe whole shebang batches with new track, Ifyou area fan of te wheels, ture, fenders and covery vehicles, a Leopar hal details ARV may bein your fu Some ofthese items ture, Perfect Sale hast also available separa rersions: 85102, Leopard 35107, Leopard 1 Cast ARV A2/ with Interior Turret; 35108, Leopard 1 17 Gun Barre Non and 35103, Leopard 1 ARV A2. Thermal Sleeve; 35109, Leopard [D130 E2Sin- — Hunwee fans may also want to check out ie Link Tracks and PEOOS, Leopard 1 Tool 35002, USMC HMMVW or the Bronco ki Gamps. you are looking fran accurate Leopard fect Seale prodts can be very han cas turret with appliqué armor, look no further; find inthe U.S. and we suggest ou order direct. 35111, Leopard 1 AIAL Turret and 35112 Leopard 1A5 Turet just showed up. The PZ Website: wwneperfeetscale.de Nuts & Bolts Ready forthe ultimate oe a as ee eerie goes Pere ee reper Peretti eames ae ey Pore coment sn oth Peer Tn ce release of Volume 05: Mtterer Gepanzerter Beobachtungskraftwagen Saurer RK-7 Cree terre] Peeters rere etn ein Book Reviews section, Website: wwwanutsbolisde and ww oresites unique British Cree CoN praerg Soe emer rad erence Per ee ee oe evan es Nev Zend kept their Valentine tanks In service erent Perea ae reste eae ee eT ene erento ea eee tioned photos in te book are very elear and big oe ene yn ey ee rere eyerenr cen erie eet} the end, Ifyou are looking for something new to Ce erry coe Tee eg Pere nones tes par erent eer ergs omonteny Teo Radschlepper Ost lk ee De Figures out now: 30001, 7-152. Workable ee ee a 136 Workable Track Set For M-109 SP, NE oe ees erie Model Centrum has broken aay from their usual soft cover format Seren) Sars Seen aed ovens the South Aftican Reconnaissance Car. This Tenner renee Pe erent ears round photos, color plates and 1:35 seale line Se entero any Loerie enc en oes Pe ee eee Ty Serene ena easy tres on nts ee eee) Ae OTT? OCC ee Ones Meets West and 35015, Livestock Set V2 cee ln Rue arEd Cee roe een Peer cen era SCC anna eaten eri Dorchester variant: 060, Dorchester DAK OSI ese et] kit of the British Coe om caren ar Preece ears era 146, Lenses and Ta eae eT a Pee Ree arent Pee amen Ent ee eee) Chee a end PEN oera ene Cra) Perera nt esd Un ager PINs eet Lights for BRDM2; 191, Lenses and Tail u sand 197, Lenses and Tail Crete) RE hesereore ed Cea, ere een enn rt nee this time around: 163, Tow Cares CRS ct Peat 18, Wheels or Hetzer Star; 176, DShKM OR eR A i eae ee ae 179, Wheels for Mereedes (Master Box): TR eee ec Contr ert Ces ‘og Miniatures isa Russian web shop that Pee ea ere ea ent a Pons Peron Pers ae Perenery emery is eats) Pera es) cea Cee Eom ieee eC ee Ce Ld rrersreeeate . Pesan a eee pressed by the lage scale and the attention PSE Pea eer ron tren een rer iat mire cere era rier eer Pc ae een tag oe etree Nee ee Peres canner ety Website: www specialopsmodels.com Airborne Division On Rest; 3515, US, Army ‘Airbornes On Rest; 3516, Major and I Liew Pee eR mae ee ee ree eT 1518, US. Airborne BAR Gunner and Airborne Cs mere Tara tng oer aa 101st Airborne Divi- sion On Rest, WWIL pomeasi rg gas ee nnersy Pe Ras Ce a ae ee! Crea es Pee toy ey ies Ce een Un Soe ea een Sd Senter ag alate G model: 48101, Panther A Conver- ‘ion; 48102, Panther D Conversion; 48201, corneum aan Eon Poa ‘Sherman Live Target and 1044, GTK Boxer RCo} eer)Tankograd A usual, Tankograd has churned outa huge amount of reference material ‘Wil start outwith Leopard 2 Maintenance The tte fs eally self-explanatory. Modern armor lovers wll want to order this one tay or yesteray ifthat works, ‘You will want to put on a seatbelt, for this update on their numbered books: World War One Special 1007, Panzer Kraftwagen- Armoured Cars ofthe German Army and Freikorps; 8018, M520 Goer -M561 Gama Goat Articulated Trucks of the US Army in the Cold War; 3019, Ist Armored Division Vehicles of the Ist Armored Division in. Germany 19712011; 4018, Hensehel 83 340m 6x Trucks, in Reichswehr and in Wehrmacht Service; 4019, German Armoured Formations in the OZAK 1989-45; 5016, Tank Destroyers ‘Gun/Missile of the Modern German Army; 5037, ATF DINGO 2 - Protected Vehicle; 5038, Pana rg here gy Pope OS tor ty Tactical Vehicle Replacement); 1503, Canadian. Husky 6x6 Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV); Tee aetna ie ees Pama eae BOXER cexschlacht in Sddeutschland -Kecker Spatz 87; 5039, Boxer The GTK Multrole Armoured Wheeled Vehicle in Modern German Army Sere Jee; 5040, Emma’ The MAN 630 1.2 A/L2AE 5- ton Truck in Modern German Army Service; 5041, Fahrzeug- Graffit GecomISAF Personal: led Vehicle Markings during the German Mission in the Balkans; 5042, Personalized Vehicle Markings daring the German Mission on the Balkans; Ne. 6025,U.S. WW II GMC - Air Sener eRe Pet Cen Ca we LN Heayy Halftrack; 1507, JGSDF TYPE 99 SPH; 2048, VK3001 Workable Track Link Set; Teer ne rey ck Link Set; 2056, Srv 103 ink Set; 2053, Karl Pan eee Lae) 28, Soviet D30 122mm Pa enn cea ee Amphibious Armored Patrol Car, PS ea ATL Pre eer re era Fighting RO mn Pose it fone Pree econ Compressor Trucks, Mess Trucks, Radio Trucks & Rocket Launcher Trucks; 6024, US. WW IL M24 Chafee Light Tank; 6025, US. WW Tl ‘White Brockway-Corbit 6-100 6x6 Trucks; 6026, US, WWII M32, M3IBI, M32B2, M32B3 Tank Recovery Vehicles; Wiles of 7027, We Army; 8007, Canadian LEOPARD C1 in West Germany 1977-93; 9019, JACKAL High Mobility Weapons Platform COYOTE Tactical an 9020, Challenger 1: The Last Cold War B Tank of Britain's Armoured Corps. There were some other ties that were not numbered as well German Panzers and Allied. Armour in Yu goslavia in World War Two: New Gallery Beltring 2012; British Mil tary Trucks in Wehrmacht Serviee anv British Military Trucks of World War 2 Website: wnvctankograd.com ee! Se omc) caer eee ee Pe ent et)ry nee cers ea con a Loree ace IEY neces ete eon ome: Chattee (Bronco); 2 Cd oor es eee Renney Perea Pre et Runs epi exees TOR ee cra HUMBER MK.IV & GM Fox Mk Prac ULLE a cae eT Sees 120mmRecon Vietnam; 2752, Fallschirmjager Peer es Reena 4 ee at Factory Lathe with ree es Pa Bako aes errs Neo oer reer the Chaffee an ean pee Sera cet Sena ry Mud & Dust By Michael K. Ceil Holland Publishers ages Black and White ISBN: 9781741107678 ww.newholland.com.au THE AUSTRALIAN MILITARY fought alongside the United States in Vietnam from 965 to 1972 using a wide variety of vehicles, engineer Ing equipment, and atilery from American, Common wealth, and indigenous Mud & Dust is visual Hf eveloped in conjunction with the Aus tralian War memoria. [tis broken dwn into chapters caveringartllen, AFV ght, medium, and heay ve hicls, as wells engineering equipment. There ar ‘more than 400 photos in total. The Centurions and MIISs used by the Australian Army are wel now, to most modelers and these are represented soundly inthe book, but there are some surprises such as WW2 era Federal Model 604 tractors and leased MI23C trucks with MISA2 taller. Australian’ long and lonely highway system fi vors most of the American tractor-trailer manufac turers, Names such as Mack, Diamond Reo, and Ingernational set up subsidiary operations there and these trucks were ether adapted from efilian mod Is, or built to military specications for the Aus allan Army Ths book is wel anyone interested in Australia’ military operations in Vietnam. Merkava Siman 3D: Merkava Mk 3D Service Part 2 By Michael Mass Desert Eagle Publishing 78 Pages Full Color ISBN 978:905.91635-19 vw. deserteagle publishing com Mica Mass aso. Doser Eagle strike again with this second volume on Merkava I the tank that is the backbone of the present IDF armored force. Desert Bagle No 2, published a few years ago, covered the un ‘modified Merkava Mk. Il in etal, The subject of hs newest book the aot version that fea ures an armor up ude on its turret. A uick Mp through the ew book reveals 0 ful eolor photos and de Tall diagrams. To kick things of, the introductory chapter isa soceinet briefing to bringyou up to speed ‘on ll our Marks ofthe Merkava and thei variants The next ehapter ial“ acton” photos that include some coverage of vehicles fram the 2000 Cast Lead ‘operation, The Man and the Machine isthe next sec on. Tt focuses on the crews in action. After this comes an “in detail” chapter with an extensive walk arvund that also inludes detal diagrams of compo rents such asthe rear stowage ins, the turret basket and the.50 caliber machine gun mounted abewe the ‘main gun, Some pictures of the power pack and a short essay on markings are ineluded atthe end of {he chapter The book concludes with a wonderful ar ticle om a MerkavaIIID model done by the editor Adam O'Brien, With he recent releases y both Meng Models and Hobby Boss thisis the right reference at the rght time for both kits. Thanks to Michael Mas forthe review copy n Israeli PEAT7/ M1917 WWI Tanks Walk Around By David Doyle Squadrow Signal Publications 80 Pages Full Color ISBN 97840-89747.6362 vwinnsquadron.com Tw Reus PEAT sign is a landmark tank, Is architecture has beeome standard for almost every tank that followed its intro to have a rotating turret, as well asthe frst tank to hhave a driver up front and an engine in back. The MIOI7 SivTon Tank was the designation for the US. built version ofthis famous machine. There were & 2 variations on. both vehicle mostly had todo with turet design and armament. David Dose does his usual excellent job working within Squadron Signal’ tried and true Walk Around format, The fst part of the book covers surviving ru seum examples from the UK, the US, Siteriand, etFrance and Belgum. Before moving on tothe MISIT (the American license built version), there are 80 our view line drawings of both the’ FTI? and the MIOIT. There are four examples ofthe MI9I7 pro- fled, al fom US, museums, All ofthe surviving ex amples re in god shape. The photos and captions are clear a informative, Nowall we need isfor some ofthe kit manufacturers to wake upand give usa it, ‘so write your congressman today. Thanks to David Dost forthe review cops (German Armored Cars in Action By David Dosle ‘Squadrow/ Signal Publications ‘80 Pages Black and White with Color ISBN 978-080747.6812 Gena AnvonrD Cus in Action is a survey ‘ook that cavers Ger man six and eight wheeled armored ears from WW2, Al of the are period shots Surprisingly, none of Squadron's fa mous color plates ae included, There san emphasis here onthe SaKfz. 281 Gad and Sd.Kfe 231 Srad and the variants of those model. AS fr asthe Gad ‘oes, there is extensive coverage ofthe Sd.Kfz. 231 and the 232 (radio version). The Sd.Kfz Sa takes ‘up most ofthe book with coverage ofthe Sd Kz 231, 252 (radio version), 238 (7.5 em armed), 268, (aio) anv the Balstie Messfahraeug auf Schwere [i Panzerpahwagen (ballistic recording). That. last ‘one seal oddball tha panzer freaks evenwhere ‘ill want to cheek out. The book also has coverage of the Sd.Kt 234 series, with the 234/1 20mm armed version, the 2912 -Punsa” 234/3Tbmm L724 armed version and the 234/4 5am Pak 40 armed version. The coverage ofthe 234 series sess exten sive but the photos are nice and big. Overall, we ‘thought this was a grat reference work on German heavy armored cars, especially if you ae doing an carly war project on the Italeri 231 6 wheeler, the od ‘Tamiya kts, oF those spanking new AFV Club 8 ads ‘Thanks again to Davi Doge for the review copy. Panserwrecks 13: aly 2 By Lee Archer and Bill Auerbach Pangerwrecks Publishing 96 Pages Black and White ISBN 9784-98418207.73 wo: panzerrecks.com Pocrsamans scxin town with another blastastic volume of eracked-up kraut hardware. They have ‘one back to the idea of covering different fonts in separate books tha they began in Panzerwrecks 7 This atest edition takes us back to sunny Italy forthe second time. It starts off wit a short essay tiled “Weapons Dump Italian Style” with some nie shots of Marder Ils. There are actually some shots of cap tured, then re-capured Shermans included, aswel A couple of pages of StuG ILI action follow before “The Story of Nashorn 214,” an essay on a Nashorn captured by Polish troops A mixof Panther and Tiger shots then precede the next feature on derelict Ele fants from Panzerjiger Abtellung 658, whichis prety hefty After that are two more shots of tuG Tilsand then a survey of altracks including nce | pictures ofa 87mm Mak arm! SAKf 1/2 Pana- ferwrecks also squeezes in some Italian hardware Impressed into German service, Speaking of Beutepanze, there are some 34s and a French 11M self propelled howitzer inher too. To wind things up, thee are some pics of Pantherturms, anthers and some nie shots of Mark IVs. Panaer- wrecks never fails to impress, so order one up and bring that collection up to date. Thanks to Bll ‘Auerbach for the review cop ‘Scale Model Handbook: Figure Modelling 2 Balted By Stelios Demiras Mr. Black Publications 50 Pages Full Color ISSN 2241-1054 vwm.mrblackpublicaions.com ‘Tis 8 THE SEDOND 1 SES ‘of mew books on figure mod ling from our Greek pal, Stelios Demizas, The figures ‘overed inthis book run the gamut from Medieval to WWI to Ancient Greece. The subject matter may be be- ye normal realm ofin for some nation of acrylics and ols. The second features “Blackbeard,” the pirat figure, and illustrates the simulation of fbris, The third is a WWI German ‘Stonmtroope and thisilustrates methods for creat Inga realistic vignette setting The fourth ail is another medieval pice this time a Templar Knight ‘The fit article isa profil of works from the French ‘Master, Laois Dori. The last article is an ancient Greek nd emphasizes the use of oi paints All ofthe ‘photos in the book are in fll color, with most being finished shots ofthe feature pieces, although there {sa fair amount of step-by-step photography. Ifyou ike the first volume ofthis series, you wil dig this ‘one, to. We recommend itt figure enthusiasts be ‘use of the quality ofthe photos and the emphasis ‘on howto techniques. Thanks to Mr. Demiras for the reve copy ‘Trackstory No. 13: Le Char BL ES is (62 Pages Black and White with Color ISBN9782917661-154 oneminiracks ‘Tae Ca BL STE ser peepeceson oF THE CAR BL Bis that became famous inthe Battle fr Pranee in 1940. Only 35 were made and they were prety long in the tooth by 1940 but some of them sil took part {in that campaign. Longtime readers will remember this ‘version frm the lg feature on the Tamiya Char BI Bis ‘model done in MMR that featured four modes inlud {nga I constructed usingan Aaimut conversion se ‘Thelong development of the BL began right WW ara this at Trachsory coversit etal in the begin text along with fuel trallersanda short chaperon that lin detals between the BI, BI Bis andthe proposed B2. The text, ccneludes with the story of the Char BI deployment withthe 51e RCC, including the wartime experience ofthe BI and various pant and markings schemes. Thetfinal section ofthe books largely graphical, with some very ce coor plates, most of which are accom: panied by photos ofthe actual vehicle depicted. nce again Bltons du Barbotin scores atouelwown by caveringanother apeet of Preneh armor that noone else has touched on in detail before, Thanks to Pascal Daou forthe review copy Armor Photo Gallery #22: Pz:Kpfw IV Ausf 6 By Wajiech J. Garwyeh Published By Model Centrum Progres ‘72 Pages Black and White with Color ISBN 978 83-60072.17-4 r.modelbooks.republika pl and worm squadron.com ‘Move, Ces Pros mis taken a break from the British/Commonwealth ‘theme that they have been eovering so well to crawi around and through the su. viv Pz Kp IV Aus Go cated at Panzermuseum ‘Munster in Germany. The walk around starts th the front hull, etal, and moves ide’ to the versstation and hl fighting sompartment dipping into the suspension. The turet i covered on the outside be fore moving along to the hateh interiors, com: ‘manders cupola an then into the turet prope: Two shots the Maybach HL. 120 on display are included before the appearance of 1:35 and 1:8 seale line drawings. A healthy chapter of period photos, along ith veicle history wraps things up. This atest ed tion of Armor Photo Gallery definitly upholds the standard set by the excellent books on the BAZ MK VC and Mk IC Firefly walk arounds that we ‘ave seen in the past Its must for Panzer ents asts everywhere. Thanks to Mr. Garwyeh for the review copyile th newer Merkasa Mark IV gets a lot of pres these dy, the Mark IL 1s actualy the real mainstay of Israel'tank let. Production start ce in 1980 and continues up until 2008 with a total of 730 units bu. I sa marked improvement over the Mark I in repower, protetion and mobility Main armament isa domestically prudiced copy of the world beating Rheinmetall 120mm smooth The Mare TIT was the first version of the ava to feature composite armor and the Mark ‘5-onner at a maximum speed of 7mph (60kxwh) and te range is advertised as 310 miles (500k) Diving right in Impressions ofthis kit were very good is nlc and there were a lot of pars to hen T opened it up. All of the parts looked crisply molded with no real fash to speak of. The linkto link tracks were all in a baggie instead of being on sprs, & big time-saver. The instruction sheet has 45 steps, so I prepared myself for an in-depth ‘onstruction phase Before I grabbed my snips and cement, sat down withthe kit and copy of Desert Eagle No, 5; Merkava Siman 3D. This is probably the bes refer ence for building a Merkava ID. There were two main areas of detal tha I decided to improve The fist was the stowage. Meng Models does provide complete stowage bins, but they are empty. To ‘the missing details, T chose to use the Blast Models Merkava 3D Update set (BL35186K). The second issue was the ant lip coating thats promt nent on many modem armored vehicles. Model manufacturers often overlook this and that is the case here, For the anti, I decided to use the old Casta-Coat method. Nurso, sprue cutters please "There are two diferent types of road wheel for this vehicle all steel and rubber rimmed. There is als an optional stelreinforeing ring provided that fits either road wheel type. Its ery comanon to seeboth types on the Merkava I, so I went ahead and mised up. sed the rein forcing rings on the front three road wheels on each side, The backsides of toad wheels were painted flat black to keep the gray plastic color from peeking out later. The rear idler wheels are nice too, Tey feature lightening holes Inthe rims; detail ieft ff on other Merkava kits. ‘Steps two through six involve adding suspension and detail parts to the hull For the rer ier mounts, I drilled out a small ‘hole in parts C2 and C23, On the lower rear hull, 1 {led in the lation divots for the spare tack lins since Tdi not actually see these in reference photos A chassis number plate was added to the lower hull front and rear plates using some styrene stip and numbers shaved off ofthe kt sprues. The inal drive cover parts Cl and C2 need a litle ptty to be COENEN OM) 4 Tere i afl array of bth rubber and ste rimmed road wheels inthe Kt along withthe optional reinforcing ‘ings 2 The rear ides actu the ghtenig holes in the ns tha are onal nother Merkara ks. 3 Hers @ ‘hal atthe suapenson before the whet are om. & Tua @ mis ofrabber and lel red es alag with ‘mljorementa nthe ot thre satan. Due cre is neenary fo make sural the read whee towch the ground. & Tskigprd aad i th nro and ese the Anko tok tracks a sine 7. The rack nk are ell ‘ete deem ae ing cating nator. fled inthe dots or he spare rack ns and added a chasse ‘humber plat onthe lowe eer and rer front hal. The mame arin onthe prac. The sree sp (tet maketh rear dor pane ft proprly can as be ee hr. The Baa rear storage is oo goo hen ‘natal but the corapated parts ofthe ast should hare the angie pars facing outboard used sal Bs of {ras chain to replace the resin deal hat had roe of. 9 lake ofthe back of he exhaust gril and engine ‘tec prt Dé with sheet spre blended since there is no seam where these parts Join on the ral tank. All ofthe suspension parts go ‘on wel enough, but {found that I needed to exercise are when attaching the road wheels to make sure they all touch the ground. I asembled my track runs at this point. The link-toink tracks are well detailed and even have tin casting numbers on them. There isasmall ection pinon the ouside cleat and some Knockout marks to get ed of on the inside face of each link but the links go together well and there ‘were enough inthe kit, This made me happy "The lower rear hill details were nex, The rear oot frame (part D7) was shimmed with styrene in “order to fl some gaps before adding the door. The ‘Stowage bins provide in the kt are empty, suse the resin ones provided in the Blast update set. The Blast parts needed extensive rimming to fit but Took better than the kit parts. I did notice a small discrepancy. The corrugated grating on the basket seams to be reversed on the bins. The angled portion is facing Inboard instead of outboard. This would have been possible to fix by simply switching the position ofthe bins but the collapsible stretcher ‘bag is molded onto the let bin where it belongs. I also added some small brass chains to the bottom ‘omer of each bin a the molded on ones had bro- en off and crumbled into dus, ‘Steps 10 through 18 all involve the upper hull The detail level here is god here except forthe absence ofthe anti-slip coating To start, blanked of the large right side exhaust grill (C38) and another small opening in D6 with sheet styrene. The driver's periscopes are clear parts and [left those for later. The engine deck self sa multi-part affair that captures all of the weird little anges and details ofthe real thing very well with litle test it ting and due care. I was a bit disappointed in the front mud flaps as they are very thick. I thinned these out, made eus to divide the front fap into ‘three paris and then bent them up some with my The multiple engin deck parte ete dun wel and lok ery good fer some tt iting and minor rimming 12 Front height are ince nthe Ait bul Though hey tk upto high soft hem of tn heen TT at {he single poe se sire top leon the ret tnt. YA The sie lt panes ae try actuate andes Incl ther station number 1H The suspension parts and racks were pained hr base Tlors before ing the Iu op ass 1 The upper al prt had Wo an vere shared dv the rer al parts around the ‘ie tank glued the hl down from front to bck and then bended the nase as cen here. 17, 8. The competed lower hu ood prety good tome dap some minor deta ming sch asthe ant p ond the etane Chains Jor the side hrs. 18 Assembling the mult pice raf was theft thing Td forthe art Deal el good bat fingers. In hindsight, I should have replaced them with sheet styrene. There were no photo-etch parts that fit available at the time of construction. The ‘provided headlights were test-fited, but inthe end id not use them because they loked like they sat too high compared to reference photos. "There are two types of drivers hatches provided T ehose “type B° illstrated instep 15, Ths was an arbitrary choice as oth types are accurate forthe ‘model of tank this kit portrays. I added the periscopes and covers at this time. T lost one periscope cover and then made a replacement from styrene. Later I noticed that there were extra covers In the Kit Dutt [left off the provided front driver ‘width guides as almost all tanks I saw with these also had them attached inthe back and those parts are not provided in the kt. The sie skirts are well detalled and come molded each as one piece cut these apart at the appropiate intervals where the attachment frames do not hold them together. The side kis it well enough, the only real detail miss ing are the chain links that hold the pais of skirt. pieces together andthe front and rear chain retain ers This is a small but prominent detail that Iwas ‘eager to add, but was stymied because I didnt have ‘any brass chain of the proper gauge Before attaching the hull top and skins to the lower hul, [painted the lower hull sides, running ‘ear and track thei associated basic colors. At fist the upper hull seemed to have aft problem, with 2 ‘prominent lip at the front plate was able to solve thishy shaving down the area in the back where the ‘upper hull rear and the fuel tak join very slightly and then using some gentle persuasion and super flu to get the hull sides to sete down propery as TT moved from back to front. Pinay, 1 grabbed my Flexifile and sanded down the remaining ip up front and blended everthing with putty. Menga turret The lange and very complex turret came nex. Meng Models managed to capture te overall shape and mos ofthe detail quite well When It eame tine to assemble the turret, I didnot strity follow the Instructions, F actually assembled the multi-part turet roof first, leaving all ofthe small detail parts ‘off for later. The detail level was good with the only major omissions being the lack of antislip and the small rectangular data plates that are present on ‘each piece of modular armor. Next up was the main un. [drilled out four small holes in the knobs for the barrel eracuatorlocking ring, part P23. There‘he amall rectangular daa plates and the anti coating are missing. 2. er puting the main gun together, 1 ‘le erryhing in place inthe hl otom part snr the twas lose. 21, 2228. Pur frm the Blast acensory {eter efor the Mh carbines, spar ammunition bes, fre extingushers and umole pos. 24 Tes a itl di. ‘ppoite eth the cating quay on the carbines. 28 The Bast roar tre bake ks great ee es ing and ‘url trimming ofthe mating atrfaces 61 wed the Kt provided all and chain array. Mas simple yt ete ‘he tow eable are lovers rm Voge phate etch set secre with chain rom the sera bin. 27. leap of | ‘ow secured the teas 20-32 Bla rea parts drs the KL machine un up mel with he exception o the {unk commanders searchlight that loked Bibby afer panting are poly caps provided forthe gun mount, but the fit is very lose. I glued my main gun assembly in one postion ater mounting it inthe turet bottom. The turret rf fits prety good when cemented tothe turret bottom but Tdi use some filer when attach ing the turret face parts KB, K1O and KIL ‘Now it was time to ad al the smal detall parts. Asfarasthe provided kit parts go, the loader’ hatch \sa rather complicated subassembly andthe sight ing devices need some putty to make them lok lke ‘one piece. Clear parts are provided for these andthe periscopes, which is @ nice touch. I used replace ‘ment parts fom the Blast where needed such as MA carbines in their carirs, ammo boxes, smoke pots on turet rear and fre extinguishers. The Blast M4 carbines were a itl disappointing as I thought the ‘molding could have been sharper. The ammo boxes provided for the machine guns and the spent shell bagforthe.50 caliber are nice. The smal searchlight provided forthe commander's 7.2mm machine gun ‘Sot well molded and in hindsight I shold have just. omlted this detail. also used the Blast one-piece rear turret bustle rack. This big chunk of resi took Some careful runing ad alot of test iting but 1 vas happy with the end result. The ball and chain aay that hangs fom the bustle rack provided inthe ‘tis both simple and very effective used the Blast, smoke dischargers, as they were much simpler than the multipart kit Ones. I also added some conduits for the smoke dischargers and the sensor mounted cover the main gun. The last aed deal before mov ing onto the anti-skid was the tow ables used the Jt heads and some enpper cable let ver fom a Viyager photo-etch set along with some chains rom the serap bin gave alot of thought as to how I would accom: ‘lish the ant ip enatng fr this model. In the end, T decided to appy it by hand using Cast-A-Coat. 1 {ound some ofthis stuff buried in a drawer atthe offie, long forgotten, Te glue was no good any more, 0 I substituted white glue mixed with water [worked my way slowly around the upper hull and ‘upper turret panel, section by setion, applying the ‘white guetwatersoiton and then sprinling in the ‘Cast-Coat git. There were two benefits to using this method, The first is that no extensive masking was required. The second was that I could simply wash ‘off any area T didnt think looked right with tap water and re-do i ‘What color is that tank? ‘Modern Israeli Sand Grey is a rather deceptive col In some reference photos it looks really grey and in others really tan, depending on the light. ‘There are several companies that make a good palnt for this color: Testor, Life colo a Vallejo. I chose to use Vallejo Surface Primer 70.614 IDF Israeli Sand Grey 6173 (PS90372). 1 added high Tights and streaking by adling a litle Valeo 73.615, USN Light Ghost Grey. The cloth areas of the stowage bins were painted the highlight color so they stood out from the rest of the tank. Small