25 Pounder Field Gun Airfix 1:76 Built Model (01305)

Here is my take on this little classic model. Got it in a random parts lot, and so built it without instructions nor cannon (I have them, but already built) . I went for a unusual two brown camo, and I must say I am very satisfied of the final result.

The improvements were adding front glass, adding a proper bumper, and added lights. I made all wheels to turn properly, making it feel like a little Dinky toy.

Review; Monty's Caravan + Dingo Revell Matchbox 1/76 model kit vehicle afv

Welcome to one of the most singular model kits ever made, the private vehicle of General Montgomery himself.

The Box 

The original box, which is lively, but that green looks a bit strange in what seems apparently a desert road. Maybe it is Italy, but all the same that green colour looks American to me.

The Revell new box is dull, you hardly realize what it is until you read the title, although the black gives a nice sensation of quality.

The Kit 

In the Revell reissue, the flash is quite noticeable, and nearly all parts will require some sanding to look good and fit ok. Some pieces are a bit tiny to handle, as it is again a 1/76 kit. 
The details are slightly thick everywhere, which wouldn't so bad in 1/72, but in 1/76 is more noticeable. What is best of this set are the extras, you get three generals, a big stand, barrels and top to make a table and traffic barriers. This is what I call a good set, and not all these modern kits where you only get exactly one vehicle and nothing else whatsoever. 

Parts fit generally well, the wheels cannot be made to turn without major modification as in most Matchbox kits. I will add that Revell instructions are quite badly done, and you are left wondering what some parts are and how they should be stuck, without help of internet.

The Verdict

For a start  I have to say that I am a Montgomery fan and I love everything related with him  and his campaigns so it is very hard to be impartial here .WW2 specific vehicles are rare to be seen in the modelling world specially in 1:72 (except those standard vehicles that include the militar codes for that general in particular; like Rommel's halftrack) so this italian captured lorry modified as staff lorry for the personal use of Montgomery is a really interesting subject and a must  to complete your 8th army collection.

We cannot also forget the small but very used in combat Dingo light armed vehicle, one of those vehicles that you can't find easily from any other manufacturer  although Britain won the war!!!(if it was german we will be flooded with kits of this vehicle).

For those that also like to make small dioramas or make improvements in interior kits this will be a nice addition for their collection as the interior of the lorry only includes a small bench table.

Accuracy; 6/10, Acceptable.
Mould quality; 6/10, Acceptable. (Revell release)
Difficulty level; 5/10, Moderately easy.
Price/Quality; 7/10 Good, today Revell's reissue should be easy to find and well priced.

My version

This is a particular vehicle, so if you don't modify the lorry to retransform into the regular Italian army version, there is only sandy for North Africa/Italy or green for the european theatre. As you can see in the pics, I went for the sandy version, depicting Italy (as the base is quite difficult to believe it is in North Africa), and I did some interioring work, creating a small bed and a bathroom. I did this many years ago, before knowing the uses of epoxy putty, so I used Patcolor (a self-drying plasticine sold by Jovi) as a putty to recreate the interior.

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Photos

Review; Airfix Scorpion / Scimitar Tank 1/76 Model Kit Modern British light tank

Welcome to another modern tank review, today a classic as the Scorpion from Airfix.

          The Box 

Back in the day I always that it was attacking backwards, with the turret turned back. Rather strange box, with very brownish colours all around. Not really very exciting, as I have seen it thousands times and only recently decided to buy this kit (and possibly because I had built everything else in the model shop!). The super reduced small box doesn't help either.

Even if built to regular standard without nothing fancy, I rather better the second box, looks more interesting and shows a nicer camo. 

  The Kit 

It's not the worst of Airfix AFV kits, but of course you can expect that most of the detail is quite basic. All the same it builds quite nicely, much better than others. As all other Airfix AFV kits, it is 1/76, so it builds into a very small kit, which is annoying for wargamers. There is alternative parts to build the Scimitar tank, with different cannon and some turret details. It is a kit that if you feel fast, you could build 4 in an afternoon. Sadly there is no driver nor crew. One of the worst aspects are the tracks, which are quite thick and low in detail, and the wheels, with very simplified details.


                                        The Verdict

A good kit to spend an afternoon, but nothing challenging, not for a superb display piece, maybe for a battle dioramas and good to build numbers in wargaming.

Accuracy; 6/10, Acceptable.
Mould quality; 7/10, Good. (1990s release)
Difficulty level; 2/10, Easy.
Price/Quality; 7/10 (dirt cheap and easy to find).

My version

There is plenty of mild interesting modern camouflages, but I found that the most interesting was the cubist urban camouflage for the Berlin deployed forces. To give it a different I cutted out the metal foil of a tea packaging to represent the glass in the light focus over the turret.



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Photos

As alternatives, you can take a look at this other interesting pictures;

Airfix Heller US MARINES World War II 2 u.s. infantry HO/OO scale 1/72 WW2 Set 01716 79616

AIRFIX 1:72 WWII US MARINES

The Box

The new box is the reuse of the artwork of the 1/32 figures, which is certainly very nice, very realistic. In the back they show you the actual soldiers and number of each pose, which is very appreciated. The second box is correct, although it reminds me a bit of Vietnam, more than WW2. Finally comes the Heller examples, which seems a modern soldier in North Korea or Irak more than anything else.

                         The Figures

SCULPTING - 8.0 out of 10

The sculpting is ok, these are old school 1/72, (originaly sold as HO/OO, which is 1/76) which come out to be quite small, even if you compare them with Esci soldiers they look small. Compare them with some Zvezda and you have a battle between Dwarfs and Elfs!

Sculpting is good, details are clear. My examples are Heller reissue, and some present a bit of flash. Probably the originals have no flash at all.


HISTORICAL ACCURACY - 7 out of 10

What you will see is that these men practically doesn't carry any equipment whatsoever, which makes them look strange while disembarking, but also is refreshing compared to some modern miniatures which are overpacked with absolutely all equipment that "oficially" was to be carried. If you consult some war photographs, you will see that most men in actual combat wore little more than their weapon and a pack of cigars. Besides this, there is some errors in the pouches and the disposition of equipment, but nothing too important.

By the way, the boat given is nothing else than a rescue boat, not a proper landing craft in any sense.

ARMY REPRESENTATION - 7.0

"The army representation score is the potential of the soldiers to be used for other purposes different to the one originally intended"

 All WW2 figures they are what they are, and you can only slightly modify them to change them of war theater or exact timeframe. These however, are so standard, and so lightly equipped, that they could be used with little modifications as a standard post-war army for many countries, like South American dictatorships, or in modern African conflicts. Painting and a changing a bit the helmet will be all you need for a quite convincing modern role.

FUNNESS - 7.0

"I feel that many reviews are oblivious to this point - there are fantastic figures, which you can´t say anything against, but they are just too "correct", maybe too static, and just boring. So I feel that this is an important point when deciding if you buy this set"

You get a nice boat, which is always fun, you get a man firing slightly up, a bazooka man, which I always like very much and is perfect to show him fighting against elevated coastal defenses, and you get plenty of prone poses which are perfect for the subject.

But we lack a general, at least a officer or just somebody giving orders, and maybe something else, something more special.

WARGAMING VALUE - 7.5

The wargaming value is good, they are actually in fighting and in very active poses. Just one man is not really fighting as it is just marching or walking around.

PRICE-VALUE RATIO - 7.5

"The price value ratio of this soldiers will vary between any shops you go to, and the best I can do is judge by their average price on eBay and online stores"

They're very easy to find on eBay, if buy lots is nearly impossible not to get some. And now with Airfix reissue you'll find them nearly in every store that can have miniatures. They are a bit few (44, because of the boat that eats the plastic of 4 figures!) but they are correct.

PAINTING AND GLUEING - 4.0

Luckily you don't have to glue anything, as it will be impossible with these so very soft plastic. As with most Airfix sets, their flexibility avoids breakages but is very annoying to paint.

OVERALL VALORATION - 7.0

A correct set, without much exciting things, their strong point are their very active fighting poses, their weak point being their dimensions (even between them, there are some big and others small) which makes them look feeble and weak.

Conclusion; their price and availability makes them a very nice addition, but they are not a first choice.

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"If you have painted these figures, I would love to include the pics in here, so everybody can compare and use this blog as reference when painting their soldiers. So if you want, send me a email with the pictures to tam_cob@hotmail.com and I´ll gladly include them"

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