British WWI 18pdr Artillery EMHAR camouflaged 1/35

Here I post this British 18pdr, built and painted by my father. I found the camouflage and made the pictures  . Not many first world war kits in 1/35, so when we saw this in a model kit exhibition at just 5 € we snatched it. Sad that the crew is just 3, five would have been more like it. Placed upon an improvised diorama.

Review; Italeri 1:72 Cannone da 149/40 with crew nº6165 (Italian Heavy Gun Waterloo 1815) Wargames approved

Today we review a combined set of infantry of artillery, the Cannone 149/40. Let's see what it can offer to us.

    The Box 

 I didn't know that this kit was originally made by Waterloo 1815, until some time after. The artwork is correct, but it makes look the cannon smaller than what really is.

The artwork is quite good, depicts what it should, and gives a good sensation of Italian colonial era. Could be a bit better but it does the job. The box is quite gigantic for such a small kit, which I always don't like (it makes me feel ripped off!).

 The Kit 

I am usually in favour of fast assembly kits, being my basic interest wargaming, (although I also enjoy building anything), but this fast assembly was made too fast. It is at level that you don't need glue nor any kind of previous knowledge, easier than a Lego building set.

The main criticisms for this is that the cannon move up nor down, which usually is the minimum feature you ask for in a gun. Is not just that, but the wheels also cannot be made to turn, and they are fixed in the firing position. With good painting you can get a good realistic result, but nearly everything is moulded together and can look a solid block instead of a intricate piece of machinery.

You get a one box and two bunches of projectiles too.

 The Figures

The figures are expressive and quite nice, very finely moulded, where you can see all the detail, but again we have problems. Their dimensions! they measure all of them 1,95 metres at the least! they look huge and gigantic along other, proper 1/72 figures. They even look tall along other Italeri modern figures, which are already big. The other criticism they might be a bit static, as only two men are actually doing something besides standing there. No wonder why the Italians lost the war, if they were so static as this set suggests!

On the positive side, you get a good quantity of men, a very generous one, and the figures are full of expression, you can see clearly all their faces.The commander giving orders is very expressive and well made.

   The Verdict

There is no kit alternative to this gun and men, and it is a interesting subject, not one which we are tired to see everywhere, so my veredict, is even considering their problems and limitations, is that they should be bought and built! they are made to please the wargamer, but the modeller can also improve the kit. The crew will be useful to man other artillery, although they will possibly look strange along smaller figures or artillery, so very careful distribution will have to be planned.

My version

There wasn't much to choose, I was thinking at first that it also participated in the war in plain green, (and I even painted it like that at first) but I couldn't find any reference, and all the same then the crew wouldn't have been accurate, so I repainted it in sand colours. To make something, I painted the crew green as wearing the early uniform.

If you have read and enjoyed this review, I will greatly appreciate that you make 1 or 2 clicks on the ads on this blog, that will help me in keep making more reviews! (if you can't see the advertising just turn off Adblock or add this blog to the exemption list)

Review; Revell Panzerhaubitze 2000 1/72 Model Kit Modern Auto-propelled artillery tank

Today we review the most modern vehicle we've reviewed yet, the Panzerhaubitze 2000. Developed in the late 1990s, it is still in use and it is considered a state-of-the-art tank, and is starting to be exported to other countries. Probably, it will still be on use for several decades. We'll review the highly detailed Revell kit.

The Box; In the line of Revell, a very detailed artwork, with a lot of convincing power. I am not a fan of modern vehicles, but I specially searched for this kit, as it looks like a modernization of the Tiger Elephant.

The Kit;

it is a fully detailed kit, as one could imagine from such a modern subject. The detail is perfect and plentyful, and with virtually no flash at all. AS you can see it has many intricate details small bits and details on the top of the hull and turret, which have been all nicely done. It's a bit surprising that some of the tools and other removable parts are moulded on to the hull, and others require assembly, the ones of moulded in the hull look quite flat, so the advanced modeller will definitely remove them and substitute them for separate parts. The assembly is easy and the only complicate part could be the tracks which are rigid plastic and have to be glued bit by bit (although you get good long stretches of it).
The biggest criticism I have for this model is the lack of modern crew, at least one men would have been much appreciated, and even more when he is shown on the box artwork, and maybe even more knowing that it is nearly impossible (if it is indeed done) to get modern tank crew for a German tank just like it looks on the box artwork. Besides this, there is no option of leaving the hatches open, as even they are a separate part there is no hole underneath, so you will have to drill and modify if you want to include a driver and give a bit more of life to the model (only the hull hatch has a hole).

The Veredict; 

a very nice and perfect model kit, that can be very easily translated into a superb display piece. Also, being a modern Revell kit you can pick it from a shop or from eBay at a very reasonable cost. As a recommendation, I would suggest buying it from the Revell special set with tank transporter and armoured car, which I tried to search for but in the end only found the separate tank.

The Shown Example

I went for a camouflage I found in the net, a experimental digital camo. I am not sure if it has really been done, but as his operational history is still not over, why not it could be painted like this in a near future? I only applied the generic decals, leaving it without nationality, but it is supposed to be a Qatari example, where it has been exported. The other options are only Germany, Netherlands and Greece, at least up to this date (September 2015), which their camouflages are very similar and standard (the three-toned german modern camo).
 I used Tamiya Clear Blue to get the mirror effect on the visors, and painted with different tones of orange and yellow the lights so they look as if they were open. I applied various coats of dark brown and black paint, thinned with water, to make pop up all the details that Revell has offered us.

If you have read and enjoyed this review, I will greatly appreciate that you make 1 or 2 clicks on the ad below (or any advertising on the blog), that will help me in keep making more reviews!