Valentine Mk IV Tank 1/35 Model Kit Desert North Africa Ironside Azimuth Productions

Here is one of the kits that confinement helped produce, this Valentine Mk IV. I gave it as a present to my father about one year ago, and thanks to lockdown he's had the time to finish it  . I helped airbrush dust on top, and gluing the tracks (bit by bit, painstakingly). This was a old kit of Azimuth Productions, with resin turret, apparently when there was no regular kit with this version of turret.

Italeri/Esci M6 ANTI TANK GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE 37 MM Model Kit Scale Vehicle Dodge Portee

Today we'll review the M6 Anti Tank Vehicle by Italeri, originally released by Esci.

The original kit by Esci was made back in 1976; we'll comment one by one to avoid confusion with so many boxes;

#1; the original. Nice and correct, but a bit plain and dull.

#2; Ahh, much better with background and fire effect. It is the same illustration, but with slightly different  tones and with a background that is much better.

#3; Here Humbrol uses the mould, and sells something other than paints! Here the model is built to regular standard, in a weird background. Not very good. Although you see what you are getting,  it is always more poetic and compelling to buy the 2nd one.

#4 We arrive to the Esci design of the late 80s, the one that plagued the model shops for years. Really, I still prefer box #2.

 #5 And for once, the new thing is the best, in my opinion. Not only is it dynamic,it is very realistic,and it gives a sensation of intense combat. This was the one I bought. If I had seen the Humbrol box maybe I wouldn't have bought it. 

THE KIT - 6.0 >>

There are some problems with the kit. One of those that Esci made sometimes, which made you break your head trying to figure out what was going on. In this case, the suspension is way too high (well, it could always have been adjusted by the crew, but normally it wasn't like that). If you compare the pics of the model, with the ones on the back of the box, you'll see that the wheels behind the cannon are nearly touching the chassis, and in the model there is a big gap. It can be solved, but if you want a fast and easy, and good looking  build , you won't get it.

See here a excellent review on how to solve the suspension problem;

http://www.onthewaymodels.com/reviews/ESCI/AlMagnus_Esci_M6_8040.htm

The detail is good, a bit blunt here and there (it is quite an old kit) and the figures could be a bit better (they are really too fat and nearly all  including the driver have difficulties entering inside). 

Also the proportions don't seem right. They seem a bit too stubby to me. There is clearly more than one inaccuracy here.

EXTRAS - 7.5 >>

Three drivers are quite good, Esci knew how things had to be done!

POSSIBILITIES - 2.0 >>

What you see on the back of the box is what there is. Boring green or sandy lines over green. Maybe there was a sandy one, but I haven't been able to find it. 

You could also make the version in which they took out the gun, as many were reconverted to transport (the 37mm gun was not powerful enough to fight in the later stages of the war), but I don't see it as very exciting.

PRICE/VALUE RATIO - 3.5 (eBay) 6.5 (Retail) >>

To my astonishment, it is very hard to find on eBay, some people asking 17 $ for it! for a model with flaws from 1976! and only in USA, if you live in Europe I don't know.

I bought mine at retail shop for roughly 8 €. Italeri has good distribution everywhere, so in theory you could be able to find it easily in a retail store.

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HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE - 5.5 >>

"The historical importance score is determined by how many were built, and how much operational service they had, and how much influence they had on the conflicts they were involved in"

5,380 were built, a number that would deserve a 10 of historical importance practically, but they saw very limited operational use. The low caliber (37 mm) and low protection made it not very suitable.

You can find out more here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M6_Gun_Motor_Carriage

WARGAMING - 6.0 >>

It is approved with the "Alzo Zero" label as suitable for wargaming, but this only means that Italeri has decided to reissue it, as no modification has been made to the original model. Tricky suspension, too many details, the cannon does not have good rotating movement, the only good thing is that you are given men (you will have to cut the driver's feet if you want to fit him in).

OVERALL - 6.5 >> 

A nice way of having a Dodge truck making it more exciting than the regular version, but the kit is quite disappointing, it just doesn't feel right. If you are a expert modeller it will take you some modifying, but can look nice, and if you are a wargamer it will take some of your best skills to have a decent outcome. 

In one phrase; Get it cheap, or don't bother.

IMAGES OF FINISHED JOBS  (click on the pics to see them bigger)

Model kit made by myself.

Thanks to José Manuel Chasco, I can show you another great way of building this model (pics taken from this review; http://www.1-72depot.com/miniatures/1-72/scale-models/italeri-172-7025-m6-anti-tank-vehicle/);

Thanks to Al Magnus, that has built a excellent representation of a 1944 Guadalcanal M6. (see his site here; http://www.onthewaymodels.com/reviews/ESCI/AlMagnus_Esci_M6_8040.htm)

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Hasegawa M3 GRANT Medium Tank Mk.1

My first Hasegawa review, the M3 Grant.

Let's see the boxes;

BOX ART >> All Hasegawa boxes are quite the same, here the box art is maybe better than average, although they show you different men from what you get in the box.  I've never cared too much for the blue-grey around the box (I prefer the green older one), but that goes for all Hasegawa boxes. Forgetting the typo on the title (Gramt instead of Grant) a good box all round.

THE KIT - 4.8 >>

A standard good kit, which starts to show  it's age a bit (beginning of the 1980s). It is a simple kit to build. This is a kit I first made when I was starting in the hobby, and I did again recently (and is still available in shops).  It has good detail, but perhaps it needs a few more attachments, such as a machine gun, and the box on the back should be better done. For those who like to glue (or not to glue them) all the bits like shovels, axes, etc, you will be disappointed as they are in one piece with the main body.

Generally everything fits ok, but with so many reissues some parts of the hull are starting to leave gaps, so you will need a filler or a sand them thoroughly until they fit.

But now, it comes the terrible revelation; this kit has half the proportions all wrong. Yes, I didn't notice until I made this review, but you have only to compare with a real wartime picture;

The turret is far too flat, and the whole body seems too high. I am not picky with these things, but this is just very obvious, at first I thought it was another version! they also suggest that you glue the  visors on the turret in a wrong position. 

EXTRAS - 5.0 >>

They don't give you too many, but you do get two drivers. The problem with them comes that they are American, and even if the Grant was built by the Americans, it was the version made for the British forces. So you can use the drivers for other american tanks, or simply paint them as Britsh and say that they have borrowed some gear from their American friends.

POSSIBILITIES - 3.0 >>

There is not much you can do with it. If you want to escape the plain green for Burma and the desertic tone, there is just some additions to the desertic ones, like this;

And some other variations with two tones of browns, or another one like the one above changing brown for green.

PRICE/VALUE RATIO - 8.0/5.0  >>

Don't be fooled; if you see it for more than 8 pounds, don't buy it, or at least try and compare with other physical retail shops. I bought mine recently for 6 €, and I think that now in a retail shop it isn't very much expensive, but if you search by eBay, the cheapest shipped is 11 GBP.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE - 7.5 >>

"The historical importance score is determined by how many were built, and how much operational service they had, and how much influence they had on the conflicts they were involved in"

After reading too many books about the North African campagin, maybe you tend to maximize the historical weight of some of the types, but the M3 Grant was very important at a stage in the war when the British army didn't have anything capable of blasting the german Panzers. So, even if the type had several problems, and  was soon substituted, it had it's time of glory.

WARGAMING - 7.5 >>

A sturdy and fast build, it is very good for wargaming, although the inaccuracies with the turret and hull will annoy the perfectionists.

OVERALL - 7.0 >> 

It is a nice model, and if you forget the turret proportions (I have now the proportions of the model kit recorded in my mind, and it seems more natural to me the model than the real one!) this is a very nice kit. If you seek more accuracy, there is the Mirage kit, which for 14 GBP shipped roughly you will have lots of detail and no big inaccuracies. For wargaming and newbies in the hobby this kit will be good enough. Then there is also the Airfix one, but it is 1/76 and I think it has even bigger inaccuracies than this one.

                 IMAGES OF FINISHED JOBS

Model kit made by myself.

Another depiction made by Miniaturas Aconcagua

AIRFIX-JB MODELS VICKERS LIGHT TANK MK VI a/b/c 1/76 desert ww2 world war II

Let's review a great small tank, the Vickers from Airfix, which is a reissue of the JB Models kit.

Today we see the box in 3d;

BOX ART >> A nice realistic illustration, a bit simplistic maybe. The JB Models is curious indeed, as it is drawn, it gives the sensation that it is a modern tank. All the same, if I had to choose, I prefer the JB Models box, as it has the style of 90s comicbooks, and the Airfix seems too plain, as though made by computer.

THE KIT - 7.5 >>

A correct and regular kit, a bit deprived of detail compared with kits from other manufacturers. The wheels and the track are all in one piece, which to some modellers might seem outrageous, but I am quite happy with it, as with a so tiny vehicle, and made in 1/76, it would have been very tedious to build the wheels and attach the small track, and probably it would have looked worse.

The kit itself is easy to build, and probably a good starting point for newbies in the hobby

EXTRAS - 4.0 >>

Nothing too exceptional, but at least you can choose between different versions, the short or the long cannon. With a so small vehicle, a couple of figures or a small diorama should have been included.

POSSIBILITIES - 5.0 >>

Besides what is suggested in the box, there are three other possibilities;

A cracked camouflage for the desert, also used in Malta.

Two-tone green for the defense of France.

And finally a three-tone "Indian Pattern" for the desert too. There are also other variations with light blue or maroon instead of purple.

PRICE/VALUE RATIO - 6.0 >>

You can get this tank easily for 10 GBP on eBay, and probably less in retail shops. The JB Model maybe you can find it cheaper, but at least, before the reissue of Airfix, it was about 12 GBP in retail shops, and this, 5 years ago for a tiny tank, put me off buying it, and I really wanted to have this tank.

The price-value ratio is not very good, as it is a very small tank that can leave you a sense of "where have my 10 GBP  gone?". For the amount of plastic involved, they could have given you two kits, like Pegasus do with their tanks. All the same, if you can get it maybe a bit cheaper in a retail store, it is a good model to complete your British tank collection.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE - 8.5 >>

"The historical importance score is determined by how many were built, and how much operational service they had, and how much influence they had on the conflicts they were involved in"

With 1,682 examples built of the type, it is a must. It also helps to represent other marks of Vickers tanks which were used, as this is the only regular release of a Vickers tank, so it is this kit or nothing. 

WARGAMING - 7.5 >>

It is a correct and easy build, with not too many parts, but the price for just one unit (you would probably need at least two for wargaming) and the fact that it is 1/76 (which I don't think it is too important, but a bit annoying with a so small tank) lowers the wargaming score.

OVERALL - 8.0 >> 

With it's historical importance, even if the price and the quality of the kit aren't perfect, it is still a must for all 1/72 WW2 collectors.

IMAGES OF FINISHED JOBS

Model kit made by myself, next to 1/72 figures Esci and Airfix miniatures.