This kit from REVIRESCO
MODELS represents the French WWI St. Chamond tank (early version with the
cylindrical MG turrets), and was donated by one of their distributors. These
are white metal 1/72 wargaming models, and really exemplify the term "heavy
metal", being quite hefty. As such it is a bit cluncky and fit of parts
is not 100%. Also the detail may be a bit soft (i.e. rivets are not present).
But for a tabletop piece that can stand up to wargaming torture these are
a good choice.
The camo scheme is based on information from the LANDSHIPS website, being a rather gawdy application of cream, mid-green, dark brown, and black. Semi-dried up sand-colored paint served as a mud coating on the lower surfaces. I may add some suitable decals if I find them. The kit included an optional headlamp which I chose to omit. On hindsight, I should have filed grooves in the sides of the tracks to indicate individual links; as is they have the rubber-band look of vinyl tracks.
ONE of the distributors
for REVIRESCO MODELS sent in a
copy of their Austin-Putilov half-track armored car kit. These are metal
1/72 wargaming kits. As such they are quite sturdy and heavy pieces (so
you'll need a good solid table to game on) designed for handling more than
for display quality accuracy. Dimensions of some parts are thick and some
detail is rough. Notable are mold-lines on the turrets that maybe I should
have sanded down (but was afraid to obscure surface detail). The kit does
not come with instructions, so dry-fitting the parts to determine proper
positioning and fit is essential. Luckily there are not too many parts,
so figuring out the assembly is not too big a challenge.
The Austin-Putilov was a modified version of the British Austin armored car, the repositioning of the MG turrets being the most obvious change. Rear axle tracks were added to some vehicles to cope with the harsh Russian weather. Not finished in time for WWI action, they were used in the Russian Civil War, and maybe into WWII (in this latter case a Soviet green color might be more appropriate). The camo scheme and decals I used are based on information from the LANDSHIPS website, an excellent source for WWI modelling info.
The folks at HAT INDUSTRIE
sent me this sample of their M10 wargaming kit. It consists of 12 parts
and is a quick assembly. This makes it easy to put together several platoons
of these vehicles for your tabletop adventures. I only made a few additions;
an olive drab paintjob, decals from the spares box, an antenna, some crewmen,
and basic weathering. That's really all you need for a serviceable gaming
piece.
Those of you you want to make these kits into a display quality piece will have to perform some more modifications, and there are several examples at the Hat website page for their WWII kits. Additional interior details, extra stowage, track surface detail, spare track sections, etc, can all be considered to make a more accurate model.
The actual kits come packaged two in a box and are an affordable alternative to other plastic kits of this popular tank destroyer.
Kenneth T. Overby
(proprietor of Cpl Overby's Motorpool) gave me this kit of the Jagdpanzer
IV to build and review. There is already a preview at Doug's "On The
Way" site.
This is a nice solid kit with very good casting. Small parts require some cleanup and removal of excess resin, but the medium is good to work with. The outer road wheels, idlers and drive sprockets are separate pieces. Both hatches on the hull top can be left open.
I added the antenna, decals, and figure. it sports the ambush camo scheme with heavy sand-colored dusting. Many of these vehicles also carried zimmerit coating.
If any of you manufacturers are browsing this site and would like to see your kits displayed here, please contact me to discuss which kits you might have that would complement the museum, and you can then send me the kits for review.
You can e-mail me at storto10@comcast.net
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