Kit Ref: 03091
Review by Bill Curtis (March 2011)
Our thanks to Revell Germany for the review sample: www.revell.de 
Keep an eye out in Build Now for this one…
Initial assessment…
First impression of the kit is a box 385 x 245 x 60mm which contains nine sprues in tan colour plastic, a circular clear sprue, decal sheet for two vehicles and a booklet with construction information. The box type is one of my least favourite as it’s an end opening type as I like the lidded type box which can be used to store parts during the construction
On checking the instruction sheet it is noted that a good number of parts are not required as these come from the previous wheeled vehicle so the spares box benefits.
Accuracy…
The kit compares to the plans I have very well. Photographs of the engine show extra detail but this can easily be added.
Quality…
The kit has no flash, fine detail which is nicely moulded with no knock out marks on the wood effect and as far as I can see, all others that are present should be hidden when the kit is assembled. The exception is the supports for the planks which act as seats but these can either be filled or filed to eradicate. The clear sprue has windows and light fitting which are clear with no distortion.
The tracks are well defined and come as link and length with sag moulded in situ and should look good when fitted. If you want to use other tracks, several after market items are available, both metal and plastic single link type which will give realistic sag.
Instructions…
The instruction sheet is fifteen pages of A5 paper which gives a potted history, build codes, colour codes, sprue layout, the assembly and finally the painting guide. The guide is well laid out and follows a logical sequence but I would suggest studying it carefully before starting. The painting guide shows two vehicles:
- 334 Infanterie Division Italy Tri colour camouflage
- 12 Infanterie Division USSR Solid Grey (Panzer Grey)
Decals…
There is a small decal sheet for two vehicles as mentioned above which also contains dials for the dash, Divisional signs, no smoking warning signs if carrying fuel as well as distance and load stencils. The decals look to be well printed and in good register.
Conclusions…
Well this is not going to be a kit to put together in a couple of days as the parts count is high. A build of sub assemblies will help as will patience and a logical approach to the build, which in the end will produce a great model of an unusual subject. If you plan on leaving the engine cover up then the engine will need a bit more detail.
This will grace any collection of soft skin vehicles and coming in at 22.4cm long, it’s quite a size and I look forward to building it soon. I hope to see Revell releasing more of this type of kit in the future as there are still many wheeled and half tracks not produced as injection kits.
Highly recommended
Bill C.