Review By: Neil Pepper (December 2011)
Our thanks to Revell for supplying our review sample.
About the Boxer
Stealth design, high mobility, modern observation equipment optimum protection and high-performance armaments are key elements in critical situations. The armoured personnel carrier (GTK) Boxer is superior to all vehicles of this class on precisely these points.
It is protected against most known mines, artillery and bombardment by up to 30 mm munitions. A further feature is the arrangement of the so-called mission modules, whereby the Boxer is suitable for a multiplicity of missions.
The driver’s position always remains in the vehicle itself (driving module) the rear structure (mission module), however this can be exchanged according to the requirements of the mission (see the film below). This has great advantages, both for the later development of new mission modules and for maintenance and flexibility.
The 530 kw (710 hp) 8-cylinder MTU diesel engine takes the 33 ton vehicle up to 103km/h. The Boxer can even be transported by air with the Airbus A400M military transport.
Deliveries of 272 Boxer for the German army started in September 2009. The infantry first received the Group Transport Vehicle (GTFz), followed by the command and ambulance versions. Depending on the version, the Boxer replaces the Fuch’s and the M113 armoured carriers.
The Netherlands, with whom the Boxer was jointly developed, will also introduce various vehicles from 2011.
The GTFz has a core crew of three men, to which can be added an eight-man infantry unit together with standard armaments such as machine gun, 36 gun and anti-tank rocket launcher.
The GTFz itself is armed with a guided weapon station 200 (FLW 200), which can be equipped optionally with a 12.7 mm MG or 40 mm grenade launcher and is operated internally with armoured protection. The multiple launcher is located on the weapons station.
Thanks to the reversing camera, the driver can take fast evasive action behind a wall of smoke he generates for the purpose. For the infantry, who in principle dismount to fire, for the first time the Boxer represents a fully armoured personnel carrier.
For many years the riflemen sat on the platform of the LKW 2t.gl Unimog, now they dismount via the rear ramp and no longer jump over the side wall.
The GTK Boxer is therefore an improvement in all respects.
A bit of reference for you…
The Kit
The box is big and, to be honest, I thought a little over the top until I opened it and found nine dark green sprues ,one clear and eight rubber tyres and a decal sheet.
The rubber tyres probably fall into the Marmite category – you either love ‘em or hate ‘em, but that’s what you get and they look fine to me.
The parts look very nice crisp and in full detail; little looks to be missing and I can’t see a lot of flash or sink marks anywhere, though I guess I may eventually come across some and will let you when I start my build.
I’d like to let the pictures of this kit speak for themselves, so here’s a gallery of all that’s on offer in this impressive new Revell offering. Click on the images to enlarge them and see what you think for yourself.
Instructions
You can see above that these are laid out in the usual Revell style, with Revell Color paint references. The exploded diagram views look logical and you will probably have your own build sequence, but it will be worth checking-in with the suggested assembly sequence as the kit is comprehensive.
Decals
The quality looks pretty good and on a par with recent releases, which bodes well for the forthcoming build.
The only thing for me now is to see how it all goes together and to let you all know how I get on. The build should start pretty soon in Build Now, so keep a close eye on that area of SMN.
The Verdict
FEATURE STAR RATING (out of five)
Quality of moulding ****
Accuracy ****
Instructions ***
Decals ****
Subject choice ****
Overall ****
Neil P.