Author: nomadmodel

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1:35 Armor In Box Reviews

RFM Panzer III Ausf. J In Box Review

Want to see my build of this kit? Click here: https://nomadmodels.wordpress.com/2023/10/03/rfm-pz-iii-ausf-j/

One of my first ever “mainstream” kits I’ve built was Tamiya’s Panzer III Ausf. L. Ever since then, I’ve been a huge sucker for the tank. In my opinion the Panzer III was the most over looked tank of the second world war and as such, it’s got a soft spot in my heart. Funnily enough, I didn’t intend to pick this kit up. I originally wanted to give Tamiya’s new Marder III a go, however it wasn’t in stock at my LHS. Bought for $70 CAD, This kit is a little steep price wise for what you’re getting. The Pz. III isn’t a huge tank and I was pretty surprised by how few sprues there were in the box. Anyway, let’s get into it, here’s my inbox review for Rye Field Model’s Panzer III Ausf. J.

Kit Features: 16/20

The kit certainly isn’t lacking for specialty features. It includes individual length tracks, a generous amount of photo etch, and a few other goodies. One thing I was particularly happy to see was the ability to open and close lots of different hatches. RFM also gives the builder the option of a workable suspension if they desire, a increasingly common addition to kits these days. The “Figures” included in the kit are interesting to say the least, essentially just geometric shapes, they are only useful as a nice novelty and not something most builders would want to include in their build. The figures are a bit of a catch-22, odds are if you’re the kind of builder who stages figures in your model, you do it because you want some additional realism/life into the scene. The problem is that they are inherently unrealistic and don’t fit well in the build. If anything you can use them as painting dummies in the future to practice your figure painting skills. Besides that though, the kit really provides you with some nice accessories to play with. Of particular note are the tracks, which, don’t have any injector pin marks and will require little cleanup.

Quality of Molding: 45/50

The molding of the kit is definitely the best part of this build, the details are crisp and it’s obvious RFM put a lot of effort into this area. Small details are well defined and clearly visible. Of particular note are the weld seams molded into the plastic. In my opinion these are some of the best injection molded seams found today. Another specific area of note is the detail found in the running gear. The “Continental” branding on the tire can clearly be made out, furthermore, patches of weld beads can be seen on the inside of the wheels. With typical kits, the bottom of the tank will often consist of a “tub” that the suspension can be attached to before closing the top. In this kit however RFM has opted to split up this construction method, allowing for greater detail in individual pieces. Seeing as this is a 2020 release, this kind of detail is expected and the kit absolutely delivers. Points are only lost due to the absence of any texture in the molding.

Instructions: 19/20

I was pretty happy with the instructions upon my first impression. Printed on a large booklet they feature 3d colour CAD illustrations of various build processes to aid with part placement. The instructions also indicate where on parts glue should be applied, this is particularly helpful with the track construction. The only issue I think may be a problem is that they seem quite busy. They may be hard to follow for some builders.

Miscellaneous: 8/10

The kit gives the modeller a pretty wide selection of markings to choose from, all of which fit pretty neatly on a small sheet of decals. While these specific options aren’t my cup of tea, I have to say RFM did a good job providing options. The only issue I have with the markings is that they don’t indicate unit or location on the color plates. For $70 this is a pretty healthy kit feature wise.

Total: 88/100

There’s no other way to say it, this is a really capable kit at a reasonable price. This kit is leaps and bounds better than the other J variants on the market. I have no doubt it’ll build up to be a good looking Panzer III. It comes with a good helping of accessories and is loaded with detail. Definitely try to pick this one up.

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Aircraft

Tamiya He-219 “Uhu” (Part 2)

In stark contrast with the Mosquito, steady progress has been made on the Uhu. I’m committing myself to the build and have managed to put in at least some time into it every night this past week. Not all of the process has been fun unfortunately. For all the praise that Tamiya gets about the quality of their newer kits, the same quality is hard to find in this one. The engine nacelles were particularly problematic seeing as there are 5-6 different parts that need to be positioned exactly right to ensure proper fit of the others. Unfortunately for my build, the wings came ever so slightly warped meaning that after being completed there was a rather large gap in the engine nacelle.

This was fun to sand down and re-scribe.

The main fuselage was definitely better fit wise but when it came to join the halves together I found a very slight gap near the nose. It’s very faint and only slightly noticeable. Non the less, I applied some Mr. Surfacer for the main body seam and sanded it down over the next couple days. it wasn’t nearly as difficult to get to as the engine gap but just tedious work instead.

Panel lines had to be re-scribed after this filler was sanded away.

For the main fuselage cannons I drilled out the barrels pretty easily, it adds a lot to them I found and was a pretty easy process. I’m actually not sure what kind of process was intended for these since they’re fitted pointing upwards in the main body of the aircraft. whatever the reason, they look a lot better now than how they did straight out the box.

I also wanted to add some detail around the flame hiders provided by the kit. Out of the box, they are pretty standard, nothing special. I instead wanted to change things up and add some texture definition and depth to these parts. To start I trimmed down the locator pin on one end so that they would appear deeper than normal. Secondly I drilled a hole in the intake side to again, add depth to the part. Next I took a page out of Nightshift’s book and did some texturing on the part itself. I figured that the Luftwaffe wouldn’t have used any exceptionally durable metal for this piece (especially this late in the war) and as such it would have rusted and worn easily. For the finished product I’ll be going for a rusted finish on this piece to really spice up the final model.

In terms of additional accessories planned for the build, I originally had only planned to use Master Model’s brass Fug 220 radar set. When comparing the out of the box radar and the brass part, there’s really no comparison. The Master part really looks fantastic. It’s only drawback is how fiddly it’ll be to assemble. I’m already not looking forward to it. One thing to note, Although the Fug 220 was mounted on the He-219 and it being on this model is absolutely correct, Master doesn’t list the He-219 as a aircraft compatible with the set. Keep this in mind when searing for aftermarket accessories for your own He-219. I also picked up Eduard’s resin wheels for the build. Originally I didn’t plan on it but just saw that they were in stock when I was getting the radar set. I’m really glad I did, the OOB gear is really pathetic and Eduard’s edition is really next level stuff. I can’t wait to see them on the finished model.

In terms of updates that’s pretty much it for now, the wings will be joined on soon. The gear, props and canopy all have to be started so I’ll be getting to those next. In all likely hood I’ll probably mask up the canopy next and try to get a primer coat down first before moving onto the gear. I’m confident that I’ll get it done within a month but I’m still not sure how long the painting and weathering process is going to take, It’s a big model and I’ve got big plans as to the type of finish I’m going for.

Fangs Out.
Categories
Aircraft

Tamiya He-219 “Uhu” (Part 1)

Next on the Bench was Tamiya’s late war German night fighter the He-219 “Uhu” or “Owl”. Construction started with the cockpit of course and Tamiya was nice enough to supply a metal “tub” for all the major cockpit components, this should be pretty helpful to keep the nose down. After putting a couple of nights at the bench in I have to say, I’m already quite disappointed with the kit. Not the typical Tamiya fit as it seems as I had some issues joining the wings together.

I am however quite happy with the level of detail so far, especially on the radio operator’s station! really looking forward to detailing the cockpit up. I’ve also opted to get a aftermarket Fug 220 radar set which, after applied on the nose of the aircraft, will really stand out. I also picked up a set of resin wheels from Eduard. I’ll be posting comparison pictures a little later on in the build.

For the priming I’m trying out Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black. I found the Vallejo Black primer I used on the Mossie peeled way, way too easily. I found while using the new primer I was still getting a overly rough surface texture even after thinning with leveling thinner. I think I’ll have to look more into what I might be doing wrong airbrushing wise. I suspect the paint is drying before reaching the model, but more investigation is needed.

That’s all for now, For this build I really want to get consistent bench time in. I’m aiming to have it all completed within a Month!

follow the build page on Scalemates.com! https://www.scalemates.com/profiles/mate.php?id=93444&p=projects&project=95754

Categories
Aircraft

Tamiya Mosquito B Mk.IV/PR Mk.IV

After wayyyyyy to long on the workbench Tamiya’s gem of a 1999 kit has finally vacated the table. In all honestly it’s been a slog finishing the Mossie. Not because of any issue with the build itself, but more so the lacking motivation to finish. I used Vallejo acrylics for the finish and tried out color modulation for the first time. A dark wash was applied over top a gloss coat as well as some various fuel and oil streaking effects from Mig.

Now on to the Uhu!

Categories
Armor In Box Reviews

Trumpeter E-50 Flakpanzer In Box Review

I picked up Trumpeter’s Flakpanzer earlier this summer after it caught my eye in my LHS. I’m a huge sucker for Paper Panzers in general so I knew when I saw it that I has to pick it up, especially when it was on sale for only $40 CAD. Despite my enthusiasm for the subject it was clear to me that the kit was pretty simplistic overall and lacked detail found in newer kits. For a kit pushing 10 years however, my initial impression was that it was of acceptable quality for the modeller who isn’t afraid of re-doing weld seams or flame cuts.

Kit Features: 11/20

Suffice to say, the kit is pretty barebones. In terms of extra things added, Trumpeter includes a small photoetched fret and a copper wire for the tow cable. The kit doesn’t include any single link tracks or any other extra goodies for the builder. Because of the sparse accessories the kit’s rating in this category was quite limited. Only the inclusion of the metal wire saves the kit from a neutral 10/20 score.

Quality of Molding: 28/50

Put simply, it’s evident that the kit is a decade old. At first glance a lot of detail looks passable. There are weld seams, flame cuts, ect however after looking a bit closer it’s clear that the small details are lacking, especially when compared to modern releases. As with the kit features, the score here is somewhat low. The score is lowered further due to the fact that there were obvious molding errors on the hull as detailed in the photos included. If this kit were to be released in 2018 or 2019 then it would receive a score 10 to 15 points lower.

Instructions: 10/20

The instructions here are a bit strange and could have been clearer. To start, for some reason the second step is to glue the tracks together, even before completing the suspension assembly. To continue, the instructions do not clearly divide the steps during the construction phase making it easy to confuse parts to be added. It’s also worth mentioning that the instructions are very short at only 11 pages, evident of the low part count. In terms of the positives, Trumpeter does include a color profile of the box art although considering that no markings are included the usefulness of the colour profile is limited.

Miscellaneous: 4/10

Seeing as the Flakpanzer only existed on paper, Trumpeter does not include decals for the kit. While this decision was understandable, at the very least the kit could have included various balkenkreuz for markings, giving the modeller a bit more freedom. Furthermore, the rubber tracks that were included were clearly deformed and will require significant work to straighten out.

Total: 53/100

It really pained me to give this kit such a low score, largely due to the fact that I’m a huge fan of the subject. For the build I’m already planning a list of accessories to add as it’s clear that OOB the kit has significant shortcomings.