Quad-Cities Scale
Modelers Society’s
April 2007 Newsletter
The meeting minutes:
The attendance was a little light due to folks having some conflicts but 12 managed to make it to the meeting. Wendell Sullivan, a former member, made it to the meeting; it was nice to see him again. Much of the meeting was taken up with the usual last minute organizational stuff for the show. We did manage to find the time to spaz and do some of that model stuff though. Mike Scheel brought a DVD with nothing but 3 hours of take offs and landings from LAX (justplanes.com). There are 195 landings and 105 take off’s. I know it sounds like the heights of geekdom, but it was actually pretty cool. One of the take off’s was a vintage Connie, and old Constellation that made a heck of a light show from its exhausts taking off. Barnes and Noble is carrying a good supply of modeling magazines, including Military Modelling (the new Armor Special issue is on the shelves, I highly recommend this issue), Scale Aircraft Modelling, with the TSR-2 What if? on the cover, Military In Scale, SAMI and After the Battle (also several military vehicle magazines, 2 Brit and 1 US [mws]). Please stop in and pick them up so we can continue getting these hard to get magazines in the Quad Cities. In May we will do the club photo shoot, bring in your models and we will take still and digital photos for you. Bob Horton is working on getting SGM Bowman to come to an upcoming meeting and give a presentation. We will also plan on doing the club barbecue in July as June is the Regional. We need to vote on sponsoring a category or two for the Regional. Due to the lack of a meeting in April, I move to sponsor two categories for the Regional. If you are opposed, please contact me within 1 week of the newsletter going out. I will consider that silence is assent, so no need to contact me if you agree. We had $2,925.22 in the treasury before the show, hopefully, we have more after. There was some nice show and tell stuff. Glen W. had a 1/8 scale 32 Ford in progress. Bob H. brought in plans for his 1/24 scale truck and trailer project. This is modeled after a heavy load trailer that brought in some heavy duty loads to Alcoa. The outside trailer frames have already been roughed out. He is using a Peterbuilt truck kit as the prime mover and the trailer will have 72 wheels. This sucker will be freakin’ huge. Mike Vinson brought in a 1/35 scale KV-1 he built for the club contest. It’s always nice to see finished models on the tables during the meetings. I only wish that some of them where mine. Shawn had lots of interesting things to share. His tip of the day: Use plastic blister packs to make small scale bunkers. He also had one of the foil freshness seals from a can of Folders coffee. The foil is good for making seatbelts, straps, rudder peddles, etc. Very handy stuff. He also brought in his favorite epoxy, DEVCON. It fills gaps; you can sculpt it and bond with it, to include dissimilar materials such as resin, plastic, brass, wood and metal. The two part epoxy has a resin center; you cut off a small chunk and knead it till it changes color, then its ready to go. The working and setting time is about five minutes, handling time is about 15 minutes. It’s $3.99 a tube. Shawn also continued his discussion on modeling figures. This month’s subject was standard bearer figures and flags. He uses woodworking tools to sculpt the flags and give them their characteristic waving look. They don’t leave burrs or rough spots when you carve. To get the plastic thick enough to carve the in the folds, he laminates several pieces of plastic together. He trims the edges of the flag to try to achieve a very thin edge for realism, but leaves them thicker in the middle to improve their durability. Plastic flags are a lot better looking than paper and last much longer. The woodworking tools are available in woodcarving shops, hobby shops or on State Street in Bettendorf at The Woodcraft Shop”. If you need a ride to Des Moines, or are willing to drive a car pool, please call and let me know or post it on the mailing list.
The Quad Cities Scale Model Show:
The show was held at the Clarion Hotel convention center and was successful, both in term of attendance, model entries and finances. We had 55 entrants, 40 vendor tables and nearly 250 models on the tables. We did lose about 20 some odd vendor tables to the Region IV Regional, this loss of revenue caused a reversion back to certificates for Bronze medals, however, our usual plaques and acrylic trophies were awarded for Silver, Gold and special awards. We did make a profit of over $400, however, the cost of bronze trophies would have put us in a near break even or loss status, so the decision to go with certificates was financially sound. We have one plaque left for Best P-38 as there was none entered. I propose that we offer it as a special award at the Lippisch show in May. That should give folks time to build one. There is a new model magazine coming out called ModelX. The editor is Jeff Hearne; many of you know him from his previous job at Fine Scale Modeler. Jeff was in attendance with his photo rig and took photos for the next edition of ModelX magazine, due out on late Summer/early Fall. I have to say that one event made the show for me. As you know, there are always a few people who grumble about not receiving a higher award, or not winning anything at all, but most folks are genuinely happy to win something and I always enjoy the looks on people faces when they get their awards. The best of all though was the young lady, Jeff Hearne’s daughter, if I recall correctly, when she won the Best Junior award for her GeeBee racer. That smile could have melted the polar ice cap and made all the hard work worthwhile for me. As usual, the hard work of the club members and judges was very much appreciated and made the show a success.
Editorial page:
The Quad Cities show is behind us for another year, and it’s time to take a hard look at future shows. While the show was successful, it was not as much so as in past years. Due to a scheduling conflict with the Indy show last year, we cancelled due to potential and actual loss of vendors and attendees. This year, we lost 20 vendor tables to the Region IV Regional in Pittsburg, yup, you heard me, Pittsburg. Who would have thought? This issue is being addressed by the Regional coordinators and we all realize now that shows can have an impact on each other due to loss of vendor tables eve though they are hundreds of miles apart. I doubt that this will occur again. There are other issues to address though. Our attendance was way down, around 250 people attended, down from the 350 or more than usually attend. There are shows every week in Region V and it is having an effect. There were very few people in attendance from Western Iowa and Wisconsin. Is it because there are shows in Des Moines and Madison right after ours? I don’t know, but I suspect that we are reaching show saturation. I discussed this issue with Rick Filosa, president of Lippisch, and Jack Wyzlic from Peoria. We are proposing selecting a weekend (either the traditional Lippisch date in May or our last Saturday in March) and holding the show on that date and alternate locations every year between Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities. We are also proposing that the show chairman come from the host chapter, but that the head judge, raffle coordinator and other positions could be shared among the chapters making the work load a lot easier. This may ensure the long term survival, and possible growth, of both shows. One last point, after being the show chairman for the last 10 years, I am stepping down. There are a number of reasons, first and foremost is that both of my sons will deploy to Iraq this summer and will be deployed until late summer or early fall of 2008. My wife will also deploy sometime this year. If something happens, I need to be available to take care of my family without the worry of managing an event. It is not fair to the club if I can not devote the attention necessary to make it a success, nor is it fair to my family not to be able to devote the attention to them that they require during the upcoming deployments. My job is also demanding more of my time and I spent nearly four weeks on temporary duty prior to this years show and also missed a key monthly planning meeting in February due to travel out of town. And lastly, for the long term good of the club, I need to pass the torch on. My job will be taking me to Detroit, or some other location, in the next three years. I need to train some one else to run the show in the future. The best way to do it is to have some one step up now, and I can work with them through the planning and execution phase so they have a show under their belt before I leave. It’s not that hard to do, the most important skill is probably organizational ability. It’s sort of like building a model; you keep adding pieces until you have something that looks good at the end of the process. The most important piece is the club itself. You have always stepped up and there is always some one ready to lend a helping hand. It’s made it an enjoyable experience and I encourage some one to step up for the next show. I guarantee that the smiles you get when you are handing out awards will be worth it, not to mention the cold beers after the show.
Lost and Found:
This came in from David Rezebek from Lippisch after the show: Lost: 1/48 Revell of Germany F-84F kit. Responds to the name "Thunderstreak. I was hoping that either one of The Farting Fleas picked it up (Dale?) or perhaps it was found later when cleaning up (Glen?)
- Committed To Being A Better Kit Owner If Only Given The Chance,
David
davidrezabek@yahoo.com
The Dates:
April 14: Chapter meeting. Road trip to Des Moines
April 14: IPMS Plastic Surgeons 14th Annual Plastic Surgeons Model Contest. Contact: Greg Metge gmgha@mchsi.com 3635 E.P.True Parkway West Des Moines, IA 50265 our website http://www.ipmsplastic/ surgeons.com
May 5: IPMS/Alexander Lippisch; Hiawatha Community Center, 800 N. Centerpoint Rd., Hiawatha, IA; contact Rick Filosa at rfilosa@mchsi.com
May 12: Chapter meeting. Club photo shoot. Guest speaker?
June 9: No chapter meeting! We will be at the Regional!
June 8-9: Region V Regional, Knights of Columbus Hall 401 West Main Street, Ottawa, IL 61350 Contact: Steve Stohr: 815-434-7279, 2615 Cherie Lane, Ottawa, IL 61350 thestohrs@aol.com
August 22-25: IPMS/USA 2007 National Convention hosted by IPMS/Orange County; Anaheim Marriott, Anaheim, CA; details at www.ipmsusa2007.org
News from Dick Montgomery, IPMS Director of Local Chapters:
Two items: Supporting the Troops & Meteor Productions
Fellow IPMS members;
The “Supporting Our Troops” program is going very well. Please visit the IPMS/USA website to see how individuals and IPMS clubs have contributed models and supplies to our troops. There is now a person that you can contact directly via email at george.salerno@iraq.centcom.mil . LTC Salerno has centralized the efforts on the receiving end. LtC Salerno is working directly with John Noack, 1st V.P of IPMS. You can also contact John at JNoack@IPMSUSA.org . As you can see by the various descriptions offered on the IPMS/USA website, clubs and individuals are pouring items of all types into the delivery system. If your club has not yet made a contribution please consider doing so at your earliest convenience. Telling IPMS about your efforts in word and picture is not “just bragging on yourself”. It is an encouragement that you provide to others who have yet to follow suit, so please document your club efforts and share your stories and pictures with IPMS. Your information will be added to the IPMS/USA website. On the 2nd subject, the IPMS/USA website will soon feature a “gallery” showing the recipients of the 2006 Meteor Productions Certificate program. Meteor provided a $25 gift certificate to an IPMS member from each chartered IPMS/USA club that made a nomination prior to the Dec 31, 2007 deadline. If your recipient is not pictured in the gallery please send an image to dmontgomery@ipmsusa.org. A big Thanks goes to Meteor Productions for this outstanding and generous show of support to IPMS/USA and to its membership.
Happy Modeling,
Dick Montgomery
IPMS Director of Local Chapters
IPMS/Region 5
Regional Convention Info:
Sponsored by: IPMS/S.P.A.S.A.M.
Dates: June 8-9, 2007
Location: Knights of Columbus Hall, 401 Main Street, Ottawa, IL 61350
Themes: Birth of the U.S. Air Force—1947-2007 & 40 Years of Camaro’s and Firebirds
Theme Award: Best USAF Subject 1947-1950 and Best F-Body Camaro/Firebird
King of Battle: Best Artillery Subject
American Gold: Best model from a U.S. kit manufacturer issued up to 1985
“What if”: Best alternative use for a subject
People’s Choice: Best of Show
Judges’ Choice: Best of Show
Special Awards: Best of each major division
Categories: 18 Aircraft, 16 Automotive, 6 Figure, 12 Armor, 6 Ship, 5 Space/Science Fiction, 4 Diorama, 9 Junior, 2 Miscellaneous and Collections and 2 (at least) Splits.
Hello Gang.........................Nice to see you again............. :)
On behalf of the Region Five Convention coming up in June, I would like to take this opportunity to solicit your Chapters participation and support with Awards Sponsorships. Please contact Ron Thorne at ROMMEL897@msn.com for your dibs on a good category. Vendor tables are still available from Steve Storh at NAHobbies@aol.com so, get going before the well runs dry. I will be hanging in the Lizard Lounge singing the Best of Ronnie James Dio. Just look for the Blonde in a cute print........dats me :) Have a great day and see you at the Convention!!!!!!! Who still loves ya???? I do you Geese!!!!!
Jack Bruno IPMS #25313
RETIRED Region 5 Coordinator
2003 Regional Coordinator of the Year
On the subject of “what If?” here is a
little something courtesy of the Will-Cook chapter newsletter:
The idea of a cost-saving multi-purpose combat aircraft first arose as the United States was finally drawn into “The Great War” in 1917. With no aircraft manufacturing industry capable of producing the many different special purpose models needed for the war within the time frame available, the War Department asked for proposals from Glenn Curtiss and William Boeing in 1917 for the “one aircraft you can build immediately that will perform all combat tasks.” Neither could comply because the War Department’s cavalry officers had no specific ideas how it would use the operational aircraft in squadron service at the front. Having read the public Request for Proposals, a new private company led by financier J. P. Morgan built in secrecy, tested, and submitted four prototype aeroplanes for flight test evaluation in January 1918. It was officially designated the JPM. 1c-b5 Snaggletooth. Three of the Snaggletooth prototypes were unfortunately destroyed in the testing program. Two of them were lost along with their pilots, crew, and combat team passengers, killing at least 20 brave men. The third aircraft was destroyed by the remaining pilot and crew on the ground with a box of hand grenades so they would have a good excuse for not having to actually fly it. With the help of a moving company, the fourth prototype was “liberated” from its hangar by company executives fearing the wrath of “J. P.” for their financial losses on the project. Thus, it disappeared into obscurity and public memory until it was discovered in a crumbling warehouse in Yonkers, New York, in 1961 and restored. It is rumored that Robert S. McNamara later learned of its history and claimed the idea as his own for the concept of a single cost-saving aircraft that could be used by all branches of the armed forces—the TFX!
The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum:
Good afternoon gentlemen, about four months ago I rejoined the IMPS after being placed into medical retirement. Almost two years ago I became involved as an occasional volunteer with Illinois's biggest aerospace museum, The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum (OCAM), Rantoul, Illinois, www.aeromuseum.org. My name is Frank S. Gattolin, IPMS number 44811 and I live in Gurnee, Illinois. Since becoming involved at OCAM I've been privileged to make a rather extensive diorama for the museum and repairing many of the museum's existing dioramas. This has been very gratifying because it allows me to use my meager talents to help "something" I love: aviation. It was my career for almost 40-years. I've been a modeler since age five (a Strombecker DC-3 I painted red). Recently, the museum director gave the green light to enhance the existing Chanute AFB Hall of History. Another fellow and I are in the preliminary stages of planning the changes for this hall. This is the reason I'm writing each of you. As a fellow modeler I'm sure we share many model-related things in common; one of which is enjoying building models and trying to figure out what to do with them. Well, if any of you or your fellow chapter members shares this I have an opportunity that will satisfy the desire to build scale model airplanes and have a place to permanently display them: OCAM. The previously mentioned hall of history covers the span of time Chanute AFB (C-AFB) was operational- 1917 to 1994. The hall of history is about 100-feet long. The plan is to have the hall contain not only a photographic history of C-AFB, but also relevant artifacts, time lines with the type of activities associated with the time line and model dioramas depicting certain time periods at C-AFB such at the mid-1930's. I've volunteered to seek other fellow modelers to help construct these dioramas (doing this with just a few fellow modelers would take longer than the museum has scheduled for project completion). And, quite frankly, I could not think of any group of modelers who would be able to create the models and related dioramas than folks who are in IPMS. The dioramas will have to fit into a display case that is roughly 28-inches by 64-inches (accurate dimensions later). The height available within the case is about 20-inches. The cases will be illuminated. The number of dioramas needed for this hall is between six and seven. My thought is that a diorama would be a good chapter project that could lead to other OCAM-IPMS activities (such as model contests, a model museum, etc.). This is a good opportunity to share your collective modeling skills with many others who'll see your fine work. Each diorama case will have a plaque giving credit to the builders. I would appreciate hearing from you fellows about the feasibility of such a project along with any questions you may have. Thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Frank G.
Kit Review: 1/48 Tamiya Crusader Mk. I/II
Reviewed by Glen Broman, IPMS Quad Cities
I like British armor. Is that so wrong? During the vendor set up at the Quad Cities show last week, I was walking by the stack of boxes that Winston Vermilyea from Wings and Treads was setting up and I saw this newly released kit calling for me like an orphaned kitty at the animal shelter. Who could resist? Despite the fact that I hate the freakin’ die cast hulls, I really like Tamiya’s small scale armor. The Crusader is primarily famous for its role in the Western desert battles, although later marks also served on in Italy and France. The major difference between the Mark I and Mark II was the small machine gun turret on the Mark I. Having both options in the kit is a nice touch. I am planning on building the Mark I because I like the look of that little turret up front. While the tank itself was a moderate success at best, the machine gun turret was remarkably unsuccessful. It tended to fill with fumes when the machine gun was fired and was incredibly cramped. Certainly not my idea of a good time. Starting with the worst first, this has that stupid die cast hull, which I hate. The rest of the kit is a gem. The instructions are clear and well laid out and each sprue is packaged separately. Starting with the running gear, the positive impressions made by the well molded parts will get you wanting to start building this puppy right away. The road wheels have the perforations molded in on the rubber portion of the wheel done very cleanly. The tracks are link and length and the level of detail and finesse is very nice. A pin wash and dry brush will really bring out the detail on these tracks and make them pop. The headlight guards are very petite was an appearance that is very close to scale. I would recommend a PE saw to remove them as they look very fragile. The upper hull is nicely molded and has two screws to fasten it to the hull. Super glue will be required to glue the plastic upper hull to the metal lower hull. The remainder of the upper hill pieces and tools are again very cleanly molded with very nice detail. A piece of treated string is supplied for the tow cables. The turret parts are very well done and the 2 pounder main gun and machine guns even have the ends molded open so there is no requirement to drill them out. Two different gun mantlets are provided, one for the Mark I and one for the Mark II. You will have to add a radio aerial from sprue or wire, as the antenna base is all that’s provided in the kit. Based on my past experience wit Tamiya kits, and the quality of the moldings, I don’t see any potential assembly problems with the assembly of this kit. The instructions provide a little bit of written marking information, mostly stating that machines in the UK were painted a “dark green”, and tanks in the desert were painted sand, with some having a charcoal grey disruptive pattern. The instructions also have side view painting and marking examples for two Mark I’s in overall sand, both from unknown units in North Africa and three Mark II’s, one is also an unknown unit, the other two are from the 7th Armoured Brigade and the 1st Armoured Division. One would think with the massive amount of available references on the North African campaign that “known” units would not have been a problem. The marking information also barely touches the possibilities of available markings that you can do wit this kit. Many schemes are possible, home training units in overall green and brown, the famous Western Desert three color Caunter scheme may also be a possibility, as well as overall sand, sand and dark grey and sand and dark brown. One has only to start checking references to come up with some interesting schemes and markings. One interesting addition to the instructions is a template for making what Tamiya describes as storage rails. I believe that these were actually installed as rails to hold a camp screen that made the tank look like a truck from the air. Of course, once the camo was off, the crew turned it in to s storage rail. It would have been quite simple for Tamiya to add these parts; however, a template for the parts is a nice touch. This kit will make a nice addition to anyone’s collection.
Kit Review: 1/25 scale AMT 1939/1940 Ford
Reviewed by Glen Broman, IPMS Quad Cities
This is not exactly a new release, this kit originally came out in 1999, but I just found it while rummaging through a pile of kits at the Quad Cities Scale Model show. I do like the classic look of the 39 and 40 Ford Turtleback designs. This kit has the option of being built as accustom, street rod or the Tudor deluxe sedan, so you can go wit what tickles your fancy. In my case, I am building the classic Tudor. I will be adding a bit of a twist though as I plan to paint it in overall Battleship grey as a Navy staff car at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Does any one remember the classic John Wayne movie “In Harms Way”? The original 39 Ford was quite a car back in the day, offering such amenities as a “three on the tree”, sealed beam headlights, separate parking lights, tandem windshield wipers, a cigar lighter and ashtrays both front and rear. The directions are pretty clear with the options clearly marked for the deluxe and standard version 85 HP V-8, the 394 Olds V-8 for the custom and drag versions. There will be some parts left over for your spares box no matter which version you choose. Color call outs are given in the instructions for each part. The chrome sprue is packaged separately to prevent scratches and all of the other parts and sprues are packaged separately to prevent damage. There are a total of ten rubber molded tires provided; two are racing slicks, four Goodyear customs and four standards. No whitewalls are provided. The tires are cleanly molded with no visible seam lines to clean up. Overall, the molding is very clean and nicely done, with nice detailing. No flash is visible and past experience with ERTL/AMT kits that very little cleaning up will be required. Given the popularity of these cars, there is a huge potential for painting and tricking this kit out. There are only a few decals for his kit, mostly for the drag version, consisting of flames. Ya gotta have flames. Overall, this looks like a fun little build with lots of painting options.
Kit review: 1/700 scale Dragon Premium edition USS San Diego CL-53
Reviewed by Glen Broman, IPMS Quad Cities
The USS San Diego is one of the new Dragon Premium kits which include PE parts, very handy as you can build almost anything without PE parts and they will look good, but ship kits just have to have PE railings and other little tidbits to look good. Getting a first class kit and a PE fret for $20 is a heck of a good deal, most PF aftermarket frets run about $20 alone for a 1/700 scale ship. Anyway, back to the ship. The San Diego was a light cruiser specifically designed for anti-aircraft work. It has eight twin five inch dual purpose mounts and a butt load of 1.1 inch, 20mm and 40mm guns. One of the sister ships of the USS San Diego, the USS Juneau, was the ship that the Sullivan Brothers from Iowa were serving on when she was sunk in the Solomon’s Chain with the loss of all five brothers. The decals for the Juneau are included on the decal sheet, along with the Atlanta and San Juan. The kit is very well molded and has both full and waterline options. There are a lot of parts in this kit, enough to model all of the ships of the class and the instructions show the extra parts as shaded, so you know that the old spare parts box will be busting at the seams after you get done with this kit. The PE fret is packaged separately with the decals on a piece of hard cardboard stock top prevent damage. The PE fret includes the railings, radar, 1.1 inch AA mounts and depth charge racks. The five inch dual mounts have the guns molded separately and will look very nice when done. It looks like the blast bags are molded with the gun, so a tiny amount of filler or liquid glue may be needed to close them off. Overall, the plastic detail parts are done very well, considering the scale of the kit and the difficulty of achieving scale thickness with any kind of actual ability to remove the part for the sprue and glue it on without destroying it. Even the 20mm guns are molded with the shield as a separate part. Prepare to go blind building this puppy. You may want to look at replacing the ships masts with thin brass tube for a better appearance and have more structural rigidity. The instructions provide three schemes from different periods in the war. A Measure 12 with splotches from 1942-43, a measure 31a/24d from 1944 and a Measure 21 from 1945. One thing that I have a problem with is that the fit of the ship probably changed after each period in the yard, which also probably coincide with the changes in Measures that the ship was painted. None of this is pointed out in the directions, nor is there any info on what weapons fit goes with each version. I suspect that the kit as marketed is the 1942-43 version due the 1.1 inch AA mounts in the instructions. I believe that this went obsolete rather early in the war and would have been landed prior to her 1944 refit. My advice would be to check your references before you decide on a version. Other than this niggle, this looks like a good kit.
Kit Review: Academy 1/35 Scale Kit No. 13208; M551 Sheridan "Gulf War"; (457 in sand colored styrene, 2 in steel colored vinyl, 1 section of nylon screen); retail price US $40.
Advantages: adds parts for M551A1 series vehicle and configuration for "Desert Storm"
Disadvantages: No corrections to errors in previous kit
Rating: Recommended
Recommendation: For all modern American armor fans
I have to feel a bit disappointed in Academy. They have shown themselves to have some of the best ideas and molding going in today's market and yet their research tends to not be applied to their kits, which is a shame. Three kit lines which could have been big winners were their M3 light tanks, their M3 medium series, and their M551 Sheridans.
When the M551 Sheridan Vietnam kit (No. 13011) was released
two years ago, it was a initially a very welcome model as it replace the awful
Tamiya kit and Academy's even worse clone of that kit. But once it got into the
hands of the modelers, it showed a number of problems with shapes and details
which was unfortunate. Its more annoy flaws were some shape problems with the
turret, a length and angle problem at the rear of the hull, and errors in the
location of the suspension arms. While I personally can find the first two
errors (the engine deck is too long, resulting in too steep an angle of the
rear upper hull plate) the only error I can find with the basic suspension
geometry are some hollow areas behind the road wheels I don't seem to find on
any of the production vehicles. This kit does correct some of the detail errors
of the Vietnam kit and provides some new bits of use. Some items like the
AN/VVS-3 searchlight lens are still missing, which is another annoyance that
could have been fixed, however. As I noted when I reviewed the original kit,
some items were skimped over in order to make a reasonably producible kit. One
point concerns the road wheels, which have a very annoying lip around the rims
(a sure dust and mud magnet) whereas the kit's wheels are simple dished
affairs. There is a large hole in the belly but it is NOT a motorization hole;
this is the vehicle's belly escape hatch (there is a shape like this which the
belly armor leaves a cutout for, figuring that the center of the hull is not as
likely as the bow or sides to suffer mine effects; however, it is much farther
forward so this should just be cemented in place, filled and forgotten.) One
nice touch is the provision of buckles and strap tie downs on the C
(suspension) sprues, which will be very handy items for modelers to use. As for
the kit, it provides the main sprues from the 1-11th ACR Vietnam model with a
large new sprue of parts for the A1 and upgrades of earlier bits and two from
the very nice US Machine Gun Set by Academy; this vehicle actually comes with
three .50 caliber M2HB guns and two .30 caliber Brownings, so it provides four
of them for the spares box up front. It also comes with the OVM sprue from the
M4 series kits and more extra bits. Some
new basic parts are included, such as new idle mounts and idler arms as well as
shackles and hull details. The kit does provide most of the detail changes
between the M551 and the M551A1. The massive smoke grenade launchers are
replaced by standardized modular units as used by all other US vehicles today,
but the brackets for the older ones are now also provided. Also included are
the laser rangefinder and detail changes to the entire "crow's nest"
commander's station and a new bustle rack which appears to be a close copy of
the one used by the 82nd Airborne Division vehicles. Maddeningly the Academy folks
have provided a number of spare bits to dress up the model, such as a spare
wheel, fuel and water cans, ammo cans (including the popular 20mm boxes used
for stowage) but then they provide ten links of track. Other than some ejection
pin marks on the inner face of the links, they are more accurate than the two
vinyl runs which come with the kit. Somewhere along the line Academy either
took their dimensions from a Sheridan with worn-out tracks or missing its
rubber pads, for their tracks come without them. This is more than a minor
annoyance, as correcting it will call for either getting the Legend Sheridan
track and suspension kit or a set of Fruil tracks. Decals are provided for three different Sheridans from 3-73
Armor, 82nd Airborne Division, during Desert Shield. (My readings were that the
Sheridans were used for security and did not directly participate in combat
operations once the "heavy" divisions arrived in Saudi Arabia, but
the 82nd's Sheridans were the first "boots on the ground"
armor for US forces.) However, the two named vehicles are "Die Hard"
(listed as C-11) and "Drifter" (B-34) which should have been part of
D Company, and photos of "Deathstalker" (D-34) seem to bear this out.
I could be wrong (as most of the photos of 3-73 Armor with the flashier
markings were taken much later in the campaign; upon
arrival they were just quickly repainted in FS30277 Sand and not the later
shade) but few units rarely stray from American Army traditions (company letter
is the first letter of the vehicle's name.) The geometric shape markings
likewise indicate different subunits and
platoons. Overall, except for the ultra-purist the only really problematic area
of this kit are the skinny and incorrect tracks, and most modelers will
probably be happy to build this kit to complete their collection. I have seen
one individual, dim of reasoning perhaps, state the Tamiya kit is actually
better but that is pure fantasy. I suggest he seek out the corrected version I
built of that model that was presented in Fine Scale Modeler with one photo
showing the Tamiya kit's hull enclosing the ENTIRE hull of a correct size 1/35
scale Sheridan before making such boorish comments. Thanks to Bob Lewen of
MRC/Academy for the review sample.
April 8, 2007