L’Ural 4320 est un camion 6×6 tout-terrain, multi-usages, possédant un moteur diesel et une carrosserie blindée. Démarrée en 1977, la production se poursuit de nos jours.
Engin simple et sans prétention, le véhicule est capable de franchir des tranchées et des fossés, de franchir des pentes au pourcentage élevé, ainsi que d’autres obstacles importants.
Le kit de 157 pièces se compose de deux grandes grappes en plastique gris clair exemptes de toute trace de flash, d’une petite grappe pour les pièces transparentes et de six pneus en caoutchouc noir. Les pièces sont finement moulées et très détaillées. Les petites pièces demanderont une attention particulière lors de leur dégrappage, afin de ne pas les casser. Les pièces transparentes (vitres et phares) sont limpides.
Les instructions de montage, claires et précises, sont fournies sous la forme d’un livret de 8 pages format A4, en noir et blanc.
A noter que Zvezda offre de réaliser un camion bâché ou non.
La petite planche de décals fournit numéros de plaques et insignes pour deux camions.
Le guide de peinture est comme d’habitude renseigné sur une feuille recto-verso de format A5 avec les références peintures Zvezda et Tamiya.
Voici un véhicule qu’il sera peut être difficile de faire ressortir dans un diorama en tant que pièce centrale, mais qui trouvera sans aucun doute de nombreux postes d’accompagnant de figurines, véhicules blindés et même avions et hélicoptères, et qui semble-t-il ne posera guère de problème de montage.
Review by Daniel Clamot ; pictures by Daniel Clamot et Zvezda.
Review kit generously donated by Zvezda’s European importers.
Le T-72 est un char de combat conçu à l’origine comme une version simplifiée du T-64, moins chère tout en étant plus fiable et destinée à équiper massivement les armées du pacte de Varsovie. Plus de 25.000 T-72 sont sortis des diverses chaînes de fabrication.soviéto-russes, d’Europe centrale, du Moyen-Orient et de l’Inde. Les versions les plus récentes ont également porté l’appellation de T-90.
Le T-72B3 est une modification du T-72 développée en 2011 par Uralvagonzavod, avec un canon 2A46M-5.
Pas moins de 191 pièces composent ce petit kit que nous propose Zvezda ! Elles sont réparties sur quatre grappes de plastique gris clair et une plus petite en noir, semi-rigide, pour les chenilles.
Aucune trace de flash, autant le signaler tout de suite…
Toutes les pièces sont très fines, très bien moulées et bien détaillées. Le dégrappage des plus fines demandera un minimum d’attention et de délicatesse pour ne pas les casser. L’ensemble est remarquable, au point que l’auteur de ces lignes ne voit pas l’intérêt d’une planche de photodécoupe en aftermarket.
Les chenilles devront être mises en forme lors de la mise en place et il faudra également être délicat pour traiter cette opération.
Les instructions sont livrées en noir et blanc, sous forme de « plan » en 6 pages de format A4.
Selon son habitude, Zvezda fournit les schémas de peinture sous forme d’un feuillet A5 recto-verso, en donnant les références des peintures Zvezda et Tamiya. Une petite planche de décals fournit les insignes mais aussi une série de chiffres pour les codes d’identification ; le surplus de ces chiffres sera conservé avec plaisir.
Les amateurs de blindés modernes et russes au 1/72 seront ravis par cette nouveauté.
Review by Daniel Clamot ; photos by Daniel Clamot & Zvezda
Review kit generously provided by Zvezda’s European importers.
La production du canon antichar ZIS-3 de 76mm débuta en décembre 1941 ; il commença à être utilisé par l’armée rouge en 1942. En 1943, il devint le principal canon d’artillerie divisionnaire. Au total, un peu moins de cinquante mille furent construits en temps de guerre.
Le ZIS-3 était un des meilleures armes anti-char de la seconde guerre mondiale du fait de sa simplicité, de son poids léger et de ses performances de tir. Il resta en service dans l’armée rouge longtemps après la guerre et fut aussi extensivement exporté vers de nombreux pays.
La maquette Zvezda comporte pas moins de 128 pièces réparties sur une grande grappe (essentiellement le corps du canon) et trois moyennes, dont une consacrée aux trois servants, plus deux autres, identiques, dédiées aux roues. Moulées dans un plastique vert moyen, les pièces sont très fines (certaines assez petites devront être dégrappées avec délicatesse) et exemptes de tout flash. Le plan d’instructions en noir et blanc détaille les phases de montage de façon claire. Il comporte en bas de dernière page d’une illustration de l’engin monté avec ses servants et indications des peintures à utiliser sous références Zvezda et Tamiya. Il n’y a pas de décals.
Voici une nouvelle très belle réalisation de Zvezda, qui ne demande qu’à être montée par tout amateur de matériel soviétique de la seconde guerre mondiale.
Revue par Daniel Clamot ; photos par Daniel Clamot et Zvezda.
Maquette gracieusement offerte par l’importateur européen de Zvezda.
Until now, and in contrast with our Dutch/French languages quarterly magazine, our Blog entries were published in the English langage as a way to reach out to more scale modellers but also as a way to save time and resources. Translating each article into French and Dutch would take up too much of our translators’ time.
However, we now feel that current translation aids found on the Internet are sufficiently accurate and powerful to allow us to publish any article in (almost any) langage it is sent in.
Therefore, we will from now on publish all Blog articles in any of the four following langages : Dutch, French, German and English.
So, feel free to send us in any review of any new scale modelling product (kits, decals, accessories, books, tools,..) you have just purchased or tested!
Expected for a while now, Special Hobby’s Mirage III is now available. This first boxing will be followed y others, offering different markings and options, inclusing our very own Belgian Mirage 5. This first kit is that of the Israeli Mirage IIICJ.
There are, in this kit, 5 runners molded in the usual medium grey plastic, a small sprue featuring the clear parts, a decal sheet and an instruction sheet.
The parts look good with very fine and regular engraved panel lines. Only a little flash can be spotted on the B runner, around part 40, and on the I runner that bring in all the external stores ; the latter, wearing the letters ‘IAF’ is molded in a slightly lighter grey plastic and is obviously tracing its origins in another, earlier kit. In any case, this flash is not very bothersome and will not cause any real issue.
The fuselage halves include the nose, but not the fin, which is normal since two types of fins are offered in the kit.
The cockpit is nicely detailed for this scale, with raised bits on the side consoles, while the front instrument panel is flat ; a decal is offering the instruments. No seat belts are given for the MB.4 seat.
The instruction sheet includes a ‘A Few Tips and Tricks for Easier Assembly’ insert that advise a slightly different order of progression for stages 10 to 14. Also included is a useful grid showing possible external store combinations.
The decals appear very thin and are nicely printed, with four possible options :
Mirage IIICJ 52, 101 Sqn
Mirage IIICJ 745, 117 Sqn
Mirage IIICJ 60, 117 Sqn
Mirage IIICJ 784, 119 Sqn
This remains to be built and tested but it does look like a very fine representation of the iconic Dassault fighter, one that should delight many amongst us !
Third Hercules variant in Zvezda’s drive to get modellers to switch to bigger, larger workbenches is this C-130J. A large sturdy cardboard box holds 335 plastic parts spread over 13 sprues, one of which in clear plastic.
Having built the first Zvezda C-130 kit, the content of the box obviously looked pretty familiar, the main differences being of course found in the new engine nacelles and 6-bladed props.
The inside detail furnishing the cockpit and the cabin is all in all pretty good and accurate. Some of those parts must be cut off to fit the ‘standard‘ Herk fuselage (Zvezda did, you will remember, release the long-fuselaged variant of the aircraft, for which those longer parts are needed). It is not a difficult job and it is well illustrated and explained in the instructions. Even with the ‘standard-lenght’ fuselage, little of all that detail will be visible once the fuselage halves are put together, unless some lighting is installed. The cockpit furnishing will be, given the large glazed area, a little bit more visible, but not that much. Seatbelts would still be a nice addition to your model. Zvezda provided 3 members of the crew in the original boxing but the fourth one is still missing here. Each is a multi-part affair that looks quite convicing though.
Quite a few ejection marks are to be found inside the fuselage halves but most will be hidden by the cleverly-designed furnishing. Beware that those visible nearer the cockpit area and those located a the end of the fuselage can however be seen once the kit is completed; if those at the front are easy to make disappear, those are the other end of the fuselage a lot more difficult to deal with.
All the seating in the cabin is provided ‘folded‘, which was the easy option for Zvezda (and us, given all the extra detailing opening up those seats would require, all in all for just about nothing since so little can be seen..). The cabin floor is sufficiently detailled but that of the ramp could have been better, in particular requiring some anti-slip areas to be added on.
The wing is cleverly split into 5 large parts for added strength. I must warn you that the joint swith the top of the fuselage are a little on the poor side. The engines are really cleverly designed too. Resin turbine exhausts are available on the market if you feel like ‘upgrading‘ Zvezda’s. In fact quite a few companies have released sets to detail further this (or those) Herk(s), some of which could be considered to jazz-up this large kit (radar, flaps, electronic bays, engines), though of course some may not be suitable for this particular variant.
Each prop is made up of 8 parts with each blade ‘equipped‘ with two recesses that will allow for exact positioning, either feathered or not.
An in-flight refuelling probe is provided. The clear parts oare thin and transparent. Mask sets can be found to help with the neat painting of the windshield frames (and the rest of the aircraft).
The wheels are decently detailled, and weighted. Resin alternatives exist, but frankly, little of those wheels are to be seen once the model is completed.
The decals include a large sheet of, mostly, ‘no step areas’ and stencils. Three options are offered with this release in terms of markings: USAF, Italian Air Force and RAF. The first two options require the ‘no-step areas‘ to be painted in a different shade than the rest of the airframe, which will seriously complicate things in terms of masking and decalling…
There’s no denying Zvezda id now offering the best Herks ever released in 1/72, it would be a shame to to indulge, but some care and some work will still be needed during the build.
Review by Domi Jadoul; photos by Zvezda and Domi Jadoul.
Review kit generously provided by Zvezda’s European importers, Hobby Pro Marketing GmbH.
KAMAZ have, over the past few years, earned themselves a name in truck racing, in particular when it comes to competing in the very demanding Dakar Rally. Zvezda have recently released the 2022 variant of the massive KAMAZ-43509 ‘Master‘ that performed so well during that year’s Dakar.
This is a big kit, 21cm long and featuring no less than 275 parts. The level of detailing is excellent throughout, though several aftermarket companies already have issued various sets to improve the look of the vehicle, both inside and out.
What is surprising and that may put many modellers off is the fact that Zvezda choose to release this racing truck in 1/35 rather than in the far more popular (for civilian vehicles that is) 1/24 scale…
Most of the build concerns the innards, with very comprehensive chassis, the 1,150hp (!!) engine, transmission, suspension and cabin furnishing. The large 1,000-liter fuel tank is also on offer but just a handful of (large) body parts will hide most of all those details away..!
The six tires are moulded in vinyl, with excellent detailing too.
One of the decal sheet is pretty big and some markings might require some skills to apply given the surface details and curves of some of the body parts. The glass of the two side mirrors is given as stickers.
Although the marking options are limited to the single 509-numbered vehicle of the 2022 Dakar in Saudi Arabia, and despite the unusual scale, it is a stunning kit that appears to build into a very impressive model. The model begs to be displayed ‘opened up‘ to reveal all those hidden details.
Real life considerations also mean that this kit could soon become a rarity, Red Bull in particular having stopped co-operating with KAMAZ following the Russian invasion of Ukraine…
Two new ‘must-haves’ from PJ Production for the 2nd WW RAF and USAAF bomber enthusiasts: those who like to bring life to their cockpits will be pleased with these two recent sets, each providing two seated pilots. One features RAF pilots (481133) while the other features two USAAF pilots (481134).
These figures were designed on computer and the masters were then made on a 3D printer with a resolution of… 2 microns! This guarantees unequalled finesse and precision. The silicone moulds are made next with these masters and the figures are cast afterwards in resin using the classic method.
Each set features two figures, different of course, each of which is broken down into 4 parts, the torso with the head, legs and each arm. One of the figures is holding the flight controls; the second figure in the USAF set is holding a map or checklist and wearing sunglasses… Also available in 1/72 scale, Ref. 721145 and 721146 respectively.
Review by Didier Waelkens; pictures by PJ Production
Hot from the presses in the Czech Republic is this 1/72 Fokker T-21 Instructor plastic kit, or rather, as is often the case with most manufacturers nowadays, a series of Fokker S-11 / T-21 kits. Four boxings have so far been released, featuring machines flown as basic training aircraft in the Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Bolivia and Paraguay.
The kit is rather basic, but so is the real aircraft. It is possible that this injection molded Fokker has ancestry in the older CMR resin kit, but all in all, it is not a bad thing given resin kits are usually less popular with scale modellers, more difficult to source out and far more expensive..
31 parts, 3 of which are in transparent plastic, is what each kit brings. The four boxings are identical in terms of this set of two runners, it is the decals and the actual artwork on the boxes that make the difference.
Flash is present, yes, but the plastic is rather soft and easy to clean up and work with. The engraving is neat and constant. The fuselage is mostly provided in two parts that include some internal detailing. The tip of the front fuselage, with its various air intakes, is a separate item though Each wing is mostly molded in a single part but, rather curiously, is completed with the addition of a much smaller underwing section. There are no locating pins, not even for the wings or tailplanes that may consequently require a little bit of strengthening. Some smaller parts would benefit from being replaced with thinner bits, nothing really unexpected with this type of short-run kits. A cockpit floor is supplied, along with a front instrument panel and two seats. The seatbelts are provided as decals. All in all, some extra detailing would not go amiss, but again it is the kind of work that is expected to be done on such kits.
Obviously, the tricycle-geared S-12 / T-22 is about to be released soon since its undercarriage is already included on the main runner. In fact, provided some markings can be found, this variant can be modelled from the kit.
The canopy is limpid if a bit on the thick side of things. It could be used to push-mold a thinner replacement item that would enhance the kit and better show off any improvement made in the cockpit.
The decals are very neat, at least on the T-21 boxing. They include markings for two Brazilian one Bolivian and one Paraguayan birds, though no stencils are provided. The other three kits in the series provide markings for three Dutch S-11-1 aircraft (KPM0371), three Israeli S-11-2 aircraft (KPM0372), and three Italian licence-built Aermacchi M.416 (or S-11-3) aircraft, one of which is a civilian-registered machine. The instruction sheet is the same in all kits, with relevant painting/decaling info provided on the rear of each box.
So, OK, this is no shake & bake Tamigawa kit, but it is very, very nice indeed, to see KP keep releasing at modest cost plenty of more obscure aviation subjects that will fill in the many gaps in our collections!
Review by Domi Jadoul; pictures by Domi Jadoul and KP.
Mark1 Models have been kind enough to provide us some pictures of their forthcoming 1/144 H-34 helicopter, a much welcome subject in a scale that is slowly but surely becoming ever more ‘mainstream’ with each passing years. Mark1 Models catalogue is now pretty extensive and offers a wealth of original subjects that main manufacturers are still shying away from producing in injected plastic.
Their latest releases include kits as diverse as the Mil Mi-2, the Curtiss H-75 and the Piper L-4 to name but three. We’ll get back to those soon enough. In the meantime, we turn our attention to a series of four kits depicting the almost universal Sikorsky S-58 under the H-34, HH-34, HS-34, UH-34, HUS-1, HSS-1, CH-134 designations (MKM144145 to 148) and one further ‘special edition’ kit featuring civilian S-58s (MKM144163).
We have not yet seen the kits close-up, but judging from the pictures we received, the kits are all consisting of the same plastic sprues, one in a dark-ish grey plastic and two smaller ones in transparent plastic and differing decal sheets. The engraving appears fairly restrained; it is certainly out of scale but will not shock if compared to the products of larger concerns at the same scale.
The cockpit appears a little spartan but will be sufficiently furnished for most; no doubts after-market manufacturers will soon be offering PE or resin adds-on for the inside and the outside of the aircraft. Note that the bulged side windows are provided separately from the main part of the cockpit glazing.
Of special interest to us in Belgium is boxing MKM144146 Sikorsky H-34 in Europe that offers the markings for a Belgian machine based on the Belgian coast during the 1960s. Other options in that particular boxing include a Dutch, an Italian and a German aircraft. Markings for French, Canadian, South-Vietnamese, Israeli, Japanese, Philippino, Brazilian and of course US aircraft are offered in the other three ‘military’ boxings.
It would be very sweet to see someone releasing suitable markings for a SABENA S-58..! In the meantime, those hankering for a civilian-looking bird will no doubt be interested in the special edition boxing containing markings for two ship-borne Japanese aircraft (ice-breaker Soya).
BLOG IPMS BELGIUM 