А СКОРО МОЯ РЕКЛАМА БУДЕТ В ФАЙН СКЕЙЛ...

PTS MODELS

From the former Soviet Union comes a nice model of an unusual subject, the T-37 Amphibious Tank In 1:35 scale. Produced by PTS Models. These were two-man scout machines,.fast and mobile, but outclassed by real tanks. They lasted into the "Great Patriotic War', but not for too long.

The model has the hull and turret as resin mouldings, with very neat surface detail and little sign of air bubbles on my sample. Both are cast in two parts, which makes for some problems fitting them together to make a neat join without . losing detail. One face of each part nas to be sanded flat due to the use of one-piece moulds, this needs some care to get a flat surface. The separate driver's hatch and grille over the engine decks are also resin, all the rest of the kit is white metal.

Casting is neatly done, with some very fine parts. The machine-gun especially is very fine, far better than most plastic renderings. The suspension units are made up of no less than 10 pieces each: еаф road wheel comes as

separate spokes and rims. The main problem is fitting them together, and it is not a job for a beginner. I found it best to cut off the short stub-axles and hold the whole thing together with short lengths of staple. Although assembly is tricky, the end result is worth the effort.

Other parts fit well and easily, even if the tracks tended to break as they were bent around the wheels and needed care to align the short lengths together. Despite little reference material on the kit, it looks correct against the few available photos and plans in various Zaloga books.

With care a good model results, 1 added a shovel (or is it a paddle?) and crowbar as none were included and painted it dark green with markings guessed at from various sources. As my sample came direct from the producer, V.O. Shpakovsky, I suggest contacting him directly to obtain one (he writes good English) but please enclose an IRC for his reply. P.B.

Price not given

Отличные дакали 1/35 "Смерть фашистам" и "За родную Од ессу" продает НИ ИФИ Пензы за SO р. шт.

ВНИМАНИЕ! Ю. Пивкин все свое производство передал Е. Зайченко. 410056, CapAtoA-56, а/я 4545.

TANKMASTER

Direct from my Russian contact and occasional Mil Mod contributor, Slava Shpakovsky, came a ready to aseemble precision white metal/epoxy resin kit of the Samochod Pancemy Ford. Polish Armoured car Ford T, used by the Poles in the Russian-Polish War of 1919-1920. It's "not for children of all ages" and made in Russiar it depicts an armoured car based on the famous Foid Model I, used by the Poles in 1920 in the Russian-Polish War. * Kit itself is very neatly done. The hull is made up of two resin parts, turret, radiator armour and plates protecting the chassis and axles are also resin. These are cast in a female one-piece mould, so one face is not detailed. The "blank" face must be sanded down before assembly, a tedious job needing not a little care. The resin is the older polyester type, but the surface detail is superb. A few small flaws had been repaired and the parts painted matt black as part of the quality control process. All the other parts are white metal, some of them very fine indeed, and they fit

together well. A number of thin strips 6f metal needed removing before assembly, and there was little flash. The wheels come as a finely-modelled hub and spokes with tyres moulded aa lniljer • and outer face*. Hubs new a small hole drilling to fit onto the axles, and the same goes for some of the small ports as the locating holes are not very deep.

Overall, a very nice kit. No real problems in building, instructions were clear if basic, and it super-glued together well. The resul t was stronger than I expected ■ from fine metal parts. The box art gives a colourful camouflage scheme, and there are two small sbleld -decals. These are high gloss finish and did not stick well, but a coat of matt varnish ' fired them.

If you would like to try this model, I suggest sending an InternationalReply Coupon to V.O. Shpakovsky, Derginskogo 35-43. Penza. 44006, Russia with a simply worded letter suggesting a swap as I know ofno stockists. p.B.

Price not given Tankmaster, 440061 Penza, p/b 546, Russia. (From the kit box)

Русский текст на обороте... ... ПОСЛЕДНЯЯ В 1993 г.