Cobraaaa!!!!

Historical Background

The emergence of the helicopter, specifically of  Bell's UH-1 Iroquois or Huey, made the theory of air cavalry practical. In Vietnam, the Huey fleet carried troops across the country, to fight at the ground and the time of their own choosing, rather than the enemy's. However, these unarmed Hueys were vulnerable to ground fire especially when they are nearing the landing zones. Without support from nearby artillery or other ground troops, the only way to pacify the landing zones was from the air, using an aircraft, preferably another, armed, helicopter that can closely escort the transport choppers and loiter over the battlefield. Originally the Army used UH-1s fitted with machine guns and rocket launchers, but was needed was a dedicated helicopter gunship Bell has been investigating such concept since the 1950s and in 1962 had revealed a mockup of what they called D-255 Iroquois Warrior concept. The D-255 was a purpose-built attack helicopter based on the UH-1B but with a slender fuselage and the two crew sitting in tandem. It was to be armed with a turret-mounted 40mm grenade launcher in the nose, a 20 mm belly-mounted gun pod and stub wings to mount rockets or anti-tank missiles.

The Army was interested and awarded a proof-of-concept contract to Bell in December 1962. Bell modified a regular Bell Model 47 (UH-13 Sioux) into Model 207 Sioux Scout which had the hallmarks of a modern attack helicopter with sleek fuselage, tandem cockpit, chin-mounted turret and stub wings for weapons. Although impressed, the Army decided that the Model 207 was too small, underpowered and generally not suitable for practical use. Instead the Army launched the Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) which resulted in the large and fast Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne. It proved to be too sophisticated and was eventually cancelled in 1972. Although Model 207 was rejected by the Army, Bell persisted with their idea of a smaller and lighter helicopter gunship. Bell mated the T53 turboshaft engine, the transmission and the rotor system of the UH-1C, adding to the latter a Stability Control Augmentation System with the design philosophy of the Sioux Scout and produced the Model 209.

With the war escalating in Vietnam and the AAFSS programme stuck in technical difficulties and political bickering, the US Army asked Boeing-Vertol, Sikorsky, Kaman, Piasecki and Bell for an interim gunship design. In April 1966, Bell's Model 209 won the evaluation and a first production contract for 110 airframes were signed. Bell added 'Cobra' to the UH-1's nickname of 'Huey' becoming Model 209 HueyCobra - the name adopted by the Army for its production AH-1G. For production some modifications was made, including the adoption of simple landing skids instead of retractable undercarriage, a new wide-blade rotor and plexiglass, instead of armoured glass canopy. The first HueyCobras were delivered in June 1967 and saw extensive service during the Vietnam War, taking over the role of assault helicopter from the 'snake' Huey gunships.

The Cobra has a slim fuselage, designed to present as small a profile as possible against enemy ground fire. Due to the slimmer shape and lighter weight, the Cobra is twice as fast as the Hueys it escorted. The original variants were powered by a single Lycoming T53-L-11 turboshaft engine rated at 1,100 hp allowing it a speed of 277 km/h. The crew seating arrangement, which has since become the virtual standard for attack helicopters, placed the pilot at the rear seat, which is slightly elevated behind the co-pilot/gunner. The gunner also a full set of flight controls. The weapons turret under the nose were originally used to mount two 7.62 mm miniguns or two 40 mm grenade launchers or one of each weapon. Later versions of the Cobra mounts the M197 20 mm three-barrel cannon in the turret. The stub wings can carry up to 1,360 kg of various weapons but usually consist of folding fin aerial rocket tubes, gun pods or, later, anti-tank guided weapons.

Originally not equipped to fire anti-tank guided weapons, the Cobra was fitted with the M65 TOW/Cobra system complete with M65 Telescopic Sight Unit and M73 reflex Sight, creating the AH-1Q variant in 1973. The AH-1S is an upgraded -1Q variant with 1,800 hp Lycoming T53-l-703 turboshaft. The -1S was followed by the -1P with glass cockpit, improved low-altitude performance and composite rotor assembly. The AH-1E introduced the three-barrel M197 cannon while the AH-1F introduced laser rangefinder, infra-red countermeasure equipment, digital flight systems and heads-up display. Prior to 1988, all the S,P,E,Q and F Cobras were simply known as various variants of the AH-1S. Apart from the Vietnam War, US Army Cobras took part during Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm in 1990/1991 and Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1993 and Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti in 1994. 300 Cobras were lost due to enemy action and accidents during the Vietnam War with a further three during Desert Storm. The Cobra was phased out and replaced by the AH-64 Apache in US Army service beginning in 1990 and fully retired from service in 2001. Retired machines were passed to allied nations and also the USDA Forest Service. The Cobra was exported and used by the armed forces of Israel, Japan, Jordan, Turkey and Pakistan.       

The Kit

Hasegawa came out with a 1/72 kit of the single-engine Cobra in 1997 when they released the JGSDF version of the AH-1S. The US version was released in 2000 while the one I use in this build is a 2015 reboxing of the 2000 kit. And, according to online reviews, this is the most accurate version of the -1S (at least for the 1/72 version). The parts are spread among five dark olive drab sprues, one clear sprue and a small decal sheet. The parts are well moulded and have engraved panel lines. Some are marked as 'Not for use' as probably they are only relevant to the JGSDF version. Details are acceptable for 1/72 scale and from casual viewing, it looks like it's going to be a simple, straightforward build. It also includes two crew figures. The decals provide markings for just one helicopter : a snake from the 7th Cavalry, US Army.

Construction

Almost inevitably with flying machine models, even the rotary winged ones, construction started with the cockpit. And as per my usual practice, the relevant parts were painted while on the sprue. There were just two paints needed for the cockpit - flat and gloss black. The parts were then removed from the sprue and the resulting scars were then touched up. The parts were then assembled, the crew fifures however were not used. The provided decals were then used to represent the instrument panels on the cockpit sides. Before the fuselage halves were cemented together, holes were drilled or puttied over where needed and the cockpit sides were painted Black. Afterwards, the completed cockpit plus the bottom of the fuselage (Part A4) were inserted into one of the cockpit halves and the whole fuselage was cemented together. The tail skid was however left off at this time.

Next up were some of the external features. The tail fins were first and some care were needed here to avoid gaps. The stub wings were next. The halves were mated together, sanded and then cemented to the fuselage. The pylons for the FFAR pods were also added at this time although the TOW missile assembly was left off. The last sub-assembly I added to the model at this time was the sight at the nose. In order to ease handling during painting and decalling, the landing skids were left off. Although the tail rotor, the M197 cannon and the exhaust were assembled, they were set aside at his time.

Painting and Decalling

Hasegawa has you paint the model entirely in Olive Drab. However, based on my readings during my AH-64 Apache build, US Army helicopters are painted Helo Drab instead of Olive Drab. For modellers, only Model Master has this particular paint in their range. I'm not going to wait for several more weeks in order for newly-ordered paint to arrive. So decided to use the next best alternative : Tamiya's XF-51 Khaki Drab. While it does not exactly match Helo Drab, looking at photos on the internet shows that Helo Drab can assume shades from OD to Dark Grey but I think XF-51 is just about the shade of the 'original' Helo Drab. The FFAR pods and the TOW tubes however were painted US Olive Drab. The M197 cannon was painted black and then I decided to use my newly acquired AK Interactive weathering pencil 'Gun Metal'. The pencil works as the usual pencil-watercolour combo. The graphite(?) is moistened and then applied over the parts....and voila, metallic-looking parts! The narrow sealing tape however was not painted as I doubt my ability to cleanly mask and paint such a narrow line.

The decals were then applied in the usual manner and was then given the Mr. Mark Softer treatment.

Finishing

Finishing at this stage means permanently attaching the remaining sub-assemblies. I started with the weapons first. By the way, the kit FFAR pods were replaced with the ones from the Italeri weapons kit as the latter has the 'rocket heads' (for what its worth) poking from the tubes, whilst the kit ones are more or less 'empty'. Once the skids were attached, I found that the model was not very stable and usually went tail-heavy. However once the main rotor was put in place, it no longer has that nose-up attitude. The cannon assembly and the canopy howere were quite a tight fit and the cannon nearly broke apart when I try to insert it into its slot. The canopy needed a bit of sanding to get it into place; however the finished still has quite a noticeable gap. The model received a coat of Gunze Flat Coat and the masks were then removed, finishing the build.

Conclusion

Hasegawa's 1/72 Cobra is an easy kit to build and without any real shortcomings. The details are convincing enough especially in 1/72 although those who wants more detail can easily add them.

American Badass

Historical Background

In the late 1960s, the United States and West Germany co-operated to develop a new 'joint' main battle tank. Known as MBT-70, the programme was very ambitious and incorporated various innovations. The programme ultimately failed and cancelled by the Congress in November 1971. In its place, a new design, the XM803 was initiated but being more expensive while only having the same performance the M60, it was cancelled in December of the same year. The funds were reallocated into a new project, the XM815. The XM815 reused most of the XM803 features, but simpler and therefore less expensive. The XM815 was then redesigned XM1 and given the name Abrams after General Creighton Abrams, who become the US Army Chief of Staff in June 1972 and was considered the equal of, if not better than, the legendary Patton.

In June 1973, contracts to build the prototypes were given to Chrysler and Detroit Diesel. These were delivered in February 1976. Armed with the ubiquitous M68 gun (the licence-built Royal Ordnance L7 105mm gun), the prototypes were not only compared to each other but also the West German Leopard 2. Chrysler's prototype was powered bya turbine engine it was this design that was selected for production. Initial production was set up at the Lima Army Modification Centre in Lima, Ohio in 1979. Eleven Full-Scale Engineering Development (FSID) vehicles, still designated XM1, were produced in 1979 before the first full-production Abrams rolled out in the next year (the first FSID XM1 was given the nickname 'Thunderbolt' after General Abrams' personal mount during World War 2). In 1982, after around 1,000 M1 have been built, Chrysler was bought by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS). 

The M1's hull is made of solid RHA with the parts welded together. The hull front has downward-sloped 'beak' while the engine deck is raised to accommodate the turbine engine. The Abrams also incorporated composite armour inspired by the British Chobham armour. This gave the frontal turret armour of the baseline M1 an effective thickness of 350mm against APFSDS rounds and 700mm against HEAT rounds. In 1988, armour protection was improved by adding classified layers of depleted uranium and other undisclosed material. Introduced into the M1A1 model, the added material increased the effective frontal armor to 600mm against APFSDS and 1,300mm against HEAT. Interior protection against spalling is provided by a layer of kevlar. To further protect the crew from ammunition cook-off, fuel and ammo are stored in armoured compartments with blowout panels. The Abrams is also equipped with halon firefighting system and small hand-held fire extinguishers are also carried. Some Abrams, mostly seen in the USMC, are equipped AN/VLQ-6 Missile Countermeasure System that can impede the guidance system of ATGWs. 

As mentioned before, the original M1 was armed with the M68A1 105mm gun. It was getting outclassed by the then new Soviet tanks - the T-64 and T-72 by the mid-1980s . To combat newer armour technology and to increase effective range, a newer, larger gun was needed. The German Rheinmetall L/44 120mm smoothbore gun was selected to arm the M1A1 and M1A2 variants. Built under licence by Watervliet Arsenal, it entered service as M256A1. Able to fire various type of rounds as with its predecessor, the highlight of the gun was the M829 series of APFSDS rounds which were developed specifically to address the threat posed by the aforementioned Soviet-designed tanks. Secondary weapons consist of an M2 12.7mm heavy machine gun in front of the commander's hatch and two M240 7.62mm machine guns - one in front of the loader's hatch and another mounted co-axial with the main gun. 42 rounds of 120mm, 900 rounds of 12.7mm and 10,000 rounds for the 7.62mm machine guns were carried.

At the heart of the Abrams is the 1,500 hp  Lycoming (later Honeywell) AGT 1500 multi-fuel gas turbine capable of delivering 1,500 shaft horsepower. The power waqs transmitted by a six-speed (four forward, two reverse) Allison X-1100-3B hydro-kinetic automatic transmission. The Abrams is able to reach 97 km/h on road but with the engine governor in place, is limited to 72 km/h - this is mainly to prevent damage to the drivetrain and shock injuries to the crew. The multi-fuel nature of the powerplant means it can accept diesel, kerosene, petrol and jet fuel JP-4 and JP-8. For logistical reasons, JP-8 is preferred by the US military. While highly reliable, the engine is a notorious fuel guzzler, consuming 6.3 liters per mile. The engine however is quieter than a diesel and for this it received the nickname 'Whispering Death' during its first REFORGER exercise. 

The Abrams received a number of improvement packages with the most significant in the late 1990s with the introduction of the M1A2. The A2 includes improved fire control system, the commander's independent thermal viewer, weapons station, position navigation equipment and digital datalinks. Systems Improvement version One (SEPv1) provide digital maps, Linux communications and improved air conditioning. SEPv2 added Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (CROWS / CROWS II) color displays, better interfaces, a new operating system, improved armour and upgraded transmission. To improve survivability in urban environments, the TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit) was initiated. Upgrades include reactive armour blocks on the tank sides and slat armour to the rear to protect against RPGs and other shaped-charge explosives. A Kongsberg RWS replaced the original, exposed commander's 12.7mm MG while a Transparent Armor Gun Shield with thermal sight was added to the loader's M240 MG. An exterior telephone allows accompanying infantry to communicate with the tank commander. The TUSK package is field-installable and 505 units were delivered by General Dynamics Land Systems. 

The Abrams entered combat during Operation desert Storm in February 1991 where it proved superior to T-55s, T-62s, Type 59s and export-version T-72s of the Iraqi Army. The long firing range of its gun outranged the Iraqi tanks, a decisive advantage in armoured warfare. Nine Abrams were destroyed during the campaign - seven through friendly fire while the other two were deliberately destroyed to prevent capture after receiving critical damage. None resulted in fatalities. Further combat took place in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. To prevent (or at least reduce) incidents of friendly fire, the Abrmas (and indeed all of the Coalition's vehicles) were fitted with Combat Identification Panels. However, as of 2005, casualties was higher with at least 80 Abrams suffered damage, 17 of them beyond repair. The majority of the damage was caused by IEDs. In operations against the Daesh in 2014, about 1/3 of 140 M1A1s of the Iraqi Army were damaged or destroyed; some were captured by the opposition. 

Today the US Army operates some 1,174 M1A2 and M1A2SEPs and 4,293 M1A1s (including variants), the USMC operates 403 M1A1while Australia have 59 M1A1 AIM, Egypt (1,200), Iraq (140), Kuwait (218) and Saudi Arabia (440). All the export tanks lack the depleted uranium layer in their armour. 

The Kit

In 2016, Meng Models joined the ranks of 1/35 Abrams model kit producers when they issued their    version of the M1A2. The second kit depicting the TUSK modifications (the first was Tamiya), the kit alllows one to build a TUSK-modified Abrams straight from the box. The box has the same footprint as the rest in the T-Rex series but deeper than usual to fit the eight sand-coloured sprues, three clear sprues, four dark brown sprues, two sheets of PE, a bunch of poly caps plus the usual decal sheet and instruction booklet. The parts are very well-moulded and have great details. There are a lot of ejector towers on the reverse side of many of the parts though  The individual-link track looks more complex to assemble than anything I have done before and should provide me with a new challenge! The kit allows two styles of TUSK: the 'straight-edge' TUSK-I or the scalloped TUSK-II ERA plates and decision has to be made early as to which markings to choose. Speaking of which, four were provided:

1. 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, Iraq 2008 (TUSK II)
2. E Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Iraq 2011 (TUSK I)    

3. 3rd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Iraq 2011 (TUSK I)
4. 'Ghetto Blaster II', 68th Armored Regiment,1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Iraq (TUSK I)

Construction

As usual with land vehicle kits, work started at the bottom of the hull. The foremost pair of torsion bars are of multi-part assembly and are workaable so careful application of cement is a must especially between C20/C31, C37/C38, C32/C64 and C39/C63 as the contact area is very small and to avoid accidentally gluing C29 and C36. The mud scraper was not added as it would mean extra work removing the bolt heads on the mount. The torsion bars are of the typical Meng style which can flex over diorama terrain. While the instructions have you place the wheels next, I skipped that part at this time and add the hull top first. But before the roof can be mated to the hull, the ejector towers on the reverse side of the roof have to be removed else it won't fit at all to the hull. Holes and notchess also need to be opened on the upper hull before fixing the roof and the hull together. The notches require filling as I cut them a bit too large. The engine exhaust grille is a multi-part assembly and can be posed open (when one have an aftermarket engine set that is)

Next up is assembly of the running gear. Really no problems here except for that bit of hate-love relationship I have with tank running gear in general (lots of wheels!!). Anyway, it was straightforward except that a number of the inner wheels have flash on the outside face and needed some clean-up. The tracks, as mentioned before, is a multi-part affair, and meng as usual, provided a jig to help with the assembly. I however took a totally different route. I took the DS rubber track from my Dragon M1A2 SEP (long story about why I dismantled the earlier kit). The DS is overly long for the Meng kit but a dry run shows that the excess length can be hidden behind the skirting plus, the track fit Meng's sprocket teeth. The side ERA blocks fit nicely in place although the side skirts needed a bit of 'persuasion' towards the rear of the hull.

Work on the turret was started by drilling a number of holes into the roof and also the bottom half of the turret. The position of the holes were clearly marked with indentations and arrows and 'M1A2' embossed in the plastic. The trunnion was then assembled and I noticed that despite being designed to be totally hidden by the mantlet, there are details embosssed on the trunnion. The gun was then assembled. The PE part X is meant to remain moveable and so the instructions has you taping (instead of cementing/supergluing) it to Part  D40. I eventually decided to superglue it in place after deciding to set the gun at a certain elevation. And just to be different from previous builds, the gunner's sight protective doors were posed open. meng provided different styles of armoured cables on the turret roof and the instructions need to be followed as to which version is needed for the tank you're building.

The Commander's cupola is basically a model-within-a model construction and was made separately. The periscopes (Part J1) were very tight fit and I have to sand the sides down a bit so that they are easier to fit in place. The cupola itself is a two-piece construct and there are two styles to choose (they are the same, just the way they were moulded). I however assembled just the basic cupola at this time. The shields and screens were assembled but was kept separate until after painting. The loader's shield has a gap between the panels and needed some puttying. The right-hand panel also seemed to out-of-position too, despite my effort to rectify it.

Painting and Decaling

Before the tracks were fitted onto the model, it was painted first. It was painted overall XF-1 Flat Black and after the paint has cured, the 'metal' parts of it were treated with AK Interactive Track Wash. It was then aside. I don't have the exact colour to match the modern US Sand colour so I select the next best available in my arsenal - AK Interactive AK4006 Buff Light Shade. To my eyes it looks fair enough although it is more yellow-ish and has less grey than the actual colour! Unfortunately seepage happened at one of the loader's armoured glass panel and it cannot be cleaned off as it seeped between the two already-joined clear panels! The hubs of the main wheels were painted Tamiya X-19 Smoke as these are actually translucent, which allows monitoring of the lubricating fluid inside. The whole model then received a wash using AK Interactive OIF and OEF Vehicle Wash. The periscopes / vision blocks were painted a mixture of clear colours to obtain the purplish sheen usually seen but mine ended up mainly reddish. For markings, I chose 'Ghetto Blaster II' as it was more eye-catching than the rest.

Finishing

I started by fully assembling the commander's and loader's shields and putting them in place. This was followed by the Counter Sniper / Anti-Material Mount on the mantlet. The 'grenades' for the smoke discharger were painted and then fitted in place - I used the longer ones as they were a bit easier to handle. Then accessories were added to the model using parts from the kit itself, the spares box and also Meng's own Modern US Military Individual Load-Carrying Equipment Set and Equipment For Modern US Military Vehicles set. The model did not receive much weathering (read paint chipping) as the paint on the real tank is seldom seen as such (besides, its supposed to be resistant against corrosive chemicals, what more against boot scrapes). The aerials were then put in place. Sice Meng only provides aerial bases only, the rods were made using guitar strings and for the rightmost aerial, I use the one from my Dragon M1 kit. The kit then received  a spray of flat clear. My clear parts masking however is bad and many of the armored glass panels were 'frosted' as a result. The model then recieved an overall 'dust' coverage using thinned Tamiya Buff. The lower parts of the model were then were liberally covered with MiG Production Iraqi Dust pigments. Once dried, the excess were brushed off.

Conclusion

Modellers have a number of choices to build an Abrams in 1/35. Although another Abrams may be seen to be superfluous, Meng's M1A2 TUSK is very much welcome. The details were quite sharp and yet not as complicated as other brands'. Well, I do cheated somewhat by using the tracks from my Dragon kit! It was a fun build and anyone with even those with little experience building tank kits will have no problem with this kit (the multi-part tracks may be a different matter).

Killer Of The Executor

Fictional / Real-World Background

The RZ-1 A-Wing Interceptor was manufactured by Kuat Systems Engineering, based on the R-22 interceptor, which in turn was inspired by the Delta-7 Aethersprite light interceptor. Although the R-22 passed maneuverability and speed tests, the Galactic Empire, which suceeded the Galactic Republic did not approve of its mass production. However, the monarch of Tammuz-an purchased a number of the R-22 prototypes for planetary defence. Because of its resemblance to a Tammuz-an ceremonial weapon, it was dubbed 'Spearhead'. Around  10 years after the end of the Clone Wars, several cells of what would become the Alliance to Restore The Republic managed to acquire  a number of Spearheads. A network of mechanics called Underground Engineers work on these highly customizable fighters. The frame of the R-22 was retained but the weapons were updated, new technology was installed and a pair of Novaldex J-77 engines replaced the original powerplants. The resulting craft was dubbed the RZ-1 'A-Wing' interceptor.

Because of the nature the Rebel Alliance operates, they have to use any readily available materials from the Alliance's Ordnance and Supply Command in order to build the new fighter. The earliest batch of RZ-1s was hand-built and sometimes using second-hand equipment. Not only this slowed down the rate of production; together with its complicated systems and general lack of quality control, it also aggrieved maintenance. The A-Wing was basically a cockpit attached to two engines.Its Novaldex J-77 Event Horizon engines were one of the most powerful engines available. The twin stabilizer wings require careful controls, else it could make a small turn ending as a massive spinout. Armament comprised of two Borstel RG-9 laser cannons and two Dymek HM-6 concussion missile launchers (6 missiles per launcher). The laser cannons can be rotated 60 up and down and can even be made to make a full 360-degree rotation. However the craft lack an astromech droid to manage the systems so the feature was rarely used, if ever.

A fast and powerful strike fighter, the wedge-shaped, 9.6 meter-long fighter came equipped with a hyperdrive. It was ideal for missions that require speed such as hit-and-run raids, surgical strikes on capital ships and intelligence gathering. Essentially a flying cockpit, the A-Wing require precision manipulation of the control surfaces without assistance from an astromech droid. Therefore only the best pilots could pilot an A-Wing without losing control. A capable pilot could emerge from hyperspace, engage the fighter's powerful sensor suite, streak around the objective and vanish back into hyperspace before the enemy can get its fighters aloft.The jammer however not powerful enough to fool larger vessels' systems and instead it became a homing beacon for the larger vessels' targeting systems. The wedge-shaped nose, apart from housing primary sensors, also acted as heat shield for atmospheric entry. It can be also used as a ram in a desperate, last-ditch effort to destroy enemy targets.

The A-Wing's finest hour came during the Battle of Endor. Grouped under Green Squadron, the A-Wings took part in the attack on the second Death Star. Two of the fighters followed General carlrissian into the incomplete battle station but broke off to draw away TIEs from the Millenium Falcon. One of the A-Wings, piloted by Arvel Crynyd (Green Leader) crashed into the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor, which leads to the latter's destruction. The A-Wing proved to be aresilient design, and in its RZ-2 variant, is used by the Resistance in its struggle against the First Order, 30 years after the Battle of Endor.

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Created as 'A-Fighter' by Ralph MacQuarrie for Star Wars Episode VI : Return Of The Jedi, the new fighter originally has blue trimmings but was changed to red after considering the limits of contemporary blue-screen technology. The original Legends backstrory has them designed by General jan Dodonna and Walex Blissex in the aftermath of the Battle of yavin. The backstory was ret-conned following the release of the Star Wars Rebels TV series which explained the existence (prior to Endor) of the A-Wing as being one of the fighter types (the other being the B-Wing) used solely by the Phoenix Squadron of the Rebel Alliance while the Rebel cell under general Dodonna operates X-Wings and Y-Wings. Only during the Battle of Endor that these cells operate together, showing all types of fighters on-screen.

The Kit

Bandai hit the ground running when they were granted the licence to produce Star Wars model kits. The A-Wing was released in 2016 and featured all the hallmarks of the brand. The parts are spread among five sprues with Sprue A featuring multicoloured plastics well-known to Gundam (and now Star Wars) builders. Sprue B contains the main fuselage parts, The Black Sprue C has the cockpit parts (and also a mysterious flat pilot figure). Sprue D contains parts for the display stand, and intersetingly, a Death Star turbolaser turret tower while Sprue D has the 'laser beams'. The breakdown of the parts and by colour means that the model can be build without painting. This however only applies if you want to build Green leader's A-Wing and other references are needed if you want to build generic or other A-Wings  Rounding up the package are the usual choice of stickers or waterslide decals for markings.

Construction

As usual with things that fly (be it real-world or fiction), work started at the cockpit. And as per my usual style too, the parts were painted while still on the sprue and Vallejo Air Anthracite Grey was used. Details representing dials on the side panels were painted Flat White. The main 'instrument panel' was finished using the waterslide decal. The pilot figure was left off at this moment. Moving on to the fuselage, I found that you have to place B16, B17, C13 and C14 to the corresponding site opposite of the ones shown in the instructions, otherwise the upper half won't fit into the lower half of the fuselage. The cokpit module was then inserted (yes, no need gluing, the pegs fit snugly into place). Thge rest of the fuselage parts were then fitted,a gain without cement and without any problems. The sole exception was the wedge-shaped nose, as there is quite a bit of a gap between it and the fuselage. The canopy was also left off at this time.

The engine nacelles were next and take note that the tails are canted inwards and so it the arts are not interchangeable. But before doing anything else, the clear 'thruster port' inside the nacelle was painted Clear Yellow (the instructions say nothing about painting this particular part, mind). As for the rear fuselage panel, I cemented the four small nozzles in place as I feel that push-fit is not sturdy enough to handle the stresses of full flight maneuvers in combat (ahem). The nacelle-rear panel combination was then fitted to the fuselage just to see how it looks and was then removed to facilitate painting. The parts for closed landing gear doors were used as I do not intend to display the A-Wing on the ground, although the opened doors and the gears themselves get a place in my spares box. The cannons were assembled but set aside at this time. The model was then set aside for painting.

Painting And Decalling

As mentioned before, the very breakdown of the parts allow the model to be finished unpainted and (basically) still looks the part. Anyway, the white areas were painted Vallejo Gloss White which tone was 'warmed' up by adding a bit of Desert Tan. The red parts were painted Vallejo German Red Brown Primer which I think is spot on.The grey patches on the fuselage can be replicated using the provided decals (or alternatively, the stickers) but I chose to paint them.The darker patches were painted Tamiya XF-83 Medium Sea Grey while the lighter ones were painted XF-19 Sky Grey. Although originally leaving it in the main fuselage colour, the missile troughs were then painted XF-1 Flat Black. The main body of the cannons were also painted Flat Black with the barrels painted white. The muzzles have the same colour as the main trim of the fuselage. Again, decals and stickers were provided but I chose to paint the parts. The few decals were then placed on the models as per the usual routine.

Finishing

The model was first given a wash using stuff from AK Interactive. Excess fluid was removed by wiping it off in the direction of the 'airflow'. I originally wanted to add a bit more weathering effects (like panel fading and discolorisation) but decided that what I have is enough. The engine-nacelle assembly was then pushed into place and as tested before, did not need cement to make it stay in place. The now-painted pilot figure is placed into the cockpit and the canopy installed. There are two types of canopy that be used. Again, to ease painting, i used the one with the separate front frame. Both styles have separate rear frame and this latter item is quite a tight fit to get it into place. The model was then placed upon the provided display stand. I however did not use the Death Star turbolaser tower. That item is placed into storage and hopefully used in a future Y-Wing or X-Wing build. The whole assembly was then given a final spray of Flat Clear. 

Conclusion

The A-Wing is a neat little model. It actually builds up very quickly, in fact in effect, the basic assembly took only around an hour (although in practice, it was spread over a few days, in order to paint certain parts early on, waiting for the paint to dry, you know the drill). For a 1/72 scale kit, the detail is very nice and I obviously look forward to more Star Wars kits from Bandai (so many models, so little time! Excuses...excuses!)

'Boss' Fighter

Fictional / Behind-The-Scenes Background

In designing the TIE series of starfighters, Rath Sienar of Sienar Fleet Systems drew heavily from the designs of Kuat Systems Engineering, specifically the V-Wing and Eta-2 interceptor. While the main run of the TIE series feature no hyperdrive and deflector shields, experimental versions using technology from earlier craft such as Sienar's own Scimitar Star Courier were built. The first, dubbed TIE Advanced v1 featured basic shields and like the Scimitar, the S-foils could fold in around the cockpit when not in flight, conserving hangar space. This was followed by the x1 which became Darth Vader's personal starfighter. The x1 featured high-performance solar cells in the more angular wing than the v1. Lord Vader also specified a personalised cockpit to accommodate his armoured suit.

Like the regular TIE Fighters, a Sienar Fleet Systems I-s3a solar ionization reactor and paired P-s5.6 twin ion engines powered the x1. The spaceframe is entirely new with elongated rear deck and reinforced durasteel-alloy hull. The bent-wing solar array wings makes for increased surface area for more power and at the same time reducing the craft's profile. Although power was increased, the net effect was not much due to added mass and the fact that some of the generated power was needed to power the shield generators. Weaponry is the usual two L-s9.3 laser cannons. Provision was also made for a cluster missile launcher. The targeting system is more sophisticated than the regular TIE Fighters. However, the system require frequent adjustment in combat for best performance. A modest class 4 hyperdrive was fitted.

The x1 was used by Vader in the attack on the Phoenix Cell of the Rebel Alliance, resulting in the destruction their flagship. the Phoenix Home. During the Battle of Yavin, Vader piloted the x1 and succeeded in destroying a number of attacking X- and Y-Wings before being knocked out of battle following collision with a panicked wingman when the Millenium Falcon intervened. Vader's x1 spun out of control following the collision, allowing him to escape the destruction of the Death Star. Even so, the blast damaged the x1 and vader was only able to return to Coruscant following a rescue by Ciena Ree and Berisse Sai.

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The TIE Fighters of the Star Wars Universe originated as part of sketches shown by George Lucas to concept artist Ralph McQuarrie in order to give the latter a feel for the project. The first model was built by model maker Colin Cantwell  and was then modified and detailed by Joe Johnston. For filming, only one TIE Fighter cockpit was made and was used for all interior shots of the TIE Fighters, including Vader's. However, George Lucas later decided to have Vader's TIE distinct from the the other TIEs. As principal photography has already been concluded, Vader's ship should not stray too far from the basic design and Joe Johnston has to work one in a hurry. He turned to an unused (at that time) design dubbed 'TIE boarding craft' (which later materialised in The Empire Strikes Back as TIE Bomber). Modifying the design, he came up with with what was described as 'a next year's model TIE Fighter...one of gothic evil, as if the Empire fully intended for this to be terrifying psychological weapon'. The design was brought to life by model maker Steve Gawley.

The Kit

While the Star Wars Universe portrayed the x1 as a more advanced and complex version of the TIE series, Bandai's kit, released in 2014, is a bit more simple than the same company's TIE Fighter kit. The x1 kit comprised of parts spread among five sprues. Unlike the TIE Fighter kit, the black solar panels were moulded integrally with the wing frame (and causing extra masking job later on). Sprue A2 (cockpit interior) is the same with the one in the TIE Fighter. Two Vader figures were included - one seated, (again, no hands) and the other standing. A Death Star display base, but with different details was included. Markings are of the usual stickers and waterslide variety and there is also the usual 'laser bolts'.

Construction

The cockpit interior of Vader's TIE Fighter is the same with the one in the TIE Fighter kit, although to avoid the Dark Lord's displeasure and hence being Force-choked, the interior was painted, using Tamiya XF-19. Also, like TIE Fighter, stickers were used for the interior detailing. The front fuselage was then closed up and unlike the TIE Fighter, the fuselage halves fit perfectly from the start. Also of note, the tiny one-half of a Sherman VVSS is also present on the model. The cockpit front viewscreen was left off for painting while the cockpit frontal area was painted Medium Gunship Grey. The rear fuselage consists of two large halves with a few smaller pieces amd they snapped into place with just the smaller pieces being glued, just in case. The inside surface of the wings were then snapped into their places on the fuselage, instead of the main wing structure., to ease masking a bit. I also make sure I leave out Part A2-22 (or at least no glue it into place) so that the slot for the display stand won't be obscured.

Painting and Decaling

As stated elsewhere, the studio models for A New Hope was apparently painted Light Grey (or something similar). However, a number of sci-fi modellers mention that the TIEs in  A New Hope are actually the same colour as those in Empire and ROTJ and that includes Vader's TIE Advanced. So without further question, the model was painted Haze Grey using Tamiya TS-32 while the solar arrays were painted XF-69 NATO Black. A  few small panels and the viewscreen panel frames were painted Vallejo Air 71.097 Medium Gunship Grey. The cannon muzzles were painted a mix of X-7 Red and XF-3 Flat Yellow (since I don't have any orange paint!). As with the TIE (or for that matter, the entire Bandai Star Wars flying craft kits I have to date), the stand was painted black. As for the display base, it was painted Tamiya AS-28 Medium Grey while the stand was painted X-18 Semi-Gloss Black.

Finishing

The model first received a pin wash. And like the earlier of my Bandai kits, I was still hesitant to use enamel-based weathering / finishing products on the Tie Advanced. So I just I use dark grey acrylic wash. The display base remain plain and did not receive any wash. The build was finished when the model received a coat of semi-gloss clear paint. Unlike my TIE Fighter build, the hole underneath the cockpit remain accessible and the model was easily mounted on its display base. Although the mounting allows some'action' pose, I simply place the Dark Lord's fighter in a straight and level pose...just like it does in the Death Star trench. Oh, as before, the 'laser beams' were not used and discarded.

Conclusion

If my previous build of a Bandai Star Wars kit is a joy, this one is even more so due to its even more simple engineering. I heartily recommend the TIE Advanced to all levels of modelers especially novices as it is so easy to construct and display. And yes, I found that there are aftermarket PE set available for this kit for those who think that the level of detail is not good enough (or savour the work of attaching tiny brass parts onto small kit parts). But for the rest of us,OOB, the kit is very good and makes a fine addition to a Star Wars model kit collection.

Swede Swede Tank

Historical Background

In the mid-1950s, the Swedish Army was operating Centurion tanks as its standard MBT. In order to find a replacement, the Kungliga Armérförvaltningens Tygavdelning (Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration) put out a contract tender for a next generation tank design. A consortium of Landsverk, Volvo and Bofors responded by suggesting that an earlier domestic tank design, the KRV be revived. The KRV was however deemed too expensive to its alternatives - Alternative A was a 50-ton design, with high protection but mediocre mobility from either the British or the Americans and Alternative T (Tysk-Fransk / German-French), a 30-ton design with good mobility but low protection. In 1956, Sven Berge of the Materiel Administration proposed Alternative S (Swedish) as a home-grown alternative.

Alternative S was inspired by post-World War 2 and Koran War battle reports revealing that the risk of a tank being hit by enemy fire was strongly related to height, with more than half of the losses due to the penetration on the turret. Therefore Berge decided that the new design should be as low as possible. Therefore Berge designed Alternative S without a turret, with the gun fully fixed to the hull. To solve the aiming problem arising because of the elimination of turret, a fully automated transmission and a hydropneumatic suspension were provided which allowed the tank to be precisely turned and tilted under the driver's (who is also the gunner) control. The system however can only be used when the tank is stationary but it was not seen as a disadvantage. The gun was a Bofors L74 105mm gun, derived from the Royal ordnance L7 and was equipped with an autoloader.

The S-Tank was powered by two engines: a 240-hp Rolls-Royce K60 diesel for cruising and maneuvering the tank for aiming. For additional power when travelling at higher speed or negotiating difficult terrain, a turbine engine (originally a Boeing GT502, but being underpowered, was replaced by a Caterpillar 553 turbine after the 70th vehicle). The design was fully amphibious  and could swim after a 25-minute preparation. The frontal armour was relatively thick (up to 100mm) but the acute angle meant that the thickness equivalent was much greater. The crew was originally envisaged to be just two persons (commander and gunner/driver) but after considering the tasks issued to tank crews such as maintenance, bivouacking, track-changing and reloading in the field, the number was increased to three. The third person was assigned as the radioman and also as the rear driver as the tank is designed to be driven backwards at the same speed as in forward movement.

The tank proposals (Alternative A, Alternative T and Alternative S) was presented to the Swedish Riksdag during the tabling of the 1958 Defence Plan. Although Alternative S was the most expensive, the defence committee recommended it after considering its symbolic value (a domestic tank for a neutral country) and the spin-off effects on the Swedish defence industry. The formal decision was made on 4 February 1958 and a follow-on contract for two production prototypes were granted and was completed in 1961. Alternative S was accepted into production, with minor changes as the Stridsvagn ('battle wagon') 103 (The '103' meant that this was the third design utilising gun of more than 100mm in calibre). Despite its design, the Strv 103 (or more popularly known as 'S-Tank'), were expected to launch offensive counter-attacks on expected enemy beachheads and landing zones. The S-Tank have never been used in combat.

As the weight of the production tanks increased compared to pre-production vehicles, upgrades were in order. The original 300-hp rated Boeing turbine was replaced with a 490-hp Caterpillar turbine. The first 80 vehicles were retroactively designated 103A while the up-engined vehicles were designated 103B. Adjustments to the hydropneumatic suspension system increased the elevation range from -10 through +12 degrees, to -11 through +16 degrees. A 1986 upgrade programme to all vehicles created the 103C. The C variant featured improved fire-control system, provision for dozer blades on all vehicles (previously, only one dozer tank per platoon), anewer Detroit Diesel engine and additional fuel packs along the side to function as applique armour. Full production of the S-Tank started in 1967 and ended in 1971 with 290 delivered The Strv 103 ended service in 1997 in favour of Strv 122 (Leopard 2).

The Kit

Despite entering service in the late 1960s, the S-Tank has not been kitted by anyone in 1/35 scale (although several kit manufacturers have them in 1/48 including Tamiya). In 2002, Trumpeter released two kits of the S-Tank, the first is this kit and the other is the 'C' version. The S-Tank kits were among the first of the then-'new Trumpeter' kits from the company. The 230 parts were spread among three sprues and a lower and upper hull - all moulded in olive green plastic (there were no clear parts for the relevant components). Also included are a pair of vinyl tracks, a set of poly caps and the usual decal and instruction sheets. The level of detail is reasonable enough even without PE parts. The real downside is that a number of parts suffer from sink marks and ejection pin marks. The dozer blade can be posed in the open position. The small decal sheet provide markings for one vehicle.

Construction

Before I forgot, a number parts have prominent mold parting lines which need to be cleaned up and the task was done to the best of my abilities. Although the instructions have you assemble the wheels first, I started by attaching the various small details onto the lower hull. The adjustable suspension on the real tank can be represented in scale by removing the placement tabs on the suspension arms but that was something I won't do anyway and they were left as they were. The rear hull plate was then put in place but the wheels were set aside at the moment. The return roller mounts were however cemented to the lower hull sans its wheels at this time. A number of placement tabs (for the external fuel tanks of the 'C' variant' were removed and the lower hull was then set aside to make way for the upper hull. As per my usual practice, the lower hull was painted first, the wheels (which also has been painted) and the (also painted) tracks were placed on the model before tackling the upper hull.

Work on the upper hull started by drilling holes at the prescribed places and here Trumpeter clearly marked which ones are for the B (and also the 'C') variant. The lights needed filling as nearly all of them suffered from sink marks. Place the two B33 parts (dozer blade struts) on the hull if you want to have the dozer blade in the stowed position (the real S-Tank has manually-deployed blade). To ease painting, the extra track-links and the pioneer tools were left off at this time. The gun service hatch, while OK has a bit more gap than usual but something I can live with. To ensure that the latches for the driver's hatch is aligned with the hull, the former was cemented only after the hatch has been cemented to the hull. The commander's cupola was treated as a mini-assembly before being cemented to the hull but I decided to leave the machine gun assembly at this time. The headlights need to be fitted properly into its slots or the guards would be a very tight fit later on (guess how I found that out)

The upper and lower hull assembly, sans a number of detail parts were then cemented together prior to painting.

Painting and Decalling

Trumpeter suggested RLM 02 Grau as the colour for the S-Tank. While it sounded weird as the colour is named 'grey', the various photos seem to show that RLM 02 is almost spot-on due to its green tint. I have two RLM 02 in my stash; one XF-22 RLM Grey from Tamiya and 60 from Mr Color. The latter was rejected out of hand as it was too light while the former almost matches the colours seen in the photographs. The tracks were painted a base of XF-69 NATO Black and given a few layers of AK Interactive Track Wash. The tracks however proved rather resilient to paint despite being washed with mild soap solution. The spare tracks were also painted in the same manner while all the vision blocks and optics were painted with several layers of Clear Blue. The pioneer tools' handles were painted Olive Drab and Steel. The commander's MG was painted Flat Black, wafter which graphite powder from a pencil was used to 'metalise' the piece.

Finishing

I kicked off by putting the tracks into place, with the ends being hidden behind the front mud guard. The MG was then added to the commander's cupola. The various on-vehicle equipment were then placed at their respective places. Although the instructions show three shovels are put into place, there is actually space for just two. There was still time to make adjustments but in the end I decided not to use the exhaust extensions although many photos show many S-Tanks with them. The model then received the usual wash. This was followed by the application of Tamiya Weathering Master around the lower parts of the model to represent dust. WWP 'Brown Mud' was then applied to represent dried mud while a combination of MiG Productions 'Russian Earth' pigment and AK Interactive Fresh Mud wash was used to create, well, new mud. Since I'm bad at stretching sprues and that I have run out of guitar strings, no antennas were placed on the model. 

Conclusion

Trumpeter's S-Tank is the only model of this peculiar MBT, especially in 1/35 (or perhaps, in any scale). Just for that reason, Trumpeter should be congratulated. Detail-wise, it is not up to Trumpeter's own current standards but it was good enough for your average modeller. The build is also basically problem-free with only the front (and rear) of the hull needing some puttying. The hydropneumatic suspension of the real tank also allows interesting display possibilty of the model, should one is adventurous!