| UM 1/72 BT-5 Kit Review |
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| UM? Sounds like something I'd come up with. I need an identity for my
company. Now let me think, what would make a good company name? Ummmm......
Hey! |
| I heard absolutely nothing about the imminent release of this kit which
is odd because the rumour mill is usually rampant with, well... rumours,
about upcoming kits. This is a new company, which would explain why I've
never heard of them before, and the box boldly states that the kit is made
"With assistance of IBG, Poland". Ahhh.... Nope. Never heard of
them either. This, I'm told, is UM's first release in spite of the fact
that it says "No. 301" on the box. Wonder what happened to the
previous 300? |
| So having heard nothing about the existence of this kit I was surprised
to stumble across it in the new arrivals section of the Hannants
website. The BT family of tanks has always been high on my want list in
1/72 scale but I never thought I'd actually see an injection moulded one.
Ever the optimist, I hoped for the best but feared the worst as I placed
my order. Fortunately my fears turned out to be completely unwarranted -
this is a fantastic kit. |
| |
| The flash free parts are crisply moulded and exhibit fine detail. The
wheels and link & length tracks are very nice indeed, my only complaint
here being that the tracks are moulded flat with just engraved lines representing
what should be prominently ridged hinges. Highlighting the hinges during
the painting stage may help this a bit or if it really bothers you can leave
the tracks off and model it in its wheeled configuration. The large teeth
on the inner track surfaces are very well done. Spring detail is moulded
on the inner hull walls but most of this will disappear once the outer section
goes on. |
| There is nice rivet detail on the hull but none on the turret which is
correct for some BT-5s - some did have rivetted turrets so check your references
if you feel the need. The turret hatches are moulded closed but the driver's
hatch is a seperate piece. There is no interior included. |
| A small fret of photo etch is a nice bonus and this has parts for the
engine deck screen, rear fenders, tow hooks, and intake covers. |
 The
Marking options are for one Spanish civil war and three Russian BT-5s.
Instructions are in Ukrainian, English (sort of), German and Polish but
the 13 construction steps are easy to understand exploded diagrams and there
is a parts map - the latter being a bit superfluous really as all the parts
are numbered on the sprues, but hey, it's de rigueur to have a parts map
these days isn't it?
A full build of this will appear as soon as I finish off my Revell Cromwell
(finished!)
and I'll be able to comment on fit and scale dimensions then.
Not the most inexpensive kit around at £8.99 but, based on first impressions,
highly recommended. |
| 14/12/02
Built! |
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