Three new releases from Trumpeter in September 2021
Soviet BTR-152K1 APC 09574
The BTR-152 was a six-wheeled Soviet armoured personnel carrier, built on the chassis and drive train of a ZiS-151 utility truck. It entered service with several Warsaw Pact member states beginning in 1950, and formed the mainstay of Soviet motor rifle battalions until the advent of the amphibious BTR-60 series during the 1960s.
The colours and markings of this kit
BTR-152s were available in several marks, and were manufactured in large numbers for the Soviet military and export. Late production models utilized automotive components from the more reliable ZIL-157 truck. Three primary variants of the BTR-152 appeared between 1950 and 1959: the base armoured personnel carrier with a single pintle-mounted 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun, an unarmed command vehicle with a higher roofline, and an anti-aircraft variant armed with a ZPU-2 mount. BTR-152s could carry a single infantry squad each, or specialist weapons teams along with their mortars and anti-tank equipment. In Soviet service, a number were also deployed as artillery tractors.
The sprues included in the kit
BTR-152K (1959) - Received an armoured roof with three big hatches on top of it, two of which opened to the right over the troop compartment, an internal tires pressure regulation system and a filtering/ventilating system. The weight of the vehicle has increased, the crew went down from 2+18 to 2+13.
Model Brief Length: 194.3mm Width: 66.3mm
Total Sprues 10 sprues and tires
The kit consists of over 380 parts
The main tires are hollow rubber with a very good tread pattern
The photo-etched parts included
Mi-24D Hind-D
Mi-24V / Mi-35 "Hind E" Mi-24V (Hind-E) is another improved version, a development of Mi-24D. The major change consists of the upgraded and more efficient SHTURM - V missile system with 9M114 (AT-6 Spiral) radio-guided anti-tank missiles launched from two pairs of cylindrical pods mounted on wingtips. Also added were B-8V rocket pods for 20 80 mm S-8 rockets, UPK-23-250 pods with two-barrel Gsh-23L and 250 rounds, GUV9A universal pods which can carry a 30 mm 9-A-800 automatic grenade launcher, or one 12.7 mm 9-A-624 four-barrel machine gun and two four-barrel 7.62 mm 9-A-622 machine guns.
The colours and markings of this kit
It was equipped with TV3-117V engines with improved height characteristics and optional exhaust mixer boxes to cool exhaust gasses, and auxiliary fuel tanks with a capacity of 450 litres. Since the War in Afghanistan, Mi-24Vs received a radar homing and warning system (RHAWS), infra-red countermeasures (IRCM) and an active IRCM jammer. This equipment was also fitted to some late Mi-24Ds, which have sometimes been referred to as Hind Ds Mod. The degraded version exported outside the Warsaw Pact was called Mi-35.
The sprues included in the kit
Model Brief Length: 366mm Rotor Diameter: 360mm
Total Sprues 5 sprues
- photo-etched parts included
German 5cm FLAK 41auf Selbstfahrlafette(Sd.Kfz.7/2) 09513
The 5 cm FlaK 41 was a 50mm anti-aircraft gun produced for defending intermediate zone above the light, 37 mm guns' range, but below the ceiling of the heavy, 75 mm and above, pieces. Development of the gun, although started in 1936 was slow, and the contract was awarded to Rheinmetall-Borsig only in 1940. The gun was produced in two models, used for defending important industrial installations. None of the two was a success and both shared the same faults.
The colours and markings of this kit
The speed of traverse was too slow for fast-moving targets and the gun proved underpowered, even though the propellant gave a powerful blast, able to dazzle the aimer even in broad daylight. Altogether 60 of 5 cm Flak 41 were produced, starting from 1941. Some of them were still in use in 1945.
Masks for the transparent parts of the kit are included
The sprues included in the kit
Model Length: 233mm Width: 143mm
Total of 19 sprues and tires
The kit consists of over 850 parts
-Details finely represented by newly tooled parts
Individual tracks links
Rubber tyres
Photo-etched & brass wire included
These kits should be in your local hobby store about now - check for more info on all of their kits on the Trumpeter Website