Military Modelling - July 2013

Product reviewsTrumpeterHMS Eskimo Destroyer 1941in 1:350 scaleKeen students of 20th centurynaval history will recognise HMSEskimo as one of the 16 large‘Tribal Class’ destroyers builtfor the Royal Navy in the 1930sand which saw significant activeservice during World War Two.Kit builders familiar withTrumpeter’s products of willfind all the familiar contentsinside the box. In this casethe kit contains 214 parts onseven sprues, a one-piecehull (no waterline option), onephoto-etched fret with 41parts plus one decal sheet. Toassist in the delicate task ofassembly there is a 12-pageinstruction booklet, the firstpage of which lists all theusual equipment necessary forthe assembly but not includedin the kit, most notably cutters,glue, paint and brushes. Italso carries the warning thatthe kit is not suitable forinexperienced modellers andnot in any case for anyoneunder 14-years of age. Pages2 and 3 display in diagramform all the parts awaitingassembly. The remaining ninepages contain the 17 highlydetailed sections that mustbe followed meticulously andchronologically in order toachieve the desired result. Inaddition Trumpeter, as usual,provides the assembler with amost useful three-part diagramof the finished and paintedmodel, as it should appear inprofile from port and starboardand from directly overhead.This diagram also contains thepaint reference chart needed topurchase the correct colours.This model will provide theusual test of concentration,dexterity and eyesight butshould result in a good replica ofthis particular warship and at anacceptable purchase price.Trumpeter also provide on theoutside of the box a synopsis ofHMS Eskimo’s long and eventful11-years of active service, fromher commissioning in 1938 toher scrapping in 1949. She sawaction in the second battle ofNarvik in April 1940and supportedthe Allied landingsin North Africa inNovember 1942.She was activein the English Channel duringand after D-Day and helpedsink U-971 north of Brest on 24June 1944. She ended her warservice in the Far East harryingwhat was then left of the fleetof the Imperial Japanese Navy.As one of only four ‘Tribal Class’destroyers who survived thewar, her ultimate fate was tobe broken up for scrap in 1949.She and her class of warshipdeserve to be remembered andassembling this model is anexcellent way of doing so.Fred LeddenPrice £24.99UK distributors Pocketbond,PO Box 60, Welwyn, AL6 0ND.AFV ClubU.S. M2HB .50 Cal MachineGun Set in 1:35 scaleOf all nominally small arms in theworld today, probably none is aswell-known or widely proliferatedthan the Browning Model 1921.50 calibre machine gun family,better known as the M2 machinegun. It has been offered in threebasic barrel types over the years– water-cooled, air-cooled, andheavy barrel ground mount, andtwo basic firing rates: 550rpmas the M2 and 1100-1300 as theM3 aircraft version. Its 12.7 x107mm round still packs a majorwallop today.Over the years modellers havegrown more and more fussyabout their machine guns, andas nearly all US made vehiclespacked an M2 as their turretexternal/anti-aircraft mount,the old single-piece mouldingsfrom the 1960s have fallen intodisrepute and any good modernkit needs a much more detailed.50 for the turret. To that end,a number of resin kits havebeen offered over the yearsand now injection-moulded kitshave caught and in some areassurpassed them.This kit (item AF35246)makes the fourth after-purchaseoffering of a more detailed M2for modellers to use. The oldestis a Tamiya set from manyyears ago which offered anice M2 with tripod. The mostuseful general kit is one fromAcademy that offers a varietyof both .30 and .50 calibreweapons and accessories.Tasca offers a separate .50calibre kit that builds a singlemachine gun. Now this kitfrom AFV Club is offered whichprovides for two machine gunsand a number of differentmounts and accessories.The kit offers two differentM2 variants: one is an M2HBwith a choice of either thecommon barrel with muzzlereinforcement or the modernone with flash hider bolted inplace; the other, for reasons bestknown to AFV Club, is the aircooledbarrel that is rarely seenanymore and was not commonin ground usage. The HB oneconsists of eight parts includingan etched-brass forward sight;the air-cooled one only has fiveparts. Both come with slidemouldedopen bores.An M3 tripod is offeredin either open or foldedconfiguration, and comes withseparate feet (‘spades’) andpintle. Cradles add anotherfive parts to each gun, and achoice of ammunition boxesand ammunition box holderscompletes the weapons.The kit includes the M63 AAmount and a set of ‘speed-ring’type sights from etched-brassfor each type of gun. The mountcomes in 17 parts and alsoincludes the double-handled twopositiontrigger frame assemblyfor the gun in this use.The machine guns are verynice, but all things consideredthe choice of the air-cooledbarrel is a bit odd as mostground mounts never used one.A few are in service with theUSAF for protection on helicaircooledsome may be in servicewith the Navy/Marine Corps butmost are now gone. Two breechmechanisms with a choice ofthree barrels would have been abetter option. Overall though, thekit is nicely done.Cookie SewellPrice £12.99UK distributors Pocketbond,PO Box 60, Welwyn, AL6 0ND.70