I'm happy to report that I received a handful of World War II Miniatures this year for Christmas! I also got lucky and received George Nipe's book on Kursk "Blood, Steel, and Myth" so all-in-all I made out pretty well :)
Earlier today I posted a photo review of the Warlord 28mm Plastic Infantry I received. Here is a run down on the tanks I got.
I received 2 Rubicon Models 28mm Kits. The first being a Panzer IV box set that allows you to model several different variants (F1, F2, G, and H). There are instructions and a decal sheet included... which is nice for me since I don't have many 28mm decal sheets.
I have to say that I really like these kits and I'm happy with how they assembled. There are some limitations with the kits (like the extra-wide inner road wheels); but I am more than OK with this considering I don't want to spend a week gluing a more detailed kit together.
Details are sharp and crisp and there aren't very many mold lines to clean. There were a few on the gun barrel, muffler, etc. but they cleaned off easily.
All of the parts fit together smoothly and I didn't have any problems with poor fit.
Once together and glued, I was pretty impressed with how solid it felt. I have a Resin Elefant that is a few years old (that I glued but never painted, lol); most of the details have busted off over the past few years with normal handling. I don't anticipate these details will be snapping off.
Putting this together reminded me of assembling PSC Vehicles...
I didn't do any measuring, but to the eyeball, Warlord Plastic Infantry look good in comparison.
The second vehicle I received was the Rubicon T-34; you can model a couple of different early turret variants.
As with the Panzer IV, I really liked the kit. I've heard some complaints of the tracks being a little inaccurate, but this isn't really a concern for me since I usually model tracks with a little dirt on them.
The sprue includes a handful of different options that you can model on the hull to your preference. I kept mine fairly clean.
Parts fit together very well and I had no problems gluing and assembling... took me about 30 minutes but I could have done it much faster.
I think Rubicon did a very nice job with the rear deck detail. It is a good combination of detail that stands out but isn't too exaggerated.
Top down view...
And with some Warlord 28mm Infantry...
This isn't much of a "technical" review and I'm not the type of collector/painter/gamer that worries about complete accuracy. But as a consumer, I give these an A+. They are sharp, easy to assemble, solid, and they look great! I hope I can say the same once I've had a chance to paint them.
I am looking forward to more products from Rubicon!
Happy New Year!
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