Chaffee is perhaps one of the most beautiful American tanks of the WW2 era. The M24 was built in considerable numbers, and actively fought in World War II and after. For a long time, the only model in 1/35 was Chaffee from Italeri and his repacks (Testors, Tamiya). It came out 35 years ago, in 1986. By modern standards, it is a very simplified model with a lot of inaccuracies. In 2012, a model from Bronco was released, and in 2013, quite suddenly, AFV club began its Chaffee line.
Comparison of models with photographs gave an unexpected result. The much-praised model from Bronco suffers from considerable inaccuracies, and irreparable ones. I got the impression that the developers did not see the real tank, but were guided by the old Italieri model, modifying the small things from the photographs. But AFV, on the contrary, made the model from scratch, having studied the prototype very well. Therefore, the source for the construction This:
I am building the earliest version of the tank. There is nowhere a clearly laid out classification of changes from early to late, so the information has to be collected bit by bit. What is in the box is not the earliest version.
I will try to compare the AFV model (dark green plastic) with the model from Bronco (yellow plastic).
From general impressions, the usual model from AFV. Medium quality polystyrene, which must be handled carefully and carefully due to the tendency to flake slightly. Not very neat surfaces (apparently poorly polished molds), the study of small things ranges from "excellent" to "very bad", most (but not all!) Of the welds are terrible. Collectability is "very good" !.
Completion of sets.
AFV Club: In addition to polystyrene sprues, 2 small FTD boards (of very good quality), a chiseled barrel, brass shock absorber tubes, a spring, elastic bands of caterpillars (similar to T74E1, well developed), a thread for a cable (by the way, it also depicts a cable well), decal and sprue with transparent details. A resin figure of a tanker goes as a bonus. I would call it funny, whoever was holding a miniature from Hobby Fan in his hands will understand me.
Bronco: I got a set CB35068 (British Army Chaffee). In addition to the polystyrene parts, there is a photo-etched board, a thread for a cable (it looks not at all convincing, unlike AFV). The kit includes a figure (plastic). Tracks are stacked, on clicks. The spring for the barrel is also plastic. There are a number of accessories (ammunition boxes, bags, roll-up). A board with transparent parts is also present.
Sandy polystyrene, it is processed well, small things on large parts (hardware, brackets for belts, etc.) are printed well, although there is some blurring too. Welding seams look better than those of AFV, but they also do not look like themselves everywhere.
Due to the lack of drawings, I rely on comparison with photographs (from the WWP album mostly, and from the network). Therefore, my opinion is to some extent subjective. And in my subjective opinion, the AFV model more accurately and correctly conveys the appearance of the tank.
Bottom view. The bathtub of both models is made in a multi-connector form (bottom with sides), and at AFV it looks more detailed. As for the size, the bottom of the Bronco is shorter by 2 mm and narrower by 3 mm.
The height of the side is the same in size. But here the weld seam of the side, between the plates of the combat and engine compartments, at Bronco moved forward by 3 mm (at AFV, judging by the photo, it is in place). Plus, the difference in the thickness of the plates at the AFV looks more convincing, like the seam itself. And, it seems to me, the wings of Bronco went up. But I will check this moment when I will mount the wings.
When viewed from above, the width of the case varies between 1 and 2 mm (the Bronco is narrower). I want to pay attention to how the top of the case is assembled. At AFV, it is practically one-piece, only the front and middle sections of the engine plate are glued in. Therefore, the assembly does not cause any problems. The only problem is how the detailing of the engine plate is printed (this especially affected the rear section, where the grille is printed very poorly). At Bronco, the top of the case is split into 8 parts. On the one hand, all the details are worked out and accurately cast. On the other hand, it is necessary to show the unthinkable miracles of balancing act in order to combine it, and even more so - to connect evenly! The body bath is somewhat deformed, and the front section of the top of the body is deformed by waves (the detail is very thin, and in order to align it, something must be invented additionally).
As for conformity to the prototype, the problem with the Bronco model is even greater. Chaffee's body was welded from bent sheets, these fold angles are very clearly visible on the model (see the photo). The Bronco missed those fold lines quite badly. As well as with the upper frontal sheet, which turned out to be a very pronounced pentagon with a semicircular top. Plus a simplified and irregular shape of the bullet-breaker of the tгккуе, a forgotten weld seam, forgotten grooves for the hatches of the driver and his assistant. These moments are practically not cured. AFV is doing well in this regard.
The lower frontal sheet at Bronco took the shape of a trapezoid (which is not correct), the welding seams left a little towards the middle, and in height it lost about 1 mm. And this moment is also quite critical - the top of the lower frontal sheet protruded above the joint with the upper one and, in fact, was a bullet-breaker for what was mounted on the upper sheet. Plus, the detailing of this part is frankly weaker than that of AFV (there are no drain caps, the shape of the cast parts is somewhat distorted, and they suggest assembling the casting number from individual etched letters and numbers - that is still masochism)
Back plate. The photographs show the difference in size, shape and fold angle. Again, I will say that in my opinion AFV looks more like the truth.
The front part of the engine plate is narrower for Bronco by 1.5 mm and shorter by 0.5 mm
The middle overmotor sheet also lost 1.5 mm in width.
Rear grill. Not only did it lose the same 1.5 mm in width, but also added 1 mm in the longitudinal size.
The front side part of the superstructure is 0.5 mm less both in width and in length. Plus the fold angle is out of place.
The rear side panel is 1 mm longer and has a more trapezoidal shape. If its front edge is narrower by 0.5 mm, then the rear edge is more than 1 mm. For such a small detail, the difference is very significant.
Комментарии
Отправить комментарий