Fran

Nice! A Corsair looks always good!

Kagero books are always a mojo inspiration!!

PLUSMODEL Diorama accessories and figure (Aeroline) (Catalogue n.º 4049 / 4050/ AL4059 ) Price Tag: 12.30 €/18.90$; 13.60€/19.40 and $11.50/8.10€ Available from Plusmodel CABLES REELS (Catalogue n.º 4049 / 4050) Price Tag: 12.30 €/18.90$; 13.60€/19.40 Cables reels were already release by Plusmodel late in 2015, and of course these 1:48 sets are plain equal to the big boys a 1:35, review you can check it Here. So all my thought about the cable reels are there, and on this little gems I will only put some pics of them. These ones are perfect to stand along 1:48 aircraft or the now uprising 1:48 armour scale. Pilot La-5 (Catalogue n.ºAL4059 ) Price Tag: $11.50/8.10€ Plusmodel from the past years has been releasing several figures in 1:48 to stand alongside an airplane or a helicopter. So this time we going to review a 1:48 russian pilot to stad along with a La-5. I assume that this figure will also stand well alongside a Lagg-3 or a La-7 or even a Mig-3 but Plusmodel decided to name these figure to a specific aircraft. This figure comes in two pieces. Well not quite. The all figure is cast in a single piece, with sharp details in the cloths. The detail is really awesome and just proves that Plusmodel knows what is doing. The belt buckles up front, the start on the belt, the bag strap are very well accomplished. The sculptor did a hell of job and Plusmodel did a fantastic casting of it. The cleaning is almost not, because all the fine resin flash comes off easily just with your fingers. The removing blocks are easy to remove as the connection point to the figure is quite slim. The another piece is a crate where the pilot is putting his foot. The crate is quite well achieved and very well cast with no cleaning except the removing resin block. The pilot position is quite a stylish one, cool one, like “the man to the job” and his non friendly face just accomplish that look! Brilliant! The paint instructions are as usual, a single nice color drawing of a La-5 pilot. As in accuracy, this figure does look like a La-5 fighter pilot, with several details being quite noticeable like the parachute straps and the cross on the seatbelt, so Plusmodel, as usual did their research job. But again I think that this figure will serve other plane like the Petlyakov Pe-2 in 1:48 from Zvezda. CONCLUSION: These little and simple Cable reels are a perfect adding in any diorama bringing a special detail on it with a most high quality. The figure is an high stander one, with a very cool look and full and genuine details making it a must have if you have a 1:48 Russian model kit in your stash. Highly recommended. With my sincere thanks to Plusmodel for this review sample. To purchase directly, click this link. Francisco Guedes

Thanks James for the explanation! Using a mask to the all surface, you`re using the A4 Tamiya sheet right? the one that is not available in Europe...

Hi guys!! WnW newletter was sent today.... not very good news, excepted the new available sprues and the restock of the special deals and Liberty engine V12... but the main thing is this statement: "Due to increasing costs and the continued low value of the US$ we will reluctantly need to increase the price of many of our models next month" "Continued low value of the US$." - Now here is where I got totally lost.... I really dont understand this statement... Consedering the back in 2009, 1€ was 1,50$, today, (via xe.com) 1€ is 1,11$....also saw some Aussie modeller telling the Aussie$ was on flat floor against US$, a quite different scenery from 2009 they say... I pay much more for a WnW model kit now that back in 2009, even if the price were the same... So for Europe, and Australia (for example) the US$ is much strong that our local currency, I really don`t understand WnW Statement... but something is really missing me and I dont understand much of Financial or Exchange market... Fran ohh. by the way, here´s the newsletter: Hi, A small update on what is happening at Wingnut Wings. New; 132E0001 200-230hp Benz Bz.IV engine and Parabellum machine gun sprues US$14 This is the engine & Parabellum machine gun sprues from 32001 Junkers J.1, 32002 LVG C.VI and 32040 & 32057 DFW C.V. 132E0021 100-120hp Daimler-Mercedes D.1/D.II engine & accessory sprue US$17 This is the engine sprue and wheel, radiator and armament sprue from 32046 Albatros B.II (Early). Re-stock; 132E0008 400hp Liberty V12 engine sprue US$14 This is the engine sprue from 32007 & 32061 DH9a “Ninak” 32003+90003 SE.5a 'Hisso' + SE5/SE5a Squadrons book special deal US$69 (value = US$97) 32014+90001 FE.2b (Early) + The FE.2b Flies Again! Book special deal US$99 (value = US$131) 32025+90001 FE.2b (Late) + The FE.2b Flies Again! Book special deal US$99 (value = US$131) 2016 Wingnut Wings catalogue; Updated PDF catalogue (3.4MB) is now available to download from our website. http://www.wingnutwings.com Upcoming price changes; Due to increasing costs and the continued low value of the US$ we will reluctantly need to increase the price of many of our models next month. While the US$ has regained some of it's value in the last year or so (but still not risen to anywhere near where it was when we released our first 4 models nearly 7 years ago) we can no longer absorb these extra costs. These price changes will take effect from 1 March 2016 (NZ time). Scale Model Expo & The Vintage Aviator Ltd flying weekend 23 & 24 April 2016; We will be attending Scale Models Expo in Upper Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. If you are coming to New Zealand's largest scale model show we look forward to having a chat and hopefully showing test shots of our upcoming highly anticipated Sopwith F.1 Camel model. Additional to Scale Models Expo, The Vintage Aviator will be holding a flying weekend in Masterton, about one hour drive (north) from the Scale Models Expo venue. This presents a good opportunity to combine two great events. http://scalemodelswellington.org.nz/expo http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/airshows/flying-weekends Also about one hours drive (south) from Scale Models Expo is the Great War Exhibition and Gallipoli, The Scale of our War in Wellington city. Two exhibitions well worth visiting if you are in the area and have the time. http://www.greatwarexhibition.nz http://www.gallipoli.tepapa.govt.nz ANZAC Day; The Monday following Scale Models Expo is ANZAC day and there will be numerous events around the city to commemorate this national day of remembrance. Regards, Richard Alexander Coordinator richard@wingnutwings.com Wingnut Wings Ltd, PO Box 15-319, Miramar, Wellington 6022, New Zealand.

PLUSMODEL 1:35 Accessories Wherry (Catalogue n.º 457) Price Tag: 13.60 €/19.40$ Available from Plusmodel Plusmodel is a quite busy company in releasing diorama accessories giving modelers huge options to their work in dioramas! We are spoiled by Plusmodel and very happy with that. And once again Plusmodel just release a very welcome add to their catalogue with a wherry, or we can call it simply a rowing boat. The kit come in small but strudy box, with boxart, the model complete with paint and weathering as usual in all Plusmodel box. Opening the box I was quite surprised nonetheless the little letters on the box art (not so little) saying “laser carved wooden parts…” The all kit is in wood!!! Two very very thing sheet of laser bass wood (I guess) gives the modeler all the is need to get a roaw boat. The next question is: how I going to build a wood boat? I`m a plastic modeler… Well Plusmodel really thinks of all and put inside the box, a sturdy paper sheet that is a construction jig, so the modeler just need to put the pieces in proper order in the jig and glue everything with white glue or cyano. The instructions are quite clear and starts with the necessary steps to build the jig. The rest of the construction, the wherry itself looks quite simple as it has very little parts (less than 20 pieces). The quality of the pieces are really awesome… its wood, real wood so no criticism is possible. The only non-wood parts are from the small PE sheet that is for the row supports being only 4 small pieces. Despite the boxart boat showing some lettering, there`s no decals inside the box. Plastic Barrels (Catalogue n.º 466) Price Tag: 15.30 €/21.80$ This set is quite simple and easy going one with 12 resin parts, one PE sheet and one decal sheet. The 12 resin parts are in grey color and are very well cast with no cleaning besides the resin block in the bottom. The side carry handles are in PE giving only 8 handles, which looking at the box art is logical as not all of the plastic barrels have them. The small decals set bring 20 danger symbols, with good definition and color registration, which is quite enough to all the barrels. CONCLUSION: As usual, Plusmodel comes to the rescue with original itmes to enhance our little vignettes or dioramas at a very very affordable prices if you consider that for example the plastic barrels set will give you at least for two dioramas. Highly recommended. With my sincere thanks to Plusmodel for this review sample. To purchase directly, click this link. Francisco Guedes

James, great work on those wings!! Really like the contrast! I never used linen aviattic decals but you really nail it... I confess that makes me a bit uncomfortable using decals in a whole wing,,,, you used two full sheets on the wings or one is enought? Fran

Wow!! Fab..ulous! Thnaks for sharing!! The Des kit is only the radar right?

your words are my command! You`re right.... and i thought about that... and then it just pass me! I will try to get some pics of them together!

1:32 Highly Detail Bombs by Kellerkind Miniaturen (from Martin Hille) In this review, we had the chance to take a close look to the new set of WWI Bombs in 1:32 made by Kellerkind. Once again, these ones are full committed to WnW models kits and lets see if they are a really improvement aftermarket. But first, I asked Martin to give us a small background history about Kellerkind Miniaturen and it’s a quite fascinating history. “Founded in 2004 and started with some historical and fantasy figures in different scales. Main scale at this time: 28mm figures and 54mm figures. sculpted the first 3 WWI aviation figures in 2010 (after I had seen the fantastic Wingnut Wings kits) after making the first years since 2010 only German and British figures I did in 2014 the first French aviator in 2015 the first accessories (like aerial bombs and pilot clothing) added to the “knights of the sky“ range made in 2015 the first Russian aviator figure I like the “Pirate style“ of this early pilots. Not really uniforms but more a mix of different clothings and styles. So a lot of possibility’s for me as an sculptor and no change for boredom”. 1:32 Sprengbombe P.u. W. 50 kg (Kaiserliche Fliegertruppe 1916-1918) Kellerkind Miniaturen (from Martin Hille) Catalogue n.º 062 Price tag: € 18,95 This set came in a quite small plastic box, and inside of it you got 4 resin parts in a zip-lock bag and protect by soft foam, 40 (yup, forty) PE parts, painting guide and a drawing with constructions indications. In the box art, there`s a pic with the four bombs where we can see the extensive details on them. The resin is a gray color, with exquisite detail and no distortion or bubbles whatsoever. Only a few and smalls seams lines to clean with care to not clean all the rivets re are very well cast giving a true real appearance to these bombs. The PE sheets gives 40 parts, being 10 parts to each bomb, so a single bomb in 1:32 has 11 parts (one resin and 10 PE). The PE sheet has its own details with the rivets on it, and very delicate parts that will turn each of these bombs almost a model by its self. The painting guide is quite complete in the information giving the modeler the light of the controversial about the paint used: “light blue” or “light gray”. The drawing with constructions tips is in fact the only less good aspect of this little set being a little confuse and hard to read… Its more helpful the box art with the four bombs made, by Martin (I presumed) 1:32 Brandbombe Carbonit 10 kg (Frühe Ausführung) (Kaiserliche Fliegertruppe 1914-1917) Kellerkind Miniaturen (from Martin Hille) Catalogue n.º 063 Price tag: € 12,95 Passing along to the small ones, this set also comes in a small plastic box with the resin parts in a plastic zip-lock bag and a protective soft foam. Also the “box art” is the four bombs very well painted. Like the other, this gives the modeler four resin parts, 8 PE parts, painting guide and a drawing with constructions indications. The resin is flawless, with all the details you can get in 1:32, that along with the PE parts will turn these bombs in high details ones. The only cleaning is also the very light seams lines. The painting guide also gives the modeler several options according with contemporary pictures and the color interpretation that have been made of then. In this set, probably because its only two PE per bomb, the construction guide is much more modeler friendly because it’s a assembly text with the bomb next to it and not a construction drawing. I personally prefer this option. Conclusion: These two bombs sets really are something of the best I ever seen in bombs. The detail is exquisite and will turn out a small vignette with the beloved WnW model kit, much more attractive because it will enhance the final look of it. No doubt that I will be using these ones in very near future. Highly recommended. My sincerely thanks to Martin Hille, the man behind KellerKind for the review samples. (You can buy directly here and if you do don`t forget to mention Wingnut Wing Fans and Large Scale Modeller and join Kellerkind on their facebook page) Francisco

Yep... Like George and Cees, WnW do have a very very tight fit.. and we all learned at the very hard way!. Keep up the good work on the Beautifull wnw!!

Finn likes! I know for sure!

JP, wow!! That wood jig is simply fantastic!!!

Really nice!!

A Gotha!! always great to see this one! and with TONS of AM!! Keep`t coming! I really didnt now that the gotha crew was already available.

1:32 Russischer Pilot (with leather jacket - in lederjacke) Kaiserlich russische Fliegertruppe Kellerkind Miniaturen (from Martin Hille) Catalogue n.º 060 Price tag: € 15,95 WnW really did a revolution concerning WWI modelling around the all world and brought the very best to WWI. Kellerkind Miniaturen is in fact one of those cases, giving WWI modellers very nice products and variety. Behind Kellerking is Martin Hille, a sculptor with great qualities and whom work I have been following in WnW fans facebook page and in Kellerkind facebook page for quite some while and I`m really honor to had to opportunity to make this review. Here we are going to review the lasts figure out from Kellerkind studios, a Russian Pilot with a leather jacket. Just in time to the Polikarpov R-1! Here`s two pictures that I found about Russian pilots in WWI. The first thing that caught my attention was the high color box in all sides and in the back painting instructions (which for rookie figure painters like me are very useful). The box art it’s a really good on with a great paintjob by Mirko Schlemmermeyer. The figure only have two resin pieces, a full standing figure with head, torso, legs and right arm and left arm in separate. The cleaning is almost zero and the resin block is quite easy to remove with a saw without losing any details as they are on the shoes sole. The figure has a brilliant composition and posture and the left arm odes contribute a lot to that pose and expression with the cigar at its end being the cherry on top of the cake. The fit was not quite perfect but very easy to get by just a bit of cleaning in the attaching point of the arm. The facial expression just give us the face of a hard and tough man that is ready to fight for is country and a believer in is thought and convictions. Everything in his face is in extreme detail: ears, nose and nostrils, lips, jaw rigid and stress but at the same time without fear. Or just a badass guy with no fear! I`m really amazed with the details on the clothes which are essentials to bring any figure to live and the details on this figure are simply astonishing: the front buttons with the buttons house just there being stretched, the insignia on the shoulders, buttons and buckles on the pants and the fur on the inside of the gloves, the hat with all the lines and head bump on the top. Amazing really, the pics do not make justice to this figure. Conclusion: This figure is a tremendous quality, with all the details being taken to the limit. The quality casting is superb and his pose is simply fantastic. No doubt that I will be using these ones in near future. Just perfect. These are perfect to stand on your shelf along with other stuff on WWI, mainly WnW. Highly recommended. My sincerely thanks to Martin Hille, the man behind KellerKind for the review samples. (You can buy directly here and if you do don`t forget to mention Wingnut Wing Fans and Large Scale Modeller and join Kellerkind on their facebook page) Fran

Nick your work is incredible and a total inspiration... I saw it in several forums! Thanks for sharing and keep up your fantastic work.

Looking awesome!!

WnW are simply the best! JP great review!

Hi Bombardier! First of all, Welcome to LSM and WnW fans forum!! Bold choose for your first WnW but all WnW are fantastic and modeller friendly! and oof you go with a awesome start!! Keep posting and sharing your work! Fran

no... never saw it in 1:32... Sorry!

Crazy!! really insane but it looks awesome!! I would love to tackle one of Jasmine models one day! And by the way, great review.

Awesome project!! Insane really but fantastic!

Nope... 7 layers. Thanks my friend for your kind words. Fran

Passenger Bus Gaz-03-30 1:35 Miniart Catalogue n.º 38005 Price tag: £ 34.99 297 grey styrene parts and 26 clear parts 1 decal sheet for 8 variants 1 photo eteched fret Miniart have been releasing several variant of Gaz-AA, and now we have the opportunity of review the Bus version, The GAZ-3-30. The base truck for the Bus passenger is in fact the GAZ-AA. This type was very versatile and Russian did have this to almost everything, since ambulance to anti-aircraft. There`s a lot of pics of it on the big World Wide Web. This truck has used as a bus role until the 50`s as we can see in the markings options. GAZ however still present to present day. It’s a really fantastic the knowledge that we get by making a review. Being in Portugal, I did have almost no knowledge about GAZ history. Googling around and we easily find GAZ website. And the company history that`s on the website, is highly detailed and a joy to read. “The first ever product engineering department of Nizhny Novgorod automobile plant was established on July 6, 1929. The first head of the so-called Technical Office was Mr. Vladimir Tsipilun. The main task of this department was to verify completeness and to translate engineering documentation for Ford-A and Ford-AA vehicles supposed to be built under license. This happened three months after USSR Supreme Council of National Economy had made a decision to build “a powerful automobile plant” in Nizhny Novgorod. Four months later, the Technical Office was converted to Technical Department and 10 further engineering units with a total headcount of 226 employees were established. July 1931, the organization structure of the department was finally determined, which included a vehicle design office, an experimental laboratory, an experimental workshop, a translation office, a common blueprinting service and a technical library. Among the tasks and functions to be performed by its employees were: translation of design and engineering documentation, its duplication and distribution, testing of vehicle prototypes, identification of structural weaknesses, elimination of identified shortcomings, improvement of parts and assemblies as well as fabrication of pilot and prototype components and assemblies. Before November 1930, the Department occupied an office in a cinema-theater in Rozhdestvenskaya street near Volga river. At the end of 1930, the department was relocated to the construction site of Nizhny Novgorod automobile plant. With the establishment of the Technical Department, Vladimir Tsipilun was appointed the first Chief designer of the Nizhny Novgorod automobile plant. He was a mechanical engineer specialized in automotive technology, a highly experienced professional with an in-depth knowledge of vehicle repair and restoration technologies, who had studied automobile production in Europe and, most importantly, had acquired immense knowledge in practical motor vehicle building during his employment at AMO automobile plant. Vladimir Tsipilun was actively and directly involved in creation of the first ever Soviet truck AMO-F-15 and was managing development of the next model AMO-3. In his capacity as chief designer of the Technical Department, Tsipilun took the lead and charge of processing and adjustment of technical documentation for license-built American Ford-A and Ford-AA vehicles, which were prototypes of the first ever home-made mass production motor vehicles, in order to bring it in line with GAZ manufacturing capabilities as well as peculiar vehicle operation conditions (road and climatic conditions) in the USSR. Beginning of the mass production demanded from the young and small engineering team immediate and self-reliant solving of many issues. For example, by the beginning of GAZ-AA production there was no tooling for steel cabin in place. Therefore, a wooden cabin had to be developed and designed (senior designers A.Kirillov and Y.Sorochkin). And the platform of that vehicle was made based on the in-house drawings made by designer L.Kostkina. In January 1932, Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant was finally launched; a conveyor assembly of GAZ-AA trucks was started. In December 1932, the plant commenced production of GAZ-A passenger cars. After the plant was launched, Vladimir Tsipilun was transferred to Moscow to take a position of deputy head of the Main Agency of Automobiles and Tractors of the USSR. After that, the Technical Department was headed by V.Danilov, who yet before his transfer to Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant had had plenty of engineering experience behind him by that time, working as chief designer and chief engineer at Yaroslavl automobile plant and heading the development (1926) of the first ever Soviet diesel-powered heavy-duty truck Y-3 and being involved in organizing of Y-3, Y-4 and Y-5 trucks production. Also he had been working for some time at the All-Union Automobile and Tractor Association (VATO) in Moscow, from which he was sent to Nizhny Novgorod. V.Danilov stood at the origins of the GAZ specialty-vehicle design and engineering school. Under his direction, optimization works on the turretless tracked tankette T-27 and the small swimming tank Т-37 (with a 40 hp engine and GAZ-AA gearbox), which had been developed by Moscow Tank Plant No 37, were conducted as early as 1932 and 1932 respectively. In 1934, such special-purpose vehicles as airborne cargo-and-personnel pickup track GAZ-4, self-propelled gun GAZ-TK (SU-4), command bus ГАЗ-03-30 (based on the GAZ-AA chassis) as well as three-axle truck GAZ-AAA were developed under his direction. In view of large amounts of upcoming design and engineering works aimed at improving performance characteristics of the vehicles, V.Danilov invited from Moscow Mr. Andrey Lipgart – a high-skilled, competent and ambitious specialist, who were at the time chief designer of the automobile department at the Scientific Automobile and Tractor Institute. V.Danilov delegated a part of his authorities to Lipgart. А.Lipgart worked in this position for 18 years incl. 11 years (since 1940) as head of the Design and Experimental Department (from then on, all GAZ chief designers also combined their chief designer position with the office of the head of the Design and Experimental Department). Being a highly talented designer and possessing excessive background knowledge and managerial abilities, he managed to create a great creative team of specialists around him. The first steps A.Lipgart made in his capacity as GAZ chief designer were upgrading single components and systems of the existing vehicles as well as developing new types of the vehicles on the basis of the existing ones. After that, development of a new limousine GAZ-M1 (that very famous and well-known to many our countrymen “Emka”) was started. At the same time V.Danilov was involved in the development of special-purpose 3-axle wheel chassis GAZ-30 for armored vehicles manufactured by Izhora Mechanical Plant (which was further developed to a special variant of the three-axle army vehicle T-31 in 1938). In 1936, he designed the small amphibian tank GAZ-TM (Molotov tank) for the first time at GAZ. In 1937, he took the lead of development of armored artillery tractor T-20 “Komsomolets” and three-axle pick-up truck GAZ-21 for the Red Army, whose chassis was also used for light armored reconnaissance vehicle BA-021. During development of the above mentioned special-purpose vehicles, V.Danilov was also supervising development of GAZ-М1 passenger car, GAZ-55 buses, GAZ-60 trucks as well as works for upgrade of existing 4-cylinder engine and development of a new state-of-the-art 6-cylinder high-performance engine. In 1938, V.Danilov was transferred to the plant management to take an office of deputy chief engineer with a focus on the production of special-purpose vehicles. Acting in that capacity, V.Danilov organized building of prototypes of GAZ-VM wheel-cum-track vehicles (Molotov crawlers) designed by NATI using reinforced GAZ-M1 chassis, which received later on the name GAZ-MS. That chassis was further used to build BA-20M armored vehicles, which took part in the battles of Khasan and Khalkhin Gol as well as in the Finnish campaign and WWII. At the same time, GAZ-61 all-terrain vehicles, GAZ-M415 pick-ups and GAZ-42, GAZ-44, GAZ-45 trucks and GAZ-05-193 buses were created under the direction of A.Lipgart and with the participation of V.Grachev. Engineering potential and design experience gained during that period were efficiently implemented during WWII, when civil vehicles designers and engineers had to switch to military products. The first military vehicle manufactured at Gorky Automobile Plant was T-60 – a light tank developed by Mytischi Machine-building Plant and then adapted for mass production. Two next tank models Т-70 and Т-80 as well as the well-known self-propelled gun SU-76, armored vehicle BA-64B, army jeeps GAZ-64 and GAZ-67 were designed by GAZ specialists independently. It should be noted that even in the hardest times, GAZ designers kept on developing GAZ-M20 passenger cars (to be later named “Pobeda:) and GAZ-51 two-tonner trucks (launched in 1946) in parallel with military product development. it is noteworthy that GAZ design department was the only product design and engineering team till mid '00s, which was involved in developing serial trucks and passenger cars as well as special-purpose mass-production military vehicles at the same time. Based on GAZ-51 platform, the all-terrain vehicle GAZ-63 was built. For country’s warm regions, a convertible variant of GAZ-M20 "Pobeda has been developed and launched in 1949. The final touch to the post-war product range was development and launch of production of GAZ-12 “ZIM” passenger cars in 1950 (two further variants of the car - a convertible and an ambulance were launched in 1951), which featured an unique combination of unibody multiseater design with comfort and ingenious external appearance, as well as development of jeep-like off-road vehicle GAZ-69 that further successfully replaced GAZ-67. The post-war GAZ vehicle generation generally featured rationality and adaptability to manufacture due to high level of communization of their parts and assembly units. Good combination of their exterior shapes contributed to their unique external appearance and formed the features of GAZ style that was also adopted by the next generations of GAZ vehicles: compactness, lightness, simplicity and clarity of logically and functionally designed inner spaces and minimum required level of decorative finish. Successfully mastering of new vehicle designs as well as their production and operation has proven professional maturity of GAZ design team headed by А. Lipgart. In 1951, А. Lipgart was trasferred to the position of deputy chief designer for advanced projects, while the former chief designer for trucks Lev Kostkin was appointed chief designer. During that time, they were in charge of design refinement of GAZ-69, GAZ-69A, GAZ-47 crawler and GAZ-46 amphibian vehicle. In 1952, A.Lipgart and L.Kostkin were relieved from their offices by decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Following that, N.Borisov was appointed GAZ chief designer. During his term of office, the following vehicle models were developed, upgraded and put into production: GAZ-51A, GAZ-63A, GAZ-M72, GAZ-21 Volga, GAZ-22 (station wagon and ambulance), GAZ-40, GAZ-47, GAZ-46, GAZ-69 and GAZ-69А. GAZ-51P saddle truck was put into production and development of a new saddle truck GAZ-63P was started. Also, a lot of pilot vehicles was created during that time: GAZ-19, GAZ-19A, GAZ-54, GAZ-M73, GAZ-18, GAZ-62, GAZ-62B, GAZ-48. All that allowed GAZ to lay the groundwork for future design works. In 1958, N.Borisov was appointed GAZ chief engineer, while the office of chief designer was taken by D.Prosvirin, who had previously worked as chief designer for trucks. He was in charge of the plant’s design engineering team for 29 years until he retired in 1987. During his term of office, the large-class passenger vehicle GAZ-13 «Chaykа» (meant to replace GAZ-12 «ZIM») as well as GAZ-13B («phaeton») were developed. GAZ-63P - saddle truck was designed based on GAZ-63 platform. Also, the station wagon and ambulance vehicles were upgraded. New vehicle variants GAZ-22V and GAZ-22D were developed. The third generation of GAZ trucks was created: GAZ-66, GAZ-53, GAZ-52-04, GAZ-53А. During this period, GAZ started works to create a new medium-class passenger car - GAZ-24 “Volga”, which was finally mastered and put into production in 1970 to replace the first generation GAZ-21 “Volga”. The new generation «Volga» featured elegant external appearance, advanced dynamic performance, more roomy and comfortable interior, structural safety and steering behavior. High robustness of body and chassis of GAZ-24 made this vehicle irreplaceable for taxi service operation as well as for development of the vehicle’s cargo and passenger variant with station wagon body - GAZ-24-02 and ambulance vehicle - GAZ-24-03. Also, large-class vehicle GAZ-14 “Chayka” and its parade version GAZ-14-05 as well as luxury version of GAZ-3102 “Volga” were developed. A.Prosvirnin contributed greatly to the dieselization of Gorky automobile plant, who was involved in development of the Russian first medium-sized air-cooled diesel engine and production launch of GAZ-4301 truck equipped with this engine. Along with it, the works for development of new two-axle off-road truck GAZ-3301 with air-cooled diesel GAZ-3301 as well as four-axle amphibian off-road vehicle GAZ-44 with KAMAZ engine were carried out. Also, A.Prosvirnin was engaged in development of design of a brand new all-wheel drive passenger car family (GAZ-3105, GAZ-3104 and GAZ-3103). Also under the heading of A.Prosvirnin, GAZ engineering team developed, tested and mastered following vehicles: four-axle armored personnel carriers BTR-60 and BTR-70, two-axle armored reconnaissance vehicles GAZ-41 as well as tracked vehicles GAZ-71, GAZ-73, GAZ-3402, GAZ-3403, which were put into military service of USSR army and armies of Warsaw pact countries. Another great achievement of A.Prosvirnin was the extension of the available research and development infrastructure, erection of new building, outfitting the plant’s testing facilities with up-to-date equipment and construction of proving ground. In 1986, the plant’s R&D Center was established. Igor Mukhin was appointed GAZ first deputy general director and R&D center director. Following the appointment, he engaged actively in works and activities for development of business-class passenger car GAZ-3105 “Volga”. The first vehicle samples were built within the shortest possible time and presented in the Kremlin, as it was common those days, to the members of the Politbureau and personally to M.Gorbachov. A little later, a new 1,5-tonner truck family (which was later named “GAZelle”) was started. Mukhin passed away in 1988 of an incurable disease. After that, GAZ structure was re-organizied and the R&D Center was abolished and replaced by a structural unit called “UKER” (Design & Experimental Works Directorate). Following that, Y. Kudryavtsev was appointed GAZ chief designer and UKER chief. Among the trucks, which were developed under his term of office in his above capacity, were light commercial vehicles GAZ-3302 "Gazelle" and GAZ-22171 "Sobol", which enjoyed a high demand on the country’s emerging small business market. The design concept proposed by Y. Kudryavtsev was restricted by 1,5 t. load capacity, thus allowing the company to use the main transmission units and assemblies, which had been originally developed for GAZ-3110 passenger cars, and to speed up the development and pre-production of "Gazelle" vehicles as well as "Sobol" vehicles. Medium-duty trucks also got their further development during that period. GAZ-66 was substituted by all-wheel drive truck GAZ-33081 "Sadko". Also, urban commercial vehicle GAZ-3310 "Valdai" was designed, manufactured and tested those days. At the same time, "Gazelle" vehicles were built in numerous versions and configurations, "Sadko" vehicles got their further development in "Eger" and "Vepr" versions (GAZ-330811. Based on “Valdai” platform, some crew cab versions as well as 36-seated urban buses were manufactured. In the area of passenger car development, the design of brand-new GAZ-3105 "Volga" with all-wheel drive and GAZ-3104 4x4 was refined and fine-tuned in this period. At the same time, totally new passenger car GAZ-3111 "Volga" in its original version was developed, which was intended to be equipped with import components. But its mass production was interfered by the default of 1998. As a result, the design of the car was "simplified" to use existing in-house components and assemblies. And its production was limited to several hundreds of cars. In the sphere of serial vehicle production, it is the merit of Y. Kudryavtsev, who managed to bring back to life the projects “multipurpose vehicle GAZ-3937” and “module-type vehicle "Vodnik", which had been "frozen" a few years earlier. Following a number of additional works and acceptance tests, engineering and design documentation for these vehicles was finally approved in 1998, and the vehicles were passed into military service seven years later. His another major achievement in this field was development of multi-purpose off-road vehicle "Tiger". Also, the following specialty and special-purpose vehicles were developed during his term of office: armored personnel carrier GAZ-5923 «Rostok», crawler GAZ-3409 «Bobr», articulated amphibian vehicle GAZ-3340 as well as a variety of conversion purpose vehicles: SIAM, «Vetluga», ML-104, GAZ-8017. Under the direction of V. Kudryavtsev, dieselization of GAZ gained further momentum: development of self-designed 4-cylinder diesel engine with air cooling GAZ-544, adaptation of design of passenger cars as well as that of small and medium trucks for installation of Steyr diesel engines, adaptation of all currently manufactured medium trucks and tracked vehicles for installation of Belorussian diesels D-245.7, preparation of GAZ vehicles for installation of diesel engines from Cummins, YaMZ, Iveco, Toyota and others. Diesel engines started to be used for equipment of GAZ serial vehicles. In 2001, V. Kudryavtsev was appointed advisor to the General Director of the plant, while V. Chetverikov, who had previously worked as chief designer for trucks, became chief designer of the plant. In 2010, he became the head of GAZ Group Unified Engineering Center. With his active participation, "Gazelle" and "Sobol" LCV family were restyled and upgraded. In 2002, these vehicle families started to be equipped with Steyr GAZ-5601 turbocharged diesel engines as well as with ZMZ-40522 gasoline engines with direct fuel injection to meet international emission standards. In 2003, "Gazelle" and "Sobol" families underwent the facelifting and were equipped with upgraded interior. Also, a "Sobol" 2x2 variant was introduced. In 2004, a long-base "Gazelle" and a crew cab "Gazelle" were mastered. Also, right hand-drive "Gazelle" and "Sobol" versions, passenger car "Volga" (GAZ-31105), special purpose vehicles “Vepr” and “Tigr” (GAZ-2330 and GAZ-233014), "Vodnik" (GAZ-393771) as well as cross-country vehicle GAZ-3106, D-class vehicle GAZ-3115 and new armored personnel carrier GAZ-4120 were developed. Further development of the Russian market as well as free competition with leading international automakers dictated the necessity of significant improvement of products, processes and overall quality as early as at the design stage. Realizing this, the management of "GAZ Group" that includes the Gorky Automobile Plant, initiated the establishment of its own product development quality system. Today, the product development is accompanied by in-parallel manufacturability analysis, choice of optimum process approaches and in-depth calculation taking into account the investments needed as well as production costs, with full focus on the needs of consumers. During the financial crisis in 2008-2009, the main focus was made on Gazelle. According to new approaches for product development, weaknesses of the existing vehicle were studied and a program for upgrade of GAZelle and Sobol vehicle range called "Gazelle Business" and "Sobol Business" was developed. The task was to improve consumer values, quality and reliability of the major units of the vehicle. At the same time, the vehicle variants with Cummins diesel engines were developed. This model upgrade resulted in a sharp increase in demand. In 2009, Gazelle NEXT project has been launched. The aim of the project was to develop a completely new LCV line to be competitive in the modern market conditions, both nationally and internationally. The vast experience of UEC team allowed it to develop the new light commercial vehicle combining the best features of existing "Gazelle" with innovative solutions in the shortest possible time. Already at the prototype stage, the new vehicle was highly appraised by European partners, who were in charge of prototype testing. "Gazelle NEXT» has become the basis for creating a wide range of light-duty trucks and buses. Along with the activities in the field of development and manufacturing of commercial vehicles at GAZ Group’s Nizhny Novgorod site, UEC specialists are also actively engaged in developing projects for other sites and business units of the company. Among the top-priority tasks are commonization of automotive component base across all GAZ Group production sites, development of new Ural truck variants as well as CNG-powered buses. Thus, carefully preserving its own long-term experience in the field of automotive design engineering and following advanced trends in the international automotive industry, GAZ Group Unified Engineering Center is able to create unique products, which allow the company to proudly bear the name of the leader of the Russian commercial vehicle market.” http://eng.gazgroup.ru/united_engineering_center/history/ The boxart is a very good one! Miniart has been getting better in their boxarts in my opinioin. And the boxart is one of the most important thing of a model kit… The boxart alone is half the way for the modeler to buy the kit….At least for me… The box has 34,5cmx24,1x7 dimension. It`s a medium size AFV box with 435 pieces inside! Inside of it, we find a full box of plastic. All sprues come in a single plastic bag, gave the clear parts, the decals and the PE sheet all in a small bag. Although this awkward sprue packing, every parts have no damage. The sprues are molded in grey styrene and its looks with great quality. Sometime ago, Miniart sent an email telling that they were changing the molded techniques and using a new plastic. Well this one is from the next generation, and the plastic has almost no flash with some great subtle and sharp details. There`s in fact lots of plastic or better yet, lots of sprues, has some are quite small. So in fact inside of the box there`s 41 sprues, one PE-sheet and on decals sheet. Sprue A and B, we got all the main chassis structure and engine. The engine is quite a simple ones, but MiniArt give it a good detail treatment, giving however space to the super super detailers because you just can leave it open or if you want to keep it “simple”, just add wiring! J The chassis frame do not come in a single piece. Looking up the pieces looks like that all parts have a “glue” connector and for that a nice, tight and a proper alignment fit. The chassis frames, suspension, bars and all mechanical pieces are very well reproduce and its turns the chassis frames very busy and details… so no problem if you just want to put this model on the side, or upside down in a wrecked situation. The details are there. There´s quite some good parts so care and dry fitting will be need it to get a proper alignment As usual of Miniart, there`s a lot of sub-assemblies, with lots of parts that will make the assembly slower that a Tamiya kit for example and lots and lots of parts. The wheels or better yet, the tires. For me it’s the first time I see in flesh the wheels (in particularly the wheels) from a MiniArt model kit and I really, from the sprue, can`t understand the concept. So I was really curious to see if the approach does really work. It`s the first time I see a tire with more than two parts (and I`m really sceptial about it) so I decided to build one tire. And, Voilá. The result is not as bad I thought that will be. Moving to the upper part of the vehicle, the driver and the passenger cabin are very well detailed. Some injection pins needs to be removed from the roof and sidewalls, as all the inside of the cabin, with all the windows will be quite visible. I'm afraid that any structure composed of three parts to be slightly more sensitive in their grooves must clearly take place upon the placement of the sides using the roof part as a template to obtain a good fit. The floor was some good engraved details and passenger seats are multi parts that attached the floor and cabin side walls. All the interior must be finish and painted before putting the roof top. Some planning and attention must be taken by the modeler as the windows must be putted before the roof as after its impossible to do it. Also you will need to mask them before color paint and weathering. The proper and own bus structure, well obtain by MiniArt, makes this model a quite delicated one to build. Speaking of clear parts, they are in fact quite clear but also very delicate. The removal from the sprue must be quite slow with a saw to get it with no damage. Passing to non plastic material. The metal stuff. The small PE fret has 13 parts, all of them to represent hanldes and registration plates. Decal sheet is a quite small one but with lots of registrations plate. The color saturation is good and with good register. I can`t tell who the manufacture but looks like is MiniArt itself that make the decals. Instrutions The instructions booklet is printed in A4 size with the cover and markins options in glossy paper and in full color. The rest of the instrutionx (the building process are in black and white, with very good drawings and pieces places well indicated. The only sidedown is there no color guide to the interior cabin, engines, seats… simply nothing. Given that color info and profile were made by AMMO, they could also give inside colors... just my two cents. Another thing is that there no history of the model in any parts… do we really need it now with the internet? If the subject is not too obscure, for me, I just can pass a simple history text. On another hand, a good and concise history text can really give an extra mojo to get that build done.. Markings options The markings options are bring to us by AMMO with of course, color reference for AMMO. You got nonethelees than 8 schemes 4 early and 4 late type wich mean that you have four Mod. 1945 and another four Mod. 1938. Mod. 1945 1- Service Bus for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Minsk, 1946-58; 2- Services Buses fro construction management n.º 5 (SMU), Zaparozhskaya Oblast (Zaporizhzhya), 1958-65; 3- Service Bus for tourist camp “Sochi” , Sochi, 1951; 4- A regular-route bus, town of Przhevalsk (now Karakol), Issyk-Kul region, Kyrgys Soviet Socialist Republic, 1946-58; Mod. 1938 5- Service Bus for unknown organization/enterprise, Gorky City (now Nizhny Novgorod), 1940-ies; 6- Service Bus for “Aeroflot” company, Moscow, 1946; 7- Service bus for Kharkov rope plant, 1938-41; 8- Service Bus for All-union young pioneer camp “Artek”. Gurzuf settlement, Crimean Peninsula, 1940-41. All the schemes are quite attractive and quite difficult to choose from but I will stick to the red and yellow one! CONCLUSION: MiniArt through time, always have bring to the modeler quite unusual model kits and this one is not exception. This beautifull Gaz Bus should be a very useful addition to a diorama or even by itself. The quality of the plastic alongside with the top noch details will give you the certain to have a great model. Even the tires convinced me that the solution, not being my favorite, is also doable and with details. However I really think that a solid tire would be a lot better. So I Highly Recommend this little and cute bus! J My truly Thanks to Miniart for the review sample. Fran To end this just an aftermarket round up and curious to see that most of then are for the wheels (tire) - 1/35 GAZ-AA/AAA Wheel Set by Micro Scale Design - Ba-2/6/10, Gaz AA/AAA - Wheels with Spare - Hussar Productions - Nr. 35031 - GAZ-AAA; BA-6; BA-10 Road Wheels - MasterClub - Nr. MC235001 - Russian wheels - GAZ type - M4 Models - Nr. 35025 And finally a detail set: - GAZ-AA / AAA detail set - Minor - Nr. VMD35026