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A39 Tortoise

Stage Nineteen

Though now instructed to install the tow cables onto the Tortoise, I still have some work to do on them, and painting them while off the vehicle is easier.

Stage Twenty

Here you assemble the three smoke grenade dischargers, the grenade cups and mounts being identical, so they can be assembled without fear of mix ups. Very few manufacturers provide injection moulded launching cups that are hollow, so these are quite impressive. I did unfortunately manage to lose one of them during construction, so be warned, they are easily knocked off the sprue, and easy to miss until you need them.

Stage Twenty One

You’re nearly done, as you add the two banks of smoke grenade launchers to the superstructure of the Tortoise. While Meng has tried to show exactly where the earlier applied cables interact with the smoke grenade launchers, it is actually shown best by the images of the real Tortoise stored at Bovington.

Stage Twenty Two

This is really the last step in finishing the Tortoise, as the next stage just covers adding the gun turret which is about to be assembled; this is fairly easy, other than the clean up of the rather delicate cable that goes to the turret smoke grenade launcher. Once the turret is completed, it is located onto the vehicle by two lugs, as commonly used for attaching most model tank turrets.

Conclusion

Meng have made a very good job of representing the details of the Tortoise, with very few errors, the only one of note being the cables from the front lights on the glacis panel. I am not sure exactly what the problem is there, as I’m uncertain if it is that the locating area is too small, or that the parts are incorrectly placed; my best guess is that the lifting points are located both too far forwards and sideways. I also wonder why some grab handles were moulded solid while others were provided separately, as the simplified parts somewhat detract from the model’s appearance.

You will see from the photographs I have included of the Tortoise at Bovington that most of the missing detail relates to casting numbers that have been either overlooked or omitted. It slightly niggles me that Meng could not perhaps decide whether to represent the example at Bovington, or alternatively a production vehicle as might have been seen had it been accepted for service. I say this, as there are parts omitted that appear on the museum’s example, yet they have included things like the red triangle warning sign that states “Warning Unarmoured”. Finally, it’s a little disappointing not to have included any of the minimal decals required, and items such as number plates, as it would have provided builders with a few more options.

In box reviews on Armorama:

• First Look Review by Jim Starkweather
• Unboxing: Meng A39 Tortoise Video by Jim Starkweather

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