Introduction:

Pro Art Models is an aftermarket company from Belgium, producing state-of-the-art 1/35 scale conversions and accessory sets for modern day vehicles and dioramas. I have several Pro Art kits for various Humvee upgrades, and all those were thoroughly researched sets with the resin pieces superbly delivered in scale. After realizing my latest Spec Ops Humvee project needs a particular communication setup, I turned to Pro Art once again.

Review:

US Special Forces Communication Set (PAU-35049) is packed in a hard cardboard box. The box art image shows a small segment of a built vehicle featuring the communications kit. Although it is a great way to promote a product, the box art image left me wondering if the set actually includes everything I need for my project. I checked the Pro Art website and found a pdf document showing the contents of the set (link).

The box took some beating during transport, but none of the kit parts suffered any kind of damage. US Special Forces Communication Set is a multimedia kit featuring resin and PE parts, with an instruction sheet included as well. Here are the contents of the set:

1) resin parts (22 pieces)
- FBCB2 Blue Force Tracking (BFT) system: monitor, keyboard, CPU and PLGR GPS
- Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS): monitor, keyboard, CPU
- Various small electronic pieces (SINCGARS / Harris Radio accessories)
- Super Inverter
- X-wing SATCOM antenna (3x)

2) PE fret (27 pieces)
- vehicular radio table and mount
- radio box mount
- FBCB2 CPU roof mount
- SATCOM antenna wings and mount

3) instruction sheet

I’m far from being an expert on comms systems, so forgive my ignorance on the “various small electronic pieces”… these are probably vehicular adapters, power supplies, amplifiers, converters, interconnecting boxes, keyboard display units. Although I could not identify all the specific pieces in this set, I have seen all these on reference photos in various Special Ops Humvee communication setups (link). The resin pieces are perfectly cast and feature extremely well defined details, a truly wonderful representation of complex communication pieces with loads of tiny switches and buttons. In fact, I compared the super inverter from this Pro Art set to the same piece I got in SF Humvee conversions from two different respectable resin manufacturers. Pro Art's version is by far the best, offering not only the highest standard of resin, but also the sharpest details wonderfully delivered in scale just popping out after a thin coat of primer. Well done, Pro Art!

The instructions included in this set show the basic assembly procedure, however the placement of each part within the vehicle communication setup is optional and it would be best to check the references to build the radio setup of your own choice. Wiring diagram is not depicted in the instructions as it is way too complex to show it on a piece of paper. Again, check the references and use wires of different diameter to connect the communication pieces.

One thing to note is the fact this set does not provide everything a modeler needs for making a complete vehicle radio setup... SINCGARS and Harris radios with accessories are available separately in US radio set SINCGARS (ASIP) (PAU-35020) and US modern radio and satellite communication set (PAU-35010). Fortunately, I have these sets in my stash and I can now build almost any comms setup I want for my SF Humvee.

Conclusion:

Although a one-man band, Pro Art Models produces plethora of resin accessories suitable to upgrade various modern vehicles in 1/35 scale. US Special Forces Communications Set (PAU-35049) is a multimedia kit designed to deliver state of the art communication setup often seen on US Special Ops vehicles... Humvees, War Pigs, etc.

The set consists of FBCB2 / EPLRS components and various radio accessories perfectly cast and superbly detailed in resin, with different vehicle mounts offered in photoetch. Combining this set and two other communication sets from Pro Art's portfolio provides the option to build an impressive 1/35 scale replica of virtually any comms setup seen in US SF vehicles.