Introduction

The Israeli Defence Force has become a very popular subject with modellers in the last few years, with a number of manufacturers releasing some unexpected vehicles and armour on this theme. Legend Productions recently released a stowage set based on an Israeli Centurion tank, I suspect aimed at AFV Club’s Centurion offering, and this set is the subject of this review.

Contents

The product is supplied in an end-opening card container. The photo etched fret and twine are sealed in a zip lock bag with the resin castings bagged separately. This approach had in my case prevented any damage to either resin or photo etched pieces, except for a single rod poking up out of the turret basket. The contents break down as follows:

• A photo etched fret
  
• A length of twine
  
• 40 resin castings
  
• An instructional picture

Review

My first impression is that Legend has done a very good job of the resin casting; there are no obvious moulding issues that I was able to detect in terms of miss moulding or air bubbles. I do have a single gripe, which is the pour plugs: for the most part these are not a problem and are easy to remove, but castings such as the one on the stowage bin have a complex shape which will be quite a task to remove; I also do not like that the lower support frame bars have the pour plug over them.

Looking over the various resin parts in this set I can see areas that have obviously been moulded to fit on the Centurion tank, and so will be easy to put in place. The bustle rack is the most obvious part in this category, and also the large canvas and tied bags will be straightforward to add due to the shape of the moulded mating surface. The photo etched parts that form the grille work around the bustle rack have been well done, with Legend supplying a separate etched part to replicate the centre frame work.

The remainder of the resin parts could just as easily be used on any number of vehicles and still look right; that is by no means a complaint, as it provides the modeller with options as to how to use the separate items, as well as how much or how little of the set is used on an individual model. There are a couple of the resin pieces worthy of mention: Legend has given us two large backpacks of the same type but with different crease detail from separate moulds, the first time I have seen a company provide individualised examples of the same item, a very nice touch in my opinion; I also like the inclusion of a stretcher with its handles moulded as separate parts to avoid them being damaged, and they are further protected by the raised pillars on the pour plug. I believe that the twine included with the set is intended for adding rope ties if so desired.

Conclusion

This product from Legend Productions offers a host of nice additions for dressing up your Israeli Centurion tank, but perhaps also a good selection of items that could be used for a number of other builds. There was the one rod, forming part of the bustle rack contents, that was broken, but if, as with this sample, the broken part was not in the bottom of the zip lock bag, it could quite easily be hidden during construction. It would nice if some of the pour plug structure had not been as complex a shape as that which is attached to the bustle rack, but with care it should still be possible to remove it cleanly. I would like to see Legend provide a guide with suggestions for the placement on to a vehicle of the supplied parts, although with this type of set the images on their website should suffice.