Plus Model is an aftermarket company from Czech Republic, specialized in producing 1/35 scale accessory sets for dioramas and vignettes. This review covers a set of gas cylinders typically used in military and industrial settings: US Pressure Bottles – Modern (478).
Review:
The set is packed in a hard cardboard box. The front of the box features a large photo showing the contents of the set, listing all the multimedia pieces inside the box: 59 resin parts, photoetched sheet and decals.
In the box I found two sealed plastic bags additionally protected in bubble wrap. One of the bags contains resin pieces and the other PE fret and decal sheet. The set also includes paper printed instructions.
The resin pieces are cast in grey resin and look really good. There are no casting imperfections, but I did notice some thin flash residue which can be easily removed using the back of an X-acto blade. Larger pieces are cast each on its own resin pour block, while the smaller pieces share a longer block. Several smaller pieces broke off their pour blocks and I wish blocks with such tiny pieces were stored in a separate plastic bag as this would probably minimize the breakage in transport. The photo etched fret contains 7 pieces. These are rather simple pieces and should be fairly easy to use even for those not experienced in working with PE parts. The decal sheet includes gas nomenclature (acetylene, air oil free, oxygen, nitrogen oil free, argon oil free, carbon dioxide) and stripes (white, green and black) which can be used to detail the cylinders.
The cylinders in this 1/35 scale set are 37 mm high and have diameter of 6.5 mm, which corresponds to 130 cm (51 inch) and 23 cm (9 inch) respectively. These measurements suggest the cylinders in the set depict K size cylinders. The set includes pieces to assemble 10 gas cylinders:
The cylinders can be assembled with the safety cap on, or with valves and pressure regulators. The latter is a more complex assembly but it is worth the extra effort. The only problem could be painting the pressure gauges realistically… perhaps a custom decal would do the trick better than painting these by hand.
The set also includes a hand cart for transporting the cylinders. The cart is a rather complex assembly consisting of 7 resin and 6 PE pieces, but should prove a great detail in many industrial dioramas. Another detail in the set is a wood pallet, constructed using 7 resin pieces. Modern gas cylinders are transported and stored in an upright position, so I don’t think using the pallet as shown on the box art image is very realistic… however, the pallet is definitely a bonus in this set as it can come in handy for different diorama settings.
The instructions included in this set show an assembly diagram, decal placement directions and color guide. I have a slight reservation with regards to painting the gas cylinders, as the colors can vary… for instance, the CO2 bottle in my laboratory is grey, not red as the color guide suggests. Therefore I would suggest using reference photos before actually painting these cylinders.
Conclusion:
US Pressure Bottles – Modern (478) from Plus Model is a 1/35 scale multimedia set (resin, PE and decals) offering 10 gas cylinders which can be depicted stored with the safety cap on, or in use with valves and pressure regulators. Hand cart and wood pallet are included as well.
The resin cast is really good and the details are nicely delivered in scale. With the PE and decals, this set should be a great addition to modern day industrial or military dioramas.
SUMMARY
Highs: Resin, PE and decals all of impressive quality. Possibility of depicting cylinders as stored or in use. Hand cart and pallet are a plus.Lows: One type of cylinders only.Verdict: Highly recommended.
Our Thanks to Plus Model! This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.
About Mario Matijasic (Maki) FROM: CROATIA HRVATSKA
You wonder how did this addiction start? I was a kid when my dad broght home a 1/72 Concord airplane; we built it together as well as couple of other airplanes after that. This phase was just pure fun: glue, paint, decals in no particular order... everything was finished in a day or two. Then I disc...
For US military usage, look at MIL-STD-101B; the specifications for gas cylinders is section 5.2 starting on page 14, with Table III giving the specific colors by gas beginning on page 18.
Hi Sean,
does your list mean that suppliers use other colors for the military than for civil users?
If so, how do they avoid mistakes since I can imagine that military users are also used to civil bottles? Are military and civil bottles used mixed?
Thanks in advance for answering,
P.
You tend to get two types of Oxygen, the oxygen as marked for the likes of an oxy acetylene and for aircraft breathing oxygen which is purer.
Example
LINK
Military tend to be black with white heads for Oxy and grey with black for nitrogen, they also carry the bottle pressure markings etc
Example
LINK
Ohh and they dont like tyres filled with Oxygen as opposed to Nitrogen, they didn't last long on the landing run, saw it happen
It's part of the contract with suppliers to have new pressure cylinders delivered either with the correct color coding, or unmarked and empty to be painted before use. When 'civilian' pressure cylinders are used, since there is no one standard for civilian gas cylinder markings, they're required to be prominently labeled if they have to be used before they can be repainted, and must be repainted before they can be refilled.
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