Introduction

The KTO Rosomak, Polish for Wolverine, is an 8-wheeled armored vehicle used by the Polish Land Forces. The vehicle is built in Poland by Rosomak S.A. under license of the Patria's AMV, a Finnish defence industry company. The Rosomak's initial order by the Polish Land Forces included 313 Combat IFV's and 377 Transport/Special Base vehicles. Polish Rosomak's have seen service in Afghanistan and as part of the European Union mission to Chad and the Central African Republic.

The KTO Rosomak-M3 was a variant modified for use in Afghanistan and use as part of the EURFOR in Africa which included an OSS-D open turret that could mount either a 40mm grenade launcher or the 12.7mm NSW/WKM-B heavy machine gun. This variant is the basis for a new kit from IBG Models.

Contents

14 Plastic Sprues
1 Clear Plastic Sprue
8 Plastic Tire Outer Rings
1 Fret Photo-etched parts
1 Decal Sheet
Instruction Booklet

Review

When I first saw the box, I was a little awed at the size, but when I opened the box, I understood why. The box is full of parts, and from the look of the upper and lower hull, this is a big vehicle. Now being a "boxy" looking vehicle, with not a lot of exterior detail, I began to wonder about the number of parts, well a quick look through the instructions showed it has a full interior as well.

More on all the good finds later, but first a look at the plastic. The molded plastic looks to be very well done, including some fine parts and surface detail. The surface detail includes the anti-skid pads all over the vehicle, really adding to the look. I found no flash or sink marks, but did find some ejector marks that will have to be dealt with, especially if showing of the interior detail.

As for details, a clear plastic sprue is included for the glass and headlight parts, and a fret of photo-etch is included, mostly some minor details and the upper vent grills.

A look at the instructions from IBG Models show what looks to be a standard construction flow, other than it jumps around a bit. The first couple steps show the assembly of the wheels, which are two inner halves and an outer ring. Now the two inner halves to include part of the rubber tire, so there may be need to fill any gaps. The instructions then move to the assembly of the transfer cases for the drive assembly and a few other parts for the underside of the vehicle.

Then the instruction jump to the start of the interior assembly, starting with the driver station, which does look to be well done. Unfortunately there are no decals included or paint callouts for the console components. It should also be noted that the kit only included a lowered position driver hatch, thus no option for an extended open hatch without some scratch building.

The next couple of steps they have the builder assemble some of the interior hatch details before moving onto the interior rear seating. The instructions then move on to what looks to be a well detailed engine, unfortunately the kit does not provide an option to view this detail. The upper hull engine panels are molded closed; you might get a slight glimpse of the top of the radiator unit through the top engine vents. To be able to show this off, the upper hull would need some serious surgery, to include interior hatch details.

Assembly then jumps back to the running gear, with the assembly of the frame and drive components. This does look to be well done, with some nice looking details parts included in the kit. With the frame and drive components complete, assembly jumps again back to the interior, with the start of adding the rear seats, driver section, engine, all built early and some other detail parts.

And again the instructions jump back to the bottom of the vehicle with some lower detail parts including the water propulsion propellers. The rear hull section is then added, and it does provide the option of open or closed doors, if you wish to show off some of the interior. The upper hull is then tackled with adding of hatches and details. Again, other than the drivers hatch, the other hatches are position able.

The turret is then built, with the option for the 40mm grenade launcher or the heavy machine gun. While the 12.7mm NSW/WKM-B heavy machine gun is slide molded by IBG Models with an open barrel end, the grenade launcher is not. Both weapons look to have good details, but in my opinion they may be the weakest part of the kit in terms of looks. As the grenade launcher has a slotted flash suppressor on the front end, drilling out and adding the slot may prove difficult, hopefully we will see a turned metal barrel for it soon, if that is the option you wish to go with.

With the turret done, it is time to bring it all together. The drive assembly is attached to the lower hull and then the upper hull. Other than the jumping around, the 51 step instructions look to be rather clear and straight forward. But as mentioned above, there are no interior or detail paint callouts, and there is no detail decals included. It would have been nice to see some help with what looks to be a well detailed interior from the molded plastic side, but there are no seat belts, stowage, and no interior roof details.

There are markings for two vehicles, both for service with EURFOR in Chad and Central Africa Republic. There are paint call out for the exterior, NATO Green overall. The decals look to be well printed, all within register.

Overview

Overall this looks to be a great kit of the KTO Rosomak from IBG Models. With good moldings and some nice details, it could be a great kit. Unfortunately for those who would like to show off the interior, I feel they fell a little short in completing the detail, with no interior roof detail, no stowage, and no decals or paint callouts to complete the interior. Some research and a little scratch building on the interior could make this a very impressive looking built model. I would definitely recommend this kit from IBG, interesting subject for sure and a good kit. I will be starting a build log for this model very soon, follow along and see how it builds.