Introduction

Legend Productions has got into 3D mastering in a big way and that has resulted in a large number of very nice resin products in the form of weapons and figures in two main scales. One of the latest releases from Legend Productions is a M240 Swing Arm Variant 3 in 1/35th scale.

Review

This offering consists of two M240 machine guns and the swivel mounts for adding them to the model of your choice. These are packed in the usual card boxes of the end opening type favoured by Legend Productions and sealed in shrink wrapped plastic. The packaging is quite good as regards presentation and storage, but both will need further protection in the postal system.

An examination of the parts that are provided shows the viewer just how good Legend Productions are at casting resin pieces. The mouldings are crisp, well supported on their pour plugs and so have remained in their original cast shape and true. One of the issues with resin parts and especially so when the parts are very fine is that they are brittle and so can easily be snapped, but looking at these two offerings have zero defects as far as production is concerned.

The M240 machine guns are very nicely done with a very high level of detail. The effort put into the openings for the ammunition belt and the ejection of the spent cartridges is appreciated by this modeller. A possible downside to this area of the machine gun is that the breech has not been provided separately and so cannot be shown open such as in the act of loading. Moving to the muzzle of the machine gun and I have found that there is no opening or indentation present, this means the use of a drill is required and will require great care to avoid breakage of the area, this is due to Legend Productions placing a vent on the end of the muzzle to ensure that the part is fully cast. The stocks of the weapons are very well replicated as regards shape and detail, and there are a lot of images online supporting the details on this weapon.

Legend Productions has provided a torch mount with torch on the right side of the barrel and what I believe is an infra red light on the left of the barrel. I have searched for evidence of these parts being attached to a vehicle mounted M240 without success, but I would happily accept the infra red mount even if I question the torch on a vehicle mounted weapon, that said I am sure it could occur most likely on the lighter vehicles where crews mount their own weapons.

Each set offers a different sighting system for the machine gun in addition to the nicely detailed iron sight provided by Legend Productions with particularly good detail. The M240 is equipped with an optical sight mounted at the rear for the user that I believe is a Trijicon 6x48 ACOG Machine Gun Day Optic Kit (Dual Illuminated Horseshoe-Dot M240 BDC Reticule

The swing arm supplied with the M240 is a double arm that I believe can be used as a single arm in addition to the directions provided by Legend Productions. I prefer this swing as it allows the machine gun to move around the figure when aimed rather than having to change body position to look along the weapon. The M240 is supplied with a pintle mount with a locking elevation adjuster, I am unable to locate an exact match for this mount but then again there are so many types I am not surprised at my failure.

Conclusion

This is yet another great addition to the 3D mastered range of products from Legend Productions, and while I know that products such as these can be found elsewhere I like having a choice. The moulding detail is of a very high standard and provides a great palette for your painting skills. My one complaint is the lack of a hole or marker at the end of the muzzle.