Introduction:

Red Zebra Models is a company from UK producing a range of resin and fine dental plaster cast accessories to detail scale model kits and dioramas. The company’s latest offering is a stowage set designed for Meng’s British Army Husky TSV (VS-009), a perfect addition for anyone building the kit.

Review:

Husky TSV Stowage set comes in a zip-lock bag, firmly secured to a cardboard carrier. The set consists of 9 resin parts:

- drop in stowage for cargo bed,
- rolled canvas cover for the turret,
- ammo cans (6x),
- spacer bar.

The pieces are cast in grey resin. The resin is of outstanding quality; there are no evident air-bubbles, seam lines or any other casting imperfections. As for the details… I remember someone on the forum saying the resin in Red Zebra offerings looks soft. After close examination of the set I bought, I can confirm the details are very sharp and impressively delivered in scale.

The drop-in stowage for the rear cargo bed is cast as a single piece. The two tiny holes on the bottom part of the stowage piece provide an anchoring point for the spacer bar supplied in the set. The spacer ensures the optimal height of the stowage in the cargo bay (photo x). The stowage includes bergen backpacks, sleeping bags, rolls, tarps and boxes. I like the way these items work together, creating a busy look of the Husky TSV cargo bed (photos x-x).

The set also includes a rolled canvas tarp. This piece is a very nice touch by Red Zebra, as reference images show most vehicles deployed to Afghanistan have the turret cover tarps stowed on the turret rear. Finally, the set includes 6 additional ammo cans for GPMG (M240B) which should prove very welcomed as well.

Installing the stowage:

The main piece in this set is designed as a drop-in piece, which means it could be easily installed even after the cargo bay is fully assembled. This also offers a chance to paint the piece before actually fixing it into the cargo bay.

I had no problems fitting the piece in its position. A minimal amount of trimming was required to get everything perfect.

Conclusion:

I love seeing military vehicles with large amount of stowage and most of my models are heavily loaded with stowage as well. I just started building Meng’s Husky TSV when Red Zebra announced the stowage set designed for the kit. To be completely honest, I was a bit reluctant to get this set at first. I love planning and fitting the stowage pieces myself, adding boxes, backpacks and various bits and pieces from the spares box. Besides, I never used Red Zebra’s products and didn’t really know what to expect.

After getting the set, I have nothing but compliments for it. The pieces are perfectly cast with loads of impressive details all around. Intelligently designed as drop-in piece, the stowage can be fitted to the model easily. Most importantly, I feel the set realistically reproduces typical British modern-day stowage, providing a busy look to the Husky cargo bay.

Well done Red Zebra!