Italeri released their LMV Lince kit (#6504) in 2015. Although a solid kit out of the box, many modelers were looking for aftermarket options to upgrade the kit and add extra details to their build, making their model more realistic. Enter Royal Model…
The company offers resin replacement wheels, vehicle seats and a comprehensive update set consisting of resin and PE pieces, all designed to bring the Italeri kit to the next level. This review covers Lince Seats (810), released under Royal Model label.
Review:
The set comes in a sealed cardboard box. The front of the box features a CAD image showing the contents of the set. Inside the box is a plastic bag that safely secures the pieces.
The set consists of 14 resin pieces: seats (5x), headrests (5x) and seat bases (4x). The resin looks really good, however I noticed some air-bubbles in two headrests, which I filled with putty and sanded. Also, some of the delicate details on seat bases were broken in transport. I found the broken bits in the bag, carefully fixing them to their original place using superglue. Upon closer examination, the details on these pieces are absolutely stunning and well defined in resin.
The cleanup of the pieces is tedious and there is a risk of damaging the detail while removing the large casting blocks. I would recommend patience in two most critical aspects of the process: first, cleaning the seatbelts hanging on each side of the seat could prove difficult, and second, extreme care should be taken while handling seat bases. Each base has three super thin protrusions which will snap easily. Extra patience will go a long way here, as the cleaned pieces look amazing with sharp details all around.
Assembly:
The set includes two slightly different variants of seats (labeled #2 and #3) featuring different fabric folds and seat belt placement, and two slightly different seat bases (labeled #5 and #6) with different fabric folds. Finally, one of the seats is depicted with folded base; this piece represents middle rear seat, folded to accommodate turret gunner stand.
The assembly is pretty much straightforward. The headrest is fixed to corresponding holes on the seat top and the seat then attached to seat base. I would suggest test fitting the pieces before actually opening the glue bottle. I found out that seat #2 fits optimally to base #6 and seat #3 to base #5. Slight differences between the seats and bases provide a variation which enhances the realism of the finished seats.
Fitting to the model:
The resin seats can be used as is on the Italeri model. However, looking at the reference photos I noticed front seats rarely feature canvas covers on their bases. Some modelers might opt not to use the supplied seat bases here, instead combining the seat mechanical suspension from the Italeri kit with the seats from Royal Model.
Conclusion:
Lince Seats (810) from Royal Model is an impressive set. Although it takes a lot of patience to remove the resin pieces off their carrier blocks and clean them without damaging the details, the extra work is well worth the effort in the end. The details look absolutely amazing and the finished seats offer a massive upgrade to Italeri kit.
References:
LMV Lince in Detaill (G054), Wings & Wheels Publications
SUMMARY
Highs: Amazing detail. The finished seats provide an impressive replica of real Lince seats and offer a huge upgrade to the seats included in Italeri kit. Lows: Part cleanup requires a lot of patience. Some casting imperfections.Verdict: Highly recommended.
Our Thanks to Royal 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...
My only comment on what appears to be a highly detailed and very worthy after market product refers to the review itself.
For those of us who do NOT recognize the Lince brand name nor the terminology used, it was only after looking at the last two product application photos that I realized these seats were something to be installed in a military ground vehicle. My first assumption was a rotary wing application.
It is often times not safe to presume that the same level of pre-knowledge is possessed by everyone reading a given article. Sometimes the old fashioned, basic rules of story telling; "who, what, when, why, and where" often used in newspaper writing must still be covered.
It was only because this was listed under the "Armor" section that I looked at this review at all.
The first sentence in the review says: Italeri released their LMV Lince kit (#6504) in 2015.
I thought the introduction paragraph covered all the "who, what, when, why, and where" you mentioned... I guess I was wrong?
Best,
Mario
I knew that the seats were for ground vehicles simply by their style, though I will admit that this might have mislead some individuals. And yes, they sort of look like something that you'd find on a KC-10, etc. Either way they seem like a really nice upgrade.
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