introduction

The latest full resin kit to emerge from the MIG productions studios is of a wheeled loader. MIG has produced two different versions, an open cab civilian and a closed cab (uparmoured) Military one. This review covers the "Whats in the box" with a full build review to follow.

the kit contents

The kit comes in the now standard cardboard box with a full colour picture of the completed kit on the top and the sides. On opening the box you are presented with the usual explosion of protective poly peanuts and then a set of full colour build instructions....... yes...... you heard right, full colour build instructions. This is really a pleasent suprise from the usual badly photocopied instructions that accompany most resin kits. I wish more companys took as much time with there instructions as they do with there kits as it makes life so much easier for us modellers and may even entice more modellers to have a go at a resin kit.

Contained within the box are seven bags, 5 of resin giving a total of 84 parts. One bag containing the siicon hoses and wire, and also included in this kit is a set of resin pallets (also available separately if you wish) as well as a large clear sheet of plastic for the glass. The bags containing the resin parts appear to be broken down into the component parts to assist with the building of the kit, add this to the colour instructions and the build looks fairly simple even for the relative novice.

quality

There is quite a bit if cleaning up to do on some of the parts, but again this is shown in the instructions, I'm glad to see that some of the more delicate parts have quite long carriers on them which should make them easier to remove with out damaging the part. A lot of the window parts also have flash that's required to be removed, but again adds some strength to the part whilst in transit. This kit gives you the option of adding a bucket or forks to the front allowing 1of 2 different options to be built, MIG does suggest that you can swap and change these parts and build so that the front is fully operational but as most modllers will build a static model its not really relevent but does allow quite a large amount of flexibility in how the model is presented. You also have the option to add aditional armour protection once the kit is complete but this looks more like a field modification (steel plates) rather than something factory built.

painting

There are no painting guides in the instructions but a quick google search for "wheel loader" brought up plenty of options.

In conclusion

The kit will build up quite nicely into a unique model for your collection, whether added to a diorama or as a stand alone model. The inclusion of the colour instructions also ensures that those with less resin experience will not be overawed by this kit. Certainly a kit for those looking for something different fom the norm. I purchased my kit from Blast Models.