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First Look Review
135
GMC/Bofors SP/AA truck
Bofors 40mm on GMC
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by: Dave Cox [ DAVECOX ]

Introduction

This is a first look in the box for the newly announced GMC/Bofors. So, first the history lesson.

The US Military asked various companies to design a troop transport vehicle, and the GMC was the chosen producer. Serving almost every softskin need, the GMC CCKW353 was sold all over the world after WW2 and served in many armies. The Bofors 40mm equipped vehicle serving in France.

The review

The box is the usual top opening carton made of quite thick card, mine came from Hong Kong with no damage at all.

Contents list:

• Sprue A - Chassis parts
• Sprue B - Cab and front end
• Sprue C x2 - Suspension and wheels
• Sprue D x5 - Wheels
• Sprue E - Rear bed parts
• Sprue F - Gun and mounting
• Sprue G x2 - Accessories and ammunition

• 9 plastic collars for the wheels
• 1 sprue of clear parts
• Decal for one vehicle
• A short length of copper wire and a length of twine for the winch cable
• 1 fret of photo-etched parts
• Single A4 color sheet
• 16 page A4 instruction book


As this is only a first look in the box, I can't comment of the fit of any of the parts. All appear to be well molded in a dark olive green plastic, with no obvious mold lines or obtrusive ejection pin marks

The decals are well printed, and the colors appear to be solid; although how the white will go over OD paint remains to be seen.

Instructions are well printed and look to be clearly laid out in obvious steps. I can see that assembling sub-assemblies for ease of painting is easily possible.

Conclusion

I bought mine from Hobby Easy for about £18, but as it is not yet listed in any of the usual UK shops I don't know what the local prices will be; hence I haven't listed a price in the info box of this submission.
SUMMARY
Highs: Appears to be cleanly molded with plenty of detail. Interesting and unusual subject.
Lows: No obvious lows.
Verdict: Looking forward to building this!
Percentage Rating
85%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 82459
  PUBLISHED: Jan 21, 2012
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 88.75%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 83.94%

About Dave Cox (DaveCox)
FROM: ENGLAND - SOUTH EAST, UNITED KINGDOM

Hi, I'm a 58 year old, who like most of us hasn't really grown up! I started modelling when I was 7, with no peers or tutors - every week my pocket money was blown on a series 1 Airfix or Revell kit which took about an hour to put together. A couple of replays of the Biggles books and another one ne...

Copyright ©2021 text by Dave Cox [ DAVECOX ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

This is a very welcome addition to the Allied softskin range. Al
JAN 21, 2012 - 10:12 PM
Too true Al, and I'm looking forward to building it. Shame it was only used by the French as 'micky mouse' cammo and some formation signs would look good on this I reckon.........
JAN 22, 2012 - 12:00 AM
Its also very welcome to those who dont build from any specific side and like interesting vehicles, A friend built this years ago, using an available conversion set, and I always liked the look of it. Now I have the chance to build it OOB. Thanks for the review Dave. Glad to see its got plastic tyres and not vinyl. This is a peeve of mines and if vinyl were included, Id have to get resin, which adds to the cost as well. Looking forward to some online builds now!!
JAN 22, 2012 - 12:30 AM
Hi Frank and DAve, Yes, an interesting kit, I am sure it will be popular. Not one for me though, too many British/Commonwealth subjects still to cover BTW did the French use this in IndoChina? Cheers Al
JAN 22, 2012 - 12:55 AM
Yes they did. Some of these trucks were fitted with armor plates there and used for convoy escort . http://www.warwheels.net/40mmBoforsFrenchGmcAdeleINDEX.html Here are two walkarounds from Maquetland.com : http://maquetland.com/zip/photos/gmcautocanon.zip http://maquetland.com/zip/photos/gmcautocanon1.zip There are apparently some markings errors on the vehicle pictured in these walkarounds. See here : http://2db.free.fr/materiels_gmc_bofors.html HTH Frenchy
JAN 22, 2012 - 12:59 AM
Thanks Frenchy. Al
JAN 22, 2012 - 03:17 AM
WOOHOO, finally !!!
JAN 25, 2012 - 03:00 AM
This is a great release for HobbyBoss. Just recieved one in the mail and the detail is exceptional for plastic. Sadly to say I also had the resin coversion for the Tamiya Jimmy but never built it. Will build both the HobbyBoss and the resin conversion together to compare quality over each other . By doing this gives me the incentive to finish both models Workbench photo's to follow ,like Alan,too many modelling subjects and not enough time . Michael
JAN 25, 2012 - 01:35 PM
Thanks for the review Dave, definitely going on the "must have" list for me Michael: Looking forward to that comparison, will be nice to see you finish them together
JAN 25, 2012 - 07:16 PM
   
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