introduction

You'd have to be hiding under a rock here on Armorama not to know about Steve Munsell's great Value Gear line of resin stowage sets. Steve has been releasing sets of tents & tarps that are generic enough to work with just about any army on the move since Hannibal.

Recently he started releasing sets of crates, and this is his third so far.

what you get

In order to qualify as a value, Value Gear sets are no-nonsense and practical: inside a Ziploc baggie stapled to a header card are 18 resin items.

5 tiny boxes (9mm x 6mm x 5mm)
3 small boxes (15mm x 10mm x 7mm)
5 medium boxes (19mm x 10mm x 12mm)
3 "skinny" boxes (18mm x 7mm x 7mm)
2 "rifle" boxes (45mm x 12mm x 9mm)

the review

With the trend in kits towards more and more transport soft skins, or AFV builds with stowage, Value Gear has definitely found the Zeitgeist in the hobby. Nothing looks more ridiculous than a truck with nothing in it or a tank looking like it was out for a Sunday drive. Soldiers have used AFVs and trucks for storing their gear since, well, since they moved from horse-drawn to horsepower.

And until the advent of cheap, fabricated plastics, most military supplies were shipped in wooden boxes. So whether you're adding some munitions to your build or are kitting-out a medical van, these crates will work in almost any setting.

The execution is really superb: crisp casting, nice detail (maybe too much wood grain, but if you prefer, smooth out the grain). Steve doesn't use any mold release agent in his casting, so the pieces neither have that "greasy" feel most resin has, nor do his items need cleaning up in solvents or degreasers.

conclusion

As the name says, gear for great value. Coming in at half of what many resin suppliers charge, you can get enough items to fill up a small truck, or festoon a tank parked beside the road.

Thanks to Value Gear for providing this sample copy. Be sure to mention you saw it reviewed here on Armorama when ordering. And if you're in Dublin ever, bring Steve a bottle or two of Mountain Dew.