Introduction

Live Resin is a resin company from Russia, specialized in producing high quality weapon and accessory sets. Their latest releases included Mk19 Mod3 and Mk47 Grenade Machine Guns with some additional heavy weapons (i.e. M2 Heavy Machine Gun and M134 Minigun) just about to become available. This review covers Live Resin accessory set designed to upgrade those 1/35 scale weapons: Set of accessories for heavy weapons - Polarion Night Reaper CSWL (Crew Served Weapon Light), Surefire HellFighter Heavy Gun Weapon Light, Mk93 Cantilever Bracket, DCL120, DCL401 Dot Sight (Specialized Red Dot Sight for the MK-19, M2 and M134 Minigun, “First Round On Target”) (LRE35091)

Review

The set is packed in a zip-lock bag and safely secured between a firm cardboard backing (9X10cm). The CAD box art on the front shows all the kit parts and lists correct designation of each accessory piece, while the one on the back shows different examples of these accessories mounted on heavy weapons. The box states this set can be used with all M134s, M2s, Mk19s and Mk47s in 1/35 scale.

The kit consists of 3 resin casting blocks with 12 parts in total. The parts are molded in grey resin and again, as with all Live Resin offerings I reviewed so far, the cast is absolutely perfect. Here is a list and some information about the equipment included in this set:

The Night Reaper™ Mk93 Cantilever Bracket is designed to be used with M2 and Mk19 machine guns on Mk93 weapons mount and in conjunction with protective armor. It can accept any attachments compatible with Picatinny rail, but it is mostly used to mount High Intensity Discharge (HID) searchlights. The bracket takes advantage of the recoil attenuation of the Mk93 mount, thereby reducing the vibration to the illumination system itself. Also, the bracket allows quick replacement of the weapon and/or the barrel without having to disconnect the searchlight.
The Mk93 Cantilever Bracket is a very delicate piece in 1/35 scale, so be careful removing the part from its casting block. Note that the thin flash film between the horizontal bars of the bracket should be cleaned as well. The cantilevers in this set are depicted with rail system attached.

The Polarion Night Reaper™ Crew Served Weapon Light (CSWL) and Surefire HellFighter Heavy Gun Weapon Light are powerful High Intensity Discharge (HID) Searchlights which simultaneously provide a combination of long range and wide-angle surround illumination in both white and Infrared (IR) light. Both Weapon Light systems are designed for use on heavy machine guns or as a vehicle-mounted spotlight. Due to their compact sizes, these can also be detached and used as a portable hand-held unit. Both light systems can run on 2 military BA-5590 batteries or can accept external vehicle power directly. Also, these can be mounted to any Picatinny rail and are controlled by a remote switch for gun operator.
Both searchlights are wonderfully executed and feature loads of details in 1/35 scale. The Polarion Night Reaper is depicted on the MK4 mount which can be used with Mk93 Cantilever Bracket and the mount itself can accept additional rails to facilitate the mounting of extra components. Night Reaper searchlight provided in this kit also features IR filter. The die-hard modelers would probably want to add power and switching cables to the these searchlights as well.

The DCL-family of red dot biocular sights provides unique capabilities for machine guns and crew-served weapons. DCL offers the heads-up-display design with extra wide lens providing an unlimited field of view with both eyes open, while eliminating obstruction and tunnel vision common to tube style scopes. The DCL120 is designed and developed primarily for the .50 Cal Heavy Machine Gun, but it can be used on M134 Minigun as well. The DCL120 is compatible with every generation of night vision devices and comes with four external rails to install additional sighting equipment (magnification unit or night vision device, laser illuminators, flash lights, etc). The DCL401 was developed for use with 40mm Automatic Grenade Launchers. It consists of a mounting base and DCL110 red dot sight.
First of all, a bit of a caveat emptor: the sight provided in this set depicts DCL120, not DCL401. The DCL120 looks great and features amazing details like the large bullet drop compensation knob, elevation and windage buttons, rails, etc... the details are wonderfully rendered. I wish Live Resin supplied some kind of a mounting base to these sights, as DCL120 is usually attached to the heavy weapons utilizing specific adaptor rail mounts. Hopefully, these will be included in .50 Cal Heavy Machine Gun and M134 Minigun sets.

Conclusion

This kit features 4 different accessories usually used with heavy weapons of the US Army arsenal: Mk93 Cantilever Bracket, Polarion Night Reaper CSWL, Surefire HellFighter Heavy Gun Weapon Light and DCL120 red dot biocular sight. The resin cast is perfect with the details really well defined and wonderfully executed in scale. If you need some extra gizmology for your 1/35 scale heavy weapons, look no further... this is a set for you.

References

Night Reaper
Surefire
Dong In Optical Co.