This-morning the postman brought be a parcel containing a number of vehicle models from Quick Reaction Force (QRF) . I've not put anything up on my blog for a while, so I thought I'd do a quick review of the models that I ordered.
Once I've got these models done I'll pop up some finished pictures and retro-actively add some links here (unless I forget to).
'NPC 01 Overvalwagen'
As far as I know, this model has only just been release by QRF, and is the only 15mm model of this obscure Dutch Armoured Personnel Carrier on the market. I don't know much about the Overvalwagon in real life, but the model looks the part compared to the photos, but might be a bit on the big side.
In my experience, QRF models are very 'hit and miss' in their quality, but Id definitely say this one is a hit. The master that his model has been cast from appears to have been well made, doing well to capture the strange angular appearance of the vehicle. On the other hand, the casting is a little iffy. Nothing terrible, but the hull has some big, nasty mold lines that are going to be a bugger to remove and some of the finer parts and details have failed to cast properly.
In time I hope to add this model to my Polish Resistance Flames of War force as a stand-in model for the famous 'Kubus' improvised armoured vehicle. Although produced in greater quantities the Overvalwagen was also an improvised vehicle - little more than an armoured lorry. I don't think that it will take much suspension of disbelief to think that the Polish resistance could have thrown together a similar looking machine in their own struggle against the Nazis and Soviets.
'BAc08 Humber Beaverette'
I also ordered two more vehicles to add to my Polish motorpool, or rather replace my existing armoured cars. The first of these is this, a Beaverette. For those of you who don't have a geeky knowledge of Britain's preparations for invasion in the Second World War, the 'Beverette' was a mass produced series of armoured cars, built on civilian motorcar chassis.
The QRF model is rather neat - another 'hit'. The details and casting are fine, but suffer from the same mold line and detail loss problems as the Overvalwagen. Interestingly, the four wheels come cast together as a single peice, making puting the model together a simple task.
I have a certain fondness for improvised armoured vehicles, so rather than having a captured German armoured car I thought it would be nice to have somthing a little more home-made.
'SAC05 FAI-M'
The final model in this haul is a Russian FAI Armoured Car. The FAI was one of many Russian types of armoured car fielded against the Nazis during Operation Barborossa, and, like many other peices of Russian equipment, large numbers of them were captured by the advancing Axis forces.
Another hit! QRF's FAI is a really nice little model. This example came cast better than the models I received with it, with crisper details and no really-nasty-detail-obscuring-mold-lines. In fact, I would go as far as to say its one of the best specimens that I have ever got from QRF. The wheels come attached to the hull (and are not crossed by the mold line!), and despite looking fiddly the front bumper fits really well and will go on without any trouble. The only criticism I can make is that the barrel of the machine gun is incredibly thin and will need replacing for the model to be usable.
Unlike the other two vehicles, the Polish resistance did actually capture an FAI during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, although not much information on its use appears to have survived. I think the FAI is a paticularly good looking machine, perhaps second only to the Rolls Royce Armoured Car in the looks department - and it is for this reason that I chose to include one over a second Improvised armoured car.
MM.
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