Flatpack

Good day yesterday, I received several packages, the Puma from Warlord Games and the Stummel and Stuart from Rubicon. The Rubicon kits were delivered in a bag by DHL, I could tell right away the contents had been flattened as I could feel the box ends loose and the bag was  ...... flat. I opened them up and checked the sprues, these all seemed fine, nevertheless I sent an email to Rubicon informing them how they had arrived. The Puma on the other hand came in a nice sturdy box and was perfect.

I have no patience and set to with the Puma first, in my haste I forgot some springs which should have been underneath the vehicle, it was too late so as no one is likely to spot this unless they do an MOT on the armoured car, no harm, maybe a -1 on shooting. Yes it will bug me forever but I will have to live with it. Apart from that it was an easy build and it is a very clean vehicle, it is one of those that as well as being good it looks good. Because of the 50mm gun on it I suspect it is used far too aggressively on a wargame table, its primary roll was reconnaissance and the crews were told not to engage the enemy if at all possible. I was also quite impressed by the little extras in the box, a decent decal sheet, three MDF figure bases(?), and three coloured, shredded wool type pieces to represent a hit on the vehicle, flame, grey and black. A great kit.

I then turned to the Stummel, this is a two parter, you have to buy the halftrack a 251 C or a D then get the conversion kit so it runs about £28 I think. With the conversion kit you can add the 75mm short barrelled howitzer to the small 250 halftrack or the larger 251 (C or D). I don't know the logistics of bringing out a complete Stummel in a kit but £10 to me seemed a bit much considering I was only converting one halftrack. Having made my choice I have one complete conversion left for a 251 Ausf C which I shall pass on to a friend should he ever decide to upgrade a halftrack.

I know I am an old guy but I didn't find the conversion instructions easy, in fact I set about building a C until I thankfully realised my main body was a D because this would not have worked at all and I would have ruined the build. Another thing which bugs me personally is that with some Rubicon parts there are no slots or pin holes, you have to hold two pieces together until they stick, OK it is not a huge problem as the glue is pretty good and it only takes seconds but it can be fiddly. They do give you a lot of choices with their kits, you might like this, I just want a tank or whatever, I am not likely to be bothered by 'that guy' pointing out that that exhaust did not come out until 3 o'clock on 13 March '45 so my model is wrong. You get a very extensive decal sheet, better than Warlords and you get four crew figures, one is a sitting gunner who goes with two of the conversions, not mine, and the other three are standing, one guy for some reason, remember he is in the back of a halftrack, has his left arm in a very camp position (can I say that) while holding his soft cap in the other, very strange, Hans did not make it to the crew. Once complete it is a very nice vehicle and I am hoping it earns its keep on the battlefield.

I got up early this morning and both are now primed and ready to go, see, no patience.

I still have the Stuart to build, the PO has been a lot busier than usual due to the upcoming festivities and I await 'that guy' (or gal Reg) coming in on the 24th and asking if their card will get to Melbourne or Montreal in time for Christmas, I am not kidding, and I digress, I hope to build the Stuart in between customers this afternoon. It's club night and Muskets and Tomahawks, always a good time.