Academy 1/35 US Machine Gun Set By Michael Benolkin

History

The M1919 series 30 caliber machine gun was the standard issue weapon prior to the outbreak of WW2, and due to its flexibility and size, continued to serve throughout WW2, Korea and Vietnam. The M2 50 caliber machine gun has become a timeless weapon, starting life in WW2 with not only the US Army and USMC, but variants also served as the principal offensive and defensive armament on US and allied combat aircraft. The M2 has continuously served in the US Military since WW2 and equips our most modern combat vehicles and troops around the world.

The Kit

The release of the Academy US Machine Gun Set has provided modelers with the two standard machine guns that served multiple wars and over 50 years of service. The set is molded in dark gray styrene and is provided on two sprue trees. The weapons and accessories are all beautifully molded and detailed.

The first tree contains two 50 caliber machine guns, two additional 50 caliber machine guns without barrels, and two complete 30 caliber machine guns. The two 50s without barrels are also accompanied by two complete sets of three styles of machine gun barrels so that you can properly adapt your weapon for vehicle, tripod or other applications. A nice set of gun mounts are also included on this parts tree.

The second parts tree contains tripods (folded and deployed), ammo belts and quite a few ammo cans for both 30 and 50 caliber.

Conclusions

This set is a must-have for the armor and figure modelers who want the best-looking weapons around or on their prized subjects. At the price, you’ll probably want to keep several sets around!

My sincere thanks to MRC for this review sample!