UM 1/72 BA-6 Armored CarBy Kent Kirkpatrick |
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History
The
Izhorskij factory produced 386 BA-6 armored cars from 1936 through 1938.
It was based on the domestic GAZ-AAA three-axle automobile. Aside from
missing the rear door, rear observation windows and rear running board;
the BA-6 was unchanged from the BA-3. It was 5 tons lighter than its predecessor
without compromising its design. The BA-6 was the first to use bullet-proof
tires (filled with porous rubber).
The Kit
The
box art is very well done as a reference and on the other side you have
a color plate to go by when you get ready to paint and apply decals. When
I first looked at this kit I am impressed with UM's ability to produce
small parts in 1/72 scale without distorting the appearance. The five
(5) sprues contain 73 parts molded in a green drab color with no sinkholes,
injector pin indentations or flash residue. I applaud their molding technology.
UM seems to use a softer styrene for their kits. This is good in that
small parts may bend but not break when mishandled. None of the parts
appear to be an unidentifiable blob of plastic. The kit even comes with
a crude engine that screams to be further detailed from the railroad section
of your local hobby shop.
Main
sub-assemblies are the turret, hull and chassis with the dual rear axle
being the most time-consuming assembly. I suggest using a round dental
bit to open up the headlight assembly (part 17B) for MV lenses. That would
really enhance the appearance of this model. Included in this kit is a
bag of twelve (12) rubber tires. The detail is so good that you can read
the lettering off the tire itself. That's impressive in 1/72 scale. Some
dry brushing with oil paints will make those details pop out.
The kit instructions are tri-lingual (Ukrainian, German and English) and use symbols to assist you in assembly. These symbols tend to make some steps look somewhat confusing especially during dual rear axle assembly. There is a Humbrol color reference to use when painting this model. You can choose between two (2) BA-6 markings from 1938 and 1943. Unfortunately, they don't tell you in English (or German) what unit they come from. Knowing someone who reads Ukrainian would help.
Which
brings me to the decal sheet. The quality is excellent in that the decal
film is very thin and the printing of the markings is fine. Positioning
of the decals should be easy due to the BA-6's angular surface. An experienced
modeler would find this an enjoyable challenge to build. [Editor's Note:
Unfortunately UM has missed all of the rivets that were extremely evident
in this series for armored cars. Fortunately they're not too big of a
deal to add yourself.]
Conclusion
As
with their other kits, UM has created a fine reputation for quality. From
a visual inspection, I give this kit two thumbs up from scale-affect molding
down to the box art. Small scale (1/72) military vehicles are my area
of expertise so I can't wait to do a 'build-up' of this model.
I would like to thank Squadron for the review kit.
