Kit: No. AF35013
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: AFV Club, distributed by Marco Polo Import Inc., 532 S. Coral-ridge Place, City of Industry, CA 91746
Price: $29.98
Comments: Injection molded, 203 parts (1 turned aluminum, 3 photoetched, 2 vinyl), decals.
In the mid-1960s the British army requested a new vehicle to replace its aging fleet of reconnaissance armored cars. Dubbed the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) or CVR(T), the project developed into a family of seven vehicles based on the same chassis. The vehicles are constructed of welded aluminum armor (similar to the American M113), and powered by a six-cylinder Jaguar engine. Their size was determined by the cargo hold of the C-130.
The version armed with a 30mm cannon in a turret was dubbed Scimitar. It went into service in the early 1970s and serves today with the British armed forces. Scimitars have seen action in the Falklands and the Gulf War, and are used by the United Nations peace-keeping forces in Bosnia.
AFV Club’s kit of the Scimitar is molded in medium olive-colored plastic. A small sheet of etched metal parts and a turned aluminum cannon barrel are included. The one-piece vinyl tracks are well molded. Options include large or small headlights, early- or late-style drive sprockets and idler wheels, and a couple of optional storage bins. Unfortunately the instructions don’t tell which options should be used on which vehicle, so check references. I decided to build the Gulf War version, and chose the late-style drive sprockets and idlers and large headlights, and I opted not to add the forward storage bins on the hull sides.
There were no major fit problems, but some filling was required around the suspension arms, the nose (A11), and rear (A10) where they meet the hull bottom. I heated the etched stainless-steel exhaust screen (G3) in a candle flame, and let it cool. This took the temper out and made forming the piece easier. I painted the exhaust pipe before adding the screen.
In step 3, all the parts come from the sprues marked C, not D as in the instructions. The rear storage basket (assembly H in step 10) left a small gap when attached to the hull; I filled it with stretched sprue. I used a hot knife to texture the sprue to match the weld marks on the hull. The rearview mirrors (D9 and D10) are molded in the stowed position. Since all of the pictures I had of Gulf War vehicles showed the mirrors removed, I cut the mirrors off their mounting brackets, attached the brackets to the hull, then drilled out the brackets where the arms normally would go.
The turret features good weld detail and assembly went smoothly. Most of the periscopes had small sink holes in their faces, so I filled these with thin super glue. The turret-side stowage bins don’t have full bottoms, so I replaced them with sheet styrene.
All of the crew hatches can be positioned open or closed. No interior detail or figures are included in the kit.
Building a Gulf War vehicle gave me the opportunity to try the new Testor Model Master II British Gulf War tan. I painted the road wheels Polly Scale grimy black, the tracks Testor steel, and the rubber track pads grimy black. The decals provide markings for five vehicles but did not respond to either Super Sol or Solvaset. A gentle pressing with a damp tissue snuggled them down over the detail.
Rather than hand paint the periscopes and gunsights, I used small squares of SuperScale light blue decal sheet.
The tracks are a tight fit, so glue the running gear solidly in place before adding it. Scimitar tracks should have some sag, but this isn’t possible with the kit tracks. The attachment point of the tracks is fragile, and I had to repair a break by sewing the track ends together with fine wire. Many Scimitars have their headlights mounted under the forward lip of the hull, rather than on top as the kit instructions show, so I moved them.
The finished model measures almost exactly to the dimensions given in the New Vanguard book Scorpion Reconnaissance Vehicle (another version of the CVR). The model looks petite, and captures the look of the Scimitar. I spent about 13 hours building mine, average for a kit of this type. Any armor modeler who has built a few kits should have no problems with this one.
John Plzak