Vulcan 1/35 Ordnance QF 2 Pounder mk IX

KIT #: 56001
PRICE: $23.99 from www.wingsntreads.com
DECALS: None
REVIEWER: Scott Van Aken
NOTES: New Mold kit

HISTORY

The Ordnance QF 2-pounder (or simply "2 pounder gun") was a 40 mm British anti-tank and vehicle-mounted gun, employed in the Second World War. It was actively used in the Battle of France, and during the North Africa campaign. As tanks became sufficiently armoured to stand up to its shots, it was gradually replaced by the 6-pounder, starting in 1942, though some remained in service until the end of the war, especially in the Pacific where it was quite effective against Japanese tanks and positions. In its vehicle-mounted variant, the 2-pounder was also a common main gun on British tanks early in World War II, and was a typical main armament of medium and heavy armoured cars throughout the war.

THE KIT

The kit consists of two sprues of light grey plastic. Molding and detail are quite good and I was particularly impressed with the gun shield details. One of the more interesting parts is the way the wheels are built up. Basically, you sandwich five 'slices' of tread together and then put on the inner and outer wheels. This is to give you very nicely done tread detail (assuming you haven't applied too much cement) and also provides the ability to paint the tires and wheels separately. The gun itself can be built either in a tow mode or in action mode. Included are shell boxes and a smattering of shells and shell casings. I did fine a few light depressions on the shell boxes and one of the outer wheel sections will need injector towers removed. Sprue gates on the kit are generally at industry standards, so to speak. A few will benefit from being removed by a razor saw.

The very nicely done instructions have a dozen superbly illustrated construction steps that will take you through the differences in how the parts are placed, so you have to decide which way you wish to display it rather early in the process. Detail illustrations help to ensure that the parts are in the correct position and any modifications needing to be made are clearly shown. Paint information is Gunze, Tamiya and Lifecolor with generic names also provided,

CONCLUSIONS

Though it looks to be a relatively quick build, there are a lot of detail parts to be installed as everything is quite visible. This detail is something that really adds to the kit and is a great reason to consider this for your anti-tank gun collection. It would also look great being towed in a diorama.

REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org

June 2009

My thanks to www.wingsntreads.com where you can get yours today. 

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