Well, since it was my birthday a couple of weeks ago I went looking on eBay for an old kit and put several on my watch list. One seller sent me a ‘special offer’ and I made a lower counter offer which he accepted. Yee Haw! The kit arrived a couple of days ago, and while the box shows its age, inside the parts trees are still sealed in their plastic baggies and look in excellent condition… It even comes with a water buffalo tank trailer! Now to find some suitable figures to populate it.
Is that the same vehicle as the AFV Club WC56/57? Is the allure of the older model the trailer?
About 13 years ago, I purchased a pair of Peerless Max Canadian Chevrolet Field Gun Tractors at a model show. They were in pretty bad shape but cheap. Even after acquiring resin tires and Eduard etch for both vehicles, building them was difficult and I did not get far. The 35 year old plastic was very brittle and someone left the boxes in a hot place, causing the single cabin shell to warp. (The other cabin shell was missing.) Both ended up in the closet. If I ever wanted to attempt an Unfinished Business project from hell, those trucks would be my choice. They made me really reluctant to purchase other Peerless Max kits. It seems like your model was well cared for and I hope it is an easy build.
@TeeAge, those figures look sweet! I’m not sure which direction I’m gonna go with this yet, aside from US Army, WWII.
@Damraska, I’ve only built one other from the Peerless series so far, the Testors/Italeri boxing of the WC-55/M6 37mm Gun Motor Carriage. I had no problems with that build, but it was a fresh boxing many years ago. Italeri still releases these kits, but obviously the older boxing will have more crisp moldings. I wasn’t aware of the water Buffalo trailer until I examined the kit when it came in.
Obviously !! its the only civilised way to drink it. And only after the butler has prepared it correctly and served it in the finest bone chine tea cup.
I feel Your pain. Had the M3 Scout from them and after spending weeks on fixing it and ton of PE I ditched it as soon as Hobby Boss released their version.
The WC 50 series are all built on a common frame and I believe have the same engine and drivetrain. After that they get convoluted. The 51/52 have the stake bed rear as cargo carrier, the 56/57 have the rear passenger seat, the 54 has a full size van type rear body for use as an ambulance or other need for enclosure, and the 55 was the 37mm Gun Motor Carriage. Then the other difference is a winch that sets apart the 51/52 and 56/57.
If you prefer a newer tool kit of the 51/52 or 56/57, get the Skybow/AFV Club kits. Those are more modern tooling, but not recent issue kits.
Visited a R/C hobby shop as a model detective today. Discovered the residual kits from a local mom & pops plastic model shop defucted over decade ago.
One model tank kit remained, an ancient incomplete, started Tamiya Panzer IV H with #54 on the box. Lots of minor parts missing, no decals, no tracks or no instructions. Parts looked crisp and flash free compared to my two prior 1970’s vintage but 1980’s + molded #35054 Tamiya Pz IV kits.
Given my stash of extra Pz IV parts & accessories, decided to pick up this Pz IV Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree kit. It just looked so sad covered in ~30 or 40 years of dust.
Likewise, picked up two sets of old Dragon figures & a near new condition copy of Tony Greenland’s classic Panzer Modelling. Grand total $35
! Love it! Acquired the Airfix model some time ago!
