Neo Grade TA-0002 As
Sherman tanks were literally mobile homes for their crews, sans closets, most
hulls were festooned with piles of gear. And since the dawn of Verlinden, just
about every resin manufacturer has delivered a set of "stuff" to load
onto the deck of a Shermie. So what could anyone do these days to set their "stuff"
apart from the other guys? Well,
Neo Grade has come up with something a bit different in its approach to this common
product. It's common to see tarps thrown over soft goods like packs and duffel
bags to keep the rain and dust off them. What Neo Grade has done is mold a separate
tarp that one can use to cover this gear, or leave it off and the gear exposed
and accessible. Nifty! Another
unique aspect is the inclusion of child's doll and two stuffed animals. The slumping
doll (seen above near the driver's hatch) looks a bit sad without its owner. The
tripod for a .30 machine gun that is tied onto a folded tarp is another nice touch.
A winter combat jacket is available to toss onto the pile of belongings. Along
with the typical assortment of oil cans, jerry cans, and MG ammo boxes (both empty
and closed), there are four wooden boxes that resemble the old ersatz rations
boxes in the Tamiya Sherman kits, except these have full wood grain around the
sides and bottom and a lock atop the metal strap that is wrapped around the center
of the box. This seems more an imaginative adaptation of a Tamiya prototype than
a historical artifact, but I'm open to being corrected. The several musette bags
are original renderings, but a bit oversized and missing the side pocket. The
casting of these parts is very crisp, and, unlike some other resin products, there
are no large pour plugs to remove. A one-page sheet of color photos shows the
products painted and applied to a Sherman. There's
much to like about this set, and a few areas where improvements would be welcome.
The different approach to modeling U.S. tankers' gear is intriguing, as long as
the pieces stay true to their 1:1 scale counterparts. Thanks
to Neo Grade for the review sample. -tss |