Introduction
This offering from MiniArt of the German Industrial Tractor D8511 Mod 1936 with cargo trailer and figure in 1/35th scale is I believe the 5th release of a Lanz tractor as used before, during and after World War II. This release is intended to be one of the civilian uses of the tractor, and is indicated as in use in a freight yard. Included with the tractor is a large trailer and a rail road worker driving the vehicle. So let’s take a look and see what’s what.
Review
This offering from MiniArt is supplied in a cardboard tray, with a separate card lid with the lid being an area that often gets damaged. Inside the box is a single plastic bag, containing all of the model parts and an instruction booklet loose in the box. The mouldings are clean with good access to the parts and small sized gates between part and sprue. With all the parts being in one bag, there is of course the risk of damage from parts rubbing against other parts but I do not detect any issues in this release. My big hate is the habit that MiniArt has of bagging the clear parts with the decals, with the decals facing the moulded parts which could all too easily cause damage. I highly approve of the fact that MiniArt packs the photo etched fret in its own card envelope.
The tractor itself comes together very quickly and has a very agricultural/industrial look to it. There are no parts of the tractor that I take issue with, but there are some highlights which are: photo etched company name plates are supplied for the tractor, the seat seat follows the favourable method of suspension being a metal seat secured to a metal bar with a spring mounted to get the driver some level of comfort. In this case it is probably just as well, as the solid rubber tyres will make for a hard ride and anyone who can remember the pedal cycles from the 60’s and 70’s quite often had these solid tyres in place - you never got a puncture, but you did get a bunion on you bum! A very small amount of work will allow you to show the front wheels turned, and I highly approve of the tractor itself.
The trailer is no small undertaking, being of a very large size. You have a multi part chassis assembly, but with a little bit of forward planning it can be assembled on the deck and so remain in true. The rear and front axles have lead spring suspension, and again exhibit the solid rubber tyres as provided with the tractor. The front wheels of the trailer are steerable, and you also get a seat provided at the front of the trailer meaning that you could show this being horse drawn if so desired and with a little forward planning. Drop sides and rear panels are provided and I feel provides a nice looking trailer.
A cargo has been provided for the trailer in the form of cable spools in two different sizes. These are supplied without any cable on them and so you could if you wished add a cable to the spool. The driver figure provided, looks good. The driver is in short sleeved order, with a waistcoat and trousers. Good crease detail is provided in all respects, and will result in a natural looking figure in a seated position. A separate peaked cap is provided with no obvious insignia present that I can see. The hands and face of this figure have been well tackled, but I have detected a small hole between two of the fingers of the left hand and I am inclined to insert a cigarette. The face has well defined details, with a good moustache present. Unfortunately I believe the figure may have been removed from the mould when soft as a very small amount of the tip of the nose has been flattened.
The finishes provided for this release are:
Deutsche Reichspahn, Germany 1939-1945
Another vehicle placed in Berlin 1939-1945
Both of these finishes appear to be duplicated with the exception of the trailer being a different colour.
Conclusion
With this release MiniArt has provided another railway element, which again leads me to conclude that steam engines are in their future. Returning to the subject in hand I cannot critique the model in any way beyond the problem with the figure already indicated. But as a release this is a complete product providing a tractor and trailer that will take up a reasonable amount of space. A cargo option has been included and is finished off with a period figure.