Introduction:

A night vision device (NVD) is an optical system designed to amplify light energy and electronically enhance viewing, thus allowing images to be produced in almost complete darkness. The heart of any night vision system is an image intensifier tube which magnifies the amount of available light from natural sources. Intensifier tubes consist of a photocathode and a microchannel plate: the photocathode converts light images to electron flow which is then amplified and converted back to the light image on the microchannel plate.

L-3 Warrior Systems, the night vision department of L-3, has developed and fielded one of the biggest innovations in night vision technology – the Ground Panoramic Night Vision Goggle (GPNVG-18). The most striking feature of the GPNVG-18 is the presence of four separate image intensifier tubes with four separate objective lenses arrayed in a panoramic orientation. The two center lenses point forward like traditional dual-tube goggles, giving the operator more depth perception, while two side tubes point slightly outward from the center to increase peripheral view to 97-degreefield of view. With easy optical adjustment and simplified maintenance, the GPNVG-18 is a real game changer for the SOF community, giving the modern warfighter more combat options and increasing his lethality.

Review:

In their last batch of 1/35 scale releases, Live Resin produced the GPNVG-18 Panoramic Night Vision Goggles with Mount and Battery Case set (LRE 35198). The set comes safely secured in a hard cardboard clamshell with resin pieces packed in a zip-lock bag. The CAD box art on the front shows the contents of the set, while the box art on the back displays the NVG assembly procedure and detailed views of the goggles attached to different helmets available separately from Live Resin.

The set consists of 24 pieces for building 8 complete GPNVG-18 systems. The parts are molded in grey resin and, as with all Live Resin kits I reviewed so far, there are no imperfections in the cast. The pieces are small and very delicate with loads of details nicely delivered in scale. The pieces include:

- GPNVG-18 (8x)
- Wilcox L4-G24 NVG Helmet Mount (8x)
- Battery pack (8x).

The GPNVG-18 features two right and two left tubes housed in merged assemblies. These are hung from a bridge assembly featuring fore/aft adjustment on a ratchet system and can come configured in two different variants for different helmet mount setups: Ball Detent (ANVIS) or Dovetail (BNVS). The GPNVG-18 in this kit features Dovetail mount. The Wilcox L4-G24 NVG Helmet Mount is depicted in flipped up (4x) or flipped down (4x) position, so there is a choice of building both options from this set. The NVG mount can be fitted to any of the different mounting shrouds on various helmet offerings available separately from Live Resin. The GPNVG-18 is powered by an external battery pack consisting of 4 batteries, tethered to the unit via a standard ANVIS cable. The battery pack is usually mounted at the back of the helmet where it provides a secondary function and serves as a counterweight for the NVG system.

The level of details on these tiny pieces is astonishing. The GPNVG-18 in this set is presented very realistically, with all the small buttons and knobs incredibly well defined. The goggles are cast together with the bridge, which fits nicely to the Wilcox mount, although you might need an optivisor for handling these tiny pieces. The only thing to add to this set is the connection cable going from the battery pack to the goggles; thin wire bent to shape should do the trick nicely. Finally, this 1/35 scale set should be combined with various Special Ops helmet sets available separately from Live Resin.

Conclusion:

GPNVG-18 Panoramic Night Vision Goggles with mount and battery case set (LRE 35198) from Live Resin features a miniature replica of the state-of-the-art night vision device. Consisting of 24 perfectly cast resin pieces, the set builds into 8 complete GPNVG-18 systems in 1/35 scale. The details on these tiny pieces are incredibly well defined and the set assembles without any problems. I would suggest using optivisor during the assembly though.

Thanks to Yaroslav from Live Resin for this review sample.

References:

L3 Warrior Systems
GPNVG-18 Dovetail Mount