Review

This offering Vespid Models of a Centurion Mk5/1 of the Royal Australian Corps and depicting a vehicle as they looked during the Vietnam war. This offering arrives in a cardboard tray with a card lid; the parts are packaged in bags with no more than 2 sprues to a bag. An examination of the contents reveals no moulding issues and the packaging has done its job of protecting the model. If you wanted to be particularly picky you could say that the gates between the sprue and the parts are perhaps larger than needed. The kit is provided with the usual plastic sprues, which are enhanced via the application of photo etch, metal cables, a turned aluminium barrel and a 3D printed resin mantlet cover. 

Anybody who has tackled a model kit from Vespid in 1/72nd scale will know that they can be considered one of the premier providers of armoured military vehicle in this scale. The use of additional materials further enhances their appeal and provides the modeller with the possibility of having a 1/72nd scale kit with the same high detail possible in larger scales. The aspects of this release that appeal to me are detailed link and length tracks, the possibility to have hatches opened or closed, the use of photo etch to enhance detail where possible rather than just for the sake of it. The 3D printed resin mantlet canvas cover looks very natural, and the metal cables for the tow cables also look very promising - but maybe a little stiff, so will need careful bending. A particular highlight for me is the continued supply of a turned aluminium gun barrel but also supplying the option of a plastic barrel if preferred. Looking at the level of detail provided in this product, including the plastic mouldings makes this another stunning addition to the Vespid line of armoured vehicles in 1/72nd scale. I also like the detail on the  provided on the link and length tracks. My final plus for the model is the inclusion of clear lenses for the search light. 

Vespid has provided 5 finishing options for this release - Which are as follows:

B Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment, 1969 Battle of Binh Ba, Vietnam

C Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment, 1971 Vietnam

C Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment, 1968 Vietnam

C Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment, 1971 Vietnam

4 Troop, B Squadron Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam

Conclusion

This is another fantastic Vespid Models offering. The detail and effort put into the model is worthy of 1/35th scale let alone 1/72nd scale. The selective use of photo etch will cause some modellers issues particularly if your eyes are not as good as they used to be and your hands not as steady due to the very small nature of these details. Lastly, I would like to commend Vespid for going to the trouble of providing so many finishing options. It is very hard to fault this release as the detail is stunning for the scale, but that small scale does mean you need good eyes and steady hands plus a good skill set to get out of the model what it offers.