Review
MiniArt has release another of their 1/35th scale Tempo A400s. The model is packaged in a cardboard tray, with a separate card lid. Inside the model is packaged in a sealed plastic bag, with my usual gripe in place - of the decal sheet plus the clear mouldings for the vehicle packaged together in an additional bag. My concern is that the plastic parts will all too easily cause damage to the decal sheet. It does appear to me, that MiniArt has got away with it on this occasion. Despite the number of releases of the Tempo A400 MiniArt have released, the mouldings are as crisp as I remember with reasonably sized gates and cleanly moulded parts.
Due to the number of times the Tempo A400 has been released by MiniArt in 1/35th scale, I am going to keep this review short. The model provides an especially good representation of the mechanical structures that make up the vehicle. The finesse of this detail does create its own issues, as you have items such as brake lines which are secured in place via photo etched clips. This exceptional level of detail continues all the way to the front of the vehicle, where the fuel lines and brake lines are present from the front of the cab to various aspects of the engine. I seem to recall that once upon a time, MiniArt used to provide scale drawings to enable the accurate bending of these cables. But as I get older sometimes I am not sure how old I am myself and so I could be wrong in my belief. Another high level detail of this release is the photo etched front grilles with the additional photo etched manufacturers name.
This release is the van type option, with good interior and external detail present in both the cab and storage area of the model are well represented and to help avoid the issues of ejector pin marks an inner and outer moulding creates this detail. One area where you may need to tackle ejector pin marks is the roof of the vehicle, but that is not always the case in my experience. Another nice feature from MiniArt, is that all of the doors are provided with the option of being open or closed and the hood area can also be shown lifted exposing the very high level of detail in that area. With this release being a bakery van, MiniArt has provided their milk bakery goods set which provides baked goods and wooden trays - All of which add nice detail. The decals provided are also a pleasing aspect of the model, so no issues there.
MiniArt has provided 5 finishing options for this release, which are:
Germany, Late 1930’s
Germany, Early 1940’s
Germany, Early 1940’s
Germany, Late 1940’s
Germany, 1948-1956
Conclusion
This is another nice addition to the line of Tempo A400s, with an exceptionally high level of detail provided. It is the high level of detail that is my only concern due to how difficult a good number of modellers will struggle to meet. The wide range of finishing options in terms of both period and location are appealing for modellers interested in various time periods from pre World War 2 to a good amount of time into the Cold War. Realistically it is impossible to fault the offering, apart from the decals being packaged with the clear parts and that a high level of skill is required of the modeller to get the most out of the offering.
