Review

Another very large 1/16th scale release from Gecko Models that has a huge box of nearly 10inches deep never mind end to end and side to side. This large box contains a huge amount of plastic for the 75mm M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage. The model provides a very nicely detailed fighting compartment that I believe will meet with a favourable reception. Looking over the mouldings my only concern is the rear face of the road wheels as they look a little light on detail to me.

The tracks are workable in this offering with the plates coming in two halves and you trap the track pins between them and separate guide horns are also present; normally I would shy away from this but in this scale the task of assembly is not a deal breaker. Looking at the interior, detail appears to be generally very good, the seat detail in particular catching my eye. Ammunition storage is well catered to as is the tread plate detail inside. I suspect that the only thing that could be added to better it is wires that are always present and add that personal touch.

I was also pleased to see some personal weapons included in the release as it is an aspect often overlooked. Communications is something that needs thinking about as I found what I believe are the radios but no headsets or microphones are present that I can see. Instruments inside the vehicle are included and finished with decals, I will be honest and say the detail on these could be better but only because the detail is flat and some of the 3D decals I have seen would solve that a treat.

Moving to the exterior of the model and I was very pleased with the weld detail on the model as it’s replicated very well. The surface detail that is moulded on the panels meets my expectations well. Assembly and clean-up of the parts should not prove problematic and so a smooth project looks to be the case. Take a close look at the parts for the 50 cal machine gun as it is novel and will be interesting to see how it turns out. The main gun moulded as part of the gun mantlet is an unexpected approach but looks ok.

An area that will require a lot of care is the photo etched engine guards as it will be very easy to distort them both during removal from the fret and the manipulation when attaching them. The rest of the photo etched detail really comes down to how comfortable you are with its use and handling. I was again pleased to see weapons slings in photo etch for the personal weapons included. The decal sheet is well printed having good definition and thin with the result that a pleasing finish is possible.

So if you want a 1/16th scale model in your collection then this is worth considering as it has pleasing detail and will not take up huge amounts of space in the process.