M.39 Dutch Armored Car

Manufacturer: Retromodels(Kit No. 72502)

This is my first (andonly) Retromodels kit, and I am very happy with it. Both the hulland turret are solid, so that hatches are closed, but there is asmall opening on the turret roof for the modeler to carve out theinterior, and model it with an open hatch. Overall, the detail isvery well done, and the molding is acceptable. There is a loss ofdetail around the wheel hubs, which need to be cleaned up alittle bit, but the remainder of the kit is cleanly molded. Themain gun is molded onto the turret, and is slightly warped.Careful heating will be needed to bend it back into shape withoutbreaking it.

I have a book by JeanRestayn which shows a very interesting paint scheme to use onthis vehicle, which is why I bought the kit. I am developing aninterest in early war vehicles, especially non-German subjects,so this model is very appreciated. No decals are included, but Ihave a nice set from Aleran Decals that will work perfectly.

The instructions areadequate, but not fantastic. First of all, they are writtenentirely in French, which is not a problem, but the numerousphotographs included are photocopies of photocopied photocopies,etc., so they are very poorly reproduced. There are a couple ofsimple line drawings showing the completed vehicle, which willhelp in constructing the kit. Good thing it is a simple model,and doesn't need much more than this.

As of right now, I have noother references for this vehicle, so I can't comment on thekit's scale. Assuming that the scale is accurate, if this kit istypical of Retromodels' kits, then I wouldn't hesitate to buymore of them.