1:35 Danish Utility Vehicles Mowag Eagle IV Sagged Wheel Set (For Vespid Kit)

Danish patrol vehicles of the Eagle series

Denmark is among the countries that acquired the Eagle IV outside Switzerland and Germany, and it deployed them where mines and booby traps were to be expected. The Danish army uses the vehicle as a reconnaissance and liaison asset, and it differs from the German service version in its equipment, its markings and the way the vehicles are shod.

The construction itself stays common to both: an armored body set on the off-road Duro chassis, a V-shaped hull that directs the pressure of a blast out to the sides, and considerable ground clearance. The vehicle is at the same time fairly short, so on a model the wheels make up an unusually large part of the silhouette. That is all the more reason to pay attention to them.

A loaded tire in practice

The parts imitate rubber carrying the weight of the vehicle. The contact patch is flat at the bottom, the sidewall bulges above it and the model then really stands, instead of touching the base at a single point. Combined with a dusty deposit on the fenders, the vehicle takes on a parked look with no further work at all.

The hubs are designed for the kit from the brand Vespid. Before gluing it is advisable to clean the mating surfaces and check that the flat part of each tire points straight down. On a tall body even the slightest lean shows up across the whole shape of the vehicle. The size corresponds to 1:35.

What is under the fenders has its say in the overall impression too. Once the tires are loaded, the eye expects a deposit on the lower edge of the body as well, and a clean chassis under sagged tires then looks inconsistent. A light dusting is enough and the discrepancy disappears.