1:35 U.S. Lehký kulomet cal .30

A machine gun nest at the edge of a hedge

Picture a scene where a field track disappears between two banks overgrown with hawthorn, and in the shade of one of them stands a tripod with a weapon whose crew is not there right now. An image like that can be built around this set in a single evening. The .30 caliber machine gun held crossroads, fords and gaps in field boundaries for American units in the Second World War, so it suits anywhere the scene is meant to feel tense and the position freshly abandoned.

Contents according to the manufacturer

The package holds 17 cast parts and a photo-etched fret. The castings carry the main shapes of the weapon, the mount and the accessories, while the photo-etched parts add what cannot be cast: thin sheet, clips and straps. The .30 caliber corresponds to the American rifle cartridge of roughly 7.6 millimeters in diameter, so the set fits both infantry and vehicle scenes from 1941 to 1945.

• the scale matches the vast majority of ground vehicle kits
• the castings need to be washed and freed of sprue gates before gluing
• photo-etched parts are joined with cyanoacrylate glue, more experienced modelers solder them
• the weapon stands up to a close look, so careful shading pays off
• the tripod can be sunk into the terrain, which makes the position sit more firmly

In terms of color the set is served by a dark base, over which the metal edges are pulled out with a dry brush, and a light accent on the wooden parts. A weapon laid at the edge of a ditch, leaning against sandbags or set down on the bed of a truck turns an empty area into a place where something happened.