4D 8-Rad

The latest offerings from 4D Models consist of three 8-wheeled vehicles and one tracked vehicle.

The first two kits are WWII German heavy armored cars. They are both referred to as "Cougar" armored cars in the translated text, since the same word is used for both "cougar" and "puma" in Chinese. In any event, I will use the word "puma" for the purposes of this post.

4D Model also seems to be doing OEM for a company called Pambest, who are selling the 4D kits under their Pocket P Museum brand (the marketing material looks to be styled after the Kaiyodo Capsule Q Museum series).

Pocket P Museum

Capsule Q Museum

The first model is the Sd.Kfz.234/2 Puma Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (美洲狮裝甲偵察车), consisting of 26 parts in khaki plastic, 9 wheels in black plastic with painted hubs, 4 metal axles, and a wire antenna.

The second model is the Sd.Kfz.234/3 Puma Wheeled Armored Vehicle (美洲狮轮式裝甲车), which we might also call a Stummel 8-rad, consisting of 50 parts in tan plastic, 9 wheels in black plastic with painted hubs, 4 metal axles, and a wire antenna.

The models go together very quickly and easily, but the directions for how the axles fit onto the chassis are the opposite for the two models, and I couldn't figure out which direction was correct at first.

In the end, I think the instructions are both half-right, and there should be a pair of struts pointing forward, and a pair pointing backward.

Immediately there are several obvious issues with the models, including the poorly rendered jerry cans, and lack of tread pattern on the tires.

The barrel of the Puma is warped, and has the vents opened to the top and bottom as opposed to the sides. The smoke launchers are poorly represented, and only have two dischargers on each side.

Meanwhile, the Stummel has markings that are out of register, a poorly formed co-axial machine gun, and big, chunky steering wheels.

The models are strictly wargaming pieces, and are not the best representatives of the 4D Model offerings. They do have the advantage of tools that are provided as separate parts, and the Stummel comes with a rudimentary interior.

It probably wouldn't be too hard to make them into passable display models either, if you really wanted to.

I didn't use the wire antenna on the Puma because the instructions tell you to install part 4B, and then cut it off to leave a post for the metal antenna. If I had looked carefully at the instructions before starting, I would have just used a piece of sprue for the post, and saved the part for something else.

The next two models are modern PLA vehicles consisting of the ZBD-04A Tracked IVF (ZBD-04A 步兵战车步兵战车), and the ZBL-09 Snow Leopard IVF (雪豹 ZBD-09式 步兵战车).

The ZBD-04A consists of 43 parts in tan plastic (a green version of this model also exists), and two wire antennae.

The ZBD-09 consists of 26 parts in green plastic, 8 wheels in black plastic with painted hubs, and 4 metal axles.

Assembly of the models is very simple, but one interesting feature is the way the bustle racks for the ZBD-04 require folding before installation.

This is something you would typically do with photoetch, but the properties of the plastic used for the kit makes it possible to get a similar effect without the need for special tools, or having to complicate the mold.

I painted the tracks and wheels of the ZBD-04 before assembly because the side skirts would make painting difficult after the upper and lower hulls are connected.

The ZBD-04 has a choice of two configurations based on the parts attached to the hull. I went with option 1, but I'll probably order another model to build the other configuration.

Hatches on the hull and turret can open and close, but a bit of clean-up may be needed for the hull hatch to fully close. The barrel can pivot up and down, and the turret can rotate.

The 4D ZBD-09 is very similar to the Dragon Armor ZBL-09, albeit a bit less detailed. Both chain-guns are simplified and fixed in a raised position.

4D (left) v Dragon (right)

For both models, options are provided to have the turret hatches opened or closed. I went with the closed option for the 4D model, and open option for the Dragon model.

Dragon (top) v 4D (bottom)

The Dragon model comes with two doors for the rear hatch to allow the model to be displayed with open or closed hatch. The 4D model has a hinged door so the hatch can open and close.

Dragon (left) v 4D (right)

The only thing that was obviously inaccurate on the 4D model from what I can tell are the front mirrors.

The mirrors of the Dragon model are the correct rectangular shape, while the 4D model has round mirrors.

Overall, I would say that the models are not too bad, though they would look more like actual PLA vehicles if they were painted with [digital] camouflage. It's also odd that the national markings do not have the "八一 " inside the emblem, which makes them look a bit off.

Sixer

The Alvis FV603 Saracen was designed as a post-war replacement for the AEC armored car. The Saracen was rushed into production in 1952 for use during the Malayan Emergency. In subsequent years it played a similar role in apartheid era South Africa and Northern Ireland.

The Royal Hong Kong Police introduced them to their Police Tactical Unit (PTU) in 1970 after the 1967 Hong Kong Riots (六七暴動), where it was used until 1988 when it was replaced by the Saxon.

The most common diecast models of the Saracen are the venerable Matchbox/Lesney model in 1/86(?) and the Dinky model in 1/60(?) scales.

The Dinky model is of note because a version was produced in the livery from the Mission Highly Improbable episode of the TV show The Avengers.

That's not 1/72!

In the 1/72 world, diecast Saracen models have recently been produced by Tiny City. As a Hong Kong based company, it was obligatory for them to release several PTU versions in addition to a single British Army version.

PTU 5 and PTU 4

PTU 12 and PTU 5

PTU 4 and British Army

British Army and PTU 12

PTU 12 came with some red cross stickers for the turret which I did not use. In addition, it has a flag, but there is no way to mount it on the hull (I just used some Elmers Tac to stick it on the side of the hull for pictures).

I bought a couple of extra British Army versions because I wanted to repaint them in a uniform Deep Bronze Green or NATO Green, but I'm not sure how to disassemble the models since there are no obvious screws or rivets like in typical diecast cars, so the project will have to wait.

As for plastic models, JB Models made a 1/76 version that is now sold by Airfix, but it is only recently that Ace has released a version in 1/72 scale.

The kit instructions are overly busy, and the numbering is a tad messed up, but it can eventually be figured out if you look at them hard enough. I ended up not following the exact order of assembly as written in the instructions.

The most confusing part is the suspension and lower hull, with many tiny and complex parts.

It is important to scrape off all the seam lines on parts C18 and C19. If you look closely at the parts, you should notice some divots that may need to be deepened with a rat-tail file so that parts C04 can fit between the struts.

Place parts C18 and C19 through part C23, then fit C23 to the side of the hull and apply liquid cement to all the parts.

Next, glue C17 and A10 in place, followed by parts C14.

After all that, glue parts C08 and C09 in place. The instructions don't really give a good indication of where they are supposed to be glued, or how they should be oriented.

Finally, glue parts C02 and C03 onto C01 and then glue the assembly to the hull. The ends of C02 and C03 should be glued to the neighboring parts C14 at that point as well.

Of course the most frustrating part of spending all the time building the complicated suspension is that it will hardly be visible after the wheels are attached.

Another place that needs a little clarification is when attaching A08/A09 to A06. It is easier to glue the ends of the vents in place before gluing A06 to the hull.

The hull was partially filled with pieces of sprue to give it a little bit of heft (similar to the solid feel of a PSC kit).

The parts of the turret are mislabelled, and the tabs of the underside need to be carved out, since it seems the designers forgot how they are supposed to work.

I thought that the Ace kit would have been a nightmare after working on so many quick build kits lately, but I did not find the kit to be difficult to build (though I think it was needlessly complex).

Another bright spot was that I only lost one of the dozen individual lift rings that need to be attached to the hull. Luckily the kit had two extras, so no additional scratch building was necessary.

All that needs to be done is to attach the wheels, add some final parts (tools, headlights, machine guns, commander figure), and paint the model.

The near final product is actually about 2mm shorter in length, and 1mm shorter in width and height than the Tiny Saracen. The turret also looks significantly smaller.

Now I'm a bit curious as to how the Ace model compares in size to the Airfix model.