4D Jeeps and M3A1 half-track

In this post, I present a couple more new offerings from 4D Models. The first model is a M3A1 half-tracked armored military vehicle (半履带武装甲车).

The 4D M3A1 is largely the same as their "M3" (M21) half-track, although parts for the mortar are not included, and the undercarriage is modified to accomodate an unditching roller.

There is a new sprue for a pulpit and roller, as well as an additional M2 machine gun. The model I have is molded in khaki drab, but similar to the M3 half-track, versions exist in both dark green and khaki drab plastic.

As with the earlier M3, the model goes together quickly and easily. The hardest part is to get the wheels onto the metal axles.

M3A1 vs M3 (M21)

Unlike the previous M3, the rudimentary M2 machine guns on the M3A1 do not come pre-painted.

The radiator louvres still look horrible

I think the roller may be a bit oversized, but the pulpit looks pretty good. Unfortunately, the interior still retains the M21 configuration, which would require more effort than it is worth to replace.

The other model is the Willy's Jeep off-road utility vehicle (威利斯吉普车 多用途越野用车).

The jeep comes molded in dark green or tan plastic, and includes a cargo trailer. I bought one of each color.

Unlike many other 4D models, the wheels are not painted to match the color of the plastic. The hubs are thick and bulky, presumably to allow the wheels to be firmly attached to the metal axles.

The model goes together fairly easily, but assembly took longer than for the M3A1 because of the delicate clean-up required for some of the smaller parts.

For one of the models, there was a molding issue that prevented the spare wheel from attaching properly. I ended up drilling out the hole, but the wheel still didn't fit well, so it's probably better to just file down the pin on the wheel and glue it in place.

The model doesn't look bad after being built up, but there is definitely room for improvement. The wheel hubs, windshield, steering wheel, and axe are all either too thick, or overly simplified. I etched a line on the axe to give it a bit of definition, but it was otherwise a featureless piece of flat plastic.

The windshield is a particular let down, since the design for the 1/48 scale 4D jeeps look so much better.

Compared to various other 1/72 scale jeeps, the 4D Models version is almost identical in size.

4D vs Hongwell

4D vs Marx

4D vs Hobby Master

4D vs Matchbox

The 4D jeep is probably closest to the Hobby Master jeep in dimensions, but, the wheelbase is closer to the Hongwell jeep. The Marx jeep is just as long as the 1/72 diecast jeeps, but not as wide. It almost looks closer in size to the 1/76 scale Matchbox jeep, but I think that is just because it doesn't have the spare tire and jerry can attached to the back.

I'm not sure if I will file down the windshield of the 4D jeeps to make them look better, but even if left as is, I think the models are more than adequate for gaming purposes.

Chalawan

Chalawan (ชาละวัน) is a crocodile spirit from the Thai folktale Kraithong (ไกรทอง). The story was adapted into a lakhon nok play credited to King Rama II, and has received a number of film adaptations over the years.

The story is so popular, that there is even a Thai craft beer named after Chalawan.

Anyone think their logo looks familiar?

In the story, Chalawan lives in a cave containing a magical crystal that gives all the crocodiles within human form. Outside of the cave however, he appears as an enormous crocodile. On occasion, Chalawan is also depicted as being half-man, half-crocodile.

A Cambodian take on the story can be seen in the film Kropeu Charavan (ក្រពើឆារ៉ាវ៉ាន់) aka The Crocodile Men. In this film, Chalawan (Charavan) is fully human, but knows a spell to transform into a crocodile.

The spell is very reminiscent of legends about the Indonesian power of tiang maleh rupa that allows people to change into crocodiles, or crocodiles to change into humans. And in fact, these legends are often credited as being the source for werecrocodiles in RPGs. In the Indonesian horror movies based on these legends, these creatures always seem to be albino crocodiles (buaya putih).

For more inspiration on magical crocodiles, I turned to the first issue of the zine A Thousand Thousand Islands, by Zedeck Siew, with art by Mun Kao.

MR-KR-GR describes a land of crocodiles and their human subjects. The zine introduces us to the Place of Crocodiles, but does not delve deeply into detail so I'm not sure I can characterize it as a gazetteer. The setting is painted with broad strokes, yet is evocative and tantalizes the reader with bits and pieces of the wondrous and grotesque.

Zedeck doesn't have any plans to make a comprehensive guide for his setting since he prefers the open-ended feel of the different locales introduced in his zines, but I personally would want to do a lot of research into the culture and mythology of Southeast Asia to do justice to the setting. Nevertheless, there are many people who can take off running with it just fine, so it is certainly not a hindrance to not have any sort of detailed background.

I'm not sure if there is currently any stock of the latest printings of the zine, but you can always contact Zedeck to check on availability.

Anyway, on to miniatures. There are several companies that make crocodile-men, including Privateer Press (Gatormen) and Crocodile Games (Sebeki), but the only series of miniatures that are close in size to 1/72 scale figures are the old C19 and RR11 Lizardmen from Citadel.

Grenadier also made the Caroc (Monster Manuscript Vol.II 1502, MM10) which I think matches well with the Citadel miniatures.

For regular crocodiles there are a lot of different plastic toys that can be used, but most of them are probably too large for use with 1/72 scale figures.

I only have the Airfix crocodile from the Tarzan figure set (01733), while all my other figures are actually alligators. The adult and baby alligators are from the Airfix Zoo Animals No. 1 set (01724). Next is a Galoob alligator from the National Geographic Collection Swamp Adventure set, and at the end is the Marx alligator from the Noah's Ark playset.

Last but not least is the D&D Icons of the Realms Crocodile (Waterdeep Dragon Heist #30), which can be used as a large saltwater crocodile.

Turtles

Eureka's warrior frogs and turtles were inspired by the ukiyo-e of Kawanabe Kyōsai. Kyōsai in turn was influenced by his master, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who depicted his human subjects as animals to get around censorship laws, as in the case of the actors shown below.


I thought Eureka's terrapin warriors would match well with the ERM frogs mentioned in my previous post. The first five terrapins are Terrapin, with spear (100FRG17). I modified one of these terrapins by cutting away its spear and gluing some pins in its hands to represent drumsticks. The arms and head were bent so that it could be paired with the terrapin carrying the drum from the Turtle/Terrapin Drummer Team (100FRG18). The final terrapin holding the forked stick is from the Turtle/Terrapin sniper team (100FRG16). The terrapins are supplied with separate shells at random, so you may get the larger turtle shells for your terrapins. I placed one of the turtle shells on the terrapin with a forked stick. It didn't look too bad from the front, but from the rear it just looked wrong. Happily, Nic at Eureka was kind enough to send me a replacement terrapin shell.



The next miniatures were also inspired by Japanese culture, but rather than ukiyo-e, they were influenced by 80's ninja films and superhero comics.


They are of course, the Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles. Shown below are Donatello and Michaelangleo. I think that Leonardo and Raphael may have suffered a horrible fate involving a hammer and lighter, but my memory is a bit hazy about it.


These miniatures were made in 1986 by Dark Horse Studios, and sold through adds in the back of the TMNT comics.


The Eureka and Dark Horse turtles compare well to each other in size.


Finally, for normal turles, there is the turtle from Reaper's Familiar Pack V (2848), and a pair of Galápagos giant tortoises from an old Noah's Ark playset made by Marx Toys.