PMMS
Accurate Armour
Comet Update Set
Set No.A105
Review by Peter Brown
with additional notes by Terry Ashley (in italics)

Bronco This set from Accurate Armour is designed for the Bronco Comet kit (#CB-35010) and includes a lot of smaller items to update the Bronco kit. It contains some parts taken directly from Accurate Armour's full kit of the tank released around 1990 as K018 as well as some items which have been rendered as separate parts though clearly patterned from the original masters.

All are cleanly cast in pale grey resin without any obvious blemishes and jus tthe usual casting blocks and some thin resin film to be removed.

It is probably easiest to describe them in the separate areas where they go.

Hull Front:
A new resin part is provided for the vertical plate in front of the driver and co-driver, this is solid at the back and so avoids the hollow area on Bronco's part E14 and also has the weld bead where it meets the glacis. Resin driver's visor can be shown open with detailed inner parts or closed down, and new hull machine gun and the handle outboard of it are provided.

One issue when using a part from a full kit as an update for another is they may not match as well as a part designed specifically for the target kit and this is the case here where the AA resin front plate is slightly shorter than the Bronco part meaning it sits even with the hull top but there should be a noticeable raised lip along the top.

Also the bolted machine gun ring is too small and does not extend below the front plate to meet the glacis as can be seen with the real image below. The Bronco bolted ring on the other hand has the bolts too close to the outer edge and the MG opening too small which make sit look a little odd.

Hull front plate and comparison with the Bronco parts and rear images showing the
undersized bolted machine gun ring of the AA set

Accurate ArmourAccurate ArmourAccurate Armour
Accurate Armour

Three replacement periscope heads are provided for the hull crew positions and these avoid the moulding flaw in all the Bronco items I have examined from six or seven kits.

Replacements for kit headlight guards and the curved segments around which the tow rope are wound are included, as well as smaller towing eyes which better match most photos as the Bronco items are of a larger pattern.

Hull Rear:
New fishtail exhaust outlets for the Type B Comet, a new one-piece towbar replaces the kit item which is not easy to construct as it is in two pieces split into upper and lower parts - complete with a better towing hook to fit on it and smaller towing eyes.

Hull Top:
A complete set of tools, shovel, two-part pickaxe and handle, crowbar and track adjuster is included with fine tool clips and brackets as well as a gun barrel travelling lock to replace the kit items.

New grab handles for the engine access hatches will need the kit ones carefully cutting off and more care to fit the small resin ones!

Also replaced are the keyholes for the locking handles on the engine access hatches and Accurate Armour provides these as small, star-shaped items which come on a thin resin membrane. This matches their own kit though in that they come moulded on, and also the Bronco kit though all the real Comets I have seen live or in photos have a surround which is approximately a quarter-circle surround with a raised central section in which stands a square peg.

Turret:
Replacement cupola complete with periscope heads in place saves adding detail to the Bronco part, separate hatch flaps for this and the loader's hatch have detail on the inside faces.

The main issue with the Bronco cupola is that it sits too high in the turret mounting and I fact the rim of the cupola should be level with the mounting and the AA cupola represents this but you may have to trim a little off the bottom of the cupola casting to get an even sit.

New resin cupola that sits correctly in the turret mounting.
Note detail on inside of the hatches

Accurate Armour

The cupola hatches have nice detail on both sides but the fit to the cupola is not good and displaying them open will solve this issue quite easily as well as showing off the inner hatch detail. The loader's hatches should have rounded corners at rear hinge edge but this is easy enough to add with light sanding but the hatch cutout in the kit roof will have to be modified accordingly which will take a little more work.

Ill fitting cupola hatches and Loader's hatches
Accurate ArmourAccurate ArmourToadman
Image of real hatches from Toadman's Comet reference CD

New periscope heads are also provided for the front slope of the roof as are new radio aerial bases and stowage bin handle which will need the kit items cutting away and replacing.

Fire extinguishers for the back of the turret bin replace undersized kit items, smoke grenade launchers are cast in one piece with far better detail than the plastic equivalents (note; these are only fitted to post war Comets). Rolled stowage items are provided for the turret bin sides. Note that the small rectangular number plate on the back of the bin was only found on Irish vehicles though both AA and Bronco have it on their models.

Also included are spare track link lengths. These may seem to be a minor item, but having had to try to scratch build replacements for three kits built as part of a magazine article they are very welcome to me at least, and as most tanks had them they are a sensible addition.

Overall, a mix of parts from simple replacements and additions to more detailed small items.

Recommended

Resin Parts
Accurate ArmourAccurate Armour

See the A34 Comet Subject page for additional detail/update set reviews available.

References:

Thanks to Accurate Armour for the review set.


Page Created December 28, 2006

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