M24 Chaffee Engine Compartment
1/35 Set No. 1832
Review by Terry Ashley
Some surgery is required on the target kit in removing the rear hull engine deck panels; this should be done with some care as you don’t get replacement items in the update set. There is also some modification of the lower hull area of the Italeri kit to fit the new parts but all of this shouldn’t be a problem for the average modeller.
The engine bay has the two side panels, fuel tanks and the forward bulkhead which includes the transmission to be fitted into the rear hull and some test fitting and trimming may be required to get a snug fit.
The two engines are excellent castings with many axillary items included in the casting, added to these are additional items such as the carburettors, front pulley assembly and the many large and small items of plumbing. At the front of each is the fan and large radiator, all of these results in very busy and comprehensive engine assemblies.
The instructions are in the form of a small sheet with brief text notes and assembly drawings. These are fairly basic but with careful study you should be able to work out where the bits go, unfortunately some parts aren’t shown on the instructions but the box top illustration does help to see when the parts go.
The parts stack up well against reference photos but as with any kit there is room for additional detailing, the engine wiring being one.
The Ground Power Magazine No.104 has some excellent photos of the Chaffee engine and compartment and will go a long way in getting the most from this set.
Overall a well detailed set with plenty of details to fill out the Chaffee engine bay, the only real area of improvement would be the instructions which have room for improvement.
Recommended.
Page created 1 January 2003