Seeing the other Modelcollect reviews here I thought I'd share this one.
I saw some of the armour kits at Scale Model World and being a sucker for German weapons projects bought a couple. This is the Rheintochter ground-to-air missile mounted on the projected, but un-built as a prototype E-50 chassis/carriage. The E-50 tank would have replaced the Panther and Tiger I and would have been approximate in size to a King Tiger.
These Modellcollect kits are beautifully packaged in a sturdy box in glossy trim.
The box itself is absolutely brimming with parts, mostly for the E-50, although there are a number of surplus components, mainly those relating to the turret assembly. There is no gun barrel, these are supplied in turned metal for the tank kits and it is not included in this one.
The Rheintochter parts occupy two runners, although one of the big pieces, the stabiliser for ground launching, will be surplus to requirements. The parts are beautifully moulded with zero flash and clean up should be easily taken care of. I'm less impressed with the big panel lines on the missile body, these will need to be reduced, or filled completely.
The bulk of the kit is taken up with the tank components. As with the missile these are really well moulded and nicely detailed, with a one piece lower hull and an upper hull having a separate engine deck and parts to fit an engine inside. Separate cables (very finely moulded) and tools are supplied - armour fans will love the latter, they look very scaleish.
As with the other components the running gear is very well done with nicely detailed wheels and sprockets. Tracks are link and length (sigh, Dragon style flexible plastic would have been optimum), but to be fair it is possible to get very good results with this type of track assembly.
The components are rounded off with a small PE fret comprising grilles for the engine deck and a few detail parts, plus a generic decal sheet. I'm not fussed with the latter and it's ignored in the finishing guide, although perhaps the addition of crosses and numbers will liven up the end result a bit.
Instructions are on a single fold out sheet printed on heavy, semi-matt paper. Print quality is excellent and the paint guide is in full colour reference to MIG paints. Whilst I can vouch for the missile colours (see the walkaround posted elsewhere on the forum), the chassis is imaginary and I must say, imaginative, whilst retaining credibility in respect of German army equipment (or would it have been Luftwaffe? Interesting).
I'm very taken with this kit, for me as well as scoring highly on subject matter, it looks to be very well executed, although a lot will depend on how well it goes together. I hedged at the idea of a stand alone E-50, maybe I could be persuaded to change my mind. They also have a very cool looking 128mm Flak Zwilling on an E-100 chassis - hmm. I paid £16.50 for this one, hardly wallet busting and you get a lot of plastic for the money. If the genre floats your boat, then this is definitely a kit worth looking at.
If folks are interested, I have a couple more of these Wehrmacht '46 kits you could look at.
Postscript: You are left with a surplus turret that is very nicely detailed. What to do, it would be a shame to bin it? If I can find a suitable barrel then I'm thinking along the lines of a little tank turret emplacement diorama. It could even form a base for the Rheintochter/E-50 combo.
Modelcollect 1/72 Rheinetochter/E50 chassis
Modelcollect 1/72 Rheinetochter/E50 chassis
Paul Brown
Bring me my chariot of fire
Locate and Cement
RevellAtions
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Bring me my chariot of fire
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You can't turn back the clock,
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- JohnRatzenberger
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Re: Modelcollect 1/72 Rheinetochter/E50 chassis
Good review, well illustrated - thanks !
John Ratzenberger
It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
- gnomemeansgnome
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Re: Modelcollect 1/72 Rheinetochter/E50 chassis
Nice review of a very interesting kit and subject. Thanks for sharing.
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ICBM = Insatiable Collector and Builder of Models
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Re: Modelcollect 1/72 Rheinetochter/E50 chassis
You could stick it on a King Tiger hull as an interim vehicle while the hulls were being constructed
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Gord
Desperately trying to find his MOJO, don't know where I left it
Gord
Desperately trying to find his MOJO, don't know where I left it
Re: Modelcollect 1/72 Rheinetochter/E50 chassis
Go on, lead me into temptation! As it happens I have a Rheintochter going spare from another Modelcollect purchase (possibly more anon this weekend), although I'd have to scratch up a launch cradle. Plus a left over KT barrel would solve my turret conundrum.Kitaholic wrote:You could stick it on a King Tiger hull as an interim vehicle while the hulls were being constructed
Paul Brown
Bring me my chariot of fire
Locate and Cement
RevellAtions
You can't turn back the clock,
You can't turn back the tide,
Ain't that a shame
Bring me my chariot of fire
Locate and Cement
RevellAtions
You can't turn back the clock,
You can't turn back the tide,
Ain't that a shame
- Dazzled
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Re: Modelcollect 1/72 Rheinetochter/E50 chassis
A great review. I could be tempted back into WW2 modelling
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Wherever there's danger, wherever there's trouble, wherever there's important work to be done....I'll be somewhere else building a model!
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Re: Modelcollect 1/72 Rheinetochter/E50 chassis
Excellent review.
I only have two Model Collect kits in my stash but I’m becoming a big fan of their range of kits.
I only have two Model Collect kits in my stash but I’m becoming a big fan of their range of kits.
My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.