This is Machinen Krieger’s (Hasegawa, I believe) Type 44 Ammoknight. This is my first MaK kit, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As I found with Warhammer kits, the quality is very good, they build up easily and solidly, and it’s quite liberating to do science fiction subjects where you aren’t bound by accuracy issues, and you can let your imagination run free a little.
This was built mostly OOB, with the following exceptions: I added a cast texture and weld beads to many of the parts using putty, I added a piece of wire for the antenna, some fine wire for (what I assume are) the smoke dischargers, and I used some shiny plastic wrap and rhinestones for the optics in the visor. The base is bits of cork board glued to a wooden plaque and coated with tile grout, as recommended by one of my favourite modelling gurus “Nightshift”. Here’s a link to the the appropriate video, as he explains it gooder than I ever could!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZceUYf ... LN&index=6
The kit went together very nicely, although I could have done a better job fitting the interior polycaps, which is why you see the prominent sutures where the armour sections join. My own fault, not Hasegawa’s! There’s also some soft vinyl for the hoses. The finished model is compact but surprisingly heavy. It stands very steadily on its solid legs, and is even posable in the major joints, visor, and breastplate. The decal sheet has some colourful, imaginative designs, and the decals settle down beautifully with some Solvaset, even on my overstated “cast” texture.
The build starts from the feet and works up. When I got to the waist, I was reminded of the dreaded techno-trousers (ex-NASA!) from the Wallace & Gromit classic “The Wrong Trousers”.
You have a choice of a full-figure standing pilot, or a basic head and torso which fit into the cockpit. Incidentally, this build allowed me to improve my figure painting skills by leaps and bounds, from non-existent to terrible.
I recommend this kit to anyone who wants a good quality build which is a change from the ordinary. This was my first MaK kit, but I don’t think it will be my last!
All the best!
