MiniArt 1/35 Valentine Mk IV "Red Army"

The Vickers Valentine tank was Britain’s most produced tank during World War II. Between 1940 and 1945, more than 8,000 of the type were produced in 11 different marks plus various purpose-built variants, accounting for approximately a quarter of wartime British tank production. The Valentine started out as a riveted construction tank and moved to being entirely welded. Additionally, its power plant went from gasoline engine to a two-stroke diesel engine produced by GMC. The diesel was substituted to reduce the likelihood of fire.

During the war, the British supplied 2,394 of the British Valentine models via Lend Lease to the USSR, while the Canadians sent 1,388 of the Canadian Pacific built models to the Soviets.

The Valentine first served in Operation Crusader in the North African desert, when it began to replace the Matilda Tank. The British Army extensively used the Valentine in the North African Campaign, where it earned a reputation as a reliable and well-protected vehicle.

The Valentine shared the common weakness of the British tanks of the period: its 2-pounder gun lacked high-explosive (anti-personnel) capability, and the gun soon became outdated as an anti-tank weapon. The small turret and turret ring made mounting larger guns a very difficult task. Although the British developed versions with a 6-pounder gun and then with a 75 mm gun, by the time tanks mounting these guns were available in significant numbers better tanks had reached the battlefield. Another weakness was the small crew compartment and the turret for only two men. A larger turret added room for a loader position in some of the 2-pounder versions, but use of larger guns required removal of the position.

By 1944 the Valentine had been almost completely replaced in front-line European Theater units by the Churchill tank and the US-made Sherman. In the Pacific the tank was employed in limited numbers at least until May 1945. I

The Soviet Union used the Valentine from the Battle of Moscow until the end of the war. Although criticized for its low speed and weak gun, the Valentine was generally liked by tank crews due to its small size, reliability, and reasonable armor protection.

 For a preview of what’s in the box, see Scott's earlier review of this kit.  This is the first MiniArt kit I have personally constructed, and it was a pleasant surprise. I was amazed by the shear number of parts (over 600, both plastic and PE) and the very nice molded detail. There are a lot of tiny parts in this kit, so one needs to be cautious when handling, especially when clipping the smaller parts off the sprues.

 After studying the copious instructions (53 steps in all) I started the assembly process. Steps 1 thru 7 cover the turret’s interior, which includes a radio and a detailed main gun breech. There are also a number of small, PE bolts or rivets that need to be affixed to the turret exterior. Steps 8 thru 13 involve assembly of the turret top and exterior machine gun, which includes the standard elaborate Soviet mounting fixture. Since I was going to use a tank commander figure for the kit, I opted to leave the main hatches off until later. At this point, I painted the turret interior flat white and, when it was dry, I glued the turret top to the turret.

Next, I moved to the well-rendered suspension system, which, for most armor kit assemblies, is the most tedious process. The various components (i.e., road wheels, idlers, suspension rigs, etc.) are repetitious and one just needs to plow thru these.

Once the suspension and running gear were done, I proceeded with assembly of the driver’s compartment. Here, I found a minor error in the instructions: parts B10 and B9 in the instructions are really A10 and A9.

Steps 31-36 involve assembly of the lower hull and attaching all of the road wheels and idlers. Step 38 is assembly of the individual track links – which I have grown to hate – and I also put this off until I could muster the fortitude to attack them (there are 98 links per side). So, to divert myself, I moved to the hull top. Again, I found a minor instructional error: parts C40 (four of them) are mislabeled, and should really be B40. Again, exercise caution in handling of the small pieces, especially the various grab handles located on the hull top. The kit includes a nice set of tools, which I glued to the hull (I always opt to paint these by hand after spray painting the tank). The final upper hull assembly involves attaching the turret ring.

I painted the lower hull (see below for colors) and, when dry, proceeded to assemble the much-dreaded tracks. Call it fate or pre-ordained, but I had a ton of trouble with getting the links together and making them appear somewhat “natural.” I don’t know if this is due to my own stubbornness or whether the small size of the links contributed to the process, but it was a “pain.” I hate to plug other companies’ products in the middle of a build review, but for my modeling abilities, Dragon has come up with the best track solution in its “Dragon Styrene 100” (DS) one-piece tracks. But for those who are into individual link tracks, I will say that Miniart’s are very nicely done!

As a final touch, I cut a length of steel guitar string and glued it with Crazy Glue to the turret to replicate the radio antenna.

 This is a very nice kit. It is a challenge due to the large number of small parts, the PE, and the individual link tracks, but it was a pleasure to assemble. I highly recommend this kit to somewhat experienced modelers looking for a momentary “break” from the plethora of WWII German armor kits currently available.

Blair Stewart

Thanks to your editor and www.dragonmodelsusa.com for the review kit. You should be able to find this at your local hobby shop. If not, have them order one for you.