Hobby Boss 1/35 PLA PTL02 Wheeled Tank Destroyer

KIT #:	82485
PRICE:	$42.99 SRP
DECALS:	Several  options
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:

HISTORY

THE KIT

One nice thing about Hobby Boss is that they will provide us with kits of subjects that are not always what many would consider 'normal'. No Shermans and Germans, but often modern vehicles and ones that are interesting to boot. One of them is this PTL-02 Tank Destroyer. I would have never guessed that we would see a model of this Chinese wheeled vehicle, yet here it is.

Hobby Boss likes to use tan plastic for its military vehicle kits and this one is no exception. As usual, the detailing is first rate as is the packaging. They realize that by not putting all the bits loose in the box or all bagged together will reduce parts breakage. It is also great that they wrap the more fragile bits with foam wrap just to make sure.

This one has a complete upper and lower hull section. The lower hull contains all of the suspension bits and the side entrance doors. Much of the parts count goes into the suspension and it is very nicely detailed. Large, rubber tires are also included and have great tread pattern. The back entrance door is molded onto a separate piece that fits onto the back of the lower hull.

The upper hull contains the forward vision ports and upper hatches for the driver and commander. The vision ports, like the doors, can be posed open from the looks of it, though there is no interior to see if one does so. The various lights and exhaust system fit on the upper hull section. This is also where most of the photo etch is used. As you can see from the fret image, there are various screens that make up the majority of the fret. The rest of the kit is devoted to the turret. This is a pretty large piece that includes a mantlet and long barrel. No breech assembly is provided as none is going to be seen anyway. There are some rather small bits on this in terms of the grenade/smoke launchers and some hand holds. The upper machine gun is superbly molded and has quite a bit of detail to it. This turret assembly seems to simply slot into the opening as there is no keyway as you find on some other turreted vehicle kits.

Instructions are quite well done with clearly defined construction sequences. There are a few spots where detail will need to be removed or filled and those are clearly shown. All of the color information is provided in the full color painting guide. No specific unit information is provided though there are two different types of camouflage markings. One is as shown on the box art with the usual swaths of color. The other is a 'digital' camouflage design in the same colors that will be a real challenge to paint, but will look great when one is done. I am surprised no one has come out with a decal sheet for this sort of scheme. The well printed decal sheet offers a variety of numbers so one can do any of a number of vehicles.

CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES