25 Pdr and Quad   -  by Nigel Robins

I don’t know if I like this kit dating from 1963 or not. There is something about it that does not seem right and I am still nonplussed what that is.  The Quad is the correct overall shape but the wheels are, in my mind, too big and too narrow.  It is also missing a front headlight(s). Both of these faults are correctable but the whole Quad feels crude, and I think that’s what I dislike. It could have so much more finesse: opening doors, propshafts moulded separately and so on.  Compare it with what Airfix did with the tractor from the Bofors gun and you will see what I  am talking about.  Both vehicles are from the same "family" ( C8, Cs8, etc) but the Bofors tractor kit is in a different league. 

The limber is OK but would have benefited from separate doors revealing ammunition racks, and then there is the gun.  The kit represents the early version without muzzle break but it seems wrong and I am not sure why.  It seems to be a little small for 1/76th, feeling a little too "thin", particularly in the carriage. The barrel is probably a little too lightweight and this is not helped by an inevitably  thick gunshield.  The rest of the gun is, of course, all there but is, again, a little crude and the kit has, joy of joys, a barrel/recoil assembly moulded in two halves which results in a tricky joint which has to be camouflaged by the modeller.  The kit has a set of crew, unsurprisingly, crude and lifeless, but in fairness in drill book positions.  There are decals but these are very simplified and are best replaced with some "proper" R.A. markings.

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Conclusion

For me this kit is too crude.  With work and decent decals a presentable model can be made but it will never be great which is a great shame as the 25pdr is an impressive, long lived and well liked artillery piece which, with the Quad, was used everywhere.  It must be remembered that this was the first attempt any manufacturer had made to model an artillery piece in this scale.  It should also be mentioned that there are better models of the 25pdr out there now which could be used with an upgraded Quad and limber as the Morris Quad has not been attempted by anyone else in plastic yet!