At the end of WWII, Dwight Eisenhower named five things that he considered to be part of the reason that the Allies were victorious. Surprisingly, most of them were not offensive weapons at all and one of them was the Jeep. WWII was a perfect example of the importance of supply and reconnaissance. If you have them, then you will be able to carry on the fight. Often times an army outran its supply line and what was a sterling rout of the enemy, turned into a defensive battle while awaiting more supplies.

Anyway, the Jeep is as synonymous with Americans in WWII and Korea as anything else. Though the actual vehicles used for what was the jeep's original mission have changed, the concept is basically the same. A relatively small four wheel drive vehicle for transporting men and priority supplies as well as being used for light recce. Its ability to travel and relatively high speeds on prepared surfaces and yet go off road with little problem made the Jeep the icon of the war that it became.

THE KIT

It is not often that we see a Dragon kit in 1/72 and then in 1/35, but so it is with the armored Jeep. Of course, model companies nowadays have become smart enough to get around paying what must be pretty hefty licensing fees by simply not naming what it is and using generic terms. I doubt if many model builders do not know a Jeep when they see one.

Well this is a nice one. It is not a curbside and has a full engine as well as a nicely done suspension that fits onto a one-piece frame. The one-piece body sans hood and tailgate then fits atop all this with the usual separate seats in the front and a rather small two place seat in the back. This is a Smart Kit so you can be sure there is photo etch. Not only for small things like headlight guards, but also for the forward armor in the area that used to have the windscreen and the plate over the radiator.

An addition to this is a .50 cal machine gun on a pedestal that fits in front of the passenger seat. This also has a couple of pieces of etched brass. The cockpit armor sheet is a single piece that merely needs to be folded before being glued into place. There is no standard windscreen or frame with this on so you will have to build the armored variant. I mean, why buy the special version and not use the special bits?

Standard Dragon instructions with Gunze and Model Master paint references. Decals are for a single specific 'western front' version with enough additional letters to do just about any one you wish. Decals are also used for the dash instruments and placards.

CONCLUSIONS

In all, a very nicely done kit of an interesting version of the ubiquitous "1/4 ton 4x4", and one that has been getting quite a bit of kitting done as of late. For sure it will make into a great model when done.

May 2012

Thanks to www.dragonmodelsusa.com for the preview kit. Get yours today at your local shop or retailer.