PMMS
Royal Models
M-18 Hellcat

1/35th set No 332
Review by Terry Ashley
AFV ClubThis set is designed for the AFV Club M-18 Hellcat (Kit No. 35015) and as with most Royal Model sets is fully multi-media in containing etched, resin, wire and photo film parts.

The set contains approx. 330 etched metal parts on three frets, 34 resin parts two lengths of thin wire and photo film for the driver's instruments plus the instruction sheet.

The quality of the etched parts is excellent with fret C containing the fenders being thicker than the other two for a more realistic scale appearance to the fenders while the resin parts in a grey/green resin have crisp blemish free details.

The set is quite comprehensive and includes both exterior and interior details for both the hull and turret.

For the hull exterior there is the rear engine deck grills, the front and rear fenders which have nicely embossed details. All the pioneer tool clips and attachments are in etched parts with the front head light and siren guards made from the wire included. The periscopes for the front crew hatches are in resin along with the siren on the glacis to replace the kit item. The hull interior has the front roof mounted driver’s and assistant driver’s control levers and the driver’s instrument panel is in etched metal with photo film dials.

For the turret interior there is replacement gun controls plus some small equipment boxes with etched latches while on the exterior are the numerous ‘U’ clips around the top of the turret sides, resin periscopes and other small details.

The .50cal MG mounting is entirely in etched metal as is the ammo can support and ammo box plus numerous .50cal details in resin and etched metal and to finish off there template for painting the road wheels.

The instruction sheet is in the form of photos of the model with the resin and etched parts attached which clearly shows their location and shouldn’t provide any problems during assembly, I have included scans of the instruction sheets to fully show what is included.

Conclusion:
Overall an extensive and well detailed set that will enhance the kit considerably helped out by the inclusion of the resin and etched parts which are a feature of Royal Models sets.

Highly recommended.
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Instruction Sheets
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Thanks to Bill of CMD for the review sets, the full Royal Model range is available from the Chesapeake Model Design website.



Page created 12 April 2004

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