JAPANESE ARMOR KING/NEW RESIN'S 1/35 WWII JAPANESE 81mm MORTAR TEAM by Ray Mehlberger MSRP: $50.00

History:

This 81mm mortar originated in France and was designed by Edgar Brandt, who set out to improve the British Stokes mortar of WWI. This particular model was more or less his masterpiece, and in addition to being adopted by the French it was sold worldwide and became the model for the U.S, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Yugoslavian service mortars. It was a simple smooth-bore weapon, supported by a baseplate and a tripod with the usual elevating and traversing controls. There was a fixed firing pin in the breech cap, and bombs were simply drop-fired, though some of the mortars sold in other countries were fitted with trip-firing mechanisms which allowed the bombs to be dropped and then fired by lanyard. The design was so good that it differs very little from the modern Thompson-Brandt mortar except for the base-plate shape.

Tech Data:

Country of Origin: France
Caliber: 81mm (3.18 in)
Barrel Length: 1.27m (49.8 in)
Weight as Fired: 59.7 kg (131.6 lb)
Elevation: +45 degrees to +85 degrees
Traverse: 8 degrees to 12 degrees (depending on elevation)
Weight of Bomb: 3.25 kg (7.16 lb) or 6.5 kg (14.3 lb)
Muzzle Velocity: 174 m/sec (570 m/sec)
Maximum Range: 2650/1200m (3115/1312 yds)

What's in the box?:

This resin kit comes in a small, very sturdy, white box. A sticker, on the lid, says what the kit is and lists Japanese Armor King's web site and e-mail address. On the side of the box is a warning that the kit contains small parts and that it is not recommended for kids under 15.

Inside are two cello bags of chalk white, resin parts. There are 22 of these parts. They make up the four crew figures and the mortar and its ammo.

The figures are pretty much molded in one piece. However there are two alternate arms for one of the figures. A ammo box, with three rounds in it, and three other loose rounds are included. Separate bayonettes, a rifle, and a samurai sword make up the balance of the parts.

The officer figure is in a prone position. The instructions say he is posed to be overlooking a hill or mound and spotting enemy positions for adjusting round firing settings. There is flash to remove from the parts and care must be taken to do this, especially with the very delicate bayonettes.This looks like it will make up into a nice small diorama scene after cleaning up the partss.

There is no history written on the instruction sheet, nor any painting instructions. So you will have to get out your reference materials for that.

Conclusion

I recommend this kit to those modelers that have done a few resin kits already.

I want to thank Ted Dyer of Armor Model King/New Resin for this review sample.

Ted only deals direct, from his web site at:

The snail mail address for him is:

Ted Dyer Inc.
New Resin
P.O. Box 1030
Roslyn, PA 19001
USA