Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited =9139-=9145 Series Kit No. 6421; Quad Gun Trailer M55; 130 parts (119 in grey styrene, 10 clear styrene, 1 etched brass); retail price US$19.95
Advantages: nice way to pick up the excellent Maxson quad turret for other projects
Disadvantages: choice of the airborne M55 trailer vice the M45 four- wheel trailer limits options
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for all =93Duck Hunters=94 and conversion fans
DML saw fit last year to provide us with a nicely done new mold M16 MGMC antiaircraft halftrack with a very beautiful Maxson powered turret with four .50 caliber M2HB machine guns, and for those who wanted that turret for conversion purposes now offers it as a separate kit with the lightweight M55 airborne trailer.
The Maxson turret is a real gem, consisting of 75 parts with a clear sight and an extra seven-piece gunner figure tailor-made for the mount. Each machine gun is =93slide molded=94 and offers an open ammo feed door option and spare canister magazines. The mount also comes with the batteries and =93donkey=94 engine for electric power.
The trailer is petite and nicely done, with the small rubber tires portrayed by two-piece moldings with a tire and center on one side and a separate center on the other so seams are minimized. It even includes separate reflectors and a nice taillight.
Unfortunately the M55 was not a high use item, as it was too fragile for long-distance movement and was originally designed for airborne use with short-range movement provided by a jeep. As such, those used tended to be semi-fixed emplacements where the trailer was used to tow it into position and park it. DML should have made the kit of the larger M45 four-wheel general purpose trailer which was also used for items like generators and searchlights, as they could have both gotten more kits out of that trailer as well as a universal mount which appears to have been used into Korea.
Finishing directions show basically little more than a choice between OD or OD with white squiggles for use during the Battle of the Bulge. Two choices of ammo can decals (white or yellow) are provided on a sheet from Cartograf.
Overall, this is a nice kit and for those who want to make Vietnam era conversions a cheaper way to get this nice turret for those projects, but the bigger trailer would have been a better choice.
Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.
Cookie Sewell