ARM: Review - Value Gear Details 1/35 scale Tents and Tarps sets

Product Review: Value Gear Resin Accessory Sets 1/35 scale Universal Set No. 1 - Tents and Tarps (16 pieces); Price US$12-

15 1/35 scale Universal Set No. 6 - Tents and Tarps (16 pieces); Price US$12- 15

Advantages: very nicely done generic tarpaulins and tents can be used for s towage on nearly any vehicle

Disadvantages: pretty much limited to WWII with these sets

Rating: Highly Recommended

Recommendation: for all 1/35 scale modelers

One of the biggest sectors of the resin after-market products has been sto wage, which is critical for anyone trying to replicate a vehicle in the fie ld under actual use conditions. Soldiers have always wanted to drag along a nything of value and comfort if at all possible, and photographic evidence from WWII shows that a lot of the forward units had a "gypsy caravan" look that is hard to replicate.

Most of the sets come in upgrade kits, which means they run from $25-50 or more based on what else is in the kit. But many modelers just want somethi ng to toss in the back of a jeep or on the engine deck of a tank, and not a new turret, hull, tires, etc. Up until now you either bought one of these sets and only used a couple of items and put the rest in the parts bin, or made your own from Epoxysculpt, Kneadtite or another similar product.

These nice new sets from Value Gear

are another option that solves the problem for a great number of modelers. Offe red in different scales and for different eras, each set comes with about 1

2 to 30 different items, all relatively generic in shape and consistency, w hich fit the part. Having dealt with tents, vehicle tarpaulins and canvas o ver the years, once it is used it never rolls up into the neat packaging it came in and always looks lumpy and dirty.

Both of these sets offer 16 different castings with minimal sized pour blo cks (mostly flat footers) that cover small to medium size tarpaulins and te nts, the latter often coming with poles secured to the bundles. Few have an ything approaching a crisply folded shape but all of them look the part, an d when cleaned, painted and weathered will enhance any model.

These are pretty much WWII or Korean War era items with a possible stretch to Vietnam; most modern US items use a heavy plastic cover and different t ypes of straps. Most of the straps here look like heavy duty leather or cot ton webbing.

Overall, this is a fast and relatively inexpensive way to fill up cargo be ds or engine decks and turret bins to achieve the right sort of "look".

Cookie Sewell