Author Topic: Copper State Models 1/35th Lanchester Armoured Car  (Read 2905 times)

Offline Dave W

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1608
Copper State Models 1/35th Lanchester Armoured Car
« on: August 10, 2018, 04:54:16 PM »
Copper State Models Lanchester Armoured Car


Reviewed by David Wilson

Scale 1/35th

Price: €37 Euro (Export price) ($US 42; $A57).
         Within Europe €44.77 (includes VAT).
               

Stockist:   Review Sample provided by and available through Copper State Models at: http://www.copperstatemodels.com

Contents:   138 parts in grey plastic; decals for five marking options; full colour 18 page instructions booklet; photo etch fret.

Background

According to Wikipedia the Lanchester was the second most numerous armoured car in service with British forces in WW1. The Rolls-Royce armoured car is the better known armoured car today but in the early war years the Lanchester was a major player.
Designed for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) Armoured Car Section in France it was built around a Lanchester touring car but strengthened to support air bases and retrieve downed pilots. It went into production in 1915.
The vehicle had a distinctive circular turret with a narrow horizontal roof with central hatch and steeply sloped sides. Thirty six of the production version were sent to France in May 1915. On the Western Front it served its purpose but the rough road conditions and even rougher cross-country conditions severely limited the vehicle’s usefulness.
In 1915, all thirty six RNAS armoured cars were passed to the British Army but the army elected to standardise on the Rolls-Royce vehicle.
After being overhauled, the Lanchester armoured cars were then despatched for use in various countries as diverse as Russia and Romania, as well as use in Persia and Turkey.

Comment 
                       
Copper State Models’ first 1/35th scale plastic WW1 armour subject is a phenomenal kit, impressive in its detail yet modest in its carefully designed economical parts layout.

With its recent high quality 1/48th aircraft kits, the mouth-watering preview images we are seeing of the forthcoming 1/32 scale Nieuport 17, and this delightful Lanchester, Copper State Models has righty claimed a place as a serious player to be respected in the scale models world.

I thought the Sopwith Dolphin, the Caudron G.4 and the Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8 releases were outstanding but the Lanchester is simply stunning.

The Copper State Models story will be known to many. Originally an American cottage industry manufacturer of WWI aircraft kits and accessories, it catered to the multimedia market of resin and white metal models.

In 2012 the business changed hands and since its re-launch from Latvia the re-invented Copper State Models has stunned the model community with some innovative subjects ignored by mainstream players.

After its impressive entry to the 1/48th injection moulded WW1 market with its acclaimed Sopwith Dolphin, Copper State Models followed this up with distinctive subjects many never thought would be kitted - The Caudron G.IV  French reconnaissance/ bomber and the Hydravion floatplane version.

These were followed by another subject never previously kitted in 1/48th scale- the RFC two seat Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8.
The Lanchester in some respects shows CSM is easing back on overdoing the plastic and photo etch content without sacrificing quality or detail.



CSM’s first AFV model has 138 plastic parts and 27 PE parts on a single fret. The plastic sprues and PE all come individually protected in plastic bags which is a big plus.


The kit parts removed from their protective plastic bags.

There’s a lot about this kit to like. The engraved and raised detail is finely done, hatches and raised rivets nicely rendered and the parts breakdown looks pretty straightforward to assemble.

Special mention should be made of the finely moulded plastic spoked wheels. These are beautifully done.


Instructions:

The kit’s instructions booklet, in a size close to A4 format, is similar in style to the Wingnut Wings approach, and is finely detailed and clearly illustrated throughout. However there are no paint callouts provided and this means modellers will have to pursue this information from other sources.

The instructions booklet features colour representations of the five schemes offered but other than official colours- such Admiralty light grey- there are no hobby paint callouts, so Again modellers are thrown on to their own resources.

   
Photo Etch:

Photo etch quality is high and not overdone. The PE comes in a protective plastic bag housing 27 nicely rendered pieces.


Conclusion:

Members of this Forum who have closely followed the development of Copper State’s range of kits and accessories can be reassured that the Lanchester armoured car is a state of the art gem.

The quality and detail of the design, engineering and packaging says much about how quickly Copper State Models has adapted to customer wishes in delivering a high quality kit at an affordable price.

The CSM Lanchester deserves the highest recommendation.

  Imperial War Museum image
 
Reference Photos:

Forum member Chris Johnson recently built the CSM Lanchester kit and his photos show what can be achieved with this model.

Chris says: “The following is my Copper State Models 1/35 Royal Naval Air Service Lanchester armoured car 'Good Hope', circa 1916. I built this model as a tribute to Des Delatorre who hosted the WWI Aircraft Models forum. Des passed away a short while ago and was a good friend of mine and a master modeller in his own right. His WWI aircraft models are works of art.

“I made the stowage using Green Stuff epoxy putty and the bucket was made with plastic tube and wire. The model was painted with Mission Models acrylics followed by oil filters and washes. In case you might not know, rubber tires in this period were off-white, or honey-white in colour. It's a diminutive model, made up of only 138 parts, but it's a superb kit.”



(Review kit kindly supplied by Copper State Models. Please support the businesses that support this Forum.)



« Last Edit: August 10, 2018, 10:58:14 PM by Dave W »
Owner and Administrator of ww1aircraftmodels.com and forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com