Mig Productions 1/35 scale Hover Tank

Mig’s 1/35 scale Hover Tank is the newest addition to its fantasy line of kits.

The tank is cast in resin and includes a small fret of photoetched-metal parts and black and clear rubber tubes. No decals are included. There is a single, color sheet of instructions with assembly shots on one side and detail shots of the finished model on the other. Unfortunately, the instructions, while required, aren’t as helpful as they could be in assembling the Hover Tank, mostly showing the parts in place on an assembled model.

Being resin, some care should be taken when removing the parts from the plugs. If stressed, resin can fracture, and if the heavier parts are dropped, they can easily break.

Before assembly I soaked all of the pieces in warm, soapy water for about a half hour to break up the mold-release agent. I switched out the water and scrubbed each piece with a small brush to clean off any further residue and laid the parts out to air-dry.

The tank’s hull comes in two pieces. I used a razor saw to remove the parts from most of the pour plugs and cleaned them up with sprue cutters and a file.

The lower hull had a huge plug that I removed using a motor tool and a medium burr.

The photoetched-metal fans and grilles are very nicely detailed and went on without any fuss.

The crab-like legs are articulated and can be modeled retracted or deployed. I drilled the leg joints with a 5⁄64" bit to accommodate the pins. Consult both the box art and the images of the finished model on the instructions if you want to model the legs retracted. I modeled them deployed, and used a painter’s palette to support the hull while positioning and gluing the legs.

All of the pieces fit well and were very clean, requiring no filling.

One of the great things about science fiction models is the complete artistic license they afford when it comes to finishing. As soon as I saw the Hover Tank, I thought it would be cool to finish it in a winter scheme – nothing too outlandish, but certainly different from the box art.

Using techniques I read in Bill Plunk’s article in the May 2010 FSM, I airbrushed the tank with Acrylicos Vallejo black primer and followed with a coat of Vallejo’s Model Air German grey and a light coat of pale grey blue. To give that uneven quality of a field-applied paint job, I went back over the whole tank with a 50/50 mix of pale grey blue and foundation white. 

I dirtied up the tank with a pin wash using enamel washes from Mig Produc-tions and applied some of Vallejo’s brown iron oxide for rust.

For the finishing touches, I went through my collection of decal sheets and found a Bf 109 yellow 2, a dragon, and a set of skulls for kill markings. Again, no one is going to tell me I’m wrong.

I spent about 20 hours on my Hover Tank, but I’m not exactly the fastest modeler. It’s a nice little science fiction kit that would be a great introduction to resin models. If you are experienced and looking for something different, you can take this kit and let your imagination run wild.