Magic Factory 1/35 MRZR D4 Ultra-light Tactical All-terrain Vehicle

[frank2056]

The box for this kit is huge - far larger than I expected for such a small vehicle, but it does contain two kits (armed ATV and anti-drone) and a trailer. There are sprue pictures on the kit's Scalemates page



The molding is outstanding and so is the fit. The kit is well detailed and rationally designed, without the Hobby Boss level of modeller torture. The PE fret is nice - the connections to the brass sheet were etched away, so no cutting is needed. The parts are sandwiched between two sticky plastic sheets.

The only negative so far (and a major one) is the design of the vehicle - not Magic Factory's fault, though. They had they option to detail the very visible engine area or simplify it by making a busy blob that would make construction easier. The problem is that the rear deck is a major structural part and very visible so you either have to paint it before hand (tedious) or assemble and mask and paint later (annoying). I decided to go with plan B because it was taking too long to build.

Here's the engine area:



I'll probably paint everything in its final color, then touch up any overspray in the engine area. The suspension does NOT work, despite the metal springs.

The use of PE is appropriate and the PE is relatively thick and easy to bend (when needed). There are attachment points in the plastic for most of the PE:



The cockpit interior floor is supposed to be black, so I'll mask and paint it after I pick a color for the vehicle.
I'm leaning towards either desert tam overall (easiest) or a mix of NATO green and tan. I'm thinking of adding a Stugna-P team and some Javalins and make it a Ukrainian SOF tank hunting vehicle. I don't know if they're using MRZR D4 for this yet, but they have used the smaller Polaris vehicles in the same line as very effective tank hunters:

https://defence-blog.com/the-new-ukrainian-anti-tank-guided-missile-system-based-on-cf-moto-tracker/

[Wardukw]

  
This go cart is something I've wanted to see built Frank and I'm chuffed that it's finally being built 😀
By one of us that is 

[su27rules]

  

[frank2056]

This kit has a weapons sprue that includes a Javelin, but I haven't found it. I sorted the sprues into two sets and must have placed that one with the other set.

[Old Wombat]

If they're going to put a picture of a CH-53D in the box art of a 1/35 vehicle kit, they could at least have the decency to produce a 1/35 CH-53D kit!    

[Wardukw]

If they're going to put a picture of a CH-53D in the box art of a 1/35 vehicle kit, they could at least have the decency to produce a 1/35 CH-53D kit!    

     
God imagine the size ..still tho someone at some point was building a Mil 6 helicopter in 35th scale a while back..haven't heard dodo about that tho.

[PR19_Kit]

.... and a V-22 as well? 

Don't ICM do a 1/35 CH-54 Tarhe? That must be about he same size as a CH-53.

[Wardukw]

.... and a V-22 as well? 

Don't ICM do a 1/35 CH-54 Tarhe? That must be about he same size as a CH-53.

That they do kit but you'll need the cargo pod to be able to load the vehicles and kit ..these little machines ain't designed to be slung under a chopper not like say a Hummer .

[Rick Lowe]

Duct Tape it onto a Pallet and it'll be fine! 

At that size, you could probably even make a load of two or three.

[scooter]

Duct Tape it onto a Pallet and it'll be fine! 

At that size, you could probably even make a load of two or three.

Ratchet strap it onto a 463L pallet.

[Wardukw]

Scooter that would work ..just load half a dozen of em into a C130 and air drop em 

[Old Wombat]

.... and a V-22 as well? 

Don't ICM do a 1/35 CH-54 Tarhe? That must be about he same size as a CH-53.

The MV-22 in 1/35 I can live without.

The CH-54 is, basically, a stripped down CH-53, to minimise aircraft weight so it can carry heavier loads (not that the CH-53 couldn't carry big enough loads as it was).




ICM is my biggest hope for the CH-53, right now, but Trumpeter may want to beat them to it.

[frank2056]

I expected this to be a quick build, thanks to the model's small size and excellent fit. The design of the vehicle itself makes painting a real chore; when I decide to build the second one, I'll build as much of the chassis and body shell as separately as possible (the construction makes this difficult) then paint them before joining them together.

While armor models have individual tracks as a motivation sapping exercise and aircraft models have canopy masking,... this model has the roll cage from hell! A complex, delicate structure with PE belts that have to attach to the floor as well.

I was going to go for a Ukrainian digital camouflage over the default desert tan but now I'm not sure:



The front part of the roll cage isn't glued in place. After the third time it broke off, I decided to keep it off until the end:



I painted the seats in a different tan yellow, because it looked bland in the same body color. The decals are great, though.



The kit has an error on the right side - the roll cage attachment tab on the body is missing. I made a copy of the attachment on the left side from styrene sheet:



The PE set in this kit is excellent, since it doesn't have to be cut from the fret. However, if an aftermarket seat harness set (prepainted and from resin or thin PE) becomes available, that would be a better option.

[scooter]

I painted the seats in a different tan yellow, because it looked bland in the same body color. The decals are great, though.

You could have also gone with NATO Green or a faded green, like in most of the larger tactical vehicle fleet.

[buzzbomb]

Going really well Frank. A neat and nifty vehicle