Biber and Dingo 1 - 1:72 Revell

[Paul A H]

Biber and Dingo 1

1:72 Revell

The Biber (beaver) is a development of the Leopard 1, which was the principal main battle tank of the German Army in the 1960s and 70s. The Leopard was upgraded a number of times throughout its service life and was also adapted and used as a basis for a number of different specialist roles. Examples include the Gepard (Cheetah) anti-aircraft tank, armed with twin 35mm radar controlled cannon, the Bergepanzer engineering vehicle, the Hippo Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle used by our very own Royal Marines, and the Beaver armoured vehicle launched bridge represented in this set.

The ATF Dingo is, by comparison, a rather more modern vehicle. Developed by the manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and based on the Unimog chassis, the Dingo has been specially designed to withstand the blast effect of land mines. The Dingo is fitted with a remotely controlled 7.62mm MG3 machine gun turret. In common with the Fennek armoured scout car, this weapon can be exchanged for a 12.7mm machine gun or a 40mm HK GMG grenade launcher. The Dingo has been acquired by a number of other nations including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Norway.

Although Both the Biber and the Dingo have featured in Revell’s catalogue before, this is the first time that they have been released together as a boxed set. The kits are packaged up in the typical black boxvelope used by Revell for their armour kits. Inside are almost 250 parts moulded in dark green plastic. Both kits are nicely moulded, which isn’t surprising as neither mould is more than ten years old at the time of writing.

The Dingo is by far the simpler of the two models as it is made up of just 60 parts. That doesn’t mean that it lacks detail, however. Construction starts with the chassis, which holds the axles, drive shafts and exhaust system. The overall effect should looks suitably detailed, particularly for the scale. Much of it will be hidden by the wedge-shaped armoured mine deflector though, which has to be added later in the build. The wheels and tyres are split vertically, which at least allows for a reasonably realistic tyre tread. The interior includes individually moulded seats for crew and passengers, a dashboard, gear lever and steering wheel.

The main body of the vehicle is made up of left and right hand sides, a roof, left and right wings and the bonnet. The transparent parts are moulded in clear plastic, which I prefer to the thin plastic sheet that Revell often supplies with this type of kit. If you prefer the plastic sheet approach however, it shouldn’t be too much trouble to dig some out of the spares box. Finishing touches include mud flaps, door mirrors and of course a choice of 7.62mm MG3, 12.7mm MG and the 40mm HK GMG.

Decal options are provided for the following vehicles:

• Einsatzvorbereitung (Application Engineering Vehicle), ISAF, finished in all over dark green;
  
• ISAF vehicle in Nato Green/Brown/Black as seen in 2006-07; and
  
• ISAF vehicle in sand/brown as seen in 2010-11.
  

The Biber is a rather more complex prospect than the Dingo as it is made up of almost 200 parts. The impressively large bridging mechanism is treated as a separate assembly to the Leopard chassis itself. You have a choice of no fewer than five different options for posing the bridge once you have assembled it, ranging from fully folded and stowed to fully extended and deployed. It’s good to see that Revell have put so much thought into the design of the kit, and if you have a diorama in mind then everything you will need is right here in the box.

Assembly of the tracked chassis is fairly conventional for a kit of this type. The road wheels are each made up of inner and outer wheels, and the return rollers, drive sprockets and idler wheels are all similarly well detailed. The tracks are of the link and length type preferred by many modellers these days. Interestingly for a tank kit, Revell suggest adding weight toward the back of the inner hull. This will presumably be necessary if you intend to finish the model with the bridge mechanism semi-extended. A large spade is also included which can be posed in raised or deployed positions. The upper hull is generally well-detailed and the commander’s cupola may be posed in the open position if desired.

The decal sheet provides three different options. The first is finished in the familiar Nato Green/Brown/Black camouflage scheme, the second in sand/brown while the third is finished in overall olive green:

• Biber of Panzerpionierbatallion 803, 2 Kompanie, Havelberg;
  
• Biber of ISAF, Afghanistan; and
  
• Biber of Panzerpionierbatallion 390, Bad Salzunger
  

The decals themselves are nicely printed if a little matt.

Conclusion

If modern European AFVs are your thing, then this set should be right up your street. For your money you get two high quality modern kits in a good value package. As always, it would have been nice if Revell had included decal options for a couple of vehicles other than those used by the Bundeswehr. That minor gripe aside, this is set can be recommended.

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