Model Armour

VW Type 82E Kafer Detail Set

(for Italeri Kit)

Manufacturer: Hauler

Scale: 1/35

Material: Photo-etch & Acetate

Serial Number:  HLU35049

Price: €9.60

Introduction

Hauler of the Czech Republic has made a reputation for themselves over the last few years for producing extremely high quality 1:35^th, 1:48^th and 1:72^nd scale accessories, detail sets and full kits from a variety of materials including Resin and Photo-etch. They also produce a range of PE detail sets, in all three main armour modelling scales. This set is intended for the Italeri or MPM VW Type 82E kit.

Set Contents

It's a tiny set, consisting of just one fret of photo-etched brass plus a small clear acetate sheet. The PE fret measures approximately 7 by 4 centimetres, the largest part it holds being the roof rack for the Italeri kit, which is the main 'meat' of the set, although there are other smaller details supplied such as number plate holders, turn indicators, windscreen wipers, VW badge, Notek front light baseplate, rear reflectors, and driver's foot pedals.

First up, that roof rack. The main slatted rack itself is supplied as one part, with the side rails and central triangular support brackets already in place, just needing to be folded up, or in the case of the support brackets, down. The front and back rails are supplied as separate parts that need to be fixed in place. That's all there is to the rack itself, but it makes a surprisingly effective addition to the kit!

It goes almost without saying that the list of small extra details above such as the foot pedals etc., are far superior to the kit parts supplied, with the possible exception of the windscreen wipers. I've begun to make these from stretched sprue for kits where PE ones are already included. The problem is with the base of the wiper where they're attached to the wiper motors. This is usually a part that has a very marked 3-D structure, and PE is usually of course....well flat. It would be worth cutting the base of the wiper from the Italeri part and using the PE wiper arm and blade from this Hauler set. That would offer a more correct appearance and give the best of both worlds.

In addition to the parts mentioned above, we're supplied with a small acetate sheet on which are marked the dash dials, and a photo-etched dash itself to replace the kit part which consists of an almost invisible moulded one. There's also a second VW badge to fix next to the dash.

Conclusion

A very, very nice set indeed, and definitely one I would use when I get around to building the kit. The Italeri kit is nice already, but this set replaces those details that really do need to be replaced, plus there's that roof rack that will set it apart and allow me to 'stow it up'! Recommended!

My thanks to Hauler for the review sample.