1/35 LVT-4 Water Buffalo Early Type AFV Club AF35205

The LVT4 was basically a redesigned LVT2 with the engine moved centrally behind the driver’s cab with a large rear cargo area for a 3000lbs (1360kg) payload or 30 troops and rear loading ramp for easier access than the earlier LVT2. It was powered by a Continental W670-9A 7 cylinder petrol engine giving a speed of 20mph (land) and 7.5mph (water) and was armed with either the M1919 cal.30 MG or M2 cal.50 HBMG and was first used at Saipan in 1944 as well as in Europe after D-Day by the US.Army and via Lend Lease to Britain in Italy and the Rhine crossing in 1945. The Kit:This much anticipated kit from AFV Club depicts the early production vehicle without the front hull machine gun and can be built with or without the add on side and bow armour plates. The kit features a fully detailed front crew compartment with transmission but unfortunately very little of this detail can be seen after assembly and there is a choice of three types of cal.50 MG shields. The kit consists of 433 parts in olive drab plastic, 17 clear plastic parts, 10 etched brass parts, a small clear sheet with instrument dials, 4 sections of soft vinyl track and a short length of twine plus the decal sheet and 20 page instruction booklet. I don’t have any actual 1:35 plans of the LVT4 but the overall dimensions match perfectly to the LVT2 from which it was derived included in the Letterman Productions books and manuals on the LVT2 edited by the late David Harper.The standard of moulding is very good overall with clean crisp detail and just the odd bit of fine flash on some parts and bare minimum of pin marks that can be seen after assembly, those present are quite shallow and easy to remove if need be. On my kit there was an issue with minor warping of some of the larger (longer) parts and these will need to be straightened before assembly, a few of the assembly steps were also done differently to avoid any major issues due to this as explained below.