In World War Two, during the winter years, servicing of airplanes was very difficult, especially in the Eastern Front. Often, the operational and mechanical limits of trucks and tractors were reached and more traditional methods had to be used such as horse-drawn sledges. German Luftwaffe, as well as it's Russian enemy were using it for any kind of supplying or carriage.
The kit
Tarmac's resin kit comes in a little transparent packaging (picture 1) with a pictures of a finished model on the top. All the kit's parts are located in a plastic bag (picture 2) and are made of resin, metal, vinyl and fabric wire. The content is the following:
- a sledge
- a horse with a seperate tail
- a harness
- two barrels with a fuel pump
- two metal rods
- a vinyl pipe
- a fabric wire
The horse is a one piece casting and looks very nice (picture 4). But don't ask me what kind of horse it is, because frankly, I don't know! I'm not a specialist, but it looks definitely like a horse to me...
The sledge is also a one piece casting (picture 5). Yes you read well: only one piece! How Tarmac managed to do this is beyond me but it will make the building a lot easier.
Unfortunately, the instructions are spartan. In fact, you can only count on a black & white photo (picture 6) and the picture of the finished model. However, the kit is pretty simple and the only difficulty will be to scratchbuild two straps out of tin sheets as indicated to replicate the reins.
The last picture shows the other side of the instruction sheet and you can see the sledge was also used to transport small bombs.
Conclusion
This original kit will add a nice touch to an Eastern Front winter diorama, be it Luftwaffe or VVS. You can use it aside a Ju 52 transport, an Il-2 Sturmovik or any fighter, the possibilities are numerous! I recommend it to every diorama builder as the quality is very good but I must be honest and say it's a little bit expensive. You could easily buy an ICM aircraft kit in the same scale for the 20€ the Tarmac kit costs!
Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here on AeroScale.
SUMMARY
Here is the review of a nice, albeit expensive, little aircraft diorama kit: Tarmac's 1/48 scale Horse with Sledge. A very original way to bring an Eastern Front winter airfield scenery to life.
Nice
I have that too, although i find the horse a bit static ... I will use one H&G figure to hold the muli (left)
Originally it was planned for this
More pix
but I felt it would be too much ... one day I'll use it for another winter scene
best wishes
Steffen
Hi Steffen!
Did you also pay 20€ for it? I can't believe I payed that much for it... I must be crazy! :-) But know I'm happy to have it in my stash!
The horse is a bit static but I think it's not a problem since it is supposed to stay calm while the refueling process. I can't imagine the horse moving. If it did, I think it would have ended up into a Goulash soup! :-)
Jean-Luc
Hi Jean-Luc
Well, I do not think the engine was running while refuelling but I think that many horses during WW2 ended up being Goulash soup!
I bought that set some years ago when we still had Mark and Franc .. IIRC it was between 20-30 D-Mark ... I had a good supply of money then, as I had a well paid internship (bought me lots of books then)
I can think of a lot of dio ideas with that sled .. do you know the CMK set with the two winterly dressed mechanics rolling fuel barrels (have those too) :-)
BTW I used the H&G shovel man in my dio, plus another Tarmac set with the two other "Schneeschipper" and the oil drum oven .. Tarmac have a lot of interesting stuff in their range, although some figures look a little strange
best wishes
Steffen
P.S. thanks for the copy and paste hint in the Duel thread ... should have thought of that myself .. stupid
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