Anyone who knows me knows that I love the 'tail' part of an army as well as its 'teeth'. Well, a couple of months ago I updated the manufacturers' directory with MMModels, a group of wargamers who make their own models where none are available and offer them to the public on an on-demand basis, whose catalogue includes lots of lovely 'tail'. Here's a quick review of the first models off the production line:
First up were some British vehicles all based on the Austin Tilley chassis. They are a staff car, a utility vehicle and a truck. All three are lovely little vehicles with plenty of detail that paint up nicely. Recommended. To help give you an idea of scale, here's the Austin Tilley truck, with a Soviet infantryman (what I had handy!) for scale:
Next were some more British vehicles, this time based on the Scammell heavy tractor chassis. They are the Scammell Artillery Tractor and the Scammell Heavy Recovery vehicle. These were not quite so pleasing. Maybe it is me, but I couldn't get the back wheels to sit properly, and I think the front wheels look a bit Heath-Robinson and weedy too. There were also quite a few bubbles in the resin. Still, it's good to have some proper heavy artillery tractors, and the recovery vehicle looks okay too. Here's the three vehicles, and then Ivan, again, with each:
Now onto the Germans. Only thing I've painted so far are some Opel Blitz buses. Very nice models that, again, paint up nicely. I really liked these, and will use them for very late war eastern front games, either as scenery or as ersatz troop carriers. The picture below is a little misleading: the buses are actually quite a nice size.
Next there are some Peugeot trucks, either for use with a French army or as captured transport by the Germans, Americans or Brits.
I'm afraid I didn't like these very much at all. There were also quite a lot of bubbles in the resin. Anyway, they paint up okay, but aren't a patch on the trucks available from other manufacturers. On the other hand, they are quite cheap: £4 each unpainted.
Finally, here are the American Diamond T artillery tractors. These are great big trucks that were used to pull the M1 155mm howitzers of the US medium batteries, and are a more typical alternative to the M5 High Speed Tractors that are included in the FOW boxed set.
I am pleased to state that the Diamond Ts are very nice models that go together well, and paint up nicely. Recommended for anyone needing a really big truck, or who wants to field the more correct tow for a WW2 M1 artillery battery. Here's a close-up of one, unfortunately Ivan wasn't available to show the scale, but they are big:
Conclusion
So a mixed review so far for MMModels. Lots of unique models not available anywhere else, good pricing, but variable quality (all would look fine on the tabletop though).