Dingo Mk Ib

First written: July 9th, 2010 | Updated: July 12th, 2010

Resuming…

After a fairly long hiatus (6 months) I decided it was time to go back to the bench. Instead of continuing with the builds I have resting there I decided to do something new. If I'm restarting I can't do it with something that already began. It has to be new out of the box.

For every model that I finish I manage to buy three new ones. With simple math it's kind of evident that I'll leave some kits to my descendants.

These manufacturers are putting out so many quality kits that is impossible to resist. What can I say..

I started to build this one and found out that two sprues were from the other Dingo variant that Miniart produces. I emailed Miniart and the following day they were asking for my address to send the correct sprues.

They arrived 11 days after my first email (Ukraine to Portugal) and I have to say this is one of the best examples I can give of a good Customer Service. 10 out of 10 for Miniart!

The Kit

Price
Accuracy/Detail
Build
Extras
Instructions

Since the T70 that I had the impression that Miniart had excellent products. But this Ding kit puts the brand up a notch or two.

The plastic is excellent with a surface detail worthy (if not better) of the best brands on the market. The detail is delicate and precise and it shines on a model of this size.

From the suspension to the body everything is near perfect.

Only the cabin and lower chassis is glued but the parts fit can already be considered as very good

A tiny little model with lots of potential

The fit of parts is quite good, but I'll have to wait till the final assemble to see if putty is needed to form a definite opinion on the subject.

The wheels are one piece items with the rear hub part as an insert. No need for resin wheels here. They are awesome and they convey that flimsy look that the Dingo wheels usually have.

The 5 page instructions are very good and they leave nothing to guess. The steps are clearly defined and the parts well identified.

Being a very small model the parts are also small. The suspension consists of a high parts count and they are all small and delicate. I wondered how could they support the model till I completed the 4 suspension assemblies. With all the braces and suspension arms it ends up being quite strong and perfectly able to withstand the vehicle. If care is taken on gluing the suspension parts, the wheels can move. Nonetheless I decided to glue the rear wheels and allow the from wheels to move. I prefer to have them turned because I think it gives a more dynamic stance to the vehicle.

The interior is very complete (a must for an open top vehicle) and it's a kit within a kit.

Only the "radio" is below par. EDIT: And that's because it's not a radio. It's a stowage box. Not all the Dingo's had one radio and Miniart decided to make the kit without the radio.

However there's always a strategy. I'll just put the pivoting chair in front of it. Most of the radio will be covered.

In the mean time I went on an expedition to find a good ws19 radio. It's always good to have a source if I need one for another Allied (Commonwealth) vehicle. And I found a recent company that makes one besides Resicast. This company is called Inside the Armour and also makes a beautiful Churchill interior for those of you, that unlike me, still have to finish the excellent AFV Club Churchill.