At Historicon this year I was lucky enough to win a brand new TrenchWorx MkV WW1 British tank. This busty beauty is part of TrenchWorx current Kickstarter campaign that's now speeding along with the momentum of Brad after a bottle of tequila. Although I had not delved into World War One gaming before, when it came my time to saunter up to the prize table I knew the beauty I had my eye on.
Previously I had the good fortune to get my salty mitts onto one of TrenchWorx fantastic Type 92 tankettes and loved the model. Having had such a good previous experience I could not wait to see Nate’s newest invention.
Although I had a great experience with the Type 92, this tank is something else. The first difference from TrenchWorx’s previous products is that this MkV is made out of resin based off of the 3D printed model. Despite being one of the first resin products made by TrenchWorx this model is a thing of beauty, there are no defects on the visible areas of the tank, the detail is crisp and the design is amazing.
After opening up the professional package you will see the body, each track section and a range of smaller resin sprues tightly protected in bubble wrap. You can trust this packaging as this little parcel survived travel from Virginia to DC, DC to Newark, Newark to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Melbourne.
From first unwrapping the packaging the ingenious design of this product becomes clear. Although this is an entirely resin product, much like the wonderful Blitzkrieg Miniatures and JTFM, the model comes with a number of robust resin sprues that contain the smaller parts of the model. Although it is a few second's additional work, having these sprues makes it a lot easier to find the right pieces and to avoid the inevitable scramble on the floor to find that dropped MMG.
Once assembly begins you start to see the ingenious design of this beauty. After simply attaching the tracked sides to the body (made easy by guiding pegs) you begin to assemble the two sponson options. These ingenious little turrets have been designed so that the swiveling sponsons are inserted backwards and after being turned to face forward and having the guns attached are safely in place, able to swivel freely and secure in their position.
The next ingenious thing about this little model is that it comes with a set of small rare earth magnets that allow for the Male and Female turret options to be freely swapped out. Without wanting to be melodramatic about it, the future is here folks. With the small addition of magnets and a turret option this kit gives you access for both options. Warlord Games take notice, the elegant design, the small innovative options and the crisp resin is a demonstration of just how good resin tanks can be.
Normally at this point I would give the model a rating out of 5, 7 or 10. But for this beauty it seems inappropriate. Working with the model I could not identify a single flaw and in so many ways these exceeded my expectations of what resin modelling can be like. This kit sets a new standard that will not be easy to match.
TAKE ME TO THE KICKSTARTER
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/610277926/tanks-of-wwi-in-28mm-by-trenchworx
