Introduction

The Defender XD ‘Wolf’ W.M.I.K from HobbyBoss is a great little kit that hit the market about two years ago. The Wolf W.M.I.K has its faults but there are a fair few nice upgrades on the market now to correct the short comings and make it shine as a realistic scale model. In this review I will look at the contents of the base kit and list some of the upgrades available for it.

Contents

The model is supplied in medium sized card box which contain;

• A double sided semi gloss painting guide
• 5 vinyl rubber tyresA decal sheet
• A photo etched fret
• 12 page instruction booklet
• 5 light tan sprues
• 1 clear sprue

Review

All of the sprues in this kit are individually packed in their own fairly heavy duty plastic bags. Despite the age of this model kit now the moulds would seem to be holding up very well as there is no sign of flash or obvious moulding issues. HobbyBoss has also wrapped some of the more delicate mouldings in a foam wrap to greatly reduce the risk of damage inside the box. Moulded detail is fair to good and while it could always be better I feel it is acceptable.

The instructions are laid out in 10 stages however that is an overly simplistic statement as each stage is a lot more than a stage would normally be for the most part. The instructions are very clear and use the line drawing method to show construction. While the instructions are clear I am unable to vouch for their accuracy at this time.

Before I start the build there are a few obvious errors that should be mentioned and that will need correcting. The most obvious of these is the storage of the personal weapons for the driver and front passenger, I have no idea how HobbyBoss got the weapons in the right place but at the completely wrong angle. The seat on the rear deck is on the wrong side of the bed but I believe easy to correct. The next issue is the spare wheel stowed on the bonnet; I have no doubt that the spare has been stored there at some point on rare occasions, however a quick image search on Google failed to provide me with one image in that configuration except on models.

The model has been supplied with clansman wing mounted aerial mounts; the clansman radio system was replaced in 2004/05, this aspect does date the kit and reduces the time period in which the model could be depicted. It is my intention to try and scratch build the bowman mount on this model.

The chassis on this model is reasonably replicated as is the engine and gearbox; however items like the batteries are not supplied with the kit. If I am honest I do not see any real issue with this omission as it is not an area that will be seen in 99% of finished models I believe, there is however enough detail for most should that not be the case. There are also two locations for the snorkel used on this vehicle type in use by the British Army; the parts supplied in the kit do not replicate this aspect but one connection method is supplied in the Black Dog detailing set and is the snorkel that fits in the side of the wing, the other attachment method comes out of the wing on the top of the wing near to its rear.

The wheels supplied with the kit are not the greatest in terms of looks and while more or less accurate the vinyl tyres let down the finished look. There is a better set of wheels available in resin in the Blackdog upgrade set. The weapons supplied with the set in the form of a 50 cal, LMG, and two SA80’s are fair reproductions of the full sized weapons, however the barrels will need to be drilled to improve the finished look but otherwise they are ok. The 50 cal could be improved with the addition of a metal barrel, these barrels are available from quite a few manufacturers at this time. One big plus of the kit is the number of ammunition boxes that are supplied with the kit, there are not however any decals supplied for these boxes which is a bit of a let-down.

Conclusion

As this kit has a few miles on the clock now I have kept this review short. From the box you can build a reasonable looking model of this Land Rover Defender, however throw in a small number of after-market options and you get the possibility to greatly improve upon the base model. I will be doing a build review and blog as soon as I get the opportunity using this model with the addition of a photo etched set from Eduard, a 3 figure set from AC Model, stowage and upgrade items from Black Dog and AC Model, and a set of lenses and taillights from SKP Model. Once I have the reviews written I will link them all together so that the reader can easily look at some of what is available and decide for themselves how far they want to go.

Defender Wolf Accessories Set Live links

British WMIK crew in Afghanistan Live links

PE set for the ‘Wolf’ W.M.I.K Live links