Introduction

Diopark as a company only really came to our attention last year with some nice releases, in particular two sets of pedal cycles which were of a very high standard and impressive models. Diopark have now released a 70’s German Made Civilian Car with IED Accessories; this car type is very common in the Middle East specifically in countries where American, Canadian and European Armed Forces have been fighting in recent years.

Contents

This latest release from Diopark is supplied packaged in a cardboard tray with a card lid. Inside you will find;

• 4 white sprues
• 1 clear sprue
• Body of the car
• 4 tyres
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 PE fret
• An instruction booklet

It is worth mentioning that Diopark have packaged the body of the vehicle in its own cardboard box for protection along with the tyres.

Review

The instruction booklet starts with a guide for adding the decals and a guide to the icons used during construction of the model. The next area covered is a paint chart which lists paint colours by name and by;

• Mr Hobby
• Hobby Color
• Humbrol
• Tamiya

There is also a sprue map provided to check that the full contents needed are in the box. Construction of the model is then covered in 15 stages using black and white line drawings as a guide. The instructions are laid out in a logical manner which should make assembly a joy rather than a task for the most part. The instructions come to a close with two finishing options of a police car or a civilian car.

The moulding quality of the parts is very good with some very nice crisp detail. There are a few ejector pin marks in some locations but Diopark have thought this through and placed them where they will be hidden by other parts. A full inspection of the parts did not reveal any other issues of note at this time.

Chassis
The chassis and floor of the vehicle are moulded as a single piece; however the detail is good in my opinion despite it being a single moulding. The front steering mechanism has been well designed; but despite the effort the wheels can only be depicted dead ahead from the box without some surgery taking places. The rear axle and drive shafts are also well replicated to the extent that you could get away with showing the vehicle on its side or roof with the minimum of work. The wheels are designed to be rotatable after attachment to the vehicle and the tyres which are plastic rather than rubber have a nice fine tread pattern replicated. The word ‘RIUGESTUNE and SF226’ is present on each of the tyres in raised lettering; this does not appear to represent any tyre manufacturer I can find and I suspect it is designed into tricking the viewer into seeing ‘BRIDGESTONE’. Disappointingly to some extent the engine of the vehicle is not present; however the sump and lower portion of the gearbox are present which supplies a reasonable representation. Lastly a very nicely replicated exhaust system and fuel tank are provided.

Interior
The interior of the vehicle has in my opinion been very well replicated regardless of any particular area you consider. The seats are well designed with nicely replicated ribbing detail and not forgetting the headrests which are supplied as separate parts. The dashboard and centre panel are very good with some very nicely replicated detail on the centre panel, I think the only thing missing are some cassette tapes for the player. The dashboard even has the vents replicated which are a very nice detail. The steering wheel is another area where Diopark has excelled when it comes to detail; in fact the only thing I can think of as missing is the grubby carpets with stains you are afraid to identify.

Exterior
The vehicle exterior looks good to me with no obvious flaws that I was able to pick up on. The doors with separate door cards can be shown open or closed. The boot can also be shown open or closed and due to the IED element of the model Diopark has made sure to include the interior rib detail for the interior of the boot lid. The front grill is a nice moulding having good detail and replicated as a single piece. Another area that this kit from Diopark scores highly is the lights which are all supplied as clear mouldings; this just requires some forward thinking when it comes to painting the brake lights and indicators; I suggest getting hold of the clear colours from the Tamiya paint range. One other thing that I should mention is that if you opt for the police car don’t forget to open up the holes in the roof as I suspect some of you will get the body and floor joined before adding parts such as that. That pretty much brings the car portion of the review to a close with the exception of a three pointed star in photo etched parts for a hood ornament and each of the four wheels.

Ancillary items
Included with this kit are some items which have been used in the Middle East to make IED’s these feature;

• A gas cylinder
• A fuel container
• 2 RPG rockets
• 5 122mm shells with the fuses removed
• 2 TM-62M Mines
• A mobile phone

The shells are a great piece of slide moulding with the holes present where the shell fuses would be screwed in. the RPG rockets are a great inclusion and something I cannot remember being offered anywhere else. The gas cylinder and fuel container are nicely detailed with Diopark remembering to add the valve detail for the cylinder. The mobile phone is a particularly nice inclusion with this added extra to the car and the purpose which it will I suspect represent in a number of dioramas; I should mention that while my pictures are unable to show the detail on the phone the screen and buttons are replicated.

Conclusion

This latest release from Diopark should prove very popular with modern vehicle modellers who like to present their models in diorama settings. The model may even catch the interest of those interested in the car as a model in its own right. The only downside I can think of is the lack of the engine and so the bonnet cannot be opened up. That aside I think this is a great model to pick up as a perfect complement to some of that modern armour and that shows scales without the need for a figure.