Leva

1/285 Scale WWII Accessories

Reviewed by Bill Rutherford

Just in (after an absence from the gaming scene of over a year!) are four items from Leva for the WW II gamer. First (illustrated) is B-33 ($8 Canadian), a 1/285th scale German bunker measuring (including base) about 3" by 4" and designed to house an 8.8cm antitank gun. As you can see, it's under construction; the wooden formers for the concrete sides are in place, the rebars are in clear evidence, and the two objects that look like 'droids are cement mixers! Very well detailed and just the thing for the budding fortifications engineer…

Also received was DI-19 (price unknown), a 1/285th scale German 2-4-2 yard engine (I'm not sure of the Br number, so I can't cite its accuracy) that is nicely detailed and that will make a good target for one's Jabos. I haven't seen the balance of the Deutsch Reichsbann range, but the list includes an additional locomotive and two different sets of freight cars, as well as a wrecked locomotive…

DI-10 inlcudes a pair each of large and small European barges… They, too, are well-detailed and (again, I cannot find references for detail citations!) will fit in nicely with one's tabletop terrain…

Finally, there's 72-C-11 ($5.50 Canadian), a US M4 105mm-gunned cast Sherman turret with separate appliqué armor panels for converting one's 1/72nd scale M4 Sherman kit to a howitzer variant. This is very nicely cast, the slight roughness of the resin surface neatly capturing the rough-cast turret armor. The quality of all of the samples is excellent - almost no casting bubbles anywhere and just about no casting defects (i.e., incomplete castings, mold dirt, etc.) anywhere!

Leva's 1/285th scale terrain accessories number well over a hundred, including buildings, bunkers, ruins, emplacements, factories, heavy artillery (How 'bout a U.S. 240mm M1 heavy howitzer?!?) and oddities (barges, locomotives - that sort of thing)… Leva's1/72nd scale range is equally extensive, including buildings, landing barges, a BUNCH of vehicle conversions, and a number of field guns. The high quality of this latter range will appeal especially to the 1/72nd scale armor modeler in addition to the gamer, due to their very high quality, combined with their very low prices… If you're fortunate, your local game or model shop will carry this fine line. If not, contact Leva Productions at 11,260 Rue Ballevois, Montreal-Nord, Quebec, Canada H1H 3E2. Note, too, that the prices I mentioned above are in Canadian dollars - prices for US customers will be lower… Recommended!!!

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