GHQ

1/285 WWII Pacific

by Bill Rutherford

US44 LVT2, US45 LVT(A)1, US48 I_VT(A)4,J1 Type 95 Lt. Tank,J2 Type 97 Med. Tank, J5 Type 2 Amphib. Tank, with and without pontoons, 1/285th scale, prod. by CHQ Inc., 2634 Bryant Ave. So., Minneapolis, MN, $5.50 per pack of 3, 4, or 5.

GHQ has moved to the Pacific Theater of Operations with this batch of WWII releases. The three LVT variants are well done, capturing the bulkiness of the originals nicely. I especially liked the separate machine gunners on the LVT(A)1. They're not cheap (US45 and US48 come only 3 to a pack), but are the nicest LVTs on the market. The Japanese numbers are all petite and have the same chunky feel as their prototypes. The Type 97 is especially welcome, as it will hopefully serve as the basis for one or more other Japaneses AFVs based on the same chassis. One might question GHQ's selection of topics when producing vehicles such as the Type 2 amphibious tank. Pacific wargaming is becoming more popular, however (GDW is to release a Pacific Front variant to their Command Decision rules later this year and GHQ has been dragging the entire island of Tarawa around to the conventions, running CD games on it ... ), and it must be remembered that people don't buy these little tanks just to play with them - many buy them simply to paint and collect them, Anyway, take a look at them at your local dealer - you might like them.

Reviewing Stand

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