Most WWII miniatures gamers will be happy to show you their massive collections of line units. Ranks of Shermans, T-34 and Panthers, battalions of panzergrendiers and regiment upon regiment of infantry -- these are the building blocks of most historical gamers. Lost in the cracks are the less glamorous, but ever-present vehicles such as the U.S. armored cars, models M8 and M20. These undergunned, all-wheel drive vehicles are found in almost every U.S. division carrying out tasks ranging from long range probing to flank security to serving as ersatz assault troops. If you're doing historical gaming you are going to need these things at some point. The growth in the number of 15mm WWII miniature manufacturers makes these items an easy addition to your arsenal.

I'm aware of three manufacturers that produce 15mm M8 and M20 armored cars -Quality Castings, Old Glory, and most recently Military Miniatures. Each review starts with the vehicle type and the manufacturer's stock number.

Quality Castings M8 Armored Car (6003)

The Quality Castings M8 armored car is cleanly cast with good detail. Clearly visible are the headlights, coaxial machine gun, hatch covers, turret tie down straps and even the stowage box hinges. The casting has a mounting hole for a turret post Heavy Machine Gun, though this was not included with my casting (they do sell HMGs separately).

The Quality Castings M8 appears to be on the small side. I used Brian O'Leary's scale determinations from The Herald # 25 to check against the dimensions given in "U.S. Armored Cars in Action" by Jim Mesko (Squadron/Signal Publications). The scale calculations show the car to be about 90% of true 15mm scale (1 /108 scale).

Assembly was straight forward, if tedious. The kit is cast in 3 main pieces -- chassis, hull and turret, with six separate wheels attaching to the chassis. The wheels takes a bit of time, unless you use an accelerant or quicksetting epoxy. Overall grade B+.

M20 Armored Car (6063)

Quality Castings' Utility Car M20 shares many of the same attributes as its sister, the M8. Like it, the M20 is cleanly cast, with good detail of the hull. This model sports the late-war stowage bins between the first and second wheels. The common manufacturer lineage of the two vehicles is obvious. The HMG ring mount was a good fit and contained a mounting bracket for gun. Like the M8, the M20 appears to be about 90% of true 15mm scale (1/108). A common perception among gamers is that Quality Castings tends to run on the small side. These armored cars appear to bear this out.

Assembly was a "bear!" Though retaining the chassis-hull configuration of the M8 kit, the M20 comes with six wheels and three lengths of brass wire. You must cut your axles to length, bore out the axle mounts on the chassis (mine were full of flash), and attach the wheels to the brass axle. Only then can you attach the chassis to the hull. The goal seems to have been wheels that will turn, but the shallow depth of the connecting holes in each wheel meant a heavy dose of epoxy to ensure the wheels remain attached. Overall grade B-.

Old Glory Armored Car M8 (CID-207)

Old Glory's entry into the field is also a cleanly cast, well-detailed model of at late-war, M8 armored car. It is sold three to a pack. Like the Quality Castings M20, stowage bins fill the space between the first and second wheels. Many details are present -- including well-defined radio aerial mounts -- these just beg to have antennas added. This M8 come closer to a true 15mm scale, measuring out at 95% of scale size in both length and width.

The casting was a breeze to assemble with a one piece hull (including wheels!) and a turret that includes a.50 HMG on AA mount. Flash was not a problem, and the car paints up beautifully. My only beef is that the sculptor managed to relocate the co-axial machine gun from the right side of the turret to the left side of the turret. Surprisingly sloppy for a company that produces generally excellent castings. The drivers compartment is a tad tall, but not noticeably so. Overall grade B+ (would have been an "A" except for that co-ax!)

Utility Car M20 (CD-208)

The Utility car from Old Glory can best be described as snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The cars are cast in one piece With the only attachments being the M49 ring mount and the .50 caliber HMG. My initial excitement with the kit gave way to disgust with the realization that the ring mounts included were not up tot the task. In plain English they just don't fit! No amount of twisting or bending produced a satisfactory fit. The ring mounts are incredible fragile and were rendered unusable after a short attempt at attachment. Worse, the ring mounts have no bracket for the HMG, resulting in the need to use mass quantities of epoxy to attach the gun to the mount (if you get that far).

Finishing the kit off was the poor quality of the casting -- two of the three cars had cracks, fissures and outright holes in the front glacis of the castings. Unacceptable from any manufacturer -- doubly so from a firm with supposedly high standards and at their prices. Overall Grade D (I turned mine into flaming wrecks for battlefield decoration, so they were an expensive -- but not total -- loss!)

Military Miniatures Utility Car M20 (WWA24)

A relatively new player in the market is Military Miniatures. They produce a line of resin cast vehicles with lead/pewter bits sold in individual boxes / bags. Given my intimidation or disgust with the M20 kits from Quality Castings and Old Glory, I hoped that my purchase of the Military Miniatures kit meant that my quest for a good looking, high quality 15mm Utility Car was over.

The verdict ... SUCCESS!

The casting is cleanly formed, with a resin hull, 4 wheel/fenders, the M49 ring mount and the HMG. All the pieces fit cleanly -- even the ring mount! One additional feature I really enjoy is the random stowage that is cast with the kit. Tarps, packs and crates all work to bring the vehicle to life. As is the case with many of the Military Miniatures vehicles, there are minor variations from kit to kit, resulting in almost every armored car having a unique feel.

The Military Miniatures M20 casting scales out almost "dead-on" at 101% of the 1/108 scale. Given the relatively few numbers of M20 you'll ever need, Military Miniatures is the way to go. Overall grade A.

In summary, you can mix cars from Old Glory and Military Miniatures with no trouble. The same is not true of the Quality Casting cars. These will be noticeably smaller than either of the other manufacturers and should not be used side by side in the same unit.