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MiniArt Fuel & Oil Drums 1930-50s
MiniArt Fuel & Oil Drums 1930-50s is an accessories set in 35th scale, designed as an add-on. That would serve plenty of purposes for various modelers and their ventures. From stowage, through vignette accessories, throughout full diorama sets, this is one of MiniArt’s sets that is spot on release for almost every modeler out there.
Back in a day, when modeling was more or less Airfix, Heller and Tamiya, such sets were missing from the scene. They were longed for, scratch built, home-made-designed, and always presented a challenge. The bitter truth for many modelers out there was, that if you don’t have higher creativity talents and you are not flexible with the items and materials used, you could hardly get yourself such an item. Those were different times.
Nowadays, there is almost everything on the market. Recently a set of pigeons appeared, as well as plenty resin animals, like dogs, cats, sheep, etc. In that regard MiniArt Fuel & Oil Drums set was only a matter of time. Along with their other Buildings & Accessories Series, this set comes with plenty to cover your basic needs.
The box
that this set comes with is a small and with soft sides, slightly different than what you get with MiniArt’s bigger kits. It is – as always – with beautiful boxart, featuring a very clear representation of the contents. In this case – a nice set of various drums and couple of hand pumps in two of them. Color-wise it is attractive and it is made in a way that you can hardly resist when you see it on the shelf of your local store. The sides of the box are black, which is standard for smaller sets from MiniArt like the one we are describing here.
The instructions
are printed on the back of that same box. The back of the box is divided into three sections. The upper one features the building instructions, the second one – the color section of the instruction “sheet”. Those two take up about 90% of the back. On the very bottom, there is a short paint guide, featuring most of the famous brands, among which surprisingly Mission Models are present. They are relatively new producer on the market and it is nice to see that MiniArt are fast and flexible on providing that.
The color schemes are very important with this specific item. Fuel and oil drums come in bright colors, usually specific for the manufacturer. But that is only part of the thing – they usually get very worn with age and work on that matter in scale is practically endless. You can play with variations, weathering techniques and actual physical damage of the parts, in order to get the perfect representation of the worn and often battered drum.
The plastic
is light grey and is packed in a small plastic envelope all together with the decals. This time, almost not flash was found on the sprues, which are repetitive and rather simple. Not always is this the case with MiniArt. The only delicate details featured are the hand pumps, but this shouldn’t fool you: the level of detailing over the parts – even though simple by themselves – is very high.
Three distinctive drum types are visible, but probably with little imagination those can be altered into more options. Fit seems to be very good with the couple of the drum types that we tested. Small gaps should be easily filled with putty and without much trouble. Besides, those drums with their bright appearance of red, blue, green or any combo of those usually draws attention to another direction.
Decals
are presented on a small long and narrow sheet. Not all the decals are equal in numbers. For example – Azur and Leuna, Agip and Rhena are 2 of each. While BP, Shell and Sinclair are 6 of each. And Gulf and Esso are two. With that said we all know, that usually with age those types of oil product containers are often repainted or worn enough, to erase any markings what so ever. Which gives even broader spectrum of opportunities. However if you decide to use the decals, stay assured that their thickness, colors and overall quality are all great.
Conclusion
This MiniArt Fuel and Oil Drums set is great addition to any vignette or diorama and is warmly welcomed by modelers. Along with the Jerry Cans and Road Signs that MiniArt offers, this represent a good and complete set of offerings to cover the basic needs for any modeler. In addition to that, there are plenty of others in the Accessories series by the Ukrainian company, that can give you a complete diorama from one manufacturer.
Those can be combined with plenty of 1930s and on vehicles, even up to this day. Modern times, especially where there are regional low-key barely- or no- funded conflicts are full with examples of older stuff like those drums. And from modeling stand point, they will look a lot more attractive if represented worn, battered and old, rather then being shiny and brand new.
MiniArt made another good set, that was missing from the benches before. Nowadays however, you can find almost everything in terms of modeling. And it is a blessing, that we have companies that think in that direction, rather than focusing only on the best selling subjects out there.
Highly recommended!
