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Douglas C-47 Skytrain (Dakota) D-Day Edition by Cobi  The Douglas C-47 Skytrain, Dakota in English service, ...

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (Dakota) D-Day Edition by Cobi Douglas C-47 Skytrain (Dakota) D-Day Edition by Cobi

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

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Douglas C-47 Skytrain (Dakota)

D-Day Edition

by

Cobi






 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain, Dakota in English service, was based on the Douglas DC-3 Airliner. It seems amazing, but the DC-3 was first flown in 1936, and there are still ones being flown today in parts of the world as passenger or freight planes. The C-47 continued in the U.S. Air Force until the late 1960s. Its variants are too numerous to list. You might have heard of it being used as a gunship in Vietnam. It was nicknamed 'Spooky' or 'Puff the Magic Dragon'. It was armed with an array of weapons with which to rain havoc upon enemy soldiers. This model that we are building was modeled after ones used on D-Day in 1944.






 I think we will first delve into the fact that this is a Cobi block kit. Like addressing the elephant in the room. Yes, this is a block kit that in a slightly different form, most children would love, and often get on Christmas or their birthdays. Another yes would be that we are grown men building with Cobi blocks. I say who cares. To me the sense of accomplishment that comes with building a Cobi kit is the same as building a model. No, I take that back, it is better than building a model. Some of us are artists, but most of us are not. There are some people who have a lot of free time on their hands; again most of us do not. To build and craft and paint a model is a lot of time and work. Yes, some of them do look just like the real thing. I, and a lot of other people, cannot build a model to look like what you see in magazines. I do not have the time nor the skill sets needed for it. I can however, build a Cobi kit that looks amazing and have fun doing it. This part of our hobby is something that anyone can do and enjoy. First of all, building a Cobi kit is affordable. When you buy a Cobi kit you are not spending a car payment for the model. To be perfectly honest, I do not think that the finished block models that cost $300 and more look any better than a Cobi one. In fact, I think some are quite inferior. Please do not get me started on the cheap knock-offs. They look bad and are only slightly less expensive than a real Cobi model.






 This model of the Douglas C-47 Skytrain is exceedingly well done by Cobi. Their planes are looking less 'blocky' with each new one coming out. A tank is a lot easier to make out of blocks because of its shape. By their very nature, planes do not lend themselves to be made out of blocks. So the fact that Cobi can pull it off is even more amazing. I proudly put my Cobi sets on display next to the diecast models that I have bought. 






 So how is it to build one of these? In one word, enjoyable. You are not waiting for paint to dry, or have to get these two pieces together right now before the glue dries. If the phone rings, just answer it. If you want to get a cup of coffee go ahead. The blocks will be waiting right there where you left them. if you want to finish your entire model today or just put together ten pieces it is up to you. The directions stop at roughly each two to ten pieces for each separate piece of the construction. Have fun; that is why you bought it. You didn't buy it to think everything through and to worry about what about this part, do I have the right paint etc. You bought it to enjoy building it, alone or with someone. Then there is the absence of fear, what if I did the last pieces wrong. Just take the few pieces off and do it over. No fuss, no mess, and completely hassle free. 

 This build for me was very calming and I really wanted to see how good Cobi could make this plane look. I was astounded at how much better it looked than I thought it could in the end. The build itself was only 550 pieces so I knew roughly how long it would take. I spread it out over a few hours and two days, because, well because I could. There were no hiccups in the build other than one of my own making by not looking close enough at the directions. 






 I want to thank Cobi for allowing me to review this excellent addition to their air fleet. One thing I want to discuss is missing parts. I have built ten of the Cobi models so far and I always have extra pieces. The only time I have come up short is because I used the wrong part earlier in the build. I have seen some people posting that they have missing parts and for me I have never had that problem. 

Link to the Douglas C-47 Skytrain:
https://cobi.pl/en/small-army-ww2/aircrafts/douglas-c-47-skytrain-dakota-d-day-edition,art,11660.html


Robert 

38cm Sturmtiger   by   Cobi       This is the historical background to Cobi's magnificent Sturmtiger model. During t...

38cm Sturmtiger by Cobi 38cm Sturmtiger by Cobi

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

minifigs

38cm Sturmtiger

 

by

 

Cobi

  

  This is the historical background to Cobi's magnificent Sturmtiger model. During the battle of Stalingrad the German Army realized they needed a large caliber weapon in a panzer body. This was for the destruction of bunkers and houses, etc. They first came up with the Sturmpanzer. This was called the 'Stupa' by the Germans and Brummbar (grouch or sorehead) by the Allies. It was a 150mm gun on the rebuilt body of a Panzer III.

 

 


 The Stupa worked relatively well in its role. The Germans, thinking the way they did in World War II, thought that bigger is better. So someone came up with the idea of making a Tiger tank with an absolutely large rocket weapon. The weapon was adapted from a 380mm (15") depth-charge launcher used by the Kriegemarine. There were only eighteen of these made. Most were just lost to the Allies during the retreat of the Germans at the end of the war. There is one uncorroborated story of a Sturmtiger destroying a few Sherman tanks and their crews with one shot in the battle for the Remagen bridge.




 For some reason, I have always been incredibly intrigued by these vehicles. For that reason I have been dying to build this kit from Cobi. I was incredibly lucky to have Cobi send me three kits for review. Then they sent me a stupendous kit: the Panzer VII 'Maus'. All of the kits were very well done and I greatly enjoyed building them. However, the Maus was absolutely outstanding. I like it much better than the plastic model I built of the Maus.

 This is the link to the first review of Cobi kits I did:

This is the link to my review of the Maus:

 As I have mentioned before, building these kits actually make me feel better than building a plastic model. I do like building plastic models, but they are sometimes maddening depending on the kit or the company making it. I also am totally useless at painting the completed models. I have tried and tried, but always make a total mess of it. So with Cobi kits I know that they will always fit together, and the bricks are colored so I have no anxiety about building them and can just enjoy it.




 This kit is exactly what I was hoping it would be. It is an excellent model of a Sturmtiger. It even comes with a rocket for the weapon and the crane that was needed to load the weapon.




 The build took about four hours split between two different days. I took it slow and enjoyed every minute of the build. Just as a helpful hint, keep a Jeweler's flat screwdriver around just in case you mess up like I do. The Cobi blocks lock together so tightly that it is difficult to get them apart. The other kits that   I have built had no problem at all staying together.




 Cobi has taken it's kits from tanks, planes, and guns to now include even battleships. They now have kits of the Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Warspite. I also have seen that they will be releasing these three: the Iowa, Musashi, and Yamato. Each day it seems that Cobi is releasing something new.

 





  I can absolutely recommend this Sturmtiger kit to anyone who is interested in this weapon or has an interest in World War II vehicles. I had a blast building the kit and now it has a place of pride in my collection. The Cobi kits just seem to get better and better. One can only hope that they will be releasing a 'Dora' or maybe even the mighty 'Gustav'.


Robert

Cobi's World of Tanks MAUS  The Maus is in the house, and it is Tanktastic! To be more descriptive you could call ...

Cobi's World of Tanks MAUS Cobi's World of Tanks MAUS

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

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 The Maus is in the house, and it is Tanktastic! To be more descriptive you could call it the Behemoth. Too bad, because I like the word Leviathan better, but we are not dealing with ships here. The Panzerkampfwagen VIII was nicknamed the Maus (mouse) in a bit of ironic jesting. The Maus is the heaviest armored vehicle ever produced at 188 tonnes. Strangely, its turret frontal armor was not much thicker than the Ferdinand/Elefant. Its armor thickness is listed here:

 Turret Front  - 220 mm
 Turret Side And Rear - 200 mm
 Hull Front  - 200 mm
 Hull Side - 180 mm
 Hull Rear - 150 mm

 Its main armament was a 128 mm KWK 4Gun  L/55 and its secondary armament was a 75 mm KWK 44 Gun L/36.5, and a 7.92 machine gun.



 For a long time Porsche was trying to build large tanks with a petrol motor that would run a generator to two electric motors, one for each track. Like the Ferdinand/Elefant, the Maus had this drive system. Only two were built and of those only one was fully constructed. Amazingly they were able to get a speed of 22 km (14 MPH) out of this beast.



 Enough of the history, we will now talk about Cobi's magnificent brick beast. I have been drooling over this since I saw the first teaser ad on Cobi about it. I built the M4 Sherman from Cobi and I was and am mightily impressed with that kit. However, the ads of the Maus just blew me away. Every one I saw looked like a $100 plus plastic model kit.




 The Maus belongs to the Cobi 'World Of Tanks' lineup. the sheer size of the box is impressive. Most Cobi tanks run in the range of 400-600 piece size, with the Koenig Tiger at the top of the scale at 600 pieces. The Maus is a whopping 900 pieces. 




 I cannot state strongly enough that once built, these Cobi kits are well put together and will not fall apart into their separate bricks by looking at them. You can actually play with them on a carpet or a floor, and you will not have to be rebuilding the kit. The sheer heft of the Cobi kits, once they are together, tell the whole story. The Maus, when put together, seems almost indestructible like the tank it represents was supposed to be.





 The instructions for the kit are straightforward, with no real questions, as long as you take your time and follow them. The Maus has shown me that Cobi kits are, as far as looks and construction, just getting better and better.




 With its 900 pieces it is a longer build that others, but that is not a knock on the kit. It means you have that much more time to enjoy actually building it. The kit also comes with rubber tires to put on the road wheels.




 The Maus is an excellent addition to my World War II vehicle collection. I included some pictures of it next to Cobi's Sherman so that you could see the actual size difference.



 The tank commander that comes with the Maus once again shows Cobi's attention to detail.

 In one way I couldn't wait to finish the Maus, and in another I didn't want the building part to end. Construction was just so easy and I was so engrossed in it. As I stated in my first review, I cannot get over how putting a Cobi block tank or plane together really gives one a sense of accomplishment, just as building a glued together model. The Maus now sits proudly next to some of my other models. Thank you Cobi for bringing the world a more affordable choice in excellent block military kits.

 Most, if not all,of Cobi's kits are available in the U.S. from Amazon.


Robert

 

Cobi Block kits Jeep andHelicopter P-51 Mustang Sherman Tank  Model M4A1 The Jeep before the first build   I am ol...

Cobi Kits Reviewed Cobi Kits Reviewed

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

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The Jeep before the first build



 I am older; not old, just older. When I played with blocks they were made of solid wood. These were essentially the same kinds of blocks that had been around for over a hundred years. Now, I am not talking about the square colored ones that were supposed to teach you letters and numbers; they were pretty useless for building anything. No, I am talking about plain wooden blocks that came in many different shapes and sizes. You could use these to build a city or a fortress, or at least a part of one (I didn't have an extensive block set). These plain blocks were used to try and replicate Karnak and other places I had seen in pictures. My blocks represented the ultimate escape from the doldrums of where I was to where I wanted to be. Yeah I know, I was a strange child. Inevitably I moved on. The blocks were put away much like Puff and his ilk. 
At the ripe old age of eighteen I began working at a toy store. One of my myriad of jobs was stock clerk. This was a mom and pop toy store. This was before chain stores made their arrival. I was given a carton of new toys to set up on the shelf. I opened the box and was presented with a revelation. It was a ship, and it was built entirely of small click together blocks. As I recall, one part of me was in awe, while the other part was disgusted. How dare they manufacture a new kind of block. The old ones were good enough for me, and all the way back to my grandparents' time. On the other hand, the ship did look awesome. It didn't have guns, and I believe it was a Coast Guard cutter, or something similar. Still, the ship and how it was put together amazed me. I was sorely tempted each pay week to buy it, but never did. My money went to more earthly pleasures. I regret not buying it to this day.








 I would watch my children, and then grandchildren, play with their little click together blocks. I would see them build pretty much anything under the sun. You would think that I would feel sorry for them, for they had been cheated of flights of fancy. No, that is not it at all. I feel cheated and can only think of what my imagination could have done with these newfangled blocks.






 Now I am presented with three brand spanking new Cobi kits. The first is a double set with a helicopter and jeep. The second set is of a P-51 mustang, and the third is of a Sherman tank model M4A1. The first thing that went through my mind was these kids are not touching my Cobi block sets. The little urchins have their own; these are mine. Remember, he who has the most toys before he dies wins.



The P-51 pieces at the unveiling



 I started with the Jeep and helicopter set. I figured I would work my way through the kits to work on the Sherman last. Jeeps, helicopters, and mustangs are okay, but hey, this is a tank.


 I tackled the jeep first. The directions were pretty clear cut, and time seemed to fly by as I assembled it. I am a fairly large man, but I really had no problem fitting the blocks together. The only problem I did have was the blocks fit together like they had been built by Incas. If I made a mistake it was a bit of a bear to get some of the blocks back apart. This is not a knock on the blocks. It only means that your finished work will not fall to pieces on the mantel or shelf. It is also not the block's fault that I failed to follow the directions. A small flat jewelers screwdriver helped me immensely with my foibles. The Jeep was together in no time, and it looks excellent. I was wondering how I would feel while essentially playing with a child's toy. To be honest, the sense of accomplishment was pretty much like what I feel when putting a model together. I will add one caveat: I do not paint my models. I love putting them together, but I cannot paint them to save my life. So essentially this was just like building a model, without the glued together fingers. The helicopter was bit more intricate, and if you made a mistake, it was sometimes several pages later that you would realize it. 


The Sherman being built


 Now that these two are together, I feel more confident of my 'blocking' ability. Next up would be the Mustang. I am a 'Thunderbolt' kind of guy, so the 'Stang' has never really impressed me. That being said, I do have one model and two diecast of Mustangs in my collection.The P-51 looks from the box to be the most 'toy' looking, and not going to the realistic end of the bar.  After putting it together though, I was pleasantly surprised. Once completed it looks very good in the flesh. I thought I was saving the best for last with the Sherman, but I could be wrong.


The P-51 in all its glory




 It turns out I was not wrong. The Sherman is definitely the best of the pieces. There is nothing wrong with the others at all, but the heft and look of the Sherman really impresses. 


Heavy Metal


 All in all, I am tremendously impressed; not just with the kits themselves, although they are pretty amazing! I am even more impressed by my sense of accomplishment in building them. The kits are really nice, but so is the actual building. One major plus is that if you happen to have urchins around they can also join in the fun. It is not the easiest thing to try and build a model with small hands helping. Been there, done that.

I would like to say thank you to Cobi for these very affordable and great kits, although my wife may not be holding you in such high regard. I see so many excellent kits in Cobi's World of Tanks lineup. The Maus is listed as coming soon. Take a look at the pictures of it:
http://cobi.pl/en/toys/world-of-tanks/panzer-viii-maus,art,9266.html 



All of the figures are very well done


 The kits have been been given a bad rap at times because they are not sturdy enough for little people to play with. The very nature of any small block building is the same: rough handling will cause the build to start coming undone. It is the nature of the beast. If you are looking for toy tanks and army men to play with outside in the dirt, don't look here. If you are looking for something exciting to build and look at and also to play with more gently inside the house, then these are for you. You can also pass onto your own urchins your love of history and engines of war while you are at it.


Robert

READY FOR INSPECTION!   It's been to quiet in these parts for my liking so it's with great pleasure I get to review three new...

Three United Bricks MiniFigs reviewed Three United Bricks MiniFigs reviewed

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

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READY FOR INSPECTION!

 
It's been to quiet in these parts for my liking so it's with great pleasure I get to review three new United Bricks MiniFigs kindly sent to us for closer inspection!
 
We have a mixed little lot standing to attention on AWNT's specially built parade ground. I've just been informed there was nearly fisty cuffs between our little heroes today due to communication problems. Well what do you expect when you have an American a Scot and a German! I do believe it was over todays date, read on and you'll understand why there maybe some disagreement over it. Coupled with the obvious language and accent issues I'm not sure why I didn't see this happening. So I've called in two interpreters an American who can speak and a  German who can speak English. The Scot can actually speak German and understand American but no one can understand him! I do know he didn't take kindly to being called English by the German and a Scotch by the American! All very complicated! Anyway onto business!
 
 
First in line and looking perfectly turned out is our DAK MG Soldier. DAK or better known as the Afrika Korps was the German expeditionary force sent to Africa to help strengthen the Italians, who more than likely would have been in trouble as the Italians were woefully equipped for War on any of the fronts and remained so throughout the conflict. I'm sure most people have heard of the Afrika Korps enigmatic leader Erwin Rommel. Many books have been written about the battles between Rommel's Afrika Korps and the British 8th Army.
 
 
 
 He is wearing, with pride I can see, his Afrika Korps uniform. He is one of Rommel's finest. The DAK uniform is the perfect colour for desert warfare. He is well prepared to man the MG with an ammunition bandolier across his shoulders. As per usual with United Bricks the printing is top quality, nice and clear and highly unlikely to wear off with handling. Judging by his smile I reckon he is fighting out there in the desert during the height of Rommel's powers, or he came out on top in the earlier..shall we call it a heated difference of opinion..ahem! Maybe the look on the other two faces will give us a clue!
 
He retails at £8.50. You can also purchase three other DAK torsos an Officer, MP40 soldier and a KAR soldier.
 
Next up is a rather upset looking US Admiral! Maybe the German did end up getting the upper hand? Or maybe we are dealing with a hard headed, no nonsense US Admiral. The kind that defeated the Japanese Navy in the Pacific. Looking at him, you'd even say defeated the Japanese single handed.
 
He looks very smart in his all white uniform. Though there is less printing compared to the DAK uniform what looks top quality. Also the more stark Naval uniform is reflected in his retail price.
 
He retails at £6.50.
 
 
Last to be reviewed is our Scot! Still smarting from being called a Scotch and even worse English he is also confused about why on earth the American and the German insist they are fighting in the second War, when he is still fighting the first one! Yet no matter how often he tried to explain it didn't seem to register, it's as if he was talking in an alien language! Anyway eventually things got heated and when the Admiral laughed when the German called him English..well what else did he expect other than a Scottish Kiss, or should he say Scotch Kiss!
 
So that explained we have hear a  WW1 Scottish soldier resplendent in his kilt, as he belongs to one of the famous Scottish Regiments, though he could just as likely been an Englishman in say the 1/8th Kings Liverpool Scottish battalion. One of several battalions within British regiments that are designated Scottish. As I said though this particular fine specimen is in a Scottish Regiment.
 
His tartan kilt is excellent and a great touch. He is wearing the Brodie helmet which troops starting wearing from late 1915 onwards. Again the printing is excellent quality and really can't be faulted. I also love his very WW1 moustache, plus the raised eyebrow really adds character!
 
 
He retails at £9.00 and is my favourite Minifig out of the three!
 
So that's it from United Bricks for now. Head on over to their website and check out many other figures aswell as a great selection of WW2 vehicles, including tanks!

 

 

A superb WW2 LEGO animation   by the Brick Dictator !

1941 Lego World War Two Battle of Brody 1941 Lego World War Two Battle of Brody

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

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1941 Lego World War Two Battle of Brody

A superb WW2 LEGO animation


 


United Bricks New Releases!  

United Bricks New Releases United Bricks New Releases

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

minifigs

United Bricks New Releases!



 

United Bricks: Three Soldats Reviewed On parade today we have three WWII Germans from United Bricks. Last time we reviewed United Brick...

United Bricks: Three MinFigs get the review treatment! United Bricks: Three MinFigs get the review treatment!

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

minifigs

United Bricks: Three Soldats Reviewed


On parade today we have three WWII Germans from United Bricks. Last time we reviewed United Bricks MinFigs they passed with flying colours. Will it be the same story this time, or have they been reprimanded and put on kitchen duty peeling spuds (potatoes for those not from the UK). Read on to find out!


First up we have German Soldier Corporal. In the last review, we also had a German corporal, but that time he was wearing a light grey uniform and didn't have the MP 40 ammo pouches on his webbing. This time he is wearing the standard feldgrau (field grey) uniform. He has his corporal's rank on his left shoulder. On his head is a metallic looking German M40 helmet. Unlike the grey uniformed corporal, this time he comes with a weapon, an MP40, hence the ammo pouches. One of my criticisms of the Cobi MiniFigs was their happy smiling faces; this is more like it, wearing his close combat face! He comes in either a yellow skin version as seen here or a more realistic light flesh version. You can also buy a winter version.


Print work is excellent and I have no complaints. He retails at £8.50.


Next up is a German Officer. He is wearing your standard early\mid war feldgrau uniform (The pockets give the date away, late war have no pleats on the pockets) and his hat is a Lego Kepi. On his belt is his Luger's holster. He is also wearing white gloves, so I presume he is on parade rather than in action. Obviously a brave soldier, he has the close combat badge and a Knights' Cross around his neck. Skin tone is flesh rather than the normal LEGO yellow, which is more realistic and my preference to be honest. Printing is excellent - they use a high quality UV method which produces excellent results.

This great little MiniFig retails at £8.50


I've saved my favourite for last. Here we have a German General. He is wearing a feldgrau German General's uniform. German Generals have red piping down the side of each leg. It also has red piping down the front of the jacket. He has a General's insignia on his lapels. He also has a collection of medals, including the Knights' Cross, Close Combat Badge and a War Merit Cross. On his head is a German officer's peaked cap, which I love - really well made. He wears white gloves and his skin tone is Flesh. I really do love this MiniFig. One other aspect to mention is his face, he looks extremely overworked and stressed out, with his red rimmed eyes and sunken cheeks, a great little detail. The print work is top quality.

The General retails at £8.50 and is well worth the price.

One final thing to mention is that the MiniFigs now come in a neat little black box with foam lining and gold printing on the lid. So much better than a zip lock bag:) This gets a huge thumbs up from me!

Well that's it for now. As you can see it looks like the spuds still need peeling! Keep checking back for more Mini Fig reviews and I'm sure we will be reviewing more excellent new releases from United Bricks!

Cobi : Three military sets reviewed. Before I start writing about the kits, I first must apologise to Cobi for the delayed re...

Cobi: Three military sets get reviewed. Cobi: Three military sets get reviewed.

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

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Cobi: Three military sets reviewed.
Before I start writing about the kits, I first must apologise to Cobi for the delayed review. This was due to illness.


Cobi are a Polish company who make LEGO compatible kits. Two major differences to your actual custom LEGO sets is that the MiniFigs look different (when Cobi started out their Minifigs looked the same as Lego's, but I believe they had to change them) and the other is a substantial difference in the price, with Cobi being much better for your wallet. Their range is very varied ranging from popular cartoons through to military sets, including a license to make Tank kits based on the very popular multi player game World of Tanks.

 
 
The first kit I actually gave to my 15 year old daughter to build, as she expressed an interest in having a go. The kit was the Small Army Willys MB Jeep . The front of the box tells you how many bricks are in the set and how many MiniFigs. This set has 90 bricks and 1 Minifig. Also, on the back of the box, you'll find info\stats on the particular vehicle, as well as the Jeeps Browning M2 gun and the Minifigs' side-arm, his Browning M1918A2- BAR. Inside the box were several clear bags, each one containing the kit's bricks. A full colour manual and a sheet of decals complete the contents.

Freja told me she really enjoyed building the Jeep and found the manual very easy to follow. Apart from one or two slightly awkward bits, trying to make sure the bricks didn't pop off when doing another bit, she had no real problems in finishing the build in around 45 minutes. The Decals she left for me to do. I found a very good selection and they brought the Jeep to life. I did find, though, that one or two might have been better if they'd been put on the brick before building; for instance the dashboard was more tricky than it needed to have been, if added pre-build. Freja gave the build instructions and fun factor top marks!

The finished Jeep looks very good indeed and I'd happily recommend it to someone who normally just sticks to Lego military sets. Taking the price into account compared to a Lego custom Jeep you really can't go wrong. I have heard dissent on the Net about the actual Minifig designs but you can easily swap them out for a Lego Minifig and you wouldn't be able to tell they weren't made for each other. The Cobi Minifigs have actually grown on me, though maybe I'd like to see less smiley and more serious facial expressions.


 
 

The next set which I took on was the Supermarine Spitfire MK.VB. This is part of Cobi's Small Army WW2 range. The kit consists of 290 bricks and 1 Minifig.  The back of the box gives you the technical information on the Spitfire and also states the Minifig is an RAF pilot from No303 Squadron which was a squadron made up of Polish pilots who had managed to escape Poland during the German invasion. As Cobi is a Polish company it makes sense they chose this particular squadron. Inside you'll find several bags of bricks, a decal sheet and a full colour 25 page instruction booklet.
The Spitfire must be the first plane people think of when you mention aircraft from WWII, closely followed, I expect, by the P51 and the BF109. Not only did it look great and sound great with those merlin engines, it also helped win the Battle of Britain as it was a superb dogfighting plane. Taking on the German bomber escort of 109s whilst the Spitfire's fighting partner, the ever reliable Hurricane, took on the bombers. Who knows, things may have been very different if the marvellous Spitfire had never existed.  In fact, things might even be very different today, if that engineering marvel had never taken to the skies..

BF109 Cobi kit

The instructions were very easy to follow and I had no major issues with the build. I actually found it quite therapeutic. A benefit of the Cobi kits over custom Lego is that Cobi obviously can create what ever colour brick they need for a particular set, whereas the custom Lego builders are restricted to the colours Lego have produced over the years.  This means the Spitfire is resplendent in its camouflage colours. The Spitfire also has an undercarriage that can be raised and lowered and adjustable flaps. When finished, it sits upon a stand with name plate. Once the decals went on, like the Jeep, the plane gained its personality.



The finished Spitfire really does look good.  My only slight criticism is the frame below the propeller looks too box-like compared to the curve a Spitfire has on the underside of the front fuselage. Still, I'm very happy with the finished build and, like the Jeep, can easy recommend it to anyone into military Lego or military brick sets. Also, being Cobi, it comes with a very pleasing price tag, considering a custom Lego plane could set you back a couple of hundred pounds.




 


WW2 version
 

The final kit is from Cobi's World of Tanks tie-in range. The British Cromwell MK VII tank, which fought in WW2 and on through to 1955 when it was retired from British service.  This kit is the biggest of the three, consisting of 505 bricks and 1 Minifig. The back of the box as usual gives info on the tank as well as the Tank Commander's side arm, which is a Sten Gun. The tank is in its desert livery. As this is from the World of Tanks range it's not supposed to be a historical WWII tank. The decals that come with it aren't WWII themed. Which for myself was abit of a let down. However I understand why it doesn't have WW2II decals. Inside the box are several clear bags of bricks, a decal sheet and a 31 page, large format, full colour instruction booklet. On the back of the booklet you get two codes for the PC game World of Tanks; one gives you three days of a premium account and a couple of other WoT in-game goodies, the other code gives seven days of a Premium account and again in-game goodies.

I found the instruction booklet very easy to follow and like the Spitfire build an enjoyable experience with little to no frustrations. The tank looks great in its desert livery. The wheels and tracks move, the main gun will traverse up and down and the turret rotates. The two machine guns also move. The tank commander stands in his commander's hatch, all set to direct his tank through the battles ahead. Once the build was finished and the decals went on I was very happy with the end result. Though as mentioned I do wish there had been a couple of WWII specific decals to use.

I have to say the completed tank does look impressive. Also, for those who aren't keen on Cobi's Minifigs, I placed my Lego British Tank Commander in the hatch and he looked superb. So don't let that put you off. Cobi actually do a WWII specific Cromwell tank so if it's WW2 your after your best buying the WWII version, though this comes in green and not the desert colour scheme. The WoT version currently retails on Amazon for £27.90 and the WWII version £26.87. So what can't you love at that price! I will say, considering how much cheaper they are to actual Lego kits, you don't find a similar drop in quality. Far from it. They stand on their own against the custom Lego kits - yes the Lego kits will have that extra detail - but you honestly can't go wrong with Cobi either. So like the other two kits I have no qualms recommending this set. Get the WWII version if that's what your looking for:)

So that's it for Cobi for now. I hope I get to review more kits in the future. Cobi kits have a massive thumbs up from me! They have everything going for them, easy to follow instructions, great design and fantastic price plus compatible with Lego you really can't go wrong with their kits.









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