Mission Models

1/35 .50 Cal Full & Spent Rounds w/Ammo Belts

Stock Number: MIO-14

Reviewed By  Howie Belkin, IPMS# 16

MSRP: $15.99 Mission Models is a West Coast armor heaven brick-and-mortar and internet model shop who for several years now, has been producing a number of their own, highest quality model accessories. They've had .50 cal Full and Spent Rounds before, but now they've gone a step further to provide them in a set with photo etched Ammo Belts made of disintegrating links. Back in my day my weapon of choice, Vietnam M-60 machine gun, was belt fed by an ingenious arrangement where each round was inserted into a metal link, and each link interlocked forming a continuous belt. As you fired, the spent casing exited the machine gun and separately, so did each individual link as the 'belt' disintegrated. Thanks to Mission Models, those of you who really want to replicate .50 cal reality, finally can! Not only can you finally have a real .50 cal ammo belt just like the real thing, but if you're going to have spent rounds near your gunner, you should also have spent links on a 1:1 ratio. If you're only showing the top layer of rounds in an ammo can, you can serve several machine guns. The spent rounds are indented but aren't hollow so you should touch them with a spot of black or dark paint. The real complete rounds themselves are two different metal colors; you should look for a good color picture or see a real round. I leave the rear casing unpainted golden 'brass' and paint the bullet itself with a touch of copper. The links (provided as two flat photo etched frets: you have to roll each link) should be a dark steel color. It's not for beginners, but I can recommend this set for everyone else who can handle small parts. If you're building that contest winner and want to go that extra step that will have everyone do a double take, this is it. There's no comparison to injection molded ammo belts trying to emulate Mission Models' ammo belts! You can slice sprue for spent rounds and paint one flat end black, or cut brass tubing and fill one open end - and attach full rounds to what, masking tape? Thanks to Mission Models for the review sample and for enabling us to model the real thing. Their accessories are readily available in better hobby shops or you can contact them at www.missionmodels.com, Mission Models, 215 W. Palm Ave No.103, Burbank, California 91502 USA; Phone 818-842-1885.

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