MiniArt

1/35 Harley-Davidson WLA

Kit Number: 35080

Reviewed by  Scott Hollingshead, IPMS# 34786

MSRP: $29.00 Website: www.miniart-models.com Imported by Dragon Models USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Developed in 1940 by Harley-Davidson, the WLA model motorcycle was designed for use by the Army, and by the end of the war, over 90,000 bikes were produced. With its 3 3/8 gallon gas tank, the bike could travel 100 miles, and could attain a speed of 65 mph. The motorcycle had a two-cylinder, V-type L-head air cooled engine, and its overall weight was 540 pounds without a rider or armament. The overall length of the bike measured 7 feet 4 inches, with a handlebar width of 3 feet 5 inches, and the wheelbase was 4 feet 11 ½ inches. The skid plate allowed the bike to clear four-inch obstacles, and the carburetor allowed fording of water up to eighteen inches deep. A sidecar was not typically used with this bike, as was common for the Germans, and they were mostly used for scouting, courier duties, police/escort work, and light transportation. The WLA was nicknamed the "Liberator" as soldiers were seen riding them in countries that they liberated from Germany during the Second World War. Upon opening the box, the modeler will find one gray sprue, one clear parts sprue, a photoetch fret, decals, and instructions. Amazingly, there are a total of one hundred and seventeen parts for this motorcycle (eighty-one in gray plastic, 3 in clear plastic, and thirty-three photo etched), which is pretty impressive for a finished model of this size. Take note that five of the gray parts are used to form the photo etched spokes and front wheel support brackets for the ammunition box and gun, but nothing else will be left over (not intentionally anyway). The gray plastic is easy to work with, and takes paint with no issues, and the clear parts are nice and transparent with no deficiencies to mention. The brass parts on the photo etch fret are very soft, which allows for easy manipulation in forming the items, but they can also be easily damaged if not handled carefully. The decal sheet allows the modeler to represent one of three different Military Police WLA's, but no information on where the different motorcycles were actually used is provided.

This is my second MiniArt kit review, and like my previous experience, the kit went together fairly well overall. The front wheel and fork assembly was quite challenging, but I will expound upon that later. I will give praise to the high level of detail molded into the kit, and the photo etched parts. The drive chain looks very convincing, and the tread pattern on the tires is spot on with the real tires used on the production motorcycles. I did not need to use any filler or surfacer on the assemblies themselves, but I chose to fill in the backsides of the ammunition box and saddlebags to enhance their appearance. There are also some very small items molded as separate pieces (such as the shifter knob), and they require great care when installing. My only complaint in building this kit deals with the front wheel and fork assembly, which took considerable time and patience to overcome. To build the rear wheel, you attach the two photo etched spoke assemblies together, and then add the plastic axle piece, after which you place the finished assembly inside the previously assembled tire. In attempting this same process on the front tire, I was much less successful. If I were to build this again, I would install the plastic parts onto the photo-etched parts for each side, and then install the halves one at a time inside the tire. On my first attempt, I partially flattened the spokes attempting to install them inside the tire, and then had to remove the assembly, break the glue seam, and reform both sides. I then proceeded to assemble the front forks, fender, and wheel per the directions, and again found myself challenged. With the forks and light/siren mounting bracket installed on the fender, the wheel was forced to sit about 1/8 inch too far forward. In my attempt to correct this, I launched, and subsequently lost the light/siren mounting bracket, which led me to fashioning my own out of plastic strips. My suggestion here, if I were to build the kit a second time, would be to tack the fender at one spot (there are four contact points for the fender and forks), install the wheel, then adjust everything where it needs to go before the final cementing of everything in its place. I would probably save the installation of the mounting bracket until this was done, so that it could be fit as necessary. I have mentioned the detail of the drive chain, but detail throughout the kit is spectacular. The engine looks great, and the photo etched parts add great detail with items like bolt heads for the underside of the gas tank, hinges and a latch for the ammunition box, and clips for the air filter, just to name a few. Alignment of the parts is reasonably shown in the directions, but I did go to look at reference photographs a few times, just to play things safe. As far as my hits for this kit, I would again have to mention the overall level of detail in the parts. This builds up to a very nice representation of the Harley-Davidson WLA right out of the box, and clean up of the parts was minimal. The included photo etched parts help to enhance the realism, especially with the spokes, but also makes the front mounting brackets look more convincing. The decals look accurate for the speedometer and manufacturers plate with silver and black ink being used, and the stencils are all crisp and legible (with some magnification). As far as my misses are concerned, I have already discussed the front wheel and fork assembly issues that I encountered, so I will not expound upon that further. Within the directions, part A21 is not shown in step 4 when it is installed, there is no mention of part A59 in step 11 for the left side of the bike, but is shown installed in step 16. In addition, in step 29, when assembling the right side mounting bracket, part PE 6 will actually be used, but the directions would have you use PE 5, which was used on the left side bracket in the previous step. I was surprised that no figure was included with this particular kit, especially given the MSRP. Either a rider or an MP to stand next to the bike would have been a nice addition (I believe that this is planned for a future release though). One small point of contention is that I believe the Thompson machine gun in the scabbard is a little thin in its overall width, as compared to a real gun. Finally, the blue ink used on the flag and 82nd Airborne Military Police decals for the windscreen, if using option "A" with the decals, is too light. In conclusion, I would still highly recommend this kit to anyone interested in adding a 1/35 scale Harley-Davidson WLA to his or her collection, as the older Tamiya offering is pale in comparison. The kit is recommended for folks 14 years and older by MiniArt, and I would confirm that, especially when dealing with the thin PE parts of the kit, and some very small detail items (in both plastic and brass). With the only other option of a well made kit of this subject being the 1/9 scale Esci/Italeri release, this model will certainly take up less display space. I finished my WLA using Gunze acrylic Olive Drab (H78) for the frame and gas tank, Andrea acrylic Leather for the base and Winsor & Newton Burnt Sienna oil paint (for all leather items), and a mix of The Color of Eagles acrylic Tire Black and Andrea acrylic Flat Black for the tires. I used a mix of Andrea Olive and Flat Black for the canvas fairing, as the color on the real bike is a dark olive green. The engine and other metallic items represented in the kit were all painted using Model Master Metalizer colors. The decals reacted just fine to Micro Set and Micro Sol directly onto the Gunze paint (as it dries to a semi-gloss luster), and I coated the canvas fairing with Future prior to installing the Military Police decal on it. Thanks to the folks at Dragon Models USA for providing this sample to IPMS/USA to review, and to you for taking the time to read my assessment.