Hasegawa 1/20 LUM-168 Camel Maschinen Krieger Kit First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | May 2013 | Manufacturer | Hasegawa |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | LUM-168 Camel Maschinen Krieger | Scale | 1/20 |
| Kit Number | 64006 | Primary Media | Styrene |
| Pros | Easy build, nice details | Cons | Nothing noted |
| Skill Level | Experienced | MSRP (USD) | $134.99 |
First Look
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Maschinen Krieger (Ma.K.) is a science fiction genre that was started in the early 1980s under the banner of SF3D by Japanese artist Kow Yokoyama and was published for a few years in the Japanese hobby magazine Hobby Japan. While many of the science fiction and fantasy kits that are produced in Japan are based on one or more anime (Japanese animation) television and movie series, or at least as a manga (Japanese comics), SF3D was created out of a series of scratch-built futuristic combat vehicles and armored suits. At the time, Nitto produced a series of kits based upon Kow's designs. When a copyright dispute arose in 1985, Hobby Japan dropped the series out of their magazines and Nitto discontinued the kits. Since that time, companies like Modelkasten, Wave, and Brick Works stepped in and continued the genre under a new banner - Maschinen Krieger (Machine Wars). You'll note that while Ma.K. is supposed to take place roughly 900 years into our future, the vehicles, uniforms, and even names/designations are inspired by World War II Germany.
I remember seeing various armored suit kits in the past for the series 'Maschinen Krieger' (Ma.K) but they were usually from specialty hobby companies, but when Hasegawa threw their hat into this ring, it was time to take a closer look. Their first entry into the Ma.K series was Falke that is a subsonic raider that features an anti-gravity lift system and a more conventional forward thrust propusion system. This kit was popular in 1/20 scale and more subjects followed.
In this release, we have a special reconnaissance manned rover designed for lunar operations called the LUM-168 Camel. This kit is molded in light gray styrene and presented on four parts trees plus one tree of silver-gray styrene, one tree of dark gray styrene, two trees of black vinyl parts, and one tree with the tinted transparent canopy.
Among the features and options in this kit:
- Detailed sensor head
- Legs are movable/poseable
- Detailed aft avionics bay
- Nice main rocket engine bell
Whether you're a follower of the MaK series or are simply wanting an unusual subject to build, this kit will provide you with a variety of possibilities for fun or placed into a diorama or vignette. Have some fun and give one of these beauties a try!
My sincere thanks to Hasegawa USA for this review sample!