LASER CUT ACCESSORIES

Using lasers to cut precisely-shaped boxes & cartons out of thin wood is a great idea. You are using the same material as the original for one – so paint finishing should be considerably easier.

That’s the theory anyway. And to be honest, it does sort of live up to the idea.

We first came across Scale Laser Service’s stand at Euromilitaire a couple of years back. We were sufficiently impressed to pop a little cross-section of their products into our shopping bag.

The references we went for were Ref: 35049 – US Army K-Ration Crate, Ref: 35027 – Road Signs Normandy & Ref: 35035 - Boxes for Typ 60 Panzerfaust – all in 1:35th Scale.

Closer inspection shows that the concept does yield good results. The parts come on a wooden fret & there’s even a pleasing burn effect where the (fricking) laser has done its evil work. The wood has a nice grain texture & good colouration. The choice of wooden material is a good one with a pretty convincing scale thickness & finish.

We think you probably would still need to do some filter or wash work on them to vary the tone of the wood & add to the overall realism.

It’s not clear whether the Normandy road signs would have been painted or left in wood effect – so if anyone knows, drop us a line.

There’re some good assembly instructions included in the more complex sets like the Panzerfaust boxes.

The one shortfall is that the burning in or indentation of the lettering is not always well-defined or clear to read at this scale – most notably on the smaller items like the K-Ration box – perhaps a limitation of the technology.

But we are pretty pleased with these innovative products & will be road-testing them soon. In the meantime, here are some pictures so you can judge for yourself.