Ontological Crisis

I see Academy is releasing a 1/35th M50 Ontos, which excites me in my dry, sterile way.

The Ontos is an odd six-gunned tank destroyer, one of those US Marine attempts to achieve maximum anti-tank firepower with minimum weight - when all your armor has to come ashore in landing craft or sling-loaded under helicopters, weight is not an irrelevant issue. The Ontos looks like it's a jumped-up pedal-powered tractor, like the driver's knees can be seen furiously pumping up and down as it trundles along. But don't laugh too hard; its armament of six 106mm recoilless rifles is not to be sneezed at, at least for the first six shots. (I find it curious, though, that my memory indicates that the Marines also operated hand-me-down US Army M103 heavy tanks, which combined maximum firepower and maximum weight, kind of the antithesis of the whole Ontos mindset. A 120mm gun and two loaders? Oh my.)

I recall building an Ontos in my younger years. I suspect it was a Renwal or Adams kit, a contemporary of that magnificent 280mm Atomic Cannon. Also a contemporary of the T92 light tank kit - remember those? I remember them as being fabulously detailed and lifelike, but they were probably crude and toy-like by today's standards. Still, where are you going to find an Atomic Cannon or a T92 or - until now - an Ontos?

I happen to like Academy's armor kits. Academy's kits in general, actually. There's no particular price break on an Academy tank kit. They aren't quite as expensive as later Tamiya stuff, which I find quite pricey, but they aren't exactly cheap either. But they aren't as ridiculously over-engineered as Dragon, DML and Trumpeter kits. I suspect that the Ontos will turn out to be a nice kit indeed. Now I just need to keep an eye out for the old Revell M56 Scorpion. Does anyone make an LTVP-5, now that I'm thinking about early-Vietnam-era US Marine Corps armor?