Mironious Models

T18E2 Boarhound

Introduction

From Wikipedia:
The T18 was an American heavy armored car produced in small numbers for the British Army during the Second World War, with only 27 delivered to North Africa. The T18E2, named Boarhound by the British, was equipped with the 57 mm Gun M1, the American-produced version of the British QF 6-pounder. The T18 never saw widespread combat use.

Construction

This is the first full kit I’ve built that was created using 3D printing, and it brings some notable differences compared to what I’m used to.
There are very few parts.

Since construction is guided only by a single box-top drawing, this simplicity is actually welcome, though I’m still not entirely sure whether I installed the turret hatches correctly.
The printing supports need to be removed. I have the impression that some were already taken off by the manufacturer. The remaining ones are mostly easy to deal with, but it is not always obvious whether certain bits of material are supports (and should be removed) or actual features of the kit.
The gun barrel was slightly bent, but it responded well to being immersed in hot water and could be straightened without much trouble.
The most frustrating aspect of the kit is something inherent to 3D printing: layer lines. Even with high-resolution printing, visible ridges tend to form. Because this kit was printed at a 45° angle, these ridges are especially noticeable on the hull nose (where they can be sanded down) and on the gun mantlet (where they can be reduced with sanding and disguised by recreating a rough cast texture with putty). Other areas are more problematic, as the detail is integrally printed and interferes with sanding.

Painting and markings

The kit comes without decals or painting instructions, so I opted for a hypothetical vehicle using spare decals.
Even after washing the parts, some areas remained slightly greasy or sticky. I chose not to use a primer in order to keep the paint layer as thin as possible and preserve the fine detail, but this led to some paint peeling in those areas when applying an oil wash.
Because much of the detail is integrally printed, painting fine elements can sometimes be challenging.

Conclusion

I’m not entirely sure how to feel about this kit.

• On one hand, it features exquisite detail, but this is undermined by the visible printing striations, which are difficult to eliminate in many areas.
• On the other hand, it has very few parts and assembles easily. Perhaps too easily. In fact, it goes together so smoothly that it almost stops feeling like traditional modeling.

Review sample purchased by the author.

Article Last Updated: 18 March 2026