mmi.151.2018

WELCOMING MILITARY MODELLING READERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD!

FREE GIF T

FOR SUBSCRIBERS! DETAILS INSIDE...

Issue 151 November 2018 www.modelmilitary.com

...IN WOLVERINE’S CLOTHING Tamiya’s 1:48 M10 Tank Destroyer

TINY TKS

IBG Models’ 1:35 TKS Tankette

Academy 1:35 T-34/85 plus DEF.Model turret

!

T S U B R O N BERLI

INSIDE: p 01 Cover MMI 151B 1

1:35 BUK Air Defence ■ 1:35 Sd.Kfz. 251/16 ■ Type 2 Ka-Mi Early Version ■ 1:35 British Army Chieftain Mk.5 ■ and more...

November 2018 / £4.75 / Issue 151

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Contents - Issue 151 November 2018 REGULARS 16

p 4 NEWS

What’s new in the world of military modelling

p 60 1:48 SCALE

News and new releases in 1:48 scale

p 61 SMALL SCALE

1:72 scale and smaller

p 66 LAST POST

UK and US forces simulate a mass casualty training exercise

FEATURES p 6 THINK TANK

T-34 Part One by Brett Green

p 14 PREVIEW

Meng 1:35 BUK Air Defence

p 16 BERLIN OR BUST!

Academy 1:35 T-34/85 with DEF.Model Turret Conversion by Brett Green

p 30 WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

Tamiya 1:35 Tamiya 1:35 British Army Chieftain by Ian Barraclough

52

p 38 PREVIEW

Dragon 1:35 Type 2 Ka-Mi Early Version

p 40 TINY TKS Part Two

IBG 1:35 TKS by Kamil Feliks Sztarbala

p 50 PREVIEW

Dragon 1:35 Sd.Kfz. 251/16

p 52 …IN WOLVERINE’S CLOTHING

Tamiya 1:48 M10 Tank Destroyer

© Doolittle Media Ltd 2018 Tel: (UK) 01525 222573 Email: enquiries@doolittlemedia.com Address: Doolittle Media Ltd., Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, UK

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Model Military International is published monthly by Doolittle Media Ltd. Reproduction in part or whole of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

While due care is taken to ensure the contents of Model Military International is accurate, the publishers and printers cannot accept liability for errors or omissions.

ISSN 1749-8864

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Newsline - November 2018

MMI Newsdesk, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, UK Tel:01525 222573 Fax:01525 222574 Email:editor@modelmilitary.com

WWII US SHERMAN TANK IN ACTION The iconic American tank of World War II, the M4 Sherman was known for its simple, reliable, and flexible design. Ten different companies contributed to the total output of 50,000 units produced in a myriad of variations. Even after it went into serial production in 1942 the Sherman was subject to almost constant change and modification, based on lessons learned and needs perceived on the battlefield.

The full story of the Sherman's exploits would fill several volumes, so this book focuses on the variants and sub-variants of the Shermans used by US forces during WWII. The Shermans that rolled off the assembly lines in 1945 bore little resemblance to the M4s produced in 1942, and this volume chronicles each major model of the Sherman everywhere the American soldier fought. Illustrated with nearly 200 period photos, many of them in rare original colour, are a host of exquisitely rendered line drawings illustrating the subtle variations in hull, turret, and weapons used on these famed armoured fighting vehicles.

Squadron’s “In Action” book on this iconic tank has now been reprinted and is available on Doolittle Media’s online shop www.doolittlemedia.com Includes colour profiles; 80 pages.

SOUTHERN EXPO 2019 Southern Expo will be held on Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th March 2019 at: Hornchurch Sports Centre, Harrow Lodge Park, Hornchurch Road, Hornchurch, Essex, RM11 1JU 10am to 5pm Saturday & 10am to 4pm Sunday Entry: Adults £3.00, Children £1 & Senior Citizens £2 Open Competition (Sunday only) – the Senior competition is being sponsored by Models For Sale (http://www.modelsforsale.com) For further details visit www.southernexpo.co.uk or email SouthernExpo@tiscali.co.uk

Sleaford and District Model Railway Club CHARITY MODEL MAKERS SHOW IN AID OF THE LINCS AND NOTTS AIR AMBULANCE Date: 18 November 2018 Times: 10 am - 4pm Model Railway layouts, 20 plus displays of various aspects of modelling including military, aviation, naval and other modelling disciplines and trade support Cost: Adults £3, Children £1.50, Family £6 Amenities: Refreshments, parking and disabled access

DRAGON 1:35 M48 Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB) From Dragon's M48 family comes the most ambitious version yet – a fantastic model of the M48 Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB)!

Hulls from M48 tanks were converted into AVLBs in the 1950s. Turrets were removed and a scissors-type bridge of 60-ton military load classification (MLC 60) was installed atop the hull. So it could be lowered over any gap up to 18m wide that needed to be crossed by other vehicles. Hydraulic cylinders raised the 14.65-ton bridge from the hull, lowered it to the ground and then unfurled it, a process that took just 2-5 minutes. The M48 AVLB weighed 57,470kg and measured 11.3m long with the bridge stowed.

This 1:35 scale kit is impressive in terms of its bulk, let alone the level of intricate detail inherent in such a vehicle and the MLC 60 bridge.

This stunning kit makes use of Dragon’s previously released M48 tank releases.

However, the massive scissors bridge is totally new from Dragon, making it the first such AVLB it to become available in plastic. To make it all the more attractive to modelers, the bridge can be stowed in stowed mode, fully launched or in any intermediate configuration.

Such versatility means modelers can emplace the model in any kind of diorama.

This unarmed M48 AVLB is a welcome addition to Dragon’s modern range of vehicle kits, and the fact that it was used by nations other than just the USA makes it a useful subject for modelers.

Thanks to The Hobby Company Limited for the information and images www.hobbyco.net

IDF ZELDA APC After previously releasing IDF kits like Magach tank, now an important armoured personnel carrier (APC) widely used by the IDF is available to accompany the heavier armor. It’s the Zelda, an Israeli variant of the ubiquitous M113 APC, as used in 1973 at the time of the Yom Kippur War. The IDF employed thousands of these APCs. The Zelda is operated by a crew of two and it carries 11 passengers. Typical armament was two 7.62mm and one 12.7mm machine guns.

This 1:35 scale kit of the IDF M113 APC, built to today’s standards, has been eagerly awaited by many modelers around the world.

This kit is all new except for a limited number of parts such as the Neo tracks, road wheels and machine guns that have been used on other related kits. All exterior and interior details are fully replicated, allowing modelers to show the hatches and/or rear ramp open to show off the exemplary detail.

Special features specific to the IDF, including the side stowage racks and rails as well as the extended exhaust hose, are naturally present. The vehicle includes a .50-cal machine gun, as well as two 7.62mm weapons. Indeed, this nowaday-standard M113 kit is ready to roll right into action now.

Thanks to The Hobby Company Limited for the information and images www.hobbyco.net

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Think Tank - The T-34/85 in the Great Patriotic War

THE T-34/85 IN THE GREAT PAT PART ONE - IDENTIFYING WARTIME VARIANTS OF THE T-34/85 Brett Green discusses the identifying features of T-34/85 variants, and takes a detailed look at a preserved example of a T-34/85 Model 1945 at the Australian Army Museum, Bandiana.

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T

he T-34 was one of the most significant armoured fighting vehicles of World War Two. Its production run spanned from 1940 until well after the end of the "Great Patriotic War", and it spawned a further generation of Soviet Medium Tanks including the T-54 and the T-55 which remain in service today.

Over 35,000 T-34s were produced during World War Two. Production of the T-34 alone significantly outnumbered the total production of all types of German tanks. Considering this enormous production run, the vehicle remained remarkably standardised.

All T-34s shared a welded hull featuring very advanced, ballistically effective, sloped armour on all sides; a 500 horsepower 12 cylinder "V-2" diesel engine combined with a four speed transmission (plus one reverse gear) powering rear-mounted drive sprockets; "Christie" sprung suspension; five large paired roadwheels on each side of the vehicle and a wide, twopart track link. Apart from minor details, this basic configuration remained unchanged for the entire production run.

The main variations between T-34 models were in armament, turret design, roadwheels and track links.

The first production version of the T-34, the Model 1940, was equipped with an L-11 76.2 mm gun as its main armament.

Even this early, relatively short gun was more than a match for contemporary German armour.

The Model 1941 introduced the "F-34" model 76.2 mm tank gun of 42 calibres. This remained the main armament for all subsequent T-34/76 variants.

THE T-34/85

A preserved example of a T-34/85 Model 1945 at the Australian Army Museum, Bandiana.

PATRIOTIC WAR

A programme to replace the T-34 was initiated in 1941. The new developments concentrated on improving armour, suspension and crew ergonomics. However, during the battle of Kursk in summer 1943, the Red Army first encountered the Tiger and Panther tanks. These heavy Panzers proved a shock to Soviet tank troops, whose previously superior T-34 tanks were ineffective against the big German newcomers.

The F-34 76.2 mm gun was now useless against the heavy frontal armour of the Tiger and Panther, so priority was redirected away from a T-34 replacement and toward supplying more punch for the basic T-34 chassis.

The T-34/85 was the Soviet's expedient answer to these powerful new adverseries.

It is a credit to the basic design of the T-34 that it was possible to add a heavier, three man turret and a more powerful main gun on a virtually unaltered chassis and turret ring.

IDENTIFYING FEATURES OF T-34/85 VARIANTS The designations commonly used to describe different types of T-34/85s did not originate with the Soviets. Most variations were due to local production techniques or minor design improvements. There was never any official label for different T-34/85 "models".

Nevertheless, despite significant ambiguity and an apparently endless range of combinations, there are a number of common configurations that justify categorising similar vehicles.

The turret holds most of the clues needed to identify T-34/85 variants.

MODEL 1943 The T-34/85 Model 1943 was a stopgap measure while acceptance trials were being finalised for the ZiS-S-53 85mm gun.

The Model 1943 turret displayed a unique style of bolted collar and was equipped with the shorter D-5T 85mm gun. This interim model also featured a rounded front-hull join, rounded front fenders and no turret fillet. Approximately 800 T/34/85 Model 1943 were produced at Gorkiy early in 1944.

MODEL 1944 The Model 1944 was equipped with the definitive ZiS-S-53 85mm gun, a redesigned mantlet and altered turret interior. The alternate turret layout required the commander's cupola to be relocated 40cm aft of its original position. All but the first production batch of the Model 1944 featured this relocated cupola.

From the Model 1944 onward, the hull was adapted to the larger turret by the addition of steel fillets welded to the upper hull directly below the turret overhang at the front and sides. The front fillet joining the glacis plate and lower hull was also changed to a sharp angle, and fenders were sometimes simplified and squared off.

A number of different construction techniques became evident during Model 1944 production. The "standard" Model 1944 developed flattened lowermid turret sides; while significant numbers were produced in a composite (using two separate castings) or laminate steel finish.

Other Model 1944 T-34s featured a diagonal join at the turret side front instead of the more common step join and welded rectangular fillet. A

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Think Tank - The T-34/85 in the Great Patriotic War B MODEL 1945 The Model 1945 T-34/85 actually entered service during 1944. It featured a larger cupola that extended very close to the port edge of the turret, requiring a tiny "lip" underneath on the turret side.

The cupola hatch was revised from the original two-part split hatch to a large, single "flap" hatch. The lower turret sides had a "flattened" lateral profile on vehicles produced at Nizhniy, Tagil and Chelyabinsk.

A small, rectangular bulge was

added to the casting for the Model 1945 and all subsequent models to accommodate an electric turret traverse. Smoke racks and dispensers were added to the rear hull of this model as a standard item, although late-production Model 1944s were also equipped with these. (Photo Courtesy of Vasily Goncharov)

MODEL 1946 The Model 1946 entered service during 1945 and saw front-line

action in the closing days of "The Great Patriotic War".

It could be distinguished from the Model 1945 by its fuller lower turret sides and the new configuration of ventilator domes.

Previous models of the T-34/85 had twinned ventilator domes toward the rear of the turret roof. The Model 1946 introduced separate domes - one at the rear and one toward the front of the turret roof (note that some Model 1944 Laminate Turret T-34/85s

shared this feature).

The hull was similar to previous models but stowage of on-vehicle equipment was revised. Later Model 1946 T/34s reduced the external fuel drums from three to two.

The features described above relate to external differences.

Many internal modifications took place over the same period, but these will not be covered in this article. A summary of the external distinguishing features is provided in the following tables:

Table 1: Turret Identifying Features Variant

Lower Forward Turret Join

Cupola

Bulge (Note 1)

Roof Domes

Other Distinguishing Features

Model 1943

Slight, angled step - no fillet

Split hatch.

Cupola located further forward than later variants

No

Twin

Shorter D-5T 85mm Gun Bolted collar and different mantlet

Model 1944 (Early Production)

Right-angle step join and fillet

Split hatch.

Cupola located further forward than later variants

No

Twin

ZiS-S-53 85mm gun and revised mantlet introduced for this and all subsequent T-34/85 models

Model 1944 (Mid to Late Production)

Step join and fillet

Split hatch.

Cupola relocated towards rear of turret

No

Twin

Lower mid turret sides “flattened�

Split hatch.

Cupola located towards rear of turret

No

Twin (Note 2)

Laminated steel turret composition

Model 1944 (Laminate) Model 1944 (Composite)

Curved following line of lower turret side

Split hatch.

Located as Mid Prod. Mod. 1944

No

Twin

Two large separate castings.

Sharp angle of flat rear turret overhang. Mid-turret sides not flattened

Model 1944 (Angle Jointed)

Diagonal Angle

Split hatch.

Located as Mid Prod. Mod. 1944

No

Twin (Note 2)

Step join and fillet at front of turret replaced by diagonal join

Model 1945

Step join and fillet

Larger single hatch.

Located as Mid Prod. Mod. 1944

Yes

Twin

Large cupola requires slight extension over port side of turret, creating a tiny lip. "Flattened" sides on turrets of vehicles produced at Nizhniy, Tagil and Chelyabinsk

Model 1946

Step join and fillet

Larger single hatch.

Located as Mid Prod. Mod. 1944

Yes

Separate

Large cupola requires slight extension over port side of turret, creating a tiny lip. Turret sides "fuller" than Model 1945

Note 1: The bulge on the turret side was to accommodate an electric turret traverse Note 2: Late production laminate and angle jointed turret T-34/85 examples were seen with separate domes

Table 2: Hull Identifying Features Variant

Front Glacis Plate Fillet

Front Fenders

Smoke Dischargers

Hull Fillets

Other Hull Distinguishing Features

Model 1943

Rounded or Sharp Angle

Rounded

No

No

Long grab-handles

Model 1944

Sharp Angle

Either Rounded or Angled

Late production only

Yes

More, shorter grab-handles

Model 1944 (Laminate)

Sharp Angle

Either Rounded or Angled

Late production only

Yes

Model 1944 (Composite)

Sharp Angle

Either Rounded or Angled

Late production only

Yes

Model 1944 (Angle Jointed)

Sharp Angle

Either Rounded or Angled

Late production only

Yes

Model 1945

Sharp Angle

Angled

Yes

Yes

Smoke racks

Model 1946

Sharp Angle

Angled

Yes

Yes

Smoke racks, alternative tool stowage.

A

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A

Spare track links stowed on the font hull.

Tow cable end on one of the forward hull hooks.

The angled starboard side front mudguard.

The cast machine gun mantlet and cover.

Towing eyes stowed on the port side front track guards.

Infrared light and horn.

A rear view of the light and horn including wiring.

Forward port side stowage box detail.

The saw stowed on the hull side.

Pressed metal stowage box.

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Think Tank - The T-34/85 in the Great Patriotic War

B

External fuel drum racks on the side of the hull.

One of the fuel drums.

Side fuel drum detail.

Note the filler cap and the crude weld line.

Tools stowed on the track guard.

Exhaust pipe and cover detail.

The engine deck. Note the mesh cover.

Vents on the side of the engine deck.

Pick stowed on the starboard side of the hull.

A rear view of the shielded headlight.

Additional armour welded onto the hull beneath the turret overhand to eliminate the shot trap.

This is the guide-horn link viewed from the front (outside). Note the cast texture and the raised sections polished by road contact.

Also note the hollow guide horn with the bar cast over the top of the empty space.

This is the “flat” link without the guide horn. The holes in the edges of this link allow attachment of ice grousers.

The idler wheel at the front of the running gear.

This cast steel wheel is reinforced by incorporating a “wave” pattern around its radius. One lightening hole correspond to the highest point of each of five “waves” near the wheel’s rim. Tyres are of the non-perforated variety.

The drive sprocket at the rear.

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B WHEELS AND TRACKS –

IDENTIFYING FEATURES For such a standardised vehicle, the T-34 sported a surprising diversity of wheels. The T-34/85 was fitted with five distinctly different types of wheels and two different styles of tracks.

LATE DISHED WHEELS

HALF SPIDER WHEELS

The "Late-Dished Wheel" was similar to the "Early Dished" style, but the tyre did not have perforations. The "Late Dished Wheel" was sometimes seen on very late-war T-34/85s, but more commonly on post-war vehicles.

The "Half-Spider Wheel" was a cast steel wheel featuring 12 large lightening holes around the outer edge of the rim, 6 smaller lightening holes closer to the hub, and 6 narrow reinforcing ribs radiating out from the hub to

the rim between the holes. The rubber tyre was perforated in the same manner as the "Early Dished Wheel". "Half-Spider Wheels" entered production in late 1943, and therefore may have been fitted to any T-34/85 variant. A

WHEELS It was common for T-34/85s to wear either a matching set of wheels or a combination of wheel types. No firm rules apply for the type of wheel fitted to the particular type of tank.

The diameter of the combined wheel and tyre was 830 mm for all types. All T-34/85 wheels were secured to the suspension by six bolts around the hub. All wheels also featured a small, domed hub cap attached with five small bolts.

The terminology used to describe these wheels is based on common usage and common sense.

The names are not official.

EARLY DISHED WHEELS The "Early Dished Wheel" was a solid dished steel wheel with a solid rubber tyre. The tyre was perforated at the edges and along the outside walls. These wheels were commonly seen on Model 1943 and Model 1945 T-34/85s.

The gun mantlet.

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Think Tank - The T-34/85 in the Great Patriotic War B FULL SPIDER WHEELS The "Full-Spider Wheel" was similar in design to the "Half-Spider" variety, but with 12 small lightening holes close to the hub instead of 6.

The full-radius reinforcing ribs also doubled to 12. The "Full-Spider" tyre was solid rubber with no perforations. Curiously, the FullSpider Wheel" entered production at about the same time as the "Half-Spider" variety, although it is more common to see this type of wheel installed on very late-war and post-war vehicles.

STARFISH WHEELS This cast steel wheel is reinforced by incorporating a wave pattern around its radius. One lightening hole correspond to the highest point of each of five waves near the wheel’s rim. Tyres are of the nonperforated variety. It is possible that some late-war vehicles may have been fitted with this style of wheel. There is at least one photograph which seems to support this claim. However, it is more usual to find this style of wheel on very late post-war vehicles.

Once source suggests that at least one T-34/85 was equipped with the rubber-saving, all steel wheels. However, it is likely that this would have been a very isolated occurrence if it happened at all.

TRACKS There were 11 main categories of T-34 tracks, with a few additional sub-types. Of these, only 2 are thought to have been fitted to the T-34/85.

The first, and most common type, is the 500mm wide M-1942 "Waffle Track". This type of track was in fact the most common track for all T-34s and their variants. It was a two-part, cast steel track with one hollow guide tooth on every other link and a raised waffle pattern on the outside of each link to maximise traction.

The M-1944 "Waffle Track" was also fitted to some late-war T-34/85s. This track was identical to the M-1942, except where the waffle pattern was extended and reinforced on the guide-tooth link to improve the rigidity of the link.

CONCLUSION This is by no means a conclusive or comprehensive list of T-34/85 distinguishing features. However, it should supply enough information to allow identification of the major T-34/85 sub-types.

REFERENCES "BT/T-34 Tank Vol. 1"Ground Power Magazine (no. 013 - June 1995) by Hirohisha Takada, Delta Publishing Co Ltd, Tokyo, Japan.

A good example of the amazingly rough casting of the turret.

ISBN Not Known.

T-34/85 in The Post World War Two Era - Museum Ordnance Special Number 6 by Adam Geibel, Darlington Productions, Darlington, Maryland, 1995. ISBN Not Known.

Don't let the title stop you from buying this excellent, inexpensive booklet if you are building a WWII vintage T-34/85. This reference has some excellent detail shots of engine, suspension, interior and other details which will be relevant to all interested in any variant of the T-34/85.

T-34 In Action by Steven Zaloga and James Grandsen, Squadron/ Signal Publications, Carrollton, Texas, 1983. ISBN 0-89747-112-1 A good, inexpensive general reference on T-34s. Also the only book I know that seriously attempts to explain the subtle differences between T-34/85 variants.

Soviet Tanks In Combat 19411945 The T-28, T-34, T-34/85 and T-44 Medium Tanks by Steven J. Zaloga, Jim Kinnear, Andrey Akensov and Aleksander Koshchavtsev, Concord Publications Company, Hong Kong, 1997. ISBN 962-361-615-5 Chock full o' pictures and great colour plates. More photos of T-34/85s than you will find in any other single source. Buy one. ■

Although it is very difficult to see from most angles, here we can just make out the small lip added to the turret side to accommodate the larger cupola.

Weld line detail and one of the pistol plugs.

An open pistol plug. The pistol plugs are attached to a length of chain.

Detail of lifting hooks, tie downs and hand holds on the turret.

The large, onepiece Commander’s cupola, first introduced on the Model 1945.

The inside half of the hatches may be seen here, including the locking handles.

Rough texture and prominent casting marks on the rear of the turret.

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The driver’s seat inside the hull of the T-34/85.

Driver’s controls.

A view into the back of the fighting compartment.

Driver’s footwell.

Engine instruments and placard.

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KIT PREVIEW

Meng 1:35 Russian 9K37M1 BUK Air Defense Missile System • Kit No. SS-104

The upper hull and superstructure parts.

The kit decal sheet.

EASTERN AIR DEFENCE

The lower hull is supplied as a single piece.

Andrew Judson takes a look at an interesting new subject from Meng Model – their 1:35 scale Russian 9K37M1 BUK Air Defense Missile System.

I

t is absolutely wonderful to see so many new releases hitting the market these days, especially modern subjects. Meng is well known for releasing many new subjects from the current era, and here we are presented with yet another - the Russian 9K37M1 BUK Air Defense Missile System.

The BUK missile system has been in Russian service from 1979 to current times. It is a very effective weapon system, proving itself in current conflicts, shooting down several Georgian aircraft in South Ossetia in 2008. They have also been deployed to Syria in 2012 and are still there in current times, having shot down a US Tomahawk missile in 2018, proving its effectiveness to the world. The missile is a short range weapon.

Meng’s new kit comes packaged in their usual large high quality box with eye-catching art work on the top.

Inside the box, one will not be disappointed at all, with ten sprues in tan plastic, a clear sprue, some soft polythene cabling, the main hull parts, a photo-etched fret with engine grilles, poly caps, and a sheet of well printed decals. In total to my count, 685 parts.

The parts look to be very clean, showing nil flash, with only the usual cleaning when you remove part from sprue.

The kit instructions are typical for Meng - well drawn and 28 pages, with six pages devoted to the history of the vehicle and paints, tools etc. The rest describes construction.

Looking at the instructions, construction begins with the drive line over five steps, then moves onto the main lower hull over the next twelve steps. Care will need to be taken as its quite a busy build. The

tracks in this are individual and workable, much like Modelkasten, with a jig to hold the links and pins for each side. Don’t go crazy with the glue!

Next is the weapons platform/turret over the next twelve steps, showing some very nice details.

Clear parts include lenses, windows and the track assembly jig.

Soft polythene parts are supplied for cabling and wheel attachments.

Lastly is the missile launch system and the missiles themselves covered in the last 10 steps. Again care will be needed, especially with movable parts, as the missiles may be posed lowered for transport or raised and ready to launch. Myself, I think I will choose what configuration I want it displayed in just depending on the strength of the structure, but until I build it, I will know then how strong it all is.

Photo-etched grilles are offered on a small fret.

You have three options for painting this vehicle Russian, Ukrainian or Finnish. There is a good colour sheet to show you the camouflage patterns and colours used, referring to AK Interactive colours.

Decals are glossy and printed in register.

I think that this is a very nice model that should appeal to a wide group of people, especially those who are fans of modern Russian subjects, which I believe is a large growing group, considering the amount of kits hitting the shelves.

Another fine release from Meng. ■

Radar housing and other superstructure parts.

Main bodies for two of the four missiles.

Individual track links are included.

Thanks to Meng Model for the sample http://www.meng-model.com/

Plastic pins make these workable.

Soft polythene parts are supplied for cabling and wheel attachments.

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Mesh grilles on the photo-etched fret.

Clear parts include lenses, windows and the track assembly jig.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

BERLIN OR

Academy 1:35 T-34/85 No.112 Factory Production • Kit No. 13290

The Editor uses DEF.Models turret set to convert and impro 1:35 scale T-34/85 No.112 Factory Production kit

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OR BUST!

The upper hull.

and improve Academy’s

A

cademy’s 1:35 scale T-34/85 No.112 Factory Production kit was the first of an all-new T-34 family released in 2015.

The kit comprises 305 parts in dark green plastic, 50 parts in black plastic, seven photo-etched parts, a length of string and markings for six vehicles.

The parts count is actually a bit misleading as there will be more than 60 parts left over due to the various options and extra parts.

Let’s address the elephant in the room first. The cast metal effect is awful. It looks more like a failed decorative treatment than the rough random texture seen on these Soviet tanks. If you are planning to use the kit turret, I recommend sanding and re-applying a more realistic cast texture with surfacer or thinned putty. The ventilator domes, driver’s hatch and machine gun mantlet will benefit from this treatment too. A

A choice of solid or mesh engine deck grille is offered.

Model 1944 an Model 1945 parts are included.

These are the early-style curved front mudguards.

Two different turrets are included.

The cast texture is overdone and not realistic.

The tracks are link and length.

This is a full run for one side.

The kit includes the photo-etched mesh grille.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Academy 1:35 T-34/85 No.112 Factory Production • Kit No. 13290

B With that out of the way,

most of the rest of the news is good. Moulding quality is high, and there are options to permit the model to be finished as a Model 1944 or a Model 1945.

These options include squared off or curved front mudguards, smoke discharger drums and alternative turrets. On the sprues but not mentioned in the instructions are several post-war pressed metal stowage boxes, so we may be seeing a Model 1946 release in the future.

Parts breakdown is conventional and quite straightforward. The lower hull is made up from separate sides, bottom and rear panels. Solid moulded plastic springs are mounted in boxes, to which are attached separate swing arms.

Road wheels, idler wheels and drive sprockets are glued to the mounts – no polythene caps here.

The tracks are links-andlength in black plastic - no paint required perhaps? The instructions are quite clear about the ten individual links required at the front of each run and eleven at the rear. There is also a single long flat run for the bottom and a very subtly sagged run at the top. You’ll have a few individual links left over.

The only downside is quite a few ejector pin circles on the inside surfaces of the links and lengths.

On the engine deck, Academy offers the choice of a solid plastic or a photo-etched mesh grille. Considering separate poseable louvres are provided for below the grille, I think the choice really is a no-brainer.

Grousers and a full complement of four external fuel drums are also provided.

Two separate turret shells – upper and lower – are included.

One is a Model 1944 and the other a Model 1945. The Model 1944 turret features twinned ventilation domes and split hatch Commander’s cupola; while the Model 1945 has separate ventilation domes and the larger cupola with a single flap hatch.

The length of string is used for the tow cable. Instructions for its installation is a bit vague, simply suggesting “attach freely”!

There is a solid separate plastic part supplied for the headlight lens.

The decal sheet offers six options – three WWII on the Eastern Front and three from the Korean War in 1950.

DEF.Model offers a number of updates and conversions for Academy’s T-34/85.

Cast texture and weld beads are very convincing.

DEF’s Mod. 1944 D-5T Main Gun conversion set includes four resin parts, a turned metal barrel and markings for three vehicles.

The DEF.Model decal sheet.

The core of the set is three photo-etched frets plus another photo-etched painting mask for the wheels.

This is DEF.Model’s Basic PE Detail Up Set, available separately.

Resin bolt heads and a clear headlight lens are also included.

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ASSEMBLY The lower hull, running gear and tracks were built according to the instructions. This is all very straightforward.

For the tracks, I assembled two group of ten individual links and eleven individual links, allowing the cement to set for 15-20 minutes. At this stage the links are still flexible, but they are also securely attached to each other. The links were wrapped around the drive sprocket and the idler wheel, with the upper and lower lengths added. I only needed a small amount of filler smeared in two spots. The tracks look good in place too, with a very subtle sag along the top run.

I chose to use DEF.Model’s mesh grille from their Basic PE Detail-Up Set as I thought it was superior to the kit part. This set also incudes a clear resin lens from the headlight, which is a nice bonus.

I also used DEF’s Item No. DM35047 – T-34/85 Mod. 1944 D-5T Main Gun Conversion Set. As well as offering a different version to the Academy kit, DEF’s resin turret features very convincing cast texture.

The DEF conversion comprises a large turret part, a separate turret roof, twinned ventilator domes, gun mantlet, a turned metal D-5T gun barrel and decals for three options.

DEF’s instructions are supplied on one side of a single A4 sheet.

They include a template for cutting a rectangular mantlet cover from 0.5mm plastic card.

My only criticism of the conversion is that there is no mention of which kit options should be employed. I assumed that the later squaredoff mudguards and smoke dischargers would be fitted, but I was wrong. A

The instructions require a number of flashed over holes to be drilled out on the lower hull.

The lower hull is made up from separate sides, bottom and rear panels.

Solid plastic springs and suspension boxes are provided as separate parts.

Separate swing arms and bumpers.

Suspension components being fitted to the lower hull.

An interior bulkhead is provided to reinforce the hull.

Clamps and tape was used throughout the project to hold parts in place while the glue sets.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Academy 1:35 T-34/85 No.112 Factory Production • Kit No. 13290

B WAR PRIZES

I wanted to add some character to my model but I thought the whole bedspring armour thing is becoming too common, but there are very few photos that show stowage on the rear deck of T-34/85s in 1945.

As an alternative, I decided to depict some war booty on the rear deck. I had an old Tamiya bicycle hanging around for the last few decades, so I thought I would finally put it to use. The bike itself comprises of only six parts in old-school Tamiya green plastic.

The frame, wheels, mudguards, stowage box and seat are moulded as a single piece, with separate handlebars, pedals, chain and rear rack. Assembly was as fast as you would expect.

I decided to pose the front wheel slightly offset, so I cut the front of the frame off and reattached it at an angle.

Three items from Plus Model’s “Old Suitcases” set were also used – a large steamer trunk plus a medium-sized and small suitcase.

I also added a plank on the glacis plate. I assume that this was installed for stowage. Academy provides the mounts on either side of the glacis. The plank itself was cut from plastic strip. A

One full side of assembled wheels and sprockets.

Detail view of the late dished road wheel, idler wheel and drive sprocket.

Road wheels are fitted.

One side of track lengths and links.

I assembled two group of ten individual links and eleven individual links, allowing the cement to set for 15-20 minutes. The ejector pin circles are unfortunate, but are almost impossible to see on the finished model.

The completed tracks look good when finished, and are fast to clean up and assemble.

A view of the assembled tracks from below.

The completed upper hull.

The completed mesh fitted to the open kit part.

I chose to use the engine deck grille from the DEF. Model upgrade set as the mesh was finer and a full separate frame is included.

More holes need to be drilled into the upper hull for the external fuel drums, although this is not mentioned in the instructions.

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I added a small lip adjacent to the cupola, as this seemed to be a feature of big-hatch turrets.

DEF.Model’s assembled turret.

The mantlet remains workable.

The kit cupola, lifting hooks, tie downs, pistol plugs, vision slots and grab handles have been fitted here.

The lovely turned metal barrel is in place too.

The DEF.Model turret on the Academy hull.

I found the smoke dispenser drums and squared off front mudguards were not correct for this version.

I added a plank on the glacis plate. I assume that this was installed for stowage. Academy provides the mounts on either side of the glacis.

The plank itself was cut from plastic strip.

The model was prepared for painting with two coats of Tamiya Grey Primer straight from the spray can.

Minor repairs made and a second coat of Grey Tamiya Primer.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Academy 1:35 T-34/85 No.112 Factory Production • Kit No. 13290

A German soldier figure is included, but he was not required here.

This old Tamiya bicycle set has been hanging around here for a couple of decades.

The bike itself comprises of only six parts in old-school Tamiya green plastic. The frame, wheels, mudguards, stowage box and seat are moulded as a single piece, with separate handlebars, pedals, chain and rear rack.

Assembly was as fast as you would expect. Here, the assembled model has been primed.

B PAINTING AND MARKINGS The model was prepared for painting with two coats of Tamiya Grey Primer straight from the spray can.

This was followed by a squirt of Tamiya White Primer along the centreline of the hull and the turret.

The white “skunk stripe” was masked with Tamiya tape and the model then received a coat of Mr Color 122 RLM 82 Light Green lacquer.

I was not entirely happy with this colour, so I oversprayed this shade with MCW Military Finishes’ MIL1004 Olivegrun 1943. This was closer to the shade I was looking for.

When the camouflage coat was dry, the Tamiya tape was removed to reveal and very neat, straight white stripe along the middle of the vehicle. I roughed up the edges with white Vallejo paint to suggest that the stripe was brushed on by hand.

Details were now picked out by brush – the tracks, tyres, saw, the plank and more.

The model now received two coats of Future Floor Polish and the decals were applied. The arrow points in the same direction on both of DEF’s decals, so the instructions advise that the direction should be modified on the left side. I did this by separating the decal into three parts and applied them separately.

A very thin coat of Tamiya Acrylic XF-55 Deck Tan was sprayed onto the lower hull and even more lightly onto the side of the upper hull and turret.

This was followed by a pin wash of enamel paint applied to structural edges and details.

The lustreless finish was restored with a coat of Alclad Klear Kote Flat.

Next, the paint job was “chipped” with a dark brown mix applied by sponge and the tip of a 10/0 paint brush. A few scratches and streaks were also added using a Brown Pismacolor pencil.

The finishing weathering touch was thinned Maru Easy Mud – European Earth flicked onto the front, side and rear of the vehicle. A

The bicycle is test-fitted to the back of the tank.

The grey primer coat was followed by A squirt of Tamiya White Primer along the centreline of the hull and the turret.

The white “skunk stripe” was masked with Tamiya tape and the model then received a coat of Mr Color 122 RLM 82 Light Green lacquer.

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When the camouflage coat was dry, the Tamiya tape was removed to reveal and very neat, straight white stripe along the middle of the vehicle. I roughed up the edges with white Vallejo paint to suggest that the stripe was brushed on by hand.

I was not entirely happy with the initial colour, so I oversprayed this shade with MCW Military Finishes’ MIL-1004 Olivegrun 1943. This was closer to the shade I was looking for.

The lustreless finish was restored with a coat of Alclad Klear Kote Flat.A very thin coat of Tamiya Acrylic XF-55 Deck Tan was sprayed onto the lower hull and even more lightly onto the side of the upper hull and turret.

This was followed by a pin wash of enamel paint applied to structural edges and details.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Academy 1:35 T-34/85 No.112 Factory Production • Kit No. 13290

Decals are included for the bags, but they seemed a little too modern for my purposes.

The resin parts requite only minimal clean-up.

Three items from Plus Model’s “Old Suitcases” set were also used.

The bicycle was painted using Mission Models' acrylic Dunkelgelb. Although it looks thick in the bottle, I sprayed it without thinning. The result was very good coverage and I do like the colour.

The suitcases were painted with a range of Vallejo acrylics then glued together.

B ADDING THE BOOTY The bicycle was painted using Mission Models' acrylic Dunkelgelb.

Although it looks thick in the bottle, I sprayed it without thinning. The result was very good coverage and I do like the colour.

The suitcases were painted with a range of Vallejo acrylics then glued together. I temporarily attached these to the rear deck using Blu-Tack then tied them down with a thin length of nylon string (previously painted with a greenish-brown Vallejo colour).

The bicycle was then placed onto the smoke dispensers and leaned against the suitcases. A

I wanted to add a cold-weather crew. Alpine to the rescue again.

Vallejo acrylics were applied by brush over Tamiya primer.

The completed crew figures.

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Alpine’s crew fits Academy’s T-34/85 perfectly.

The baggage and bicycle have now been added to the rear deck.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Academy 1:35 T-34/85 No.112 Factory Production • Kit No. 13290

Modelspec Academy 1:35 T-34/85 No.112 Factory Production.

Kit No. 13290 Accessories Used: DEF.Model Item DM35047 – T-34/85 Mod. 1944 D-5T Main Gun Conversion Set DEF.Model Item DM35010 – T-34/85 Basic PE Detail Up Set (incl. 2 resin parts) Tamiya Item 94005 – WWII German Soldier with Bicycle Plus Model Item 489 – Old Suitcases Alpine Miniatures Item 35216 – Russian Tank Crew Set Tools and Finishing Products: Tamiya Epoxy Putty Smooth Surface Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement Revell Contacta Plastic Glue Selleys Super Glue Mr Surfacer 1000 Gator’s Grip Acrylic Hobby Glue Irwin Clamps (various sizes) Evergreen Plastic Card

B CONCLUSION Academy’s 1:35 scale T-34/85 is a bit like the Curate’s Egg – it is good in parts. If you are happy to retexture the turret and other cast parts, and to source a headlight lens, then you’ll have a pretty well detailed model that is fast and easy to build and fits together well.

DEF.Model’s turret conversion lifts the Academy model to a new level. I’d highly recommend this set but do check your references carefully to see what style of mudguards, wheels and other options are applicable so you don’t make the same mistakes that I did! ■

Paints and Finishing Products: Tamiya Grey and White Primer (spray cans) Mission Models - MMP-011 Dunkdelgelb RAL 7028 Gunze Mr Color – 122 RLM 82 Light Green MCW Military Finishes – MIL-004 Olivgrun Gloss Lacquer Tamiya Acrylics – XF-1 Flat Black; XF-55 Deck Tan; XF-64 Red Brown.

Vallejo Acrylics – various Winsor & Newton Oil Paint – Raw Umber and Lamp Black Mineral Turpentine (thinner and fixer) Maru Easy Mud – European Earth Future Floor Polish Alclad Klear Kote Flat ✓ Fast and easy build; accurate shapes; link and length tracks; good fit. ✗ Awful cast texturing; some details a bit simplified; ejector pin marks on tracks and inside of turret hatch; no clear part for headlight lens.

Available from Thanks to DEF.Model for the D-5T Turret conversion sample www.defmodel.com

Details were picked out with Vallejo acrylics and a fine brush.

Rating

The cast texture of the replacement DEF.Model turret is excellent.

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Thinned Maru Easy Mud – European Earth was flicked onto the front, side and rear of the vehicle.

Tracks were rubbed with Vallejo Oily Steel.

The paint job was “chipped” with a dark brown mix applied by sponge and the tip of a 10/0 paint brush. A few scratches and streaks were also added using a Brown Pismacolor pencil.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Army Chieftain Mk.5 • Kit No. 561326

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT Ian Barraclough takes on a speed building project based around a classic Tamiya kit.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Army Chieftain Mk.5 • Kit No. 561326

T

he Chieftain tank was the Main Battle Tank (MBT) of the British Army from the 1960s into the early 1990s. Designated as the FV4201, the Chieftain was introduced in 1966 as a development of the Centurion tank and could trace its lineage back to the Cruiser tanks of WWII. Initial prototypes were provided by Leyland in the late 1950s, resulting in a redesign of the rear hull; the MBT now tipped the scales at nearly 50 tonnes, meaning the suspension also needed to be upgraded.

Israel was a design partner in the latter design stages, although never actually purchased any tanks, prompting them to design and develop their own tanks.

Throughout its long service, the Chieftain was almost constantly on duty on the front line of the Cold War with the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), going through various upgrades from Mk.1 to Mk.11; facing off initially against the Warsaw Pact T-62s; and latterly T-64s and T-72s. The Chieftain was exported to a number of Middle Eastern countries, and being captured and used by others; famously 143 Chieftains of the Kuwaiti Army fought Iraqi Army tanks during the first Gulf War at the Battle of the Bridges, losing no tanks to enemy fire.

Plagued through its life by engine troubles, the Chieftain was described by a Kuwaiti tank officer as the best fighting tank in the world, if only it could get to the fight!

Upper hull cut to size and engine deck predrilled ready for removal.

Ready for paint - when stopped in the field the side skirts are folded out and used to hide the distinctive shape of the wheels and tracks.

MODELLER’S BLOCK If you’ve modelled for a while, you’ve probably come across the phenomenon of ‘modeller’s block’. Like writer’s block, every time you approach the workbench you struggle to get anything done; indeed, it’s even a chore to get to desk – I often find myself doing those jobs around the house that I’ve put off for years; or offering to do jobs that I wouldn’t usually do – just to stay away from the desk! I’m sure there are many different reasons for this that effect different modellers in different ways – for me it’s usually a build-up of complex tasks. In this case I was building a conversion that had many corrections required, individual track links and some warping issues; all to be followed by a complicated paint job. I just couldn’t get anything done and was feeling quite miserable about the hobby. My mojo had gone!

As a remedy, I was advised by friends to take a simple model and throw it together out of the box without bells and whistles; leave gaps unfilled and don’t modify anything… go old school!

From previous experience I am well aware that Tamiya models fall together, often without the need for sanding and pre fitting of parts – filler not required!

From the conversion I was doing I had the upper hull and turret of the Tamiya Mk5 Chieftain left in the box…. I had an idea.

The resin parts stand out nicely against the dark green Tamiya plastic.

The replacement engine deck fitted.

Crew modification - many images show crew made brackets holding oil cans in place. The Chieftain was renowned for having a leaky gearbox so a lot of oil was carried.

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Camouflage netting made from Verlinden netting and mixed herbs!

Whilst on exercise delicate parts are protected from mud and water using tarpaulin covers and plastic backs held on with bungee cords.

THE IDEA

REFINEMENT

I had seen images of a few bogged-in Chieftains on the internet, usually on Soltau ranges in Germany or Salisbury Plain. In most cases the tanks were bogged up to at least the upper glacis plate, meaning I didn’t need the lower hull or running gear, most of which is hidden behind bazooka plates anyway. This would mean building a small diorama; giving context to the scene and allowing me to hide the missing lower hull.

Modeller’s block gone, I was now itching to get back to the workbench. I posted a few pictures of my 90 minute wonder on the web – It soon became apparent that the Tamiya Mk.5 was actually a Mk.3, with many features of a Mk.2 – or possibly vice-versa. Okay, okay – I know I said I wasn’t going to modify anything, but I was now back in the game! Time to add a bit of that missing finesse.

The first thing to be done was to decide on a ‘Mark’ (Mk) that I wanted to depict. It seemed to me that the majority of late 1970s and early 1980s vehicles were Mk.5s. This meant

THE BUILD I had cleared the aforementioned conversion, given the desk a scrub and laid out my ‘go-to’ tools. I usually model in the evenings, watching football (soccer for our cousins over the pond) on a tablet, so I gave myself a challenge – build a model in 90 minutes, the time it takes to watch a football match.

There’s not much to write here, with the running gear and tracks gone, I started on the upper hull. The Tamiya parts are basic but are a good representation of the real thing, if not lacking some of the finesse of the recent Takom Chieftain kits. The turret was the same; as is the case with Tamiya kits of any era – remove from runners, clean-up and glue… To the rear left of the running gear area I added a strip of the Tamiya rubber track to give the impression of there being a full running gear –as this area would be raised with the tank sinking nose down. Done and dusted in 90 minutes!

that the Tamiya Mk.2/3 Frankentank needed some changes. There are quite a few reference books out there on the Chieftain. I used the ‘Chieftain Haynes Manual’ and Robert Griffin’s excellent ‘Chieftain’, as well as numerous on-line walkarounds to identify the corrections needed.

The first thing to change was to remove the Ranging Gun (RG) from the left hand side of the main gun and then smooth turret in this area.

Following this I added the Accurate Armour resin main gun barrel with thermal sleeve and MRS shroud, making a canvas cover from tissue paper and adding a brass tube for the protruding co-axial MG barrel. A

Basic colours applied with an airbrush and also by hand.

Knowing that this model was going to be heavily weather with mid I wasn’t too concerned with overspray.

Gloss black on the bin bag searchlight cover.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Army Chieftain Mk.5 • Kit No. 561326

Weathering and mud splatter. the model looks out of place on this clean background, but this will tie in nicely later when on the base.

‘Enemy’ vehicles are often distinguished using white or orange mine tape. It also adds a splash of colour.

B The Commander’s GPMG should really

have been replaced with a better detailed item, but I decided to show this covered in brown thermal canvas with the ever present bungee cord wrapped around it. I also covered the Commander’s lamp with a black plastic bin bag and added cables for both the MG and lamp. Just forward of this area I scratch built the shroud for Gunner’s Auxiliary Sight (GAS) to the left of main sight. Moving to the rear of the turret I replaced NBC filer unit with Castoff resin item; replaced the stowage racks from the same company and scratch built 2 small triangular covers to the left side of the upper turret, behind the loader’s hatch; in the same area move the handles on two large hatches on rear upper turret to correct positions.

On the hull, I added rubber mudguard extenders to front mudguards and the emergency fire extinguisher handles and cable to left and right panniers. In the area of the driver’s position, I built the driver’s hatch hold-open device from plastic card;

and scratch build a cable shroud for dozer blade fittings to right of driver’s position.

At the very front of the glacis plate I added brackets between glacis splash plate and headlight brush guards.

Moving to the rear hull I added the Castoff corrected central gearbox grilles and fitted engine door stops to rear of hull side bins from plastic stock. It was my intention to scratch build a gun cradle of the correct type for a Mk5 tank, but I never got around to this – let’s pretend it fell off on the ranges…

Other additions include a few camouflage nets strewn around; made from Verlinden camouflage nets and various mixed herbs sprinkled on. I also fitted a clear amber ‘blinky-pot’ from Accurate Armour and a roll-mat from the spares box.

With the modifications completed, I took a rotary saw to the hull, cutting at an angle to depict the tank sinking towards the front right hand side. This was quite a rough cut, but I knew that the lower portion would be covered by mud and water anyway.

Any items attached to the tank should be weathered along with it.

In the field everything gets filthy!

Subtle streaking added with Lifecolor Liquid Pigments.

Protruding surfaces were rubbed with graphite powder.

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PAINTING I wanted to get away from the typical black and green finish applied to the majority of Chieftains, so I opted for a Combined Arms Training Centre (CATC) vehicle painted in a scheme of sand and green. This is a very similar scheme to vehicles as used in BATUS in the 1970s through to the late 1990s (although they are now all sand coloured). These vehicles were often used as enemy for troops training on Salisbury Plain; and were often seen marked up with mine tape to identify them as such.

The tank was primed in Vallejo grey, followed by an overall coat of Mission Models modern British sand. I then lightened this colour with a few drops of Tamiya flesh and resprayed the upper surfaces and centre of panels, giving further definition to these areas. I allowed everything to dry for a couple of days and then used blue tack to mask off the areas I wanted to remain sand coloured. I then airbrushed a mix of Tamiya Olive and NATO greens using my Badger 360; I suppose I could have done this free hand but don’t trust my abilities that much! I then hand painted details such a fire extinguishers and stowage and added some very light chipping using a sponge and the previously mentioned green mix over the top of the sand stripes. The whole model was then sealed with a coat of Klear and decals were applied before sealing once again.

After allowing the paint job to dry for a day or two, I mixed up a sepia/brown oil wash and applied liberally all over the model. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, this always looks a mess. Returning to the model after a day I used a cotton bud and small flat brush, both soaked in clean odourless spirits to remove the excess dried oil wash – ensuring that deposits are left around detail. This stage also gives some good dark streaking which was especially appreciated around the gearbox louvres; an area notorious for being coated in oil residue from the gearbox. I also added some Vallejo Oil Streaks from their water based weathering products and some dust and dirt deposits made from heavily thinned Tamiya Flat Earth.

Everything gets muddy! The warning light (blinky-pot) is an Accurate Armour item.

DIORAMA The bottom of the base was originally a box picture frame; with the glass removed and a plywood board glued into the hole underneath. I made a surround from thick plastic card before sealing the base with white glue and wood sealant. I built up the mud bank from oasis (flower arranging) foam, onto which I pasted a home mix of white glue and wall filler. I find that this dries slowly, allowing for adjustment but when dry is rock hard. The mud itself is very fine sand (obtained from Salisbury Plain) mixed with Tamiya Flat Earth and highlighted using a sponge and Tamiya Dark Yellow. The forest

scatter is again a homemade mix using material obtained from the road gutter, static grass and Greenline ‘leaves’ from the scenery box. The bush is again a random mix of roots and ‘leaves’ and the tree is a resin item – I’m unsure where it’s from as it’s been in the spares box for about 10 years! A

Finished model set into suitable base.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:35 British Army Chieftain Mk.5 • Kit No. 561326

B I made up a thick, globular mix of mud from

wall filler, white glue and real mud and filled the cavity in the bottom of the base to a depth of about 2mm. Into this I placed the Chieftain (less turret at this stage and left to dry for a few days.

For the watery sheen I mixed a small amount of Tamiya Flat Earth with Vallejo Scenic Water and poured carefully around the tank. I found that some of the liquid leaked into the area inside the tank, but this would be hidden anyway with the turret on. I also noted that the ‘water’ shrunk, however this ended up giving a really good ‘thick, wet’ mud effect which I was happy to leave. Into some of the crevices I syringed small amounts of the water mixed with Tamiya yellow; giving the impression of foul water which has bubbled up through the thick mud!

With the base completed, I added orange mine-tape from painted masking tape and weathered the sides of the Chieftain to better blend in with the bogged-in theme. The Accurate Armour figures were painted using Tamiya Acrylics. I purposely painted the overalls in different shades of green to give variation to their appearance. I can assure you that there are many different shades - especially in the field. I scratch built the toolbox to represent a ‘Tiffy box’ – the specialist toolbox held only by the Troop Artificer (Staff Sergeant).

The tank 'puddles' were often purpose built by the Royal Engineers in order to test Tank Crews abilities.

CONCLUSION I am happy with the way this turned out; from humble beginnings to a correctly detailed Chieftain in a small diorama, in a matter of weeks. I recommend anyone suffering from modeller’s block to pick up an old kit and throw it together – it reminds you of what the hobby should be about. ■

Modelspec Tamiya 1:35 British Army Chieftain Mk.5

Kit No. 561326

Accessories Used: • • • •

Castoff 1:35 Chieftain Upgrade (donated without all parts) Accurate Armour 1:35 scale Item No. F60 - Driver/Mechanic #1 Accurate Armour 1:35 scale Item No. F61 - Driver/Mechanic #2 Accurate Armour 1:35 scale Item No. B35011 - Chieftain Barrel

✓ Fast build and excellent fit. ✗ Some parts are simplified.

Available from Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited http://www.hobbyco.net

Rating

Always time for a brew. Accurate armour figures.

The Staff-Sergeant (Tiffy) and Corporal discuss who is going for a swim... I know who'll win!

The tree is a resin item left over from a previous project.

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The crew of bogged-in vehicles were often 'charged' a crate of beer to recover the vehicle unofficially - ensuing that no paperwork was produced and keeping drivers out of trouble.

Footprints around the open driver’s hatch.

A detail often missed on dioramas.

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KIT PREVIEW

Dragon IJN Type 2 (Ka-Mi) Amphibious Tank w/Floating Pontoon (Early Production) • Kit No. 6916

Etched fret from 6699.

Graham Tetley examines Dragon’s 1:35 scale re-release of the amphibious Japanese Ka-Mi tank with pontoon.

Close up of the pontoon welding detail

Just wow!

KA-MI AMPHIBIOUS TANK T he Type 2 Ka-Mi was based on the Army’s Type 95 Ha-Go light tank, but with an allwelded hull that was water-tight. Large, hollow pontoons were attached to the front glacis plate and rear decking to give the necessary buoyancy. The example kitted here is shown as an ‘Early Production’ version however I believe it to be the prototype. I am not aware of photos of this version evidencing it being used in combat, indeed the one-piece pontoon in sea trials stressed the middle clip that attaches it to the hull and was found to be an impediment to combat when released. The front pontoon was subsequently split into halves, the middle clip plated over, and that is the version that you see used in combat. That is also the version that Dragon gave us in kit 6712.

There is only one complete surviving example and that is at the Kubinka Tank Museum in Moscow, Russia. Various other hulls and pontoons are located on various islands in the Pacific and it is those that Dragon measured when preparing this kit.

If you believe Dragon’s marketing blub then you will be forgiven for thinking that this is a totally new kit.

It is however a straight re-release of the CyberHobby 6699 (69) model that we first saw in 2011. Coming in a standard sized Dragon box, we have 12 plastic sprues, individual upper & lower hulls, clear parts for the vision blocks, a photoetched fret, DS Tracks and some copper wire for the steering cable.

Comprising 362 cleanly moulded and flawless parts, this model comes from Dragon’s ‘Golden Age’ and is rather nice. It is not shown as a ‘2 in 1’ kit but there are construction options in that you can display it with or without floats as well as make the basic tank an ‘early’ or ‘Late’ version. Detail throughout is superb with only one or two areas that could be improved.

When this kit was first released Dragon sold a separate set of ‘Magic Tracks’ for it, number 3888. What a shame they couldn’t have included them here.

CONSTRUCTION I built one of the Cyberhobby kits a few years ago and can report that this goes together like a dream.

The instructions are a little busy with there being several sub-assemblies. Like any Dragon kit there are mistakes and the two that I spotted were: a) In Step 1, the large air tank is labelled D1 when it is should be Part D11. b) In Step 6, the gun housing part C45 is mis-labelled as C46. C45 is actually the bottom of the gun housing and has been omitted from the instructions but should be added here.

We kick off with the roadwheels. Four sets are required, each comprising of two roadwheels, four etched flanges and the suspension arms. I previously

had difficulty fitting the etched flanges between the suspension halves, however to solve that all you need to do is firmly press the two suspension halves together with the wheels & flanges in place.

The exhaust is beautifully detailed and whilst an etched cover is provided, a former to bend it with is not included and would have been very useful. All hull hatches have options to display them watertight or not however one area where Dragon have simplified this model and that is to do with the little latches that secure the watertight plates over the rear engine hatch and hull top crew hatches. They have been moulded as indistinct lumps when, in real life, they are securing handles that could be rotated into place. It is no great problem in the grand scheme of things.

The rear idler is moveable so I recommend so leave it unglued until the DS Tracks go on. Some internal hull details are provided but you can leave all of this off as you cannot see it with the hull closed and floats on.

Next up is the turret and, again, words do not do it justice. The 37mm gun & breach is magnificent and the one-piece turret shell is beautifully molded. Fit of parts throughout is flawless and whilst the instructions are a little busy with there being several sub-assemblies in certain steps, they are easier than normal to follow.

The rudder fishtail.

The large rear pontoon.

CONCLUSION Back in 2006 I scratch built a Ka-Mi kit and marketed it in resin. As such, I have plenty of reference materiel including many photos of the Kubinka vehicle sent to me by a fellow modeller in Russia. I can therefore report that Dragon has missed nothing on this kit.

It goes together beautifully – as my upcoming full build will show – and scales out in all areas to within acceptable norms. Aside from the yucky DS Tracks, it is outstanding in every area and get a solid 9.5/10 from me. ■

Thanks to The Hobby Company Limited for the sample www.hobbyco.net

The superb pulley wheels.

The early version front pontoon parts.

Nothing missed on the hull top.

Turret roof detail

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FEATURE ARTICLE

IBG Models 1:35 TKS Tankette • Kit No. 35046

TINY TKS PART TWO - PAINTING, WEATHERING AND FIGURE Kamil Feliks Sztarbała paints and weathers his test shot of IBG Models’ 1:35 scale TKS Tankette.

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Painting

The previous part of this article described the assembly process. Even though at the end we could see a complete kit, many parts were not glued together, allowing for easier painting. This included the hull halves, as I had to retain the access to the interior.

The first step of the painting stage was to prime the latter with a layer of Tamiya XF-64 ‘Red Brown’.

A few details that had been left separate, were sprayed with Mr.Paint MRP-85 ‘Fine Surface Primer Black’.

Before I applied the base colour, I’d painted the gearbox and engine with AK476 ‘Steel’ from the AK-Interactive ‘Xtreme Metal’ range.

Selected areas and details were highlighted with a mixture of the base colour and C049 ‘Insignia White’.

The metallic details were subsequently covered with masking fluid, allowing for application of the base interior colour, ie.

C086 ‘Polish AFV Greyish Sand’ from Hataka.

I further enhanced the highlights on the chosen details with a transparent layer of LifeColor UA707 ‘Flesh 2 Light’ that had been applied with a brush.

Other details were given their appropriate colours using various acrylic paints.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

IBG Models 1:35 TKS Tankette • Kit No. 35046

The use of hairspray technique allowed me to add some fine damage to the paint layer around the filler caps and on chosen edges of the tank.

The fuel tank was base-coated with Mr.Hobby C29 ‘Hull Red’. I then applied a layer of hairspray over this, and painted the whole piece with two brownish tones from the Hataka ‘Red’ line of vinyl-based acrylics, namely the A098 and A097.

Now I had to deal with the radiator. I airbrushed it with a layer of Hataka C085 ‘Polish AFV Khaki Green’ lacquer paint, and added some highlights with heavily diluted C037 ‘Light Ghost Grey’.

A very fine brush and AK-Interactive AK711 ‘Chipping Color’ were used to replicate chipped paint on the details and floor.

The interior details were brought out using AK-Interactive AK045 ‘Dark Brown Wash’. I applied it over surfaces that had been previously dampened with white spirit, and distributed the excess enamel with a fine brush.

The dirt and mud on the floor was reproduced with the enamel products from the Ammo MIG ‘Splashes’ range, namely the A.MIG-1752 ‘Loose Ground’ and A.MIG-1751 ‘Dry Steppe’. I applied them with an old brush, using the tapping technique.

To add some metallic sheen, I used an 8B pencil.

Next, I added some fine stains to the fuel tank, using A.MIG-1408 ‘Fresh Engine Oil’.

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The engine was sprayed with a misted application of AK-Interactive AK082 ‘Engine Grime’. This required setting the compressor to a very low air pressure.

I also created a fine rust effect on the exhaust manifold, using liquid pigments from the LifeColor LP02 ‘Rust Wizard’ set.

Once I’d installed all the details, the interior of the vehicle was ready.

Before I could proceed with the painting process, I had to mask the numerous open hatches and other apertures.

The larger ones were filled with pieces of sponge.

The very same products were employed to reproduce some fine rusty stains on the radiator.

This allowed me to put together the hull halves.

The internal surfaces of the hatches were covered with masking fluid.

I also put small pieces of paper under the louvers and into a few openings.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

IBG Models 1:35 TKS Tankette • Kit No. 35046

For the basecoat, I used Hataka C086 ‘Polish AFV Greyish Sand’.

Next, I applied a layer of Hataka’s brown primer over the entire kit.

The camouflage application was a bit troublesome, as it was not easy to determine the pattern.

First of all, even though the camouflage should follow a certain pattern, almost every TKS seem to have it applied in a slightly different way. Furthermore, the photos of the example I had chosen to depict, showed some further differences in comparison with the most commonly seen schemes. Once I’d determined the most probable pattern, I started applying the green patches.

Hataka C085 ‘Polish AFV Khaki Green’ was airbrushed freehand over the chosen areas.

I then highlighted the chosen surfaces and details with a mixture of the base colour and C-049 ‘Insignia White’. At this stage, I also added some vertical streaks.

The highlights to the green patches were added with Hataka C088 ‘Polish AFV Green’. I mainly emphasized the edges and details, but also sprayed some irregular, meandering streaks over flat surfaces.

…and highlighted in the same way as the green ones, although in this case I used a mixture of C087 ‘Polish Afv Dark Brown’ and C086 ‘Polish AFV Greyish Sand’ from Hataka. All the paints marked with ‘C’ letter belong to the so-called ‘Orange line’ of the Polish manufacturer, ie. a range of lacquer-based paints comparable to the ‘Mr.Color’ series from Mr.Hobby.

The brown patches were applied with Hataka C087 ‘Polish Afv Dark Brown’…

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The paintwork was then sealed with a layer of flat varnish. It is easier to apply vinyl-based acrylics over matte surface

…whilst this kind of paints, mainly coming from the LifeColor and Vallejo ranges, was to be used to give the appropriate colours to various details such as the muffler, wheel rims, etc.

The surface detail was to be emphasized using an oil wash.

I applied a small amount of ABT002 ‘Sepia’ oil from 502 Abteilung into a metal paint tray and poured ABT113 ‘Fast Dry Thinner’ over it. This gave me more control over the colour intensity of the mixture.

Depending on my needs, I could only damp the brush in the ‘dirty’ thinner, or even collect the dense oil paint from the very bottom of the tray.

The oil mixture was applied over surfaces that had been previously dampened with the ABT113 ‘Fast Dry Thinner’, and distributed accordingly.

The camouflage “ application was a bit

troublesome, as it was not easy to determine the pattern...

”

Finally, I dealt with barrel. During the assembly I showed you the plastic part, but at this stage I received the metal one which is a standard component of the kit. To enhance the paint adhesion to the metal surface, I soaked the barrel in AK-Interactive AK174 ‘Brass Photoetch Burnishing’ fluid. The resulting patina looked really convincing and it didn’t require any further treatment.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

IBG Models 1:35 TKS Tankette • Kit No. 35046

Weathering

The vehicle I wanted to depict did not have a long service history. Furthermore, although its photos show it in derelict condition, they clearly reveal the bare metal working surfaces of the tracks, resulting from these being rubbed by the wheels. I therefore had to be moderate in adding any damage to the paint layer.

I began by recreating small amounts of rust around the bare metal areas. The paint chips were added with Vallejo 70883 ‘Silvergrey’.

For this purpose, I used liquid pigments from the LifeColor LP02 ‘Rust I started by applying tiny quantities of heavily diluted paint, Wizard’ set. using a piece of sponge…

...and finished the job with a very fine brush. The resulting chipping effect was quite intense, as I wanted it to be visible under the heavy layer of dirt that I’d planned to create.

For the latter task, I selected a number of products from Ammo-MIG’s ‘Heavy Mud’ and ‘Splashes’ ranges. I’m surprised that they seem not to be very popular amongst modellers, as in my modest opinion these enamels mixed at different ratios with marble powder, are one of the best products of this Spanish company. I applied them in different ways: using a brush in a conventional way, or blowing the fluid from the bristles onto the surface, or speckling the latter with an old toothbrush. The surfaces were either dry or previously dampened with white spirit. This allowed me to easily alter the shape of dirty patches, if I was not happy with the effect.

What’s important, as these products are enamel-based, even when they dry, we are still able to modify the effect to some degree, using a brush dampened with white spirit.

Afterwards, I rubbed the edges and protruding details with a soft pencil.

The final step was to add some pigments.

Using a dry brush, I applied small quantities of AK-Interactive’s AK042 ‘European Earth’ and AK146 ‘Asphalt Road Dirt’, as well as A.MIG-3007 ‘Dark Earth’, mainly into various nooks and crannies.

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Base

The boxed structure for the base was built in the same way as described in Issue #150 on pages [refer to the step by step on building the base in my Goliath article]. It was filled with a large piece of styrodur foam which upper surface had been cut in order to obtain a desired ground profile.

Before it had fully dried, I imprinted the vehicle in the ground.

Next, I cut off the excess edges of the side walls.

I also checked if there’s enough room for the figure.

The groundwork was created from tile adhesive.

Whilst waiting until the adhesive tile fully cures I dealt with the remaining elements of the planned vignette.

Figure

I then brush painted it with various acrylics from AK-Interactive, LifeColor and Vallejo.

The figure was an old resin piece that I’d selected from my stash. However, it required some improvement. I first replaced the gun with a more detailed plastic counterpart from Tamiya.

The soldier originally held an Adrian helmet. I modified it into the wz.19 helmet used in Poland (this process actually took place in Poland in the 1930s).

The figure was primed in black and subsequently airbrushed with white paint from above. This allowed me to check the arrangement of shadows and highlights, which was helpful for further work.

Notably, I used AK-Interactive AK3140 ‘German Field Grey Uniforms’ and LifeColor CS-13 ‘Flesh Paint’ sets.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

IBG Models 1:35 TKS Tankette • Kit No. 35046

Tracks

Inspired by archive photos, I assembled some track runs that were removed from the wheels and thrown onto the hull of the vehicle.

These were painted with a mixture of C100 ‘Jet Black’ and C297 ‘Erdgelb’ from Hataka.

Next, I applied small quantities of liquid pigments from the LifeColor LP-02 ‘Rust Wizard’ set.

The dirt was recreated using the same products from the Ammo-MIG’s ‘Splashes’ and ‘Heavy Mud’ ranges as the vehicle itself.

Finally, again using the archive photos as the reference, I rubbed the inner surfaces of the track runs with an 8B pencil in order to add some metallic sheen.

Finishing

Meanwhile the ground had fully cured, so I could continue the work on the base.

I began by preparing some miniature vegetation. For this purpose, I mixed together the tiny pieces of sponge and powders from the LifeColor SPG-06 ‘Lichen & Moss’ and SPG-07 ‘Algae’ sets.

Afterwards, I applied A.MIG-1701 ‘Thick Soil - Enamel Heavy Mud Texture’ in the areas between the patches of vegetation.

The mixture was poured over the surfaces that had been previously dampened with A.MIG-2012 ‘Sand and Gravel Glue’.

To add more volume and colour variety to the vegetation, I soaked it here and there with tiny amounts of AK-Interactive’s AK027 ‘Slimy Grime Light’ and AK026 ‘Slimy Grime Dark’.

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I let the applied products fully cure before I attached both the vehicle and figure.

The completed vignette.

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KIT PREVIEW

Dragon 1:35 Sd.Kfz.251/16 Ausf. C mit 14mm Flammpanzerwagen • Kit No. 6864

The kit decal sheet features four finishing options.

Andy King examines Dragon’s reissue of the German half-track, the 1:35 scale Sd.Kfz. 251 Ausf. C flamethrower.

Suspension components.

The main upper body.

FLAMMPANZERWAGEN T he Sd.Kfz.251 half-track was adapted for many uses throughout WWII and this particular version based on the Ausf C (Ausfuhrung) chassis is for a flame-throwing vehicle. The flame-throwing equipment was similar to that mounted in the Pz.Kpfw. B2 (Flamm) and consists of a DKW motor driving a Koebe pump, two 14mm Strahlrohren (spray tubes) with armour plate mounted on each side of the hull, a 7mm spray tube with 10 metre long hose and another 10 metre extension hose mounted on the rear hull doors (although this was discontinued later on), two oil tanks and various hoses and valves.

Production was started in January 1943 and continued throughout the war. The vehicles mainly saw service on the Eastern front, it had a crew of four and as well as the spray tubes it mounted MG34’s front and back for crew protection.

This particular kit is a re-issue as it has been in the Dragon catalogue for a few years now, however it’s still a good kit and I remember it was eagerly awaited on its original release, especially by myself.

You get twelve sprues in grey styrene, one clear sprue, a small fret of etched metal, a small decal sheet, The Gimp? two round silver stickers for the drivers mirrors, two types of cord to represent the hoses and a sprue of DS Vinyl for three crew figures, two of which are dressed in protective overalls with optional heads.

Quality of moulding is still good considering the age of the moulds with little to no flash present on parts.

Some mould-pin marks are present, mainly on the undersides of the fenders and the upper hull above the rear doors and require filling as they are visible, especially those on the upper hull if you have the rear doors open.

Detailing is good although on the back of the box Dragon state that they have improved the details on the drive sprockets and road wheels which they have to a degree as the sprockets now feature ‘Vorwerk’ lettering. Unfortunately they still haven’t addressed the offset of the small rollers as they are still central.

To explain this, the drive sprockets are handed and these small rollers are off-set to one side otherwise the track doesn’t fit properly. As you look at the left sprocket these small rollers are to the right, on the right sprocket they are to the left.

The outer road wheels still need the lightening holes reamed out as they are too flat and should feature a bevelled edge around them. This can be done with a round dental burr.

Having built a couple of Dragon 251s I can safely say that unless you are planning on modelling one without a floor you can skip the fuel tank and other interior parts in Step 1 as you won’t see them. One thing that Dragon missed is the steering linkages on the left hull behind the front wheel so you’ll need to check references as to what they actually look like.

The axles for the tracked half are moulded separately so you need to take care aligning them. I found that gluing them all in place and using a straightedge helped during construction. Speaking of tracks the ones supplied are made up from individual links.

The DKW motor in the interior is quite nicely done although I found that the Eduard etch set really added to it as the valve wheels included looked far better than the solid ones moulded on. Also for my model, I replaced the cord supplied for the flame oil hoses with cable from some broken headphones.

The rest of the interior is quite good although to be really picky the walls either side of the inner hull should be double spaced. Dragon has moulded these as solid lumps. Another thing that bugged me were the raised outlines where interior parts fit and I removed these after marking them out with a pencil first.

There are two types of spray tube included so again check your references as to which were fitted and when, although I believe part L36 is the later one.

There are four colour schemes to choose from; a winter whitewash over dark grey from an unidentified unit; an overall dark yellow vehicle from the ‘Grossdeutschland’ Panzer Grenadier Division; a threetone camouflaged one from an unidentified unit and finally a dark yellow with green camo 251, again from an unidentified unit.

All colours quoted are from the Mr Color paint range, the decals are printed by Cartograf and are of good quality and in perfect register.

The Dragon range of 251s are still pretty good to be honest and with the tweaks mentioned above they make up into lovely little models.

Recommended! ■

REFERENCE USED FOR THIS REVIEW:

Plenty of small parts!

Detail is excellent.

Individual track links have three sprue connections each.

Road wheels.

Panzer Tracts (No15-3) Mittlerer Schuetzenpanzerwagen (Sd.Kfz.251) Ausf C&D Thomas L. Jentz and Hilary Louis Doyle ISBN 0-9771643-5-7

Thanks to The Hobby Company Limited for the sample www.hobbyco.net Moulding quality is excellent.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:48 M10 Tank Destroyer • Kit No. 32519

IN WOLVERINE ••• Clayton Ockerby adds stowage and careful weathering to Tamiya’s 1:48 scale M10 Tank Destroyer.

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, NE S CLOTHING

A

fter the United States entered the Second World War, it soon became clear that a dedicated Tank Destroyer was required to fill a void. Limitations in earlier US tank designs highlighted the need for a fighting machine with a fully rotating turret that could house a gun that packed a punch.

The prototype of the M10 first made a showing in April of 1942, but it wasn’t until June of 1943 that the final design was chosen and scheduled for production.

The final design of the M10 included the 76.2mm Gun in a fully rotating turret that sat on the chassis of the M4A3 Sherman tank. Production ran from September 1942 to December of 1943 with a total of 1413 vehicles making it off the factory line.

Whilst the M10’s adversaries such as the Panther and the Tiger sported a more powerful weapon, the M10 more than held its own on the battlefield. The M10 combined thin, sloped armour with the reliable engineering of the Sherman. The simplicity of the design and the punching power of the 76mm gun allowed the M10 to remain in service until the end of the War. The M10 was predominately used by the US. It did however see time with other forces around the world. Many were used by the Soviets under the Lend Lease program. The United Kingdom and the Free French also used the vehicle in a number of forms.

In modern times, the M10 is often referred to as ‘Wolverine’, however this name was never actually used during the War and is something that has crept into the vernacular. Troops of the time simply referred to the M10 as ‘TD’, or Tank Destroyer. A

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:48 M10 Tank Destroyer • Kit No. 32519

The Build I make no secret of the fact, I am a fan of Tamiya’s 1:48 line of armour kits. They are so simple to build, and they present so well I look for any excuse to build them. I think there is a real trend at the moment for manufactures to overthink and over engineer kits. Don’t for a second think I have a problem with that, I think it is awesome and we have never had so much choice, but there is something refreshing about being able to get some paint on your model within a couple of hours of opening the box.

I have had this little M10 in the stash for some time now and was prompted to get it together as it was the subject of a group build at one of the annual hobby shows I like to attend.

Painting I always find painting these monotone schemes really interesting and fun, and always enjoy the depth you can get out of the paintwork by using some simple techniques.

This is how I went about painting and weathering the Tamiya 1:48 M10.

As a starting point the wheels were all painted in Vallejo Black Grey to represent the rubber. Once dry, the Olive Drab colour was sprayed in the centres with the aid of a template. I like to get the lines on the wheels to be sharp and defined and find pre-painting them in most cases is easier than trying to go back and brush paint once the model is together.

As a starting point the wheels were all painted in Vallejo Black Grey to represent the rubber. Once dry, the Olive Drab colour was sprayed in the centres with the aid of a template. I like to get the lines on the wheels to be sharp and defined and find pre-painting them in most cases is easier than trying to go back and brush paint once the model is together.

The running gear is now attached to the die-cast hull using Superglue. The interior in the kit is sparse, however most of it will be obscured once the model is together. That said, the drivers compartment is a bit of a disappointment and would need some serious ‘dressing’ if you wanted to pose the model with the front hatches open.

The underside of the model received a quick coat of white and the ammunition stowage racks were brush painted. Some light wear was added to these parts by lightly dabbing a dark brown acrylic paint with an old sponge. The effect can be quite realistic, but refinement is a must.

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The gun breech receives the same sponging technique as some of the internal sections of the model. This time I use Black Grey to help show up on the darker colours.

Before I fit the link and length tracks to the model, a treatment of pigments and enamels is added to the lower edges of the hull. Working with these mediums at this point is far easier than later with all of the pieces fitted to the model. This step doesn’t need to be perfect, it is really just a matter of starting to build up your layers of weathering.

The track pieces are pre-painted using a dark brown tone and attached to the model.

Most of the basic construction has now been completed. The internals of the turret are quite basic but present none the less. They were all pre-painted prior to connecting the pieces. You can also notice some of the details around the model have been sanded off in order to accommodate a stowage set that was soon to follow.

I wanted this tank destroyer to look like she was on the move. I found the Legend Stowage set and thought it would make a great addition to the model.

After quite a lot of sanding and trimming, the pieces all started to find their place. I added to the mix by making some of my own tarps and rolls using putty.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:48 M10 Tank Destroyer • Kit No. 32519

The model is now treated to a coat of Olive Drab Base from Ammo A-MIG 926. Care was taken not to paint the wheels or the internal sections of the model that had already been painted. It always amazes me when I see people going to extraordinary lengths to mask their models from overspray. A little control is usually all it takes to protect your prior efforts.

Using a thinned mix of the Olive Drab base with chrome yellow and Cremeweiss, lighter tones are now sprayed to the horizontal sections of the model. You can see the effect is starting to give the model a little model volume.

Now we work the opposite tones.

Olive Drab and Black is now applied through the lower edges of the model. This will add more depth to the model and help create artificial shadows.

The stowage is now brush painted using a mix of Vallejo colours. This part of the paintwork was actually really enjoyable watching the model take life. Keeping the paint reasonably thin and using multiple coats to build up the colour is crucial.

The model then received an all over gloss coat and the decals were applied.

I decided to add an extra bed roll – hence one of them stands out like a sore thumb…

After the paint has dried, the model was treated to a matte varnish. Once that dried the chipping and scratching started. I began by using a Vallejo colour – US Army Tank crew and applying it carefully and logically using a sponging technique.

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To add another layer of chipping, Black Grey is now applied using the same technique as the last step.

Restraint is the key here. I find there is a real trend to over weather and over chip models. Whilst some of the painting is amazing I don’t feel it reflects reality, so I am always mindful to try and keep my chipping to a minimum.

A mix of Olive Drab, Cremeweiss and Transparator is now applied using a fine brush. Small chips and scratches are painted in logical areas. The Transparator will help the paint be more of a transparent layer and better blend in with the paintwork. It is a great way to represent superficial scratches.

An enamel wash is now applied to the recessed areas of the model. I used a mid-brown tone from Ammo – Modern Vehicles Wash.

To add another layer of wear and tear, a thinned blend of Rainmark effects is flicked over the model with a flat brush. As long as the paint is thin and transparent, this technique will add further depth to the paintwork.

To finish the model, some of the high spots and metal sections of the model get a buffing with a makeup applicator and Gun Metal pigment.

Using a post-shading technique, we add further depth to the model. Recessed areas and natural shadow sections are helped along using a heavily thinned mix of Tamiya Red Brown and Flat black. I absolutely love this technique and part of the process.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Tamiya 1:48 M10 Tank Destroyer • Kit No. 32519

Conclusion For me, most of the joy in my modelling comes from the painting and weathering, and this M10 kit caters perfectly to just that. The quick build guarantees you can keep the enthusiasm up and the momentum flowing, which is crucial to ensure you actually get your models finished and on the table. A couple of simple painting techniques using only a few colours is all you need to add volume and depth to an Olive Drab paint scheme.

With the addition of the stowage set, this model was really quick and easy to bring alive. â–

The close-up photo shows the level of detail and authenticity.

Interior shell stowage is visible from this angle.

Careful placement of stowage will add to the overall effect.

Turret and hull stowage.

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With the addition of the stowage set, this model was really quick and easy to bring alive.

A couple of simple painting techniques using only a few colours is all you need to add volume and depth to an Olive Drab paint scheme.

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1:48 Scale – A round-up of the latest news and releases

THE GREAT WEATHERING DEBATE T his follows logically from the great panel line debate, which itself may have started with a small but obscure written comment about how accurate paint shades really are, which in turned blew up into the whole “are my models accurate?” debate, which may have caused someone to point out that a certain plastic manufacturer should only really be moulding buckets (because their kits were so bad); but it also opened up the whole discussion about price that basically led to Facebook going into freefall resulting in the end of the world as we know.

Yep, we’ve seen it all before haven’t we. Look, I get it. Modellers are a passionate bunch and we either have an interest in history, technology, strategy, how things work or like me, basically just like making stuff. I also get that once you have learnt a certain amount, you like to enter debates and let anybody who cares to listen how much you know by pointing out really obscure (there is that word again…. work with me here guys) details.

Yes, I sometimes have the need to show others this really cool way of doing something that you probably think no one else has thought of before.

I’m on board with all the different building,

painting, weathering, air bushing and cleaning products. I’m also totally convinced that the “one true sale” is anything from one to one billionth all the way up to life size.

I hate to bring this up, but nobody really cares about our hobby outside our hobby. Ask your wife. Ask your kids. They might say something like “yeah, it’s cool”, but honestly, do they really care if you painted or weathered your model accurately? It’s kind of like asking me about women’s fashion. I just have zero interest in it and I don’t care!

Look, I know we all put our hearts and souls into each piece we do and I’m sure we want the very best and accurate model we can possibly manage. But at the end of the day, it’s just a little bit of plastic or resin and what we do with it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day.

You’re probably thinking now “man, this

HAULER

CORSAR REX

Our friends at Hauler never disappoint and this update for the newish Tamiya Abrams is no exception. Comprising 68 photo-etched pieces on one medium and one small fret, most of the over scale plastic pieces on the kit are replaced.

Both turret mounted machine guns receive an upgrade as well as all the grab handles and standard handles.

The rear turret basket receives a mesh bottom in addition to a second turret basket attached to the kit part. A complete revision for the Commander’s cupola is includes together with a reworking of the sighting devices on the turret top. Most of the smaller brackets that litter the turret and the hull are included as well. The upgrade is rounded out with a welldrawn and precise instruction sheet.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Hauler for the sample www.hauler.cz Luke Pitt

Following on from last month’s column, two more join the fray. The first figure up for review is Item CR48033, depicting a Soviet tank crewman reading a map with his left leg resting on turret hatch opening.

The sculpt is masterfully done with all the fabric folds done to perfection. The head is also noteworthy as it adds real character.

The second figure, CR48034, is very well done as well and is cast as one piece. It depicts a crewman either nodding off or asleep.

You could use these two from any period from 1940 to the late 1970s as the Soviet tank overalls didn’t change much over that period.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Corsar Rex for the samples www.corsarrex.com Luke Pitt

M1A2 ABRAMS UPDATE ITEM NO. HLX48385

guy is on a downer” but no I’m not. Some of us really need to put what we do in perspective. It’s a hobby, not a lifestyle.

Off the soapbox until next time!

Luke Pitt

SOVIET TANK CREWMAN ITEM NOS. CR48033 AND CR48034

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E ZVEZDA

1:72 scale Jagdpanther • Kit no. 5042

TORO MODEL

British sherman tanKs at alamein Vol 1 1:48 scale item no. 48d20

Toro Model has come up with a cracking little decal sheet for those of us who love British Shermans.

Four marking choices are covered. The first is “Dundee” from the 24th Armoured Brigade in sand and black camouflage.

The second, “Anne”, belonging to the Staffordshire Yeomanry in a sand and black camouflage on the hull (but not on the turret.

The third is from the 2nd Armoured Brigade in an overall sand and black camouflage and the last is from an Unidentified unit in overall sand camouflage but with a really nice caricature of a gentleman with a monocle and cigar on the front portion of the hull.

The decals themselves are thin and printed to a very high standard and come complete with a four-page placement guide.

This a very nice little set and well worth the asking price.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Toro Model for the sample http://www. toro-model.com.pl Luke Pitt

New from Zvezda in their range of 1:72 ‘snap-fit’ kits is the Jagdpanther tank destroyer as used by German forces in WWII. You get two sprues moulded in tan styrene, one with the tracks moulded in black and a decal sheet comprising numbers and three black crosses but no unit markings.

The kit represents a mid-production model as indicated by the bolted collar around the gun mantlet.

All parts are cleanly moulded with little to no flash and no ejector pin marks are visible on exterior parts. The detail is as good as you can expect for the small scale although the moulded on grab handles on the engine deck are very chunky and should really be replaced with fine wire, the gun barrel need the muzzle drilling out along with the engine exhausts, the driver’s vision block needs refining, the schurzen or side skirts are quite thick although these are easily replaced using thin styrene or brass sheet and the grills on the engine deck really need some mesh adding. No doubt there will be some available from aftermarket sources.

I was quite impressed with the spare track links and drive sprockets as the detailing is pretty good on these parts. The road wheels are not too bad either considering the scale.

The model features individual suspension swing arms which is great, however the wheels are all moulded as one so Zvezda should have just moulded the axles to the hull as otherwise separate swing arms are pretty pointless.

The tracks are full flexible lengths and appear to be made from vinyl although they feel pretty stiff compared to other vinyl tracks.

They attach to the road wheels via a series of loops moulded on them and it will be interesting to see how they actually fit.

Only one colour scheme is featured for an anonymous Jagdpanther in a three-tone camo scheme. However, there are most likely more schemes to choose from via aftermarket decal producers. As stated above, the decal sheet just has three crosses and numbers in black outlined with white.

Unfortunately on my sample they were all out of register to varying degrees.

If you like your small scale Panzers then this will make a good starting point as with some extra work and detailing it will scrub up rather nicely.

Recommended.

Thanks to The Hobby Company Ltd for the review sample www.hobbyco.net Andy King

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Limited Time Subscription Offer!

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MODEL CRAFT FREE GIFT 15 Piece Craft & Model Tool Set A 15-piece tool set that has everything you need for craft, model making, repairing and small general tasks. The A5 size self-healing mat is a perfect addition as it ensures no cracking or warping when using the blades, preventing any cutting errors and preserves the life of blades!

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17/09/2018 12:11

Contact Details - for companies featured in MMI...

ACCURATE ARMOUR/ ARMOUR DISTRIBUTION

Units 15-16 Kingston Industrial Estate, Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, PA14 5DG Scotland.

Tel; 01475 743 955 Fax; 01475 743746 www.accurate-armour.com

ADALBERTUS

Iberyjska 7/49, 02-764 , Warsaw,Poland adalbertus@adalbertus.com.pl www.adalbertus.com.pl

THE AIRBRUSH COMPANY Ltd

Unit 7 Marlborough Road, Lancing Business Park, Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 8UF. Tel; 08700 660 445 www.airbrushes.com

ALCLAD II LACQUER

5 St Georges Close, Bacton, Norfolk. NR12 0LL Tel; 01962 65216 Fax; 01692 652334

ALPINE, ROYAL MODEL, ARTISAN MORI, YOSCI; SMARTMODELLING No.7 Gordons Way, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0LN. UK Tel; 01883 734746 smartmodelling@smart7.fsworld.co.uk

AMPERSAND PUBLISHING (via Historex Agents in UK)

235 NE 6th Avenue #4 Delray Beach, Florida 33483-5543, USA Tel; 561-266 9686 Fax; 561-266-9786

ARCHER

(Historex in UK)

PO Box 1277 Youngsville, NC 27596-1277, USA www.archertransfers.co

BADGER AIR-BRUSH COMPANY 9128W Belmont Ave, Franklin Park, IL 60131 Tel; 847/678-3104 www.badgerairbrush.com email info@badgerairbrush.com (In the UK from www.shesto.co.uk)

BISON DECALS

Available from www.hannants.co.uk and www.pdi-model-supplies.com

DELUXE MATERIALS www.deluxematerials.co.uk info@deluxematerials.com Tel; 01529 455 0340

DRAGON MODELS

(The Hobby Company in UK)

Dragon Models Ltd, Kong Nam Ind. Building B1-10F, 603-609 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan NT, Hong Kong Fax; (HK) 4110587 www.dragonmodelsltd.com (For 1:6 Action Figures, please contact Amerang in UK)

ECHELON FINE DETAILS

Available from; wwwaccurate-armour.com & http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~kriegsketten/

FRIENDSHIP MODELS

12 Delta Drive, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 8HR Tel; 0131 665 0866 Mobile; 07877166225 www.friendshipmodels.com

GREAT NORTH ROADS

CAMMETT

(Lifecolour, Scale Caliber)

Unit 5 Greenfield Industrial Estate, Forest Road, Hay on Wye, Powys, HR3 5FA Tel; 01497 822757 Email; cammettco@btinternet.com www.cammett.co.uk

CLASSIC PUBLICATIONS

Midland Counties Publications, 4 Watling Drive, Sketchley Lane Industrial Estate, Hinckley, Leics UK. LE10 1YF Tel; 01455 233 747, Fax; 01455 233 737 midlandbooks@compuserve.com www.classic-publications.com

CREATIVE MODELS LTD

(Mig Productions, Vallejo, Accurate Miniatures)

Unit 6-10, Honeysome Industrial Estate, Honeysome Road, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. PE16 6TG Tel; 01354 760022 www.creativemodels.co.uk info@creativemodels.co.uk

DARTMOOR MILITARY MODELS Haylis cottage, Budlake, Broadclyst Exeter, EX5 3LJ, England Tel; 01392 881271 www.dartmoormilitarymodels.com

www.etchmate.com www.missionmodels.com Tel; 818 842 1885 Fax; 818 842 1886 info@missionmodels.com, sales@missionmodels.com, orders@missionmodels.com

THE ARMORY; M&MODELS

9329 S. Cicero Ave, Oak Lawn, IL 60453, USA http://home.earthlink.net/~mmodels/

MODEL WHOLESALE UK LTD Tel; 01892 533036 www.modelwholesaleuk.com

ORDNANCE MODELS

Harbour Road, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 2LZ, Tel; 01502 517444 Fax; 01502 500521 www.hannants.co.uk sales@hannants.co.uk

HISTOREX AGENTS

Wellington House, 157 Snargate Street, Dover, Kent, CT17 9BZ, UK Tel; 01304 206720 Fax; 01304 204528. www.historex-agents.co.uk sales@historex-agents.co.uk

HOBBYLINK JAPAN

Sano-shi, Kurohakama-cho 162-1, Tochigi 327-0813, Japan www.hlj.com

HUSSAR PRODUCTIONS, CANADA www.airconnection.on.ca

ICM

Via Hannants in UK

(ETCHMATE, GRABHANDLER, MICRO CHISEL)

HANNANTS

BOOKWORLD WHOLESALE

CALIBRE 35

MISSION MODELS

MONROE PERDU

BLAST MODELS

Unit 10 Hodfar Road, Sandy Lane Ind Est Stourport, Worcs, DY13 9QB Tel; 01299 823330 Fax; 01299 829970 info@bookworldws.co.uk

9 Rannoch St., Battlefield, Glasgow G44 4DF, Scotland Tel/Fax; 0141 633 1400 milicastmodels@hotmail.com www.milicast.com

9a Marcombe Road, Torquay, South Devon, TQ2 6LL Tel; 01803 400436 www.greatnorthroads.co.uk email svfarrugia@yahoo.co.uk

IAN ALLAN

Via AFV Modeller or www.blast-models.com

MILICAST MODEL CO.,

www.ianallanpublishing.com Mail Order Dept 01455 254450 Kiev 02099, Ukraine, Borispolskaya 9 building 64.

Tel/fax; (+38044) 369-54-12 export@icm.com.ua www.icm.com.ua

ITALERI

(The Hobby Company in UK)

Via Pradazzo, 6, I-40012 Calderara Di Reno, Bologna, Italy, Tel; 051 726037 www.italeri.com

JUST BASES

21 Graham Road, Paignton TQ3 1BB Tel; 01803 558520 www.just-bases.co.uk

JUST KITS

4 High Street, Botley, Southampton, SO30 2EA Tel; 01489 781177 www.justkitsandmodels.co.uk

MDC

Model Design Construction, Victoria Place, Victoria Road, Ripley, Derbyshire DE5 3FW Fax; 01773 513344 orders@modeldesignconstruction.com www.modeldesignconstruction.com

MODELING ARTISAN MORI

http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~m.a.mori/index_eng.html

MIG PRODUCTIONS (Creative Models in UK)

C/ Santiago Rusinol 7, Pral 2a, 08750 Molins de Rei, Barcelona, Spain www.migproductions.com

Monroe Perdu Designs, 3168 Renee Court, Simi Valley, CA 93065, USA. www.monroeperdu.com Via; www.steelmodels.com

PACIFIC COAST MODELS Tel; 001 707 538 4850 info@pacmodels.com www.pacmodels.com

PANZERWRECKS

PO Box 164, Heathfield, Sussex TN21 8WA, UK www.panzerwrecks.com

PARAGRAFIX

104 County Street, Suite 101 Attleboro MA 02703 USA Tel: +1 508.431.9800 M-F 9am to 4pm EST http://www.paragrafix.biz pgms@paragrafix.biz

PLUS MODEL

(Creative Models in UK)

SCHIFFER BOOKS

Schiffer Publishing, 4880 Lower Valley Rd, Atglen, PA, 19310 USA www.schifferbooks.com

SCHIFFER BOOKS in UK

Bushwood Books, No.6 Marksbury Avenue, Kew Gardens, Surrey TW9 4JF, UK. Tel; 020 8392 8585, 020 8392 9876, email; info@bushwodbooks.co.uk

SCHUMO KITS

www.schumo-kits.com

SDV MODEL www.sdvmodel.cz

SIMPLE 2 TRADE

No 2 Hollywood Lane, Hollywood, Birmingham, B47 5PP Tel; 0121 474 3030 www.simple2trade.com

SMARTMODELLING

(Swash, Tasca, Gap, Yosci, Royal Model)

No.7 Gordons Way, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0LN UK Tel; 01883 734746 smartmodelling@smart7.fsworld.co.uk

SQUADRON

1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton, TX 75006-1312 U.S.A

SWANN-MORTON

Owlerton Green, Sheffield, S6 2BJ Tel; +44 (0)114 234 4231 Fax; +44 (0)114 231 4966 General: info@swann-morton.com www.craftknives.com

TAMIYA JAPAN

Tamiya, Inc., 3-7 Ondawara Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8610 JAPAN www.tamiya.com

TAMIYA UK;

THE HOBBY COMPANY LIMITED Garforth Place, Knowlhill, Milton Keynes, MK5 8PG, UK Tel; 01908 605686 Fax; 01908 605666 enquiries@hobbyco.net www.hobbyco.net

Jizni 56, 370 10 C. Budejovice, Czech Republic. plusmodel@plusmodel.cz www.plusmodel.cz

TRUMPETER

POCKETBOND

VERLINDEN PRODUCTIONS

(Trumpeter & AFV Club in UK)

Bachmann Europe PLC Moat Way, Barwell, Leics, LE9 8EY Tel; 01455 841756 info@pocketbond.co.uk

PSP MODELS LTD (Mission Models in USA)

Unit 19B, Applin’s Farm, Farrington, Dorset DT11 8RA, UK Tel/Fax; 01747 811 817 www.psp-models.com

QUICKBOOST

www.quickboost.net

REVELL GmbH & Co. KG Orchard Mews, 18C High Street, Tring, Herts, HP23 5AH Tel; +44 (0) 1442 890285 www.revell.eu

SB MODELS

UK distributor for Model Victoria and Royal Model

P.O. Box 114, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA13 0WY. Tel/Fax; 01229 430 749 sales@sbmodels.fsnet.co.uk www.sbmodels.net

SBLC

PO Box 794, Cheltenham GL52 3ZW, UK RICHARDSBLC@aol.com

SBX MODEL SHOP

Norwich Road, Ipswich. IP1 5DN Tel; 01473 464311 www.sbxmodelshop.co.uk

www.trumpeter-china.com Pocketbond in the UK (Historex in UK)

811 Lone Star Drive, O’Fallon, Missouri 63366, USA www.verlinden-productions.com

VALLEJO

(Creative Models in UK)

Acrylicos Vallejo, SL Apartado 337 - 08800 Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, Spain Tel; (34) 93 893 60 12 Fax; (34) 93 893 11 54 www.acrylicosvallejo.com

VLS CORPORATION (LSA in UK)

(TRAKZ, WINGZ, CUSTOM DIORAMICS, WARRIORS); Lincoln County Industrial Park, 1011 Industrial Court, Moscow Mills, Missouri 63362, USA www.modelmecca.com

WHITE ENSIGN MODELS (Toms Model Works)

8532 Lamar Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, USA Tomsmodelworks@aol.com www.whiteensignmodels.com

WWII PRODUCTIONS, AUSTRALIA 12 Prince Street, Waratah, 2298, NSW, Australia Tel; +61 (0)2 4967 3205 Fax; +61 (0)2 4967 3207 ww2prod@optusnet.com.au

ZVEZDA

(The Hobby Company in UK)

Promishlennaia Str.,2, Lobnya, Moscow Region, 141730 Russia office@zvezda.org.ru www.zvezda.org.ru

SCHATTON BARRELS

Industriestrasse 6, 94347 Ascha, Germany Fax; 09961 910 7826

■ Please mention ‘Model Military International’ if you make contact with any of the companies listed above - thanks!

64 Model Military International - November 2018

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IF IT’S THURSDAY, THIS MUST BE FRANCE! Kamil Feliks Sztarbala places Bronco’s 1:35 scale Hotchkiss in a Blitzkrieg setting with three original KFS figures.

Next Issue On sale 1 November 2018

ISSUE No.151 November 2018, Published 4th October 2018 Editor;

Brett Green

Group Editor;

Marcus Nicholls

Publisher;

Alan Harman

Graphic Design;

Alex Hall

Advertising Manager;

Richard Andrews

Office Manager;

Paula Gray

Administration Manager; Hannah McLaurie MMI Website;

Doolittle Media Web Team

Distributed by; Seymour Distribution 2 East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT Tel; 020 7429 4000 Newstrade; Select Publisher Services 3 East Avenue, Bournemouth, BH3 7BW Tel; 01202 586848 Email; tim@selectps.com Model Military International is published on the first Thursday of each month by; Doolittle Media, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX UK www.modelmilitary.com Tel; +44 (0)1525 222573 Email; enquiries@doolittlemedia.com Editorial enquiries; Email; editor@modelmilitary.com Advertising enquiries; Tel; 07708 028024 Email; richard@doolittlemedia.com

TRENCH TOURER

Reproduction in part of any text, photograph, or illustration without written consent from the publisher is strictly prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure the contents of Model Military International is accurate, the publishers and printers can not accept responsibility for errors and omissions.

The Editor builds Copper State Models’ 1:35 scale Lanchester Armoured Car and adds a crew.

THE HEAVIEST BEAST ON EARTH Michael Franz builds Meng Model’s newest 1:35 scale version of their amazing Merkava-series.

“I’ll be at them with the bayonet” the 24th Foot at Chillianwalla 1849

History and scratch built figure modelling with John Roberts.

FOR YOUR SAFETY Don’t forget, when using solvents such as glues, paints, thinners and cleaning agents, always ventilate your work area thoroughly and wear a face mask.

When using power tools, side cutters or any tool that can suddenly break or create highspeed airborne particles, wear approved eye protectors with hard, clear lenses. Please always model in safety!

Advertisements are accepted for publication in Model Military International only on Doolittle Media’s standard terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising department. Please write to the address above. All advertising, circulation and subscription enquiries should also be directed to the UK address above.

Subscription rates are; 1 year (12 issues); £47 UK £59 Europe £72 Worldwide (Airmail) Binders; £8.50 plus postage (UK £2.45, Euro £4.45, World £6.45) For all orders, please call; (UK) +44(0)1525 222573 or visit www.modelmilitary.com Back Issues; Back Issues are available at the current cover price. See the latest back issues advert or visit www.modelmilitary.com The paper used in this magazine is manufactured at the Leipa Georg Mill and is 100% recycled using de-inked pulp. The mill conforms fully with the requirements of both FSC and PEFC and carries the full accreditations for their environmental policies.

...and much more!

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The Last Post...

UK AND US FORCES SIMULATE A MASS CASUALTY TRAINING EXERCISE

D

eployed personnel from the RAF have been involved in a joint exercise alongside military personnel from the US Forces, including the US Black Hawk Squadron, to realistically simulate a downed aircraft involving mass casualties.

Personnel from 135 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) have been deployed to Romania to conduct the NATO ‘Enhanced Air Policing’ mission. The EAW personnel work and live alongside members of the Romanian Air Force and the various US Forces who are also operating out of Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base.

Squadron Leader Andrew Blyth, is the deployed RAF Doctor attached to 135 EAW. He liaised with the US Black Hawk Squadron during the planning phase for the Joint Exercise. He said: “This exercise has taken a lot of planning from all sides, but the value of training closely with our US allies in a realistic mass casualty scenario makes it all worthwhile.

Interoperability between the UK and US Medical teams has been instrumental in the past, and maintaining the ability to work together is crucial for potential future operations.”

135 EAW and US Forces personnel grasped the opportunity to train together

in this simulated Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) Exercise, to provide realistic training based on integration between the two NATO forces on previous operations.

A Eurofighter Typhoon pilot from 1(Fighter) Squadron deployed as part of 135 EAW, provided Close Air Support, whilst 135 EAW personnel acted as wounded soldiers and air crew on the ground. The deployed RAF Medical Team jumped on board with crews of US personnel from two HH-60 Black Hawks, to intercept the “Crash Site”, attend to the staged Casualties and finally evacuate them to the Medical Facility.

Captain Craig Meree from the US Marine Corps, better known by his call sign “Sensor Bob”, acted as the Primary Liaison Officer between the US Forces and the EAW during the exercise. He said: “I’ve worked with the Brits on previous operations, such as in the Gulf Region.

There is a very strong relationship between our two nations, and the success of this exercise is proof of that. We trained each other in different techniques, tactics and procedures, and worked together to accomplish our shared mission to secure the aircraft crash site and evacuate the mass casualties to safety.”

UK MOD © Crown copyright 2018

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p 67 Dragon 151 8

17/09/2018 12:12

Sign Up to our Newsletter on www.hobbyco.net Find us on facebook search Plastic Kit UK

D6758

Complete with injection moulded authentic zimmerit detail, crafted with a modeller’s touch Dragon Kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited, Knowlhill, Milton Keynes, MK5 8PG See the full Dragon range at www.hobbyco.net Dragon models are available from all good model shops

p 68 TamiyaOBC 151 8

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