The Little World

At one time I would have regarded armour models and military vehicles with only minor interest – I am an aviation modeller.

Yet, the need for prop vehicles for my airfields, and then civilian vehicles, has meant an increased recognition of the little machines. And recently a dollar purchase of a Polish armoured car in 1:35 sparked the desire to do more of these. So I looked closely at the scale model competition’s armour and vehicle entries.

One thing I find with these – they benefit from that close inspection, and that needs to be in strong light. The matte and weathered finishes of some of the entries seem to make them recede from the eye – and it would be a pity to miss out on all the work their makers have put in.

The other attractive feature is the camouflage schemes are often imaginative – the real painters feeling their way on the battlefield. The weathering and worn nature also modifies the colour a great deal. I cannot fault any of them as I have no experience of the types.

Can they be too beaten-up? Well, review the remnants seen in the news from the current war in Ukraine – some of them look weathered to the point of total destruction. On the other side of the colour coin, can they be too clean and neat? Well, the judges have one opinion about this and I another – when I build my armour museum the displays will be pretty fresh and well-painted – just as they are in armour museums around the world. Only a few of the poorer armies leave them to rot – unless it is to emphasise a victory. And some armies cannibalise the defeated AFV’s to make new ones.

I read a book by the chap who headed Tamiya and he explained just how much success the company had in introducing armour to the Japanese domestic modelling market. Part of it was his firm’s meticulous detail in the kits and part was the fact that the Japanese had little experience with tank battles on their own territory.

One thing is certain for me – I will not be expanding my own small armour museum to the extent that the hobby now permits. I was overwhelmed at the variation of 1:35 scale kits available from the hobby shops at the show, and when I saw the contents of one displayed by a modeller next to me – the 7 sheets of photo-etch – I counted my 1:72 blessings.

Note: This concludes the current series about the Big Local Scale Model Exhibition, though I may be reprising the Meccano people later in the year. I had a good time, and a good model airplane has ensued.