Category: Military models
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JS-2 Tank – Part One – A Step Up From The TKS

I endured such a razzing from my scale model club mates when I built the tiny Polish TKS tankette that I have decided to get my revenge. And who better to provide it than the Russians. They provide excess misery for everyone else, why not harness it to my purposes. So here is a Josef…
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Convair Atlas D – Part Three – The Beast

The advantage of building to a common scale is the insight it provides you into the relative size of things. Prior to this build I had no idea these first-generation ICBMs were so large. My mind saw the toys of my childhood – the Cape Canaveral set gave totally false impressions. But then I went…
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TKS Tankette – Part Four – Grim and Grey

Well, I’ll say this for the little tankette – the tracks may have been hideous, but the final thing with a bit of grime and wash is a bit rewarding. Those who wonder at the lack of any insignia may wish to google up the topic of these devices captured by the German army. I…
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TKS Tankette – Part Three – I Cover My Tracks

And so I should – they are horrible. The plastic track option for the TKS was all I feared it would be. I’d seen club mates constructing their own 1:35 tanks with separate track links and just thought it a charming pretension on their part. Hypertension more likely – what looked to be a difficult…
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TKS Tankette – Part Two – A Perfect Companion

Imagine my joy when I looked more closely at my $ 1.00 tankette and discovered it was and up-gunned variant of the previous model. The hull parts are commendably well-fitting, though the suspension and side members are a little fiddly to assemble. I am new to 1:35 armour and I am starting to suspect that…
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TKS Tankette – Part One – Earwig O Again

Gary has visited the Men’s Shed at the modelling club again – bringing his box of extremely inexpensive scale models with him. I am skint this month due to extra studio expenses but even so I was able to buy three models for $ 1 each! This Polish TKS tankette kit is nowhere near as…
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Polish Tankette – Part Six – Brushing Aside My Fears

The Polish TKS tankette is ready to join the roster in the Armour Museum. Now all we need is an armour museum Well, it’s coming. The Ess Bend Engineering workshop is proceeding well, and as soon as that is done more tanks and vehicles will be pouring out of it, and they have to pour…
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Polish Tankette – Part Five – Not Gone Mad Yet

In fact, I’m having the time of my life. The IBG model tank is fitting together like a watch. A Polish watch, mind, but Warsaw is in the same time zone as Lucerne… The fit of the hull parts is exemplary. So much so, that I can dry-fit the hatches for painting with the view…
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Polish Tankette – Part Four – The Painting Starts

So – what are Hataka paints like anyway? The four bottles of Hataka acrylic paint are the first of their brand I’ve ever encountered. I noted a year or so ago that they were all the rage on the Flory internet model show, but have seen little of them there recently. There was some talk…
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Polish Tankette – Part Three – Tankietka

I am starting to be impressed with the IBG company’s approach to scale modelling. The first club day saw a little of the inside compartment started; the engine block and radiator shell. The parts separated cleanly from the sprue trees and dry fitted perfectly. the plastic is very slightly soft – eminently cuttable. Think a…
