Big Bertha Takom 1/35 built & painted model kit ww1 first world war gun german howitzer

Here I show you a model finished a good few years ago. Quite a complicated kit, huge in size, one of those special kits that are unlike anything one has built before! my first model that I airbrushed, as hand brushing all that intricate parts was daunting indeed. For those who wonder, the crew is WW2, but as one was used then, it can still be called historical :) . Sadly, no WW1 german artillery crewmen in scale was available then! and I think not yet, except for some very obscure resin ones. Will be posting here the rest of my 1/35 kits for easy finding.

s.W.S. Cargo Halftrack with 3.7cm Flak43 Revell 1:35 Built & Painted Model Kit

This is the SWS Halftrack, a nice rather unusual model, I managed to get just for 3 € in a lot (it has to be the cheapest 1:35 kit I've ever bought). Wheels turn, cannon moves up and down. The only snag is that there is no crew included, so had to make a conversion for a man seating at the cannon. Scenario kindly comes offered by the local park  .

ROLAND C11 Airfix / Heller 1/72 Finished Model Kit World War I

After a long time without posting, here I come back to post something. This is the Roland, I got this from the Heller release, bought in an model kit exhibition. My father built it and I painted it along my brother. The purple camo scheme was the most eye-catching, so we went for that. A very unusual model, one worthy to build;

MINIATURE WORLD; Fun and curious pics part 1; Home Made Armed vehicles?

To break a bit the monotony of reviews, this entry is to amuse my readers a bit.

Tired of seeing your car bumped by others, or not able to climb obstacles? that's what somebody probably thought, and in consequence did this;

Another guy was tired of not be given priority at junctions... with this turret, he will be respect on the road!

And finally, the snowplough truck never comes to your door? this polish driver decided to get matters on his own hands, and if he can intimidate his neighbours adding a turret while he's on it, better.

Because as you can see, building armed cars is not something of the past, nor limited to national armies. In Mexico, the drug cartels have been creating armed cars for their internal wars, these being some of the examples that have been captured by the police;

One wonders if Mad Max is very far from the reality.

And finally, a armed tractor from god knows where (the machine gun is russian, maybe then Afghanistan?)

Well, has this inspired you to make a armed car, real or in miniature? if it has, be sure to send me a pic of the finished model!

Trumpeter 1/72 Selbstfahrlafette "STURER EMIL" L/61 Pz.Sf.V German Anti Tank Self Propelled tank TRU07210 winter front axis tank

Here today we have a obscure german tank, the Sturer Emil from Trumpeter.

BOX ART >> One of the few brands that just shows you the finished model. It serves well the purposes of seeing that it is indeed a nice model, and is a trademark for Trumpeter in their 1/72 kits.

THE KIT - 9.7 >>

This is a very fine kit, with  a high level of detail, nicely done interiors, all parts fits perfectly, no moulding marks, no filler required, and no accuracy errors (thanks I suppose because a example is conserved in the Kubinka museum, but a good thing all the same).

If it doesn't have a 10, is because the quality of the decals is quite poor. They have not resisted just 6 month of storage after it was built, when they started to fall. You will have to purchase a special product to fix them to the model, or varnish them with matt varnish.

EXTRAS - 0.0 >>

Trumpeter is a brand that normally gives you a perfect vehicle, but if you want extras, go and get them yourself, is what basically they express. With a so big open hull, a small crew will have been very much appreciated.

POSSIBILITIES - 0.0 >>

Yes, you read well, 0.0. This is a kit of tens and zeros. There were only two built, one  was destroyed and the other captured by the Russians. The one captured is the one made, and the other one had the same camouflage, most probably. So you can either make the box version, or do the other one, where the only difference will be the white lines on the cannon which demarks the 22 kills the tank achieved.

PRICE/VALUE RATIO - 8.5 >>

It is not a cheap kit, but it is of great quality. And a great quality kit in our days for less than 11 GBP like this one is hard to find. So it is fine. And you get a quite big model for your money, that always makes you happier than paying 11 GBP for a Vickers tank.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE - 1.5 >>

"The historical importance score is determined by how many were built, and how much operational service they had, and how much influence they had on the conflicts in which they were involved"

Just two were made, yes, two. It would score 1.0, or 0.5, but one of the two achieved 22 kills when it was captured by the Russians, (if we believe the white bands the tank crew painted on the barrel). The other one got destroyed. So no, it didn't change the war, but it was clearly quite effective, or at least it's crew was quite expert.

WARGAMING - 7.0 >>

Although it is a kit that everything fits well, it is not a super quick kit to make, like an Airfix or Matchbox. But all the same, it doesn't require great skills, and the final result is a sturdy and formidable tank. The other thing about this kit is that it can only represent in a generic way the multiple self-propelled guns the germans had, and was by no means a mass produced tank.

OVERALL - 8.0 >> 

This is a model most recommended to those like me who already have all the main german tanks, and want to have something different, albeit if all were used the same  operationally. I always like kits that have really fought, and not just have been prototypes or scrapped after some testing. But obviously, there are quite a lot of other tanks which were much more important in the war.The design is a very distinct one, not the typical Sturmeschultz or Jagdpanzer, and with their typical small variations, this has a unique body.

It is a pity that other nations don't have the coverage the german vehicles have had, with even the most rare and unique being modelled. Meanwhile, we still don't have some important British and Japanese tanks for example.

IMAGES OF FINISHED JOBS

Model kit made by myself.