RENWAL’S LARGEST MILITARY KIT - THE US ARMY M65 ATOMIC CANNON

Mat Irvine: Revell has owned most of the old Renwal company’s moulds for decades - actually, since 1976 - and has reissued many of those kits. So far, these have been released in Revell boxes, but now, thanks to Product Manager Ed Sexton, the original distinctive Renwal box-art has been reintroduced, including the Renwal brand name.

SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED - 1:72 SCALE HA-GO LIGHT TANK FROM DRAGON

SMN report

The Chinese model company Dragon continues to add subjects to its wide-ranging list of AFV kits. This time, it’s a ‘model aircraft’ 1:72 scale Type 95 Ha-Go light tank, as manufactured by Mitsubishi and used in the 1942 Philippines campaign.

Type 95 tank, preserved at the US Army Ordnance Museum.

SUPER PERSHING - THE FIRST ALLIED TANK TO BEAT THE GERMAN KING TIGER

SMN report on the Tamiya T26-E4

As World War II was drawing to an end, the M26 Pershing was coming into service in Europe, and was the first US tank that could take on powerful German armour such as the Tiger I and Panther on reasonably even terms. Tamiya’s 1:35 scale kit represents the T26-E4, a developed version of the Pershing, armed with a long-barrel 90mm main gun with enough power to throw armour-piercing shells punching through the front plate of even the ultimate German tank, the King Tiger.

RUSSIAN 1:35 SCALE BT-7 TANK FROM TAMIYA

SMN report
Russian BT tanks (from the words Bystrokhodny Tank, meaning ‘fast tank’, leading to the nickname ‘Betka’) were produced from 1932 to 1941. They were lightly armoured, but had a powerful main gun, decent speed, and fair mobility. The sloping front armour was a major protective innovation, and was a feature that would be incorporated into many later tanks, including the famed T-34.

Combat career
Early BTs first saw combat in the Spanish Civil War, but in the World War II tank battles of 1940 and 1941, German armour was massively superior. The bottom picture shows just one of the thousands of BT tanks that were destroyed or abandoned in the face of overwhelming firepower.

What’s in the Tamiya BT-7 kit?
It’s the 14-tonne BT-7 that is the subject of this beautifully crafted 1:35 scale Tamiya kit. When assembled, Tamiya’s model has a length of 161 mm (6.3 in) and includes a pair of figures, commander and crewman. A pity another figure wasn’t included though, as the BT-7 normally had a crew of three.

Metal parts
Engine cover and radiators are well served however, as these are photo-etched parts, with all the fine precision this implies. Another metal component is the tow chain dangling between the headlights, two items which feature clear lens covers. Markings for five different vehicles are included, and the first BT-7 kit production run also has a nicely-printed photo leaflet included which provides useful photo references. All in all, the BT-7 is well up to the usual high standards for 1:35 scale military subjects from Tamiya.

See the Tamiya BT-7 kit here.

View oodles of Tamiya militaria here (we want the lot, but there’s not enough room at SMN Towers, sad to say).

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1-2  BT-7 boxtop art, and three-view diagram

3-5  Views of the completed Tamiya BT-7.
6  BT-7 tank destroyed in action by German forces, July 1941.
Pictures courtesy German Federal Archive, Tamiya.