Thursday, November 29, 2012

Landships

Evidence for the maritime heritage of tank design can be seen in the multi-turreted landship type designs that were created in the interwar period before WWII. While probably not what H.G. Wells envisioned when he wrote The Land Ironclads, there is a good possibility these designs were influenced by concepts developed by the Landships Committee that were later embodied in the Vickers A1E1 Independent.


Models of interwar tanks are scarce, but three different types of multi-turreted tanks have been made in 1/72 scale. Most likely because they were actually used in the early part of WWII.
The first model is a Soviet T-35 from the Russian Tank Collection. It is mostly plastic, with a metal lower hull. The details are decent except for the silver painted headlamps which make the model look very toy-like.


The second model is the Soviet T-28, also from the Russian Tank Collection. This model is also metal and plastic, though there may be more metal in the T-28 than in the T-35. Details are a bit softer on this model because the rear deck is made of metal. It also has the same issues with the headlamps as the T-35. A resin model of the T-28 is also made by MIG productions, but it is fairly expensive when you can find it.


The final model is the Dragon Nebaufahrzeug Nr.3-5. Frankly, when I saw the model, I was a bit underwhelmed. It is the smallest of the three tanks. I would have thought that the people who came up with the Maus, the Ratte, and the Monster would have developed something bigger. Despite this, I will probably be getting the Nr.1 version with the Rheinmetall turret as well. There is another kit for the Nr.2 version, but I'm guessing that it is the same as the Nr.3-5 except for different decals so I'll skip that one.


A comparison of the three tanks.


1 comment:

EY said...

Just a note: I found out that the Nr. 2 actually has some subtle differences in the turrets. The main turret is bolted together instead of welded, and the model of the Nr. 2 actually does have the bolts. The MG turrets have a different hatch (semi-circular vs. square). I'm not sure if this really warrants getting a third kit even if they are pretty easy to put together...