Mark's Miniatures & RPG Blog: November 2020

Sunday 29 November 2020

1/72 scale (20mm) Soviet BT-7 Fast/Cavalry Tank (Pegasus Hobbies)

The BT (Bystrochodnij Tankov, translating to ‘fast moving tank’) tank series was developed from the U.S. Christie M1931 tank; a lightly armoured fast/cavalry tank designed for speed and maneuverability. While the U.S. rejected the mass production of the Christie M1931 fast tank, the Soviets showed interest in the fast tank concept. The Soviets used ‘underground channels’ to purchase at least two Christie M1931 tanks, which they used to develop the BT tank series. The BT-7 was the last model in the BT tank series and shared the same turret as the T-26 light tank and the BA-6 heavy armoured car.

Pegasus Hobbies produces a 1/72 scale hard plastic Soviet BT-7 Fast/Calvary Tank kit containing two models. This set is part of Pegasus Hobbies’ easy build (E-Z Build) range; each BT-7 comes in 12 parts.

Pegasus Hobbies 1/72 Soviet BT-7 Fast Tank

I built and painted two BT-7 Fast Tanks. To give each tank a distinct look, I painted popular Soviet wartime tank slogans on the turret of one of the tanks and applied Soviet tank decals to the turret of the other tank. The decals are from Italeri’s ‘Fast Assembly’ 1/72 scale T-34/85 model kit.

The images below could be found in the Russian Armour III section of Citizen Soldiers: A 1/72 scale World War 2 Model Site.

Citizen Soldiers: A 1/72 scale World War 2 Model Site is devoted to the hobby of painting and collecting World War 2 models/miniatures. It is my hope, through creating this website, to honour the men and women who served in the Second World War, whose sacrifices and courage have given us the freedom and quality of life we have today.

1/72 scale (20mm) BA-6 Heavy Armoured Car (Pegasus Hobbies)

Based on the six-wheeled BA-1 armoured car, the BA-6 Heavy Armoured Car entered service in 1936. The BA-6 shared the same turret as the T-26 (Model 1933) light tank and later models in the BT fast tank series (BT-5 and BT-7). The BA-6 served as a reconnaissance vehicle, serving in Reconnaissance Regiments for armoured and infantry formations.

Pegasus Hobbies produces a 1/72 scale hard plastic Soviet BA-6 Heavy Armoured Car kit containing two models. This set is an ‘E-Z build’ kit and requires the assembly of 23 parts to build each armoured car.

Pegasus Hobbies 1/72 Soviet BA-6 Heavy Armoured Car

I built and painted two BA-6 Armoured Cars. For one of the armoured cars, I painted popular World War 2 Soviet tank/vehicle slogans on the sides of the vehicle. As well, I applied decals to both models. The decals are from Italeri’s ‘Fast Assembly’ T-34/85 kit.

The images below could be found in the Russian Armour II I section of Citizen Soldiers: A 1/72 scale World War 2 Model Site.

Tuesday 24 November 2020

1/72 scale (20mm) Italeri Sherman M4A3(76)W & M4A3E2 ‘Jumbo’

The M4 Sherman medium tank was the second most produced tank during the war (after the Russian T-34), with some 49,234 M4s and M4 variants built. The Sherman was reliable, relatively inexpensive to build and easy to mass produce; it became the backbone of the Unites States armoured forces. The Sherman M4A3 was the fourth model in the M4 tank series; the M4A3 had a welded hull and was powered by the Ford GAA V8 gasoline engine. The Sherman M4A3(76)W was an upgraded variant of the M4A3 armed with a more powerful 76 mm tank gun and equipped with ‘wet’ ammunition stowage bins.

Technical Data Card: Sherman M4A3E2 'Jumbo'

The Sherman M4A3E2 Assault Tank, best known by the post-war nickname the ‘Sherman Jumbo’, was an up-armoured variant of the Sherman M4A3 tank. Extra armour was added to the M4A3 Sherman and a larger/heavier turret was installed. The up-armoured Sherman was created due to the need for a heavily armoured assault tank in the European Theatre and time constraints in designing a new tank for this role.

Italeri produces ‘fast assembly’ 1/72 scale Sherman M4A3E2 ‘Jumbo’ and Sherman M4A3 76mm model kits. While the two kits have different turret/gun sprues, both kits share the same hull sprue.

Italeri 1/72 Sherman M4A3(76)W and M4A3E2

I built and painted two M4A3 variant model kits: One kit came with the Battle of Bastogne box set (this kit contains both the M4A3 76 mm turret and the M4A3E2 turret) and the other kit was the Sherman M4A3 76mm model set (which only contained the M4A3 76 mm turret). Since the Sherman M4A3E2 ‘Jumbo’ was uncommon (only 254 M4A3E2s were built, accounting for less than 1 percent of the total M4s produced), I built only one of the M4A3s as a ‘Sherman Jumbo’ and the other three as M4A3(76)W variants.