Since there was plenty of interest in the Beaverette, I thought I'd post some
pictures of my other 1/35 scratchbuilt armoured car. This one was the first scratchbuilt
AFV model I made; I built it last autumn. It's not 100% accurate in dimensions or detail
(for example, the turret cupola has only 4 sides, rather than 8) but I still think it looks
quite good.
It's a Polish Wz.34 armoured car, a 1930s design which was used in combat during the 1939
invasion of Poland. Being only lightly armed and poorly armoured (the floor of the vehicle is
made of wood!) they weren't very successful. The Wz.29, a larger vehicle with cannon armament
and slightly heavier armour, was more effective, but in service in fewer numbers. (I intend to build
a model of one of those as well, when I get some suitable wheels).
This vehicle is painted in a very distinctive 1930s camo scheme. Wartime vehicles used larger colour
patches and didn't have the black outlines.
As well as this and the Beaverette, I have also made a Cruiser A13 tank, and have almost completed
a French Char B1 (I built this last year, but have not painted it yet as so far I haven't found a good colour scheme
reference).
I've decided to build all my scratchbuilt AFVs in 1/24 scale from now on, mainly because I think it offers
the best balance between size and detail (1/16 or larger is just too big, particularly if you have limited
display space). It is large enough for interior detail to really be visibile, and large enough to scratchbuild
working parts such as opening hatches and doors. It's also more practical to make wheels in this scale (using a disc cutter). As Plasticard is so cheap, the cost increase isn't very significant! (Also, because so few 1/24 kits are available, you can create a genuinely unique model)
I've started the preliminary work (measuring and cutting basic structural pieces) for several tanks (Cromwell, Matilda,
Vickers Mk.VI and Japanese Type 95) but I probably won't get time to do much work on them until I've finished the
Bradley.