1/72 vehicles

Object 279 was a sixty-ton prototype of a Soviet heavy tank developed in 1957-1959. The tank was characterized by very strong armor protection and its shape was intended to withstand the shock wave of a nuclear attack. It moved on four tracks with the possibility of changing the ground clearance of the vehicle, which should ensure high passability through difficult terrain. The armament consisted of an experimental 130-millimetre M-65 tank cannon with a rate of 5-7 rounds per minute, which was supposed to be able to penetrate the 300-millimetre-thick armour plate of the enemy. The cannon was equipped with Grozda stabilization and night vision, the range was 12,500 meters. A 14.5-millimeter KPVT heavy machine gun was coupled to the cannon. Only 3 prototypes were produced, serial production did not take place due to high costs and unsatisfactory test results. The only surviving example can be found in the Russian Tank Museum in Kubinka.

After a few months I’m coming back to the Crusader theme, this time in an anti-aircraft variant, and I add the even lesser-known British tank Cruiser A9, which took part in the battles in France as part of the BEF and subsequently in the Greek and African campaigns, before being withdrawn from the front line due to its obsolescence.

The infantry tank is a category of tanks that originated between world wars in Great Britain. These tanks were intended mainly for direct support of the advancing infantry and for destroying the enemy’s fortified positions. The Infantry Tank Mk.III was named Valentine and replaced the older Matilda types. In 1940-1944 over eight and a quarter thousand Valentines were produced in eleven versions.

The Crusader is a British medium (cruiser) tank produced since 1939 in several modernized versions as well as special anti-aircraft variants. The type played a significant role in the first part of the war in Africa, but it was soon replaced by heavier and more powerful types entering the arsenal of the Allies.

The Bedford QL was a series of three-ton 4×4 trucks produced by Bedford for the British Armed Forces between 1941 and 1945. More than 3,300 units of the QLT “Troop Carrier” infantry transport variant alone were produced.

The M8 Greyhound was a six-wheeled light armored car that attempted service in the United States Army in 1942, the first production vehicles rolled off the Ford production line in early 1943. The command and liaison variant of this vehicle without a turret was designated the M20.

Six-wheeled German production armored vehicle Fuchs representing Hummel variant intended for radio-electronic warfare of the Royal Netherlands Army.

OA vz. 30 was a Czechoslovak armored car manufactured in 1933 and 1934 in the Tatra Kopřivnice. And it was our best interwar armored car.

I’ve been thinking for a long time about building something other than an airplane. For starters, I‘ve chosen the well-known line World at War from IBG company, which is more for wargaming, but the level of detail, number of parts and easiness of construction is absolutely perfect for someone like me. I liked the shapes and I was also attracted to try camouflage on such a small scale, so I chose the A10 Cruiser.

The 1:35 CSM Lancia 1ZM is a really beautiful kit and when the company announced that it will also be produced in 1:72 I was really happy. This really good-looking Italian armored car was even used by our legionnaires – which is why I bought another kit with Vizimodels accessories to recreate the Czechoslovak Lancia.

Last year, IBG Models produced another piece of their Crusader family, this time an anti-aircraft version of this famous tank, which could not be missed in my collection. It’s a 40 mm Bofors gun mounted on the Crusader Mk.III chassis. I consider the IBGs Crusader one of the best small-scale British tank model kits on the market.