1:35 scale and powered vehicles.

I was reading about the origin of this scale and found that it came about as it was the ideal size for a vehicle to carry the B size batteries used  to power the motor for the tracks. So it was more by coincidence than choice. It just so happens to be an ideal scale for adding a high degree of detailing, which has improved enormously over the years with the introduction of etched brass  and resin kits available for the ardent modeller. Tamiya were ahead of the game in their distinctive style of box art, which has remained constant in all the years I have been buying kits. Initially I remember the kits that I made did include a motor and metal gearbox, which powered the rear wheels. I also remember that most of the kits I made wouldn't run. I'm sure it was down to my lack of skill but I always blamed the design of the tracks. A case of the worker blaming his tools perhaps. The only ones I remember working were a Saladin armoured car and a Sheridan medium tank, used during the Vietnam war. The Sheridan tank was a curious machine with a short main gun and a low profile and relatively small. I suppose ideal for the jungle conditions it was designed for. All of the hulls for these models had supports for the batteries moulded inside.

My model of the Graham Hill lotus in its distinctive red and gold livery, sporting a rear wing, a new addition at the time also had a small motor inside the engine block with the AA batteries under the cockpit.  This was connected to the rear axle and was meant to power the rear wheels. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be able to power the car or if it was simply meant as something for display purposes. I did try the car out on the carpet but it simply tore the half shafts apart , leading to a rather messy repair and a very disappointed young teenage lad. There  are no photographs of this model as it's another casualty of time.

I also built a 1:16 scale Tamiya Centurion tank, which if i remember correctly had two motors. Another distinctive feature was the individual track links. This was a very successful model and was a delight to watch as I sent it trundling across the assault course of my parents back garden, which was mainly a vegetable plot. A good friend of mine also had an interest in AFV's,his dad worked at the Armstrong Vickers factory. He had a remote controlled American tank, I can't remember which one it was but the garden soon resembled the trenches of the great war.

This is a Tamiya Kruppe Protze, a six wheeled light transport vehicle for infantry and in this case towing a 37mm anti tank gun. Compared with the mighty 88mm the 37mm looks tiny, but at the outset of the second world war the majority of tanks were still in the early years of their evolution and were relatively light and thin skinned and the relatively light Protze and the 37mm were ideal for the tactics of blitzkrieg.

I enjoyed building this kit as it had an interesting suspension system, some good crew and simply looks good.