The first proper plastic kits I ever built, these had been sitting primed and ready for painting since June, the month I stopped working from home.
The Vickers Mark E Type B is arguably the tank most associated with the Thai army of WWII, never mind the fact that it was outnumbered by the Ha-Go. That this is the case is likely a result of people knowing only of the Franco-Thai War — during which the six tonners famously saw action against the Foreign Legion, whose erroneous claim of having destroyed three of the tanks has been repeated ad verbatim all over — and not the rest of Thailand’s participation in the wider world war, which was when the Japanese-made tanks were put into the field.
Unusually for a tank whose commercial success resulted in its showing up in locales as far flung as South America and the Balkans, in 20mm there are only two makes to choose from. The first is a four-piece resin casting from Frontline Wargaming, a firm that manages the impossible feat of providing decent, wargamer-friendly wares at economy prices. At the other extreme there’s the plastic injection kit from Mirage Hobby of Poland which is more aimed at serious hobbyists who get off on tackling complex builds.
Wanting an open hatch, I went against instinct and opted for the Mirage kit. While I cannot claim to have cherished the assembly of 132 individual wheels from double that amount of pieces, it was a straightforward enough build.
The painting is what you would expect of a simpleton such as myself, consisting of a base of VMC Olive Grey, a wash of dark brown (more on that in a minute), and a drybrush of a 1:1 mix of Desert Yellow and Olive Grey. No pigments or filters for the likes of me!
Time for a quick plug: I cannot recommend Tamiya’s line of enamel-based washes enough. I know it’s the modelling equivalent of preferring Heineken over a double IPA from deepest darkest Congo, but I think these are superior to the MIG stuff everyone and their nan have been hollering praise for. They are certainly easier to use, being adorned with tiny, built-in brushes that are perfect for pin washes.
The commander figure is actually a Lancer Miniatures French crewman whose head has been replaced with that of an American tanker from Raventhorpe. His overalls was painted in the standard scheme I use for my Thais while the goggles received a base of VMC London Grey followed by a second coat of VMC Sky Grey, with VMC Azure being employed for the glass.
I shall definitely be revisiting these sometime after the new year, once Black Lion releases their set of Thai army decals.
Next up in my rearmament programme: howitzers!
for a few rounds more 