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Starting my next project - Takom's Bergepanther Ausf.A. It's gonna be Demag's one as the box says. Out of the Daimler-Benz, Henschel and Demag built Bergepanther Ausf.A's Demag is the only one to go with the winch and shovel. To add to the base kit I have Voyager Model's PE, MasterClub metal tracks and T-Rex's 3D-printed idler wheel. The beginning is obiously very similar to the Takom's Panther Ausf.D I built few years ago. Cheers! Kristjan

Most of my model making time lately has been occupied with designing 3D printed parts on my computer. I've missed the feel of plastic though so I dragged myself away from the PC and pulled a Takom Maus out of the stash. I plan to built it as a "what-if" production version with a Maus II turret. For that I'll be using Rhino's resin E-100 Krupp turret, along with a metal barrel from RB models, a voyager photo etch set & some other spare bits & pieces. The wheels & suspension are the first step of this kit & are made up from 288 parts in total! Most of which wont be visible once the model is finished. After working on it for over a week I've managed to get though this rather monotonous first step & I'm now looking forward to the more fun job of working on the hull & turret. The Maus's original turret's had a curved front which caused a shot-trap problem on the lower part. To counter this, armoured plates were added to the top of the engine deck to deflect shells away from the turret. For this model I'm using Krupp's Maus II turret though which doesn't have the same problem, So I've decided to not add the armoured plates & removed/filled the parts on the engine deck related to them. Without the armoured plates you can see more clearly though the grills & into the engine bay. So I had the spontaneous idea of 3D printing an engine to fill the void. It's extremely basic & missing a lot of detail but I didn't want to spend a lot of time & energy on something that will be barely visible when finished. I'm thinking about making the electric motors at the rear of the hull too though. For the next step I started drilling holes into the side of the hull to fit camouflage loops but my only 0.3mm drill-bit snapped 😭 I've ordered some more but they might take awhile to arrive. I'll make a start on the tracks next while I'm waiting for the new drills...

As a product of the 1980's myself I think taking part in this GB is obligatory... However, since I was born in the mid 80's I can't really remember very much of the decade. But one thing that I can remember is the car my Mum drove when I was little. It was a red Volkswagen Polo which had a warning triangle, a first aid kit and a fuel can tucked in the boot, three items that my Dad's car didn't have and were thus of interest to a curious child. It was only later I found out why her car had them. So, in the early 1980's, before she married, my Mum was a teacher at a British Families Education Service (BFES) school in Germany and in what I understand was almost a tradition of those who've been part of or supported British Forces Germany she took advantage of the tax exemptions available to bring a new car home when she returned to the UK. So the Polo had those three items of kit in the boot because it was a German car, originally bought and driven in Germany where carrying these items was (is?) a legal requirement. A quick check with my Mum the other week confirmed that she'd taught at Collingwood school in Celle teaching the children of those serving in "14th Sigs, 3rd Greenjackets and 9/4 locating regiment". A quick poke around online revealed that 3rd Battalion The Royal Green Jackets were part of 22 Armoured Brigade at the time and would have been operating as mechanised infantry. In the early 1980's I think that would mean they used the FV432 and handily the below was knocking around the stash. So, as a nod to my Mums time in Germany, I'd like to do an FV432 as serving in the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Green Jackets, part of the British Army of the Rhine in the early 1980's as, with the Cold War at its height, NATO stood on guard against the Warsaw Pact. The FV432 isn't iconically 1980's (since they've been knocking about since the 1960's (as an additional family link they were originally manufactured by GKN Sankey in their Wellington plant where my Dad started his working life!)) and the green and black camo hardly places it either (unlike the Berlin Brigade camo) but they were there! Cheers, Richard.

Another kit I've had completed for several years. Takom's 1/35 Chieftain Mk.10 in the Berlin Brigade camo scheme. Painted with Mig Ammo for the grey, brown, and NATO green, and Tamiya for the white. Pretty happy with the overall outcome of this one. Took a LOT of masking tape, hah Thanks for looking as always ^-^ Gaz

Afternoon all. Finally found some time to start a new thread. Been a bit in a rut recently with many ongoing projects and hit a brick wall on a few so decided a nice simple build is in order to get back on track. Decided on a King Tiger (my first) from the stash. I chose this one as on the whole they seem to have minimal detail really, even with the PE upgrade set. Based on some research, many had little left of detail by wars end like fenders and side mudguards etc.....so going that route. Here's the kit itself..... The kit has the option to build a type with a larger gun and night vision that was never actually built......not realy one for "paper panzers" myself, so stuck with the 88mm version. Now here's an interesting point. The 88mm barrel in the kit has a larger diameter that the Voyager one in the PE upgrade set. Curious..............so thinking Voyager is more accurate, it'll be the metal upgrade one to use. Here's the PE set I went with. It's for the Tamiya/Dragon KT's....but can't imagine the Takom being that much different. And of course my favourite track upgrade option, R-Model. Can't fault these, so easy to throw together....all complete in under an hour, both sides. As you can see, the set comes with new drive wheels as in fact later KT's had more teeth and the tracks had no non guide horn links. Later models had a guide tooth on all links. I can't imagine it's too much of a stretch to say by war's end with lack of supply of parts to switch back to the earlier drive wheels and tracks.....so that's where I'm going with this one. I ploughed into the build late last week and it flew by, so haven't got many early build pics. So intend to post where I am tomorrow as I've just finished the re-texturing of the armour. Overall, there's isn't much to a KT build, very simple so a speedy build so far. Anyway, that's all for now. Cheers Simon.

Takom Facebook displays a new logo. Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0AWRyWWxdQfWe8KJKTs6cLGEc2jzF4q8mZLgLLvgTJ4NaTZq317K1f9jaVUrGDDKfl&id=100057593795167 Takom has already produced some helicopter kits. Possibly a new range of fixed-wing aircraft kits? Interesting. UPDATE - 1/32nd scale Horten Ho.229 kits It's a choice... Zoukei Mura has for years a 1/32nd Ho.229 kit and add ons in its catalogue: https://www.zoukeimura.co.jp/en/products/sws08_Ho229horten.html V.P.

This was a birthday gift from my son, which I started at the beginning of the long Christmas break (summer for us down-under). Brush painted using Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics, attempting to only weather it lightly as these Chieftains were kept pretty clean I gather. Represents a tank from C squadron, 14/20 King’s Hussars serving with the Berlin Infantry Brigade in 1988-1991. Build thread can be found here: And here it is with the AFV Club Centurion Mk 5 finished as “Dido” from 4 RTR when it served in Berlin in 1960 which I built back in 2022. Thanks for looking.

Hello All, Here is my latest addition a bit out of my comfort zone as I have little knowledge and even less reference on armoured things! I have wanted this boxing for some time but baulked at the £70 asking price however I had a bit of luck and managed to get one for £48. On inspecting the sprues I was mightily impressed with the moulding quality of all 525 pieces, vinyl tyres which doesn't bother me and a small etched fret. Construction was a joy as the fit of parts was excellent very precise and not much cleaning up to do or ejector pin marks to tidy. Attention should be paid to sprue removal as it is easy to snip off taking detail with it do not ask how I found out! Painting was done in several stages during construction and I used my 0.2 Iwata to spray the three tone camo. I applied some washes and some ground up cat litter to add some texture. The chromed parts were brush applied with thinned out Molotow and IPA 50/50. A coat of sealing varnish before the smsll amount of decals were applied then a coat of matt varnish to finish off. I must say having now completed the build I am mightily impressed and am considering building the 1/35 versions! Any way enough waffle what's your verdict whilst I await a Trumpeter display case to put it in!

So chaps, the next build will be something that is very dear to me, Veh reg 09EA90 ( G3 Ops) my old ride at 6th Armd Bde Salamanca Barracks in Soest West Germany. I signed for the detachment back in 1990 as a young Signaller barely just out of school, 09EA90 was straight out of base workshops after a major overhaul so it was basically a brand new wagon, the paint finish was immaculate ( sprayed black and green) , not a chip or scratch and all the kit was brand new first issue. (didn't stay like that for long) I'll be using the great Takom FV432 as the basis of this conversion which will be a in depth conversion. Most people wouldn't be able to tell a 432 and 436 apart from first glance but there are a bucket load of differences, the interior is the major headache as it filled with Radio kit. 09EA90 had a twin 353 Zulu fit along with a single 321 and a SCRAT fit. We also had 3 Ptarmigan subsets and the Redbrick TAC IC system. Adding to that I have to scratch build the new cage as the Takom cage is too small for a 436, a 1500 w Onan gene set and add the various armoured boxes on the roof plus the Racal 8m masts and mounts. After the first Gulf War our Squadron started getting the GPMG to fit on the commanders cupola, the Infantry started getting the swearing removed LSW as a section weapon so us Signallers got the GPMGs that were surplus to the Infantry. We did still have the LMG (Bren) up until that point but no mounts to fix them to the cupola. The box shot I need to find more of my photo's from the day but here are a few of 09EA90 First photo is of the Forward Headquarters 6th Armd Bde, 09EA90 (G3 Ops )on the left, centre is Radcon and the right hand side is one of the Ptarmigan Radio Relay wagon Stay tuned for more Dan

Takom/Snowman Model is to release a 1/35th Mil Mi-28N Night Hunter/"Havoc" kit - ref. 2610 & SP2610 Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02NjYWBjfzR5kXBio9ohEhmkvYBZBKi7QnV2LvSrJwZudfkHpGNgvhTMEJ1sn7ZZQKl&id=100057593795167 V.P.

Hi all, here is my latest, the Chieftain Mk.10 Tank using the 1/72 Takom 1+1 kit and was built as part of the NATO 75th GB. A lovely kit with lots of detail and comes with some PE although some parts were so small and were easily lost to carpetland. The lower hull with wheels were built and painted first before adding the PE side-skirts, then the rest was painted. AK paints were mainly used and the Mk.10 was painted in the Berlin scheme dated 1988-1991. The figures were from Wee Friends. A simple road base was made using insulation board, sandpaper for the road, some railroad street lights and other stuff. Build log here: Stuart

Hi all, here is my latest, the Chieftain Mk.11 Tank using the 1/72 Takom 1+1 kit and was built as part of the NATO 75th GB. A lovely kit with lots of detail and comes with some PE although some parts were so small and were easily lost to carpetland. The lower hull with wheels were built and painted first before adding the PE side-skirts, then the rest was painted. AK paints were mainly used and the Mk.11 was painted in the 1 RTR scheme in Germany dated 1992. The figures were from Wee Friends. Build log here: Stuart

As if I haven't got enough builds on my plate, what with two mustangs entering their paint stages and a float plane moving along, I thought I'd get another on the go. This time a Chieftain Tank Mk.10 that will have the Berlin scheme and hopefully alongside it I'll build a Mk.11 in a slightly later scheme. The kit is the Takom 1+1 in 1/72. Haven't built a Takom kit before, so... Boxart. Lots of plastic. PE and decals for two and a nice instruction booklet. Stuart

Good afternoon, Gentlemen Here’s my “what if” Kanonenjagpanzer 2 (KaJaPa 2) “Eber”. It’s a Takom VT 1-2 in a “what-he-could-have-looked-like-in-1985-configuration”. I mainly added some (modified) Leopard 1 side skirts from Perfect Scale Modellbau but also pioneer tools, a stowage box, two antennas, jerry cans, MG mount and MG, smoke dischargers, towing cables as well as a modified/scratch built periscope (because the driver would not have seen something because of the smoke dischargers … ) and a few parts other from the spare parts box (IR searchlight, spare tracks, grab handels, ice cleats for the tracks). Hope you like this what-if beast … Roger

Here is the second project I was doing for the Tiger GB. Just finished about a month late. Takom JT, Atak and homemade zim, Friul tracks. The WIP: Thanks all for viewing and have a great weekend.

For my second build I will attempt to replicate the following JT, an early one with Porsche suspension. I will be using Takom's one but, having started this a long time ago, it is well over the 25% build stage so I won't post any final pictures in the gallery. I also have some Atak zim and I think the right tracks from Friul. Cheers again.😁

Hi friends, Type 69-II Takom with Aber barrel : build finished

This was the first kit by TAKOM that I built - and I have to say I was pretty impressed. Instructions, crispness, fit ... all good! Although, I bought the kit on sale for about half price. At full price, I probably would have passed. Partly, I hope that TAKOM will release more weapons systems in the future besides their Russian/Sovjet and WWII lines, if the modern weapons sell well. I am especially hoping for Sea Sparrow, Ram or similar ... I also was lucky to be at our Naval Academy in Flensburg, when the first Sovjet task group visited Kiel/Germany in 1990. We were able to get a very extensive tour on board (I was even running around alone for a bid) on the Sovremenny class destroyer Bystryj. By the time we were ready to go to the Krivak class Nieukrotimyj, public Open Ship had started and there was a line all the way down the pier up to the gate of the base, so we bailed. Here you can see said launcher behind the 130mm... I took some liberties here. First I am unable to build a model without opening at least one door or hatch. Unfortunatley TAKOM made all the hatches as separate pieces, but provided no interior. As all the research (including this forum) didn't result in any usable info, I just made something up (litterally ). As soon as this post is forgotten, no one will ever know that it is fake. So: I am good with it The laucher is in reality not sitting directly on top of the (redbrown) deck. However as the pear shaped original decking was not provided, I painted the hexagonal part in that brown, as for me that always had a big part in the looks of Sovjet ships of that time. No weathering. The warshot (SA-N 7 on the rail) should anyhow be pristine, the training round (SA-N 17 green, last pic) shows a little bit of handling. The launcher might get some rust or salt water residue after extended periods at sea, but any bosun worth his (back than only male) money, would try to have that cleaned up while still at sea or latest painted right after coming into port (especially for an important visit as mentioned above). So short story long.... here it is With the SA-N 12 training round And the fake interior up close... Some time after that port visit, I started my 1/700 Sovjet navy collection with a Sovremenny and a Krivak. I might have to restore the Sovremenny now to go with this launcher (It survived about 10 moves in the years in between and show significant wear and tear). Finally, as always, thanks for looking and any comments welcome. Cheers

Hello everyone Here's my latest work, two cold war brits! I mostly only do WW2 era subjects so this was an interesting sidetrack for me. Modern era stuff doesn't usually interest me that much but I enjoy the look of the Chieftain a lot. I say 'modern', this is a 1960's design afterall... 😅 This is my first experience with Takom, I have to say I was slightly disappointed with this kit overall. It has great detail but for some reason also tons of flash, and the overall fit isn't really that good. Some odd design choices and ridiculous amount of parts for all the stowage boxes, made this building process a little tedious. At least the detail level is good so it was worth the effort I think. One big plus point is that the wheels and tracks can be built as a separate assembly for easier painting. Also every hatch can be opened and has good inside detail. If you want to do a full interior FV432, this kit should be a great starting point. The figures are 3D printed by Peddinghaus. They are supposedly Bundeswehr, but looks close enough I think. There was not a lot of options when it came to British cold war tank crew in 1/72. My reference photo is a BAOR Chieftain from ca 1983, with a camo net. The camo net is made from elastic medical gauze and wine bottle tinfoil cut into small strips. Brush painted with Humbrol enamels, weathering with AK splatter effects "Dry mud" and some dust pigments. Thank you for checking them out!

I recently gifted myself the Takom SA n 7 kit for my birthday. I saw a video with someone rendering the interior. The kit allows 4 doors to be opened, but does not provide any material for the interior. Research on the net didn`t come up with something (neither NATO name nor Russian nor Indian or Chines version). Any of you guys have something to help me out? Thanks a lot!! Cheers

Hi all! Since finishing the previously started models was impossible, I had to start another one. And oddly enough, this is not the first time this has happened... So, at this time It is Hetzer from Takom: About the kit Pros: This kit has no interior and is pretty basic. All the pieces fit together perfectly so far. Cons: The plastic is very soft and elastic, carving it is a real pain! I want to make this Hetzer look seriously beat up, so I started with the fun and most enjoyable - destroying the model's well-made and accurate parts. One wheel damaged by an explosion: Damaged front fender: The damaged rear left fender and toolbox: I decided to make the right rear fender heavily battered. To do this I glued on a few pieces of excess plastic: Carving the damages. Beginning: The right fender is finished : The same right fender from another side: I added a more raised texture to the casted parts and front panel and glued a number. The numbers from the Tamiya sprue label: Vytautas

Hello, just finished building the Takom's Hetzer (without interior) great kit, very precise. I just paint the interior just for the commander hatch. a great figure from CMK for commander.

Started in December last year (sooo long ago! 🙄), this project has now rolled off the line ... It's my first Takom kit and proved to be an enjoyable build. I've added extra detail to the engine ... fuel lines and wiring along with the usual wathering. Painted with Vallejo and Ammo acrylics, weathered using pastels, oils, environment 'mud' that has grass in it and enamel effects. This represents a vehicle of the 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, VI Corps in Germany during April 1945. So,on with the pictures .... Thanks for dropping by ... your comments and feedback are welcome! Keith 😁

Hello all! The Hetzer project is coming to an end and so it's time for something new on the workbench. 1914-2024 is a year that symbolises the beginning of the primeval catastrophe of mankind and therefore reason enough for me to dedicate myself to this topic: the great war I had been planning to build an MK IV for some time and bought the female version on ebay for a lot of money (the 2 in 1 kit was not available at the time). Knowing that the tracks are a punishment for any modeller, I ordered AM from Masterclub. So far I can say that the casting quality is good and there are hardly any offsets or skins on the parts. Given the manageable number of parts and the simple construction of the tank, you would think that this could be a weekend project. If it wasn't for the very dodgy assembly instructions - although they are error-free, they are more than illogically structured and the steps are nonsensical in places. Anyone who has ever built an Churchill from AFV will be familiar with the fiddly assembly of the 2 drive sides. Although Takom uses fewer parts for this, it seems to have relied more on the modeller's intuition when it comes to assembly. Here one wishes for Tamiya's cleverness, which is almost unbeatable when designing a kit. But enough bitching 🤭 I really like the kit itself, even if the rule should be applied here: think twice before gluing. Beginners in particular should be careful, as models with lots of bolts and rivets don't like being messed up with glue. MD PS: more on the correct reproduction of the original in the course of the build. Judging by the look of the box, the item had been on the shelf for a long time. The content is straightforward. Only masochists should let off steam on these tracks. Masterclub offers salvation. The construction plan and a correction sheet. Takom starts with the centre section in their plan, to which the left and right drive sides are then to be glued. However, I recommend making these assemblies first and then attaching the centre section. I will show this in the next post. The frame structure shown consists of several panels, which have a groove for orientation, but have to be glued together at an angle at the ends. A dry fit is essential here to prevent air gaps. Here you can see the grooves. The funniest part comes at the end: once the rollers have been fitted, Takom's idea is to simply put the outer frame segment on. However, nobody thought about the fact that you have to put all the rollers, wheels and the frame segment into all the holes and grooves at the same time! So first test the frame parts without the rollers for accuracy of fit and only then insert the rollers and fix everything in place. These are all my clamps. Everything holds without glue and you can still push and press until everything fits. Then put the glue on, open the beer and switch off the light 😋 See you!

After finishing my recent epic build, I looked at a Tamiya Panther as the next victim project, but decided I needed to do something that hasn't got tracks and lots of wheels so I released this from the grip of the not-a-stash stash .... This is my first foray into Takom, although having seen many of you build their products, I can't foresee any issues (I have my fingers crossed now as I've pre-ordered the 'Big Box' Tiger kits'!) and a first with 1/16th too. The nice thing here is the chance to have go at adding some extra details, such as wiring and brake lines ... Opening the box reveals this pile of goodies .... At first glance the parts look relatively flash free and crisply moulded, so off to a good start. And after bit of cleaning up, I have the three chassis parts ready to go together .... As always, comments and feedback welcome ... Keith 😁