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This is a new area for Britmodeller, as it seems that quite a few of us are interested in these large scale models of famous armour such as the Tiger, King Tiger, Sherman, Pershing and many others. Remote control tanks aren't just the bailiwick of Tamiya with their high quality, but expensive kits. Heng Long supply remote control tanks for a fraction of the price, with sound, smoke and engine noises, as do a growing group of other suppliers such are Torro and in un-motorised forms,Trumpeter, Hobby Boss and now Panda. I'm sure I've missed some out, but I'm new to this growing group of modellers. Why the new section? Well, the factors of size and the inclusion of remote control on a lot of these scale kits, they're quite a bit different from the usual scales. They're also a bit harder to store, as the big ones such as the King Tiger are almost 60cm from front to back. Whether you buy them to use as fun toys, or upgrade them so that they're as accurate as possible, they can be quite good fun to play with, although if you're dedicated, you can run up quite a bill even if you don't choose Tamiya. If money is no object, you can go crazy with the Armortek kits, which I think are 1:6 or even crazier with a 1:4 King Tiger that'll cost from between £3,300 and over £10,000 depending on what you specify. That one can pull a car, and looks truly scary. It's quite a broad church though, as the Heng Long Tiger I can be had for around £50 if you shop around, and includes all the features above, with the King Tiger and others weighing in at only a little more for the basic plastic kits. You can spend a couple of hundred on a full-metal version of most tanks, which includes metal gears, wheels and tracks, or you you could buy the cheaper ones and upgrade to metal as parts wear out to keep your costs down. it's all very tempting though! The range of static kits in this larger scale is growing fast, with Panda joining the fray soon with a 1:16 P-38(t) in the next couple of weeks, which our friends at Welsh Dragon Models are hoping to have in stock earlier than most UK suppliers. Keep your eyes peeled for that one, and we'll try and get a review sample in to tempt you with. Dave (Shar2) has joined the moderating team for this larger scale, as he's just dipped his toe into the waters and has become quite interested in a very short time. If you've got any questions, just ask Dave or myself. Mike.

Tiger I Updates (for Hobby Boss) 1:16 Taigen The Hobby Boss 1:16 Tiger I owes more than a little to a previous mould that was sold as a remote control model by a company called WSN, who retreated from Europe and were later re-marketed under Torro's branding. It would seem that many updates designed for those R/C kits will fit the new Hobby Boss kit. We've got just a sample of what's available here to show what's out there. Towing Shackles This set of four cast metal shackles replace the plastic ones, and have a separate partially threaded rod that screws into a bolt, making them fully functional. They are also add some realism as they can be left slightly loose to dangle in the breeze. You'll need to do a little clean-up to remove mould seams, but not only are they more sturdy, they'll also be easier to chip during the weathering process just like the real thing. Final Drive inner detail plates This set contains two detailed zinc-alloy parts to add the missing bolt-heads on the insides of the final drive bulges at the front of the tank, plus a small armoured vent cover for the engine deck, which is applicable to later model Tiger Is. It saves you a lot of scratch-building and adds more realism with minimum effort. Review samples courtesy of .