Jump to content

TKS tankette


Recommended Posts

Hello peeps!

I’m being a bit cheeky here; here’s my latest project…

50428267646_4bfd2c2342_k.jpg

It’s a lovely little kit – sprue fixing points are a bit thick in places and the tracks are a poor representation of the real thing, but otherwise the detail is great with a pretty complete interior for a very reasonable price.

Now, I’ve seen at least one build of this (or very similar – i.e. slightly different version) model that I couldn’t even hope to equal. When I studied this build….

….I wasn’t immediately aware of just how incredible it was. Having now built the bulk of my kit, I can see how tiny it is and just what awesome modelling “XXXXX” is capable of! As a consequence, I’m not going to embarrass myself with a full WIP.

I forewent any aftermarket – my plan from the start was a small, simple OOB lockdown build. In fact, the main reason I picked this kit was that it includes paints, and being separated at the time from my paint collection and airbrush I thought that made sense. Of course time marches on.  I’ve been re-united with my kit and I couldn’t resist a bit of scratching on the interior so here’s where it stands:

50428267521_25f4d0eba1_k.jpg

The bodywork and hatches are all fixed with Klear as a temporary glue while it gets painted. Once it’s done, I’ll take it all apart again for a few interior shots.

The really cheeky bit follows – I’ve been practising my figure painting with a really nice Evolution miniatures Russian soldier. I didn’t want to post him in the “figures” forum as it seems go be mostly fantasy stuff – not my bag and I suspect, not yours either.

50428266186_ce52a308d9_k.jpg

50428440947_19bab61078_k.jpg

50428266201_da638e646e_k.jpg

The question is; could these two possibly have met? I’d really like to put them together in a little vignette/diorama, but I don’t know if a Polish tankette might have met a Russian trooper. I could just ignore history and go for it as I usually do, but if anyone out there knows I’d appreciate it…. I might ignore you anyway though if I don’t like the answer!

 

 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Rob. It's a nice kit, but the tracks are a bit of a problem. They're moulded with the wheels and so replacing them with something more accurate is a tricky prospect - one I decided not to tackle. It's a shame, because otherwise the detail is very nice, with a lot of the interior available to view. This thing is tiny - about the size of the average 1/72 tank.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you - I was really impressed with the Evolution miniatures resin chap; lovely detail - I felt I needed to take away any excuses for my figure painting and see what I could do with a really good one. I'm pretty pleased with him... no more excuses!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Model Mate said:

 It's a nice kit, but the tracks are a bit of a problem. They're moulded with the wheels and so replacing them with something more accurate is a tricky prospect - one I decided not to tackle. It's a shame, because otherwise the detail is very nice, with a lot of the interior available to view. This thing is tiny - about the size of the average 1/72 tank.

You have set for "quick assembly" ("szybki montaż"), with paints and so on (zestaw startowy = starter set). This set is probably for somebody who begin adventure with scale-modelling, young modellers and so on. You can find sets with more detailed tracks as well, for example:

b77d430cac4b991bad7f146d91513d03.jpg

(set includes detailed tracks, turned metal barrel and 2 figures)

http://en.ibg.com.pl/en,ibg-35046-1-35-tankietka-tks-z-nkm-wz-38-fk-a-20mm,3,33,35,46,14559.html#.X32h2O3go2w

Here you can see how does it look:

https://www.kfs-miniatures.com/1-35-tks-20mm-budowa/

 

Best regards,

Michal.

 

 

 

Edited by socjo1
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

quesiton (not to hijack) are IBG and Mirage Hobby kits the same molds for these tankettes?

Edited by robw_uk
correcting manufacturer name
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, robw_uk said:

quesiton (not to hijack) are IBG and Mirage Hobby kits the same molds for these tankettes?

No, Mirage Hobby's kit is quite old, far less detailed and - I presume - worse fitting.

 

M.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Model Mate said:

but I don’t know if a Polish tankette might have met a Russian trooper

They met. After the Soviet Union's aggression against Poland on September 17, the Red Army captured several TKS. They also took over several TKS sold to Estonia.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great to see another TKS here.

 

It's a neat little kit. 

Even though you have the simple-running-gear version of it, I guess, it wouldn't be a big deal, as the model is so tiny.

 

It's coming together nicely so far.

I would very much like to see the interior shots of yours. 

30 minutes ago, Tom W. said:

They met. After the Soviet Union's aggression against Poland on September 17, the Red Army captured several TKS. They also took over several TKS sold to Estonia.

Soviet army took all of the 6 estonian tankettes over indeed. Though estonian ones were all armed with the MGs not the 20mm gun. 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brief update; I covered the tankette in blue tac worms and sprayed the green.

50471505972_981142fa79_k.jpg

50471354251_aa99449729_k.jpg

 

More worms and then brown.

50471505652_0064fe6b23_k.jpg

 

And when unwrapped:

50471505937_a637189700_k.jpg

 

The green looks a bit light – I should have sprayed a bit more I think.

I could then pop off the lid for some interior photos.

50471353711_a8644ec8e5_k.jpg

 

I added a heat shield to the engine using stiff wine-bottle foil and a bit of guitar string for the exhaust plus a few plastic card scrap boxes.

The top had been blu tac’d in place and the hatches were all fixed using Klear as a temporary glue allowing them to be popped out for posing open.

50470653968_7566fca793_k.jpg

 

Last job today was painting the tracks and wheels – not easy when they’re mostly hidden by fiddly suspension!

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking great so far! The figure looks to be a later-war Soviet guy-you did fantastic work on him.

I built the version of this kit (w/the 20mm) with the individual tracks-it was not a simple build at all.  I have the MG version in the stash, but those tracks have moved it to the back of the line a bit. Building the tracks and suspension extended my build to a little over a year, but by the end, I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks great! I like the interior - I think the "bit too light" green is actually a good thing and makes it  pop out nicely when it's visible only by the hatches.

 

6 hours ago, f matthews said:

I built the version of this kit (w/the 20mm) with the individual tracks-it was not a simple build at all.  I have the MG version in the stash, but those tracks have moved it to the back of the line a bit. 

The individual tracks of the IBG kit turned out to be a quite wrong when speaking of accurate geometry, so I ended up modifying RPM kit tracks for my build - RPM kits cost next to nothing these days.

I really wish some company like MasterClub made a proper aftermarket tracks to TKS tankettes.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Apologies for the absence, I’ve been distracted with a very, very nice Miniart Lee (interior) – what a beauty! I really should try to stick to the “one-at-a-time” work ethic….

 

My tiny tank has had a dab of acrylic dark grey sponge-applied scratches and chips followed by a Vandyke brown “slosh-wash” and a pin-wash of raw umber oils to pick out all the rivets. A light dry brush of tan acrylics highlighted them a little more.

 

I then assembled all the major parts once the hatches had been glued in place – superglue all round as everything had been painted. The light on the side was drilled out and a piece of wire used to replace the bracket which had snapped off.

 

Talking of snapping off; I managed to snap the gun barrel, so had to fork out for a (very lovely) Aber brass replacement.

50533882341_7cfe053be3_k.jpg

50533882396_d7ea2baa66_k.jpg

50533152953_592d51f347_k.jpg

 

I started work on the diorama – my Russian trooper has stumbled across an abandoned tankette which has slid off the road. I’m putting him up high on the road; partly because his gaze is directed downwards, and partly to enhance the miniscule scale of the vehicle. It also gives me the opportunity to get lots of mud on the tracks as they’re really not very detailed.

 

I cut a base (100x100mm – i.e. tiny) from a piece of plywood, no-more-nailed on a couple of pieces of insulation foam and then slapped a dose of plaster filler on it to form a slope. I scored some slide/slip marks on the surface where the tankette has slipped. Not sure how well I’ll be able to create this, so bear with me.

50533882446_8a46ce3942_k.jpg

50533882346_d55a73ffcc_k.jpg

 

Finally for now, I poured some diluted PVA over it all and sprinkled grey tile grout, crushed cat litter and dried tea leaves on it. Grass to come….

50533153043_f524781365_k.jpg

 

 

 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...