Saturday, February 16, 2013

Modelling The T-55 Main Battle Tank


The Russian T-55 is one of the most prolific main battle tanks ever produced. A direct descendent of the infamous and prevalent Russian T-34, the T-55 was first introduced in the 'cold war' era of the 1950s. By the time production ended in the early 1980s, an estimated 50.000 examples had been built under license by Russian allies such as Poland, Czechoslovakia and China. Many versions and modifications were developed, both by the original Russian manufacturer and by licensed producers throughout the world. Many different camouflage and paint schemes have been displayed on the T-55 through the years, such as during the Balkan wars and the two Iraq wars, making the T-55 a consistently interesting modelling subject. Given the T-55's simplicity, reliability, and its powerful 100mm gun, it is not surprising that many T-55s are still in service today, as seen in the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Modelling the SdKfz 251 Halftrack


Anyone with even a remote familiarity with the beginning of World War II has heard of blitzkrieg or "Lightning War." This concept, introduced to the world by Hitler's Germany, is defined by coordinated and concentrated attacks by both air and land forces. In specific reference to land forces, the blitzkrieg battle doctrine requires that infantry move along with tanks to exploit and secure breaches opened by the punch of the armored force. In order for this doctrine to be tested and employed, it was recognized that infantry transport needed to be advanced from horses to another mode capable of keeping pace with the new7 fast-moving armor. This need was filled by a new type of vehicle based on the Hanomag 3-ton chassis (SdKfz 11) and was developed into the Mittlerer Gepanzerter Mannschaftskraftwagen (medium armored transport vehicle) during the mid-thirties. The Sonderkraftfahrzeug (SdKfz) 251 or "Mittlerer Schutzenpanzer-wragen, (SPW)" as it became known, was one of the most numerous vehicles in the German arsenal during World War II.