1/35 RPM Tankietka TKS 20mm gun - Build nearly finished

[adt70hk]

Hi all

So the observant among you will notice that this the wrong scale. I'm having a crack at this because it has link and length tracks, which I've never done before, and so want to have a go at some before I tackle my 1/72 T-90A tracks. I'll be starting it at tonight's model club meeting.

Somebody gave our club a load of kits to sell at a show back in the spring to raise some extra money for us (nice of him I think you would agree!) and this was left over, meaning it was available at the next club night for members to by. Initial impressions of the sprue are good, with no obvious flash and what looks like good moulding. It even comes with a full(ish) interior. At first sight the entirely Polish instructions look a bit iffy but actually look like they won't be too bad if you take the time to follow them carefully.

As for the tankette itself I'd only come across this previously in World of Tanks, so if you want to know more then have a look HERE.......

Oh and the cost to my wallet - £1!! So even if I give up it won't cost me much.

ACW as usual

yours

Andrew

 

[Jakko]

I built this one a looong time ago, and from what I remember of it, it’s a decent kit. Not Tamiya by any stretch of the imagination, but the parts fit and the model looks like the real thing. However, if 1:72 scale modern tank tracks are what you need a break from, this may not be the ideal kit to have that with

 

[adt70hk]

I built this one a looong time ago, and from what I remember of it, it’s a decent kit. Not Tamiya by any stretch of the imagination, but the parts fit and the model looks like the real thing. However, if 1:72 scale modern tank tracks are what you need a break from, this may not be the ideal kit to have that with

Hi Jakko

Thanks for the info.

It's actually more question of never having done them before and I place far more value in my T-90 than I do in this kit. So this will be a learning exercise on what not to do when I come to tackle the T90.

Thanks again.

Andrew

 

[adt70hk]

Hi all

So by my standards a very fast built. Started it at my model club night last Monday and other than needing to finish the link and length tracks I have pretty much finished the build process, albeit some parts will not be glued in until painted e.g some interior parts and most hatches.

Although I had planned to to it OOB I ended up cutting out the hatches and making replacement ones so you can see inside. I also made a proper louvre ventilation slats for the engine.

The Pros for the kit are as follows:

• Cheap - cost me a£1
• Simple - good job too considering the below!
• Good learning experience never having done an interior (even a rudimentary one like this) and also my first link and length tracks.

Cons:

• Cheap overly thick plastic that didn't respond well to be being hacked about or sanded - glue ok though!
• Unclear instructions with sprue numbers not matching, calling for completely the wrong part number or even non-existent ones, or the image of a piece bearing no relation to the actual shape.
• Location/fix points - remind me, what are these mysterious things?
• Mysterious pieces that are called for but I have no idea what they're for and aren't in any shots of the interior I can find, either on the real thing or other kits.
• Complete lack of thought about whether the interior will fit properly e.g. the gear stick is half it's original length and is missing its base - a shame as it looked quite nice.
• Parts that don't fit - full stop - and require the some hacking about of the them or the hull e.g. the return rollers.
• Did I mention the instructions and sprue numbering?

All of the above being said on the whole I have actually enjoyed making it as it was something a bit different from my usual and the build was also helped by me finding a build of the IBG version, which I regularly referred to when I got stuck (link HERE).

So in short whilst I would never recommend ever paying full price for this but if I found one for a £1 again I would probably buy it to try and do a better job.

Pics below and ACW as usual.

ATB

Andrew

PS sorry pics are a bit iffy. Not sure what happened with my phone.

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Exterior

The hatches should be bi-fold but i couldn't be bothered to cut them in half given their size and the other problems I had. Also getting the hatch gold the right size was impossible due to nature of the plastic.














Interior
Some pieces are dryfitted

 

[Dave Ward]

I've done another 20mm variant of the TK series, the TKW-II, by RPM. It seems to use the same basic sprues - there are several boxings by different makers, just added parts for turrets, interior & armament

In comparison to my BEF Light Mk. VIB, you can see it is a real midget - I don't think it could have been very comfortable to ride in!
Dave

 

[Steve Jones]

Im kit bashing two of these next year so I will be taking lots of notes. Good luck

 

[adt70hk]

Im kit bashing two of these next year so I will be taking lots of notes. Good luck

Steve

I'll try not to let you down!