Tamiya

1/35 Matilda Mk.III/IV British Infantry Tank

Kit Number: 35300

Reviewed by  Andrew Birkbeck, IPMS# 27087

MSRP: $47.00 Website: www.tamiyausa.com Wow, has it really been 35 years since I first built a Tamiya kit??!! Apparently it has, since it was way back in 1973 that I had the great good fortune to come across my very first "Made in Japan" model kit, Tamiya's "British Infantry Tank Mk.II Matilda", kit 35024. At the time, I thought I had died and gone to heaven: superb parts fit, excellent detail, the world's finest assembly instructions. Everything a kid born to Frog and Airfix kits lacked. Fast forward to 2009, and low and behold Tamiya, to mark the release of the 300th kit in their 1/35th Military Miniature series, has released an all-new tooled kit of the Matilda! And guess what, NOTHING has changed! Superb parts fit, excellent detail, and still the world's finest assembly instructions. Well, not quite true: the improvement in detail available in 2009 compared to 1973 has been immense, and Tamiya's new Matilda is a gem of an example of these detail improvements. One problem with the original Tamiya Matilda kit is that it apparently suffered from scale inaccuracies in the hull dimensions, due to Tamiya's insistence at the time of "motorizing" all their kits in this range. No such problems with kit #35300, which appears spot on in terms of overall dimensions. The level of detail has also dramatically improved since 1973, with this latest Matilda kit's instructions detailing 33 assembly sequences while the 1973 kit had only 12. The parts count matches this change, kit 35300 having double the number of parts of the earlier kit, and these parts are much more delicately detailed as well. Of particular note is the superb cast texture of the main frontal armored parts, along with the main turret parts. The rear engine deck parts, where appropriate, exhibit this same lovely cast texture. The 1973 version is devoid of any such detail. The track parts also have come in for a big improvement. The 1973 tracks were of the "rubber band" type, moderately detailed, but were made of a tough vinyl plastic, impervious to any glue I could ever find. I would "weld" mine with heated screwdriver tip, reinforced with staples. The 2009 version has TWO sets of tracks, one "rubber band" but with nicer detail than the earlier kit's, but also link and length injection plastic tracks. BOTH sets of tracks on the new kit are glue-able using standard Tamiya liquid cement (my favorite, the green topped bottle), and the detail on both is superior to the 1973 version. The fit of the parts on Kit 35300 is outstanding. I can state quite unequivocally: this is the best fitting armor kit I have ever had the pleasure to build. Together with the superb instructions, the quality of this kit gave me night after night of great modeling pleasure. There were only a couple of minor issues that could, if you weren't careful, cause the builder some difficulties: in Section 7 of the instructions, make sure you have parts A24 installed properly. Check Section 9's diagram to see these parts installed correctly. Also, in Section 12 and 24, the modeler is instructed to drill holes in certain spots for the various optional parts in the kit. Make sure you study which paint scheme you wish to apply to the model, and chose carefully which holes you need to drill for your chosen option. Painting and Markings: the kit gives you three options, options A & B being tanks from the North African campaign, 1941, in the so called "Caunter" three tone scheme, while option C is a two tone scheme for a tank stationed in England, 1942. I chose option B, a tank named "Defiance", from the 32nd Army Tank Brigade, based in Libya. Tamiya supplies instructions to use their colors XF-23 Light Blue, XF-26 Deep Green and XF-59 Desert Yellow for the Caunter colors. I deviated slightly, by employing ARB 12 Portland Stone from the excellent White Ensign Models range of enamel paints, as a substitute for XF-59 Desert Yellow. The colors were applied out of the bottle/tin, with the exception of XF-26 Deep Green. For the green, I applied a coat of the paint straight from the bottle, then mixed the base color with various amounts of XF-59 Desert Yellow to lighten it, and then over-sprayed the original green color with this in various patches to "weather" it. The only time consuming part of all this was the careful masking required for this scheme. Tamiya has supplied very good diagrams to assist the modeler with this matter, and I feel it all worked out very well on my kit. Once the paint had thoroughly dried, I applied a number of light coats of Tamiya Clear Gloss, in preparation for the decals. Decals are as always with Tamiya kits these days: well printed, good color saturation, though a little thicker than say Cartograph decals. However, I never have issues with them, and they snuggled down well over the fine rivet and cast detail using the two part Mr Color decaling system: Mr Mark Setter, applied to the surface of the model, followed by the laying down of the decal over this. Once the decal has sat for about ten minutes, I then apply Mr Mark Softer, which as the name implies, softens the decal so it conforms well to the surface detail. Once the decals have dried for a day or two, apply some more Tamiya Gloss Clear over them to seal them in. Then I applied a basic "wash" of thinned artists' oils to accent the detail. The usual suspects: burnt umber, and lesser amounts of lamp black. Once this had partially dried the excess was removed with Q-tips soaked in thinner, and I then let the model sit for a number of days to make sure the wash was fully cured. I then topped things off with three or four thin coats of my favorite Matt Clear, from PollyScale. When I have some additional time, I will go back to the model and apply some more weathering: paint chips, and some more dirt and grime. To conclude: this kit is a true gem, from the exquisite level of detail on the parts, the fidelity of fit, to the near foolproof instructions. For anyone wishing a relaxing modeling experience that produces at its end a superb miniature of the prototype vehicle, this kit is for you. MOST highly recommended. I thank TamiyaUSA for supplying IPMS/USA with this review sample. It has been the highlight of the 2009 modeling year for me!