Next Project, Tamiya Chieftain & Italeri Land rover

As the type 87 draws to a close I am almost ready to begin my next project. I will be using tamiya's Chieftain kit and Italeri's Land rover 109 to depict a couple of vehicles from the 80's as seen in some superb pictures my mate Norman Hibberd kindly shared with me. The pictures where recently scanned by Norman from old 35mm negatives to digital format and show a group of Chieftains on Salisbury Plain.

When I saw the pictures I just knew I had to build them! I was practically drooling over them for ages! As you can see they are nicely muddy and have no side skirts. The Chieftains look to be Mk8's or 9's. Also note the old style tank helmets worn by the drivers. The picture I was really taken with shows the tanks on a tank crossing with MP's in attendance with a Land rover 109. The scene just screams diorama so that's what I hope to re-create.

So to go with the kits I have added a Castoff conversion set for a Mk8, a set of 70's & 80's AFV crew kit again from Castoff and an Eduard etched set. There is also a distinct probability that a set of white metal tracks will find it's way onto the kit. The Land rover will be detailed using spare parts and plastic card.

I am really looking forwards to this one as I haven't built a Tamiya Chieftain  since I was a young lad! So stay tuned for the start of this monster build!