1:35 British Air Portable Fuel Containers, Mk 5 (APFCs)

British Air Portable Fuel Containers Mk 5 in 1:35 scale — a Gecko Models set

This is a stand-alone plastic accessory set, not a vehicle model. It holds Mk 5 transport fuel containers, which British units used to supply fuel wherever the load had to be moved easily, air-dropped or carried by air. In 1:35 scale accessories like these become loads on cargo beds, supply stacks at gun positions or additions to a diorama. The set is supplied as injection-molded plastic parts on sprues and is built in the usual way, by cutting the parts off, cleaning them up and gluing them together. The number of pieces and the make-up of the sprues are stated on the box.

What the set is for

Supply accessories are among the elements that give a scene its sense of scale and its credibility. The containers can be placed loose, strapped to a vehicle, stacked on a pallet or used as individual items set aside. It is precisely the varied position and the varied degree of wear on each piece that make the result convincing.

Building and painting tips

Glue the parts with thin cement for plastic, which is drawn into the joint by capillary action. Sand the mold seams on rounded surfaces with fine paper and fill them if need be. Apply a primer before painting. Choose the base shade to suit the unit and the period, then shade the individual pieces slightly so that they do not look like a production run. Add rub-through on the edges with a dry brush or by dabbing with a sponge, create fuel runs at the filler neck with a dark gloss effect and dust the lower part with pigment to match the terrain.

Who the set is for

• Builders of British vehicles in 1:35 scale
• Diorama builders who need believable supply material
• Modelers who want to enrich the load on a cargo bed or a trailer
• Practicing weathering on small separate objects

The set is supplied unassembled and unpainted. Glue, paints and a vehicle are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.