1:35 Pohraniční sloup Československo 1938

Czechoslovak 1938 border post in 1:35 scale

The model captures a boundary marker of the kind that marked the state frontier of Czechoslovakia in the last months before the autumn of 1938. It suits any scene that deals with border patrol duty, with a line of fortifications or with the very moment the frontier changed.

Historical background

In the 1930s the state frontier was marked out on the ground by a series of markers that stood at regular intervals and usually carried numbering and letters according to the neighboring state. Patrols of the Czechoslovak Financial Guard moved along them, and in the tense weeks of 1938 so did units of the Straz obrany statu, the State Defense Guard. A boundary marker therefore works in a scene as a clear shorthand: the viewer knows at once where the action is set and why soldiers and gendarmes are there.

Building and painting tips

The post has smooth surfaces, so it is worth spending time on cleaning the edges up straight and above all on setting it vertically; a marker standing crooked undercuts the impression of the whole scene. Capture the stone or concrete surface with a muted light shade with damp patches at the foot, and perhaps a hint of algae on the side the sun does not reach. Suggest the lettering sparingly; at this size over-legible text looks unnatural. Add grass and trodden earth around the base.

Who the model is for

• builders of scenes from the borderlands of 1938
• modelers who combine figures with terrain features
• anyone interested in the modern history of the First Republic
• makers of display cases for models of light fortification works

It is supplied unassembled and unpainted. The glue and paints needed are not in the package, unless stated otherwise.