1:72 Závora IPPEN

The Ippen road barrier in 1:72 scale

A model of an element of the border obstacle line, of the kind that closed roads on the Czechoslovak frontier in the second half of the 1930s. It is not a pillbox but an accessory that completes a scene of a fortified border.

The real subject

Barriers of this design were supplied by the firm of Alfred Ippen of Hradec Kralove. They were built permanently on roads near the border and were meant to prevent vehicles from driving quickly into Czechoslovak territory wherever a crossing could not be closed altogether. The load-bearing parts were protected by concrete walls interleaved with rails, and on both sides of the roadway a row of vertically sunk rails continued, so that the barrier could not be driven around. Several hundred of them were built along the border. After the border region was occupied, the German side removed them, so only isolated examples have survived.

Building and painting tips

The steel parts can take heavy weathering: a dark base tone, rust dry-brushed over it and finally a fine dusting of pigments. Keep the concrete parts lighter, so that the contrast between metal and concrete works. Add fine gravel and tire tracks to the roadway around the barrier. The detail stands out when you sink the lower edge into the base.

Who the accessory is for

• For dioramas of a border crossing in 1938
• For completing a scene with pillboxes and obstacles
• For anyone interested in the less known elements of fortification
• For modelers who build small accessories

The obstacle arrives unassembled and unpainted; obtain the paints separately.