1:35 British Challenger Tank

The British Challenger tank in 1:35 scale

A plastic kit of the British Challenger main battle tank in 1:35 scale. The model is supplied unassembled and unpainted, the parts are polystyrene and they are glued with ordinary modeling cement for plastics.

The real subject

The Challenger is a British main battle tank which replaced the older Chieftain in the inventory of the British Army. It carries a 120 mm rifled gun and multi-layer composite armor, to which it owes the angular outlines of the turret and the hull with its markedly sloped front. Among its conspicuous features are the long barrel with its thermal sleeve, the side skirts over the running gear and the large tanks and bins at the rear.

Building and painting tips

• Assemble and paint the running gear with its wheels and tracks before the side skirts cover it.
• Keep the turret and the hull separate during the dry run, as that makes painting and later detail work easier.
• Both the desert and the European camouflage schemes are sprayed over a base coat that evens out the shade of the plastic.
• Pastel chalk or pigment applied dry can be used to emphasize the dustiness of the running gear and the lower hull.
• Keep the barrel and its thermal sleeve straight, because every bend shows on the finished model.

Who it is for

For modelers who build postwar armor in 1:35 scale and have at least a few finished kits behind them. Assembling the tracks and fitting the small parts on the turret calls for care and tweezers. The exact extent of the kit, the number of parts and the range of markings are given by the manufacturer in the enclosed instructions.

The box contains the kit. Paints, glue and tools are not included, unless stated otherwise.