1:35 Industrial tank

An industrial tank in 1:35 scale

This diorama element by the RT-Diorama brand represents an industrial storage tank, that is a tank for liquids of the kind that stood in factory grounds, at fueling points, at railroad stations and by military fuel depots. The word tank in the name means exactly that, a storage tank, not an armored vehicle. It is an accessory for 1:35 scale, not a kit of a military vehicle.

What the element does in a scene

A tank is one of those accessories that give a scene its purpose. An empty area beside a building tells no story, but an area with a storage tank immediately suggests activity: refueling, storage, support facilities. The cylindrical mass also differs visually from angular buildings and from vehicles, so it breaks up the monotony of shapes in a diorama. An element of this type works in factory grounds, at a depot, at a railroad station, by a field depot and in a postwar or civilian scene alike, because industrial storage tanks changed little over the long span of the form the twentieth century knew.

How to set the element into a scene

Accessories are placed in a diorama so as to support the main action, not to compete with it. The tank therefore belongs rather in the second plane or at the edge of the scene, where it closes the composition off. It works well to put it in relation to another element, a building or a wall for instance, so that it does not stand alone in the middle of an open area. Try the arrangement out dry and look at the scene from the viewer's eye level. With cylindrical shapes it is worth thinking about where the light falls, because it is precisely the transition of light across a rounded surface that makes an element like this convincing.

Who the element is for

• For modelers of industrial and railroad dioramas in 1:35 scale
• For adding support facilities and working detail to finished scenes
• For scenes with a fuel depot and service equipment
• For collectors who build a scene up element by element