jknaus
Administrator
I was quite excited to get this little gem of the early war period. From Wikipedia "The Tank, Infantry, Mk I, Matilda I (A11)[2] was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. Despite being slow, cramped and armed with only a single machine gun, the Matilda I had some success in the Battle of France in 1940, owing to its heavy armour which was proof against the standard German anti-tank guns. However, it was essentially useless in an attacking sense, as its weak armament made it toothless in combat against enemy armour, and the tank was obsolete before it even came into service.[3][4] The Battle of France was the only time the Matilda I saw combat.[4] The tank was cheaply built as the British government wanted each of the tanks to be built on a very restricted budget in the build-up to the Second World War.[4] It is not to be confused with the later (more successful) model Tank, Infantry Mk II (A12), also known as the "Matilda II", which took over the "Matilda" name after the Matilda I was withdrawn from combat service in 1940. They were completely separate designs."
This is a complete 3D model by Vargas Models found here: https://vargas-lg.myshopify.com/products/1-35-matilda-1-a11-infantry-tank
It has a very low parts count and is fairly simple to build in terms of adding parts. Its more complex to build though in terms of its fragility and all the supports that need to be carefully removed. Point in case I screwed up on the tracks and managed to take out some guide horns. The hull is almost complete with just a few additional parts to lue on. The driving lights are already attached and probably the most fragile thing to be careful of as you attach other parts. Unfortunately my kit had the left light knocked off in shipping. The bins on the foreward hull sides have seperate lids and some extra parts that can be inserted to make them busier. I just glued the lids on. The turret needs the machine gun added and here I found it difficult to insert. I ended up carving out the mount a bit until the gun fit. The tracks are incredible but there are a LOT of supports and you really need to watch what you are doing I have not added my tracks yet for two reasons. One I want to paint them separately from the tank and two, the hull was not quite formed properly. Its really noticeable on the front left drive and I will need to figure out the best way to rebuild it. So you can see it here at the point I have left off. I still need to figure out the grenade launchers for the turret and whether they were misprinted or designed like they are. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of them. All in all a really nice looking kit of an early war tank. I'm a bit disappointed with some of the casting but after printing my own stuff for a while I understand it. The tools look good except for the shovel which was misprinted. Am I disappointed, no not at all. But I will need to do that modeling thing and fix up some of the problems. The instructions were okay but personally I think could do with some amplification. Thats me though. There are no markings or marking guide provided so make sure you have a good reference and can get some early war markings from after market or your spares. Over all I'm happy with it apart from the mentioned problem areas. It would be a good first try at 3D modelling for someone with experience in building and resin. Excuse the crummy pics but still trying to figure out my phone camera. Oh and I will need to use something for the light lenses. Maybe clear resin or glue.
James
This is a complete 3D model by Vargas Models found here: https://vargas-lg.myshopify.com/products/1-35-matilda-1-a11-infantry-tank
It has a very low parts count and is fairly simple to build in terms of adding parts. Its more complex to build though in terms of its fragility and all the supports that need to be carefully removed. Point in case I screwed up on the tracks and managed to take out some guide horns. The hull is almost complete with just a few additional parts to lue on. The driving lights are already attached and probably the most fragile thing to be careful of as you attach other parts. Unfortunately my kit had the left light knocked off in shipping. The bins on the foreward hull sides have seperate lids and some extra parts that can be inserted to make them busier. I just glued the lids on. The turret needs the machine gun added and here I found it difficult to insert. I ended up carving out the mount a bit until the gun fit. The tracks are incredible but there are a LOT of supports and you really need to watch what you are doing I have not added my tracks yet for two reasons. One I want to paint them separately from the tank and two, the hull was not quite formed properly. Its really noticeable on the front left drive and I will need to figure out the best way to rebuild it. So you can see it here at the point I have left off. I still need to figure out the grenade launchers for the turret and whether they were misprinted or designed like they are. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of them. All in all a really nice looking kit of an early war tank. I'm a bit disappointed with some of the casting but after printing my own stuff for a while I understand it. The tools look good except for the shovel which was misprinted. Am I disappointed, no not at all. But I will need to do that modeling thing and fix up some of the problems. The instructions were okay but personally I think could do with some amplification. Thats me though. There are no markings or marking guide provided so make sure you have a good reference and can get some early war markings from after market or your spares. Over all I'm happy with it apart from the mentioned problem areas. It would be a good first try at 3D modelling for someone with experience in building and resin. Excuse the crummy pics but still trying to figure out my phone camera. Oh and I will need to use something for the light lenses. Maybe clear resin or glue.
James
