1:35 FAMO stowage

What the set solves

An empty load area gives away that a machine has never been anywhere. Stowage, meanwhile, is the first thing that gives a model action: from what a vehicle has loaded and how carelessly it is stacked, the viewer can tell whether the machine is standing in a repair shop or has just come back from the field. The set brings stowage and stored equipment for a model in 1:35 scale.

The real subject

The designation FAMO means the German heavy half-track tractor of the Second World War, listed under the designation Sd.Kfz. 9. The name caught on after the maker of the vehicle. The machine served mainly for towing and recovering heavy vehicles, so it routinely carried not only its own equipment but also whatever needed transporting at the time.

Building and painting tips

Cut away surplus material and traces of manufacture with a sharp blade a short distance from the part and sand the surfaces. Before you glue anything, lay the pieces out dry and photograph or note the layout: the stowage should look as if somebody had thrown it on, not as if it had been measured out with a ruler. Seat them with cyanoacrylate glue. Painting is easier piece by piece, while the parts are accessible from all sides; only then seat the painted pieces and unify the joints with a wash. Deliberately detune the shades between the individual pieces, because the load did not come together on the vehicle all at once. Add dust and mud in the corners and on the lower edges with pigments, so that the stowage does not look laid above the surface but in it.

Who it is for

For modelers who build the FAMO in 1:35 scale and want the vehicle loaded, and for builders of dioramas who can use the stowage loose in a scene. The kit, paints and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.