1:35 Protitankové miny I

The engineer work that gets forgotten on models

In the Second World War a buried charge was the cheapest answer to armor and it changed the way an advance was made. Roads had to be searched, passages marked and the pieces lifted out put down somewhere, so a small operation of its own always grew up around a minefield. In a diorama that makes a rewarding subject: a party at the roadside, a probe in hand, a little heap of lifted charges to one side and a vehicle waiting for permission to go on. Without those unassuming discs and boxes the scene would have no reason to stand still.

Contents and material

The package rests on twenty-four resin castings completed by a decal sheet. Resin holds the sharp edges of a lid and the small catches, and the decals then supply the surface markings which on the real pieces carried information about the contents and the batch.

Before you reach for the glue

• Rinse the castings in lukewarm soapy water and let them dry completely.
• Cut the pour lugs off with a thin saw; pressure with a knife splits the material.
• Apply the paint over a base coat, otherwise the shade will rub off the resin.
• Set the decal down on gloss and only then flatten the whole piece.

Placing in a scene

Irregularity is more interesting than a neat row. Some pieces half buried, one open box, two charges stacked in a little heap by the road. Dry soil dusted into the grooves will link the castings to the terrain, and the difference between a freshly laid and a long-lying piece will be made by the scene itself.