1:35 Ženijní set

Engineers and their load

The units that built bridges, cleared passages and laid or removed obstacles carried tools and material that looked mismatched at first glance. It is exactly that which turns a parked vehicle into a scene with a story: a little heap of implements by the rear tells what the crew had just been doing.

Twenty castings and a metal fret

The package holds twenty resin parts and one photo-etched fret. The combination of the two materials has a practical reason. Bodies and handles come out of a casting three-dimensionally and with faithful surface texture, whereas flat straps, buckles and holders need a thinness that casting cannot achieve.

Where the trouble usually lies

• Separate the thin handles last and always with a firm surface under the blade
• A cracked part can be saved with a pin of thin wire glued into both halves
• Level the burr left after nipping from the fret with a fine file, otherwise the joint will not seat
• A matte coat before dry-brushing will even out the different absorbency of metal and casting
• Apply the paint in two light coats rather than one; a heavy covering coat floods the fine relief

Paint on two different surfaces

A cast part and a brass fret react differently to a finish. Metal is smooth and without pores; paint slides over it and rubs off during handling, whereas resin holds pigment in the microscopic texture of its surface. The two can be unified with a thin layer of base coat applied to both groups of parts at once, before they are joined.

Engineer equipment is also useful for hiding the weak point of another part: a plank tied on or folded tools will reliably hide a seam on a fender. The set is intended for completing models; the vehicle itself is not in the package.