I'm trying to toe the line with respect to the "sidebar projects", especially given the time of year, but what is one to do with Takom's release of a Chieftain Mk. 10?
The Chieftain has always been one of my favourite tanks. It was the first of the "modern" tanks, AFAIC. And once upgraded with "Stillbrew" armour on the turret (Mk. 10), it was a very striking and formidable AFV indeed!
In the premiere episode of The Walking Dead, Rick rides into Atlanta and comes upon a seem- ingly abandoned tank. The tank is painted in modern US desert colors, and unless one is looking very closely, the mind will tell you it's an M1 Abrams. Well, that's what the producers wanted you to think, but in reality it's a Chieftain Mk. 10! The Chieftain had been stripped of its thermal barrel sleeve, the large spotlight on the left of the turret, as well as other bits and bobs to hopefully make it appear more like an Abrams.
Hitherto, the only mainstream Chieftain kits on the market were Tamiya's and Academy's dated entries. If memory serves, both purported to depict a Mk. 5. This year Takom has released not one, but three Chieftains: a Mk. 5, a Mk. 10, and the last of the line, the Mk. 11. Meng has had a Chieftain Mk. 10 in the works since 2012, but I don't know if they intend to proceed with it given Takom's "preemptive strike".
As much as I like the Chieftain, I had no intention of detouring into the world of modern armour. That is until I read an announcement of the upcoming Takom trifecta. Takom took the initiative to include TWD S1/Ep1 Chieftain (Chieftains would also appear in S1/Eps. 5 & 6(?), but with differ- ent markings) as a variant of the Mk. 10 in their full-colour painting guide. They did not provide any additional parts, reference the variant in their instructions, or provide any decals; but it was a noteworthy nod to the popular series and its fanbase.
Needless to say, I was obviously intrigued. One of my favourite tanks as it appeared on one of my favourite shows? This warranted additional research. I will spare you the [boring?] details, but let me just say that I was finally hooked and the project is on the bench as a "filler" while paint dries and putty cures on figures.
More to follow. . .
“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003
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