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Forum > Cold War Reference Repository
Manufacturers of 28mm Cold War Vehicles and Equipment.
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carlos marighela:
Following on from the suggestion of my friend the Pierrot. A listing of vehicles guns and useful bits to go with post WW2 kit, well up to the late '80s really. History effectively ended when a group of German hooligans decided to dismantle the garden wall anyway.
I'll kick it off but anyone can add their tuppence worth, that's what the thread is for. I'll list anything twixt 1/64 and 1/48 that I can think of with appropriate comments on medium, scale, quality and availability.
Let's start with all things British.
Tanks:
Centurions.
1) 1/55- 56 scale.
Force of Arms makes a number of superb resin Centurions marks in approx 1/55 scale. These are resin kits with some white metal bits, typically a commander, MG, gun barrel (some of mine are resin). Beautiful kits, John makes both the Mk 3, suitable for Korea and Suez and the later 105mm barrlled Mk 5/1. FoA is currently undergoing a longish sabbatical but John was kind enough to make up some models to order when i contacted him directly.
Corgi made a diecast Centurion that for a cheap toy, isn't a bad representation and it scales out fairly well for 28mm figures. You would need to replace the barrel and add some detail but if you are looking for a cheaper alternative, these are easy to find on ebay.
2) 1/48 scale Centurions.
Hartsmith, AKA Hart Models are producers of high quality resin kits and also finished versions of those kits. I don't own them but from the photos I've seen and the praise I've seen lavished, they seem to be pretty much in a class of their own. If you fancy wading through their catalogue, you'll find pretty much everything you want with a few exceptions. Centurions, Chieftains, Ferrets, Saracens, Saladins and all kinds of softskins. The owners recently announced they were winding down ooperations so how long they will continue to make these models is anyone's guess. The biggest drawback is price. These are serious collectors models and it shows in the pricing. Big, big $$$.
Aurora. Fairly famous 1/48 plastic kit dating to the 1950s, version is the Mk3. Reasonably rare these days so usually ebay venors and the like want an arm and a leg.
3) Other: Polistil, an Italian toy maker made a diecast Centurion back in the 1970s. Not seen one in the flesh, they are fairly rare and very expensive. Not sure I would bother on the basis of photos I've seen. Allegedly circa 1/50 scale.
Best of the bunch that won't cost an arm and a leg: Force of Arms.
Comet: Yes, the dear old Comet saw post war service. They soldiered on in Berlin and Hong Kong into the late 1950sand even saw limited action in Malaya. Jeff Trnka of JTFM produces one in 1/56 as does Warlord/Bolt Action. As everything I've seen from Jeff is first rate, I'd plump for his if I needed one. Corgi made a diecast in 1/50
Cromwell: Saw limited use in both Korea and Palestine. Warlord/ Bolt Action and JTFM both produce them in 1/56. Tamiya makes a rather nice model in 1/48. Corgi made a diecast in 1/50.
Chieftain: Hard to find. Ian Crouch made one in 1/56, I believe the master passed to Sloppy Jalopy, who may or may not be going to release it. Dinky made a dicast toy of which I harbour fond childhood memories but IIRC it's somewhat overscale for 28mm. Polistil also produced a diecast. Only other option I can think of is the hartsmith version mentioned above.
Conqueror: Oh come on, insane as it is, what real Cold War warrior doesn't harbour dreams of a Conqueror? It's Britains Maus for the modern age. Alas model makers don't share my enthusiasm as no bugger makes it. :(
Challenger: Just about falling into the 'Cold War' era, the Challenger is available from Empress and also as a toy from LAF Member Cuprum. Some work will be required to create a Challenger Mk. I from both of these though.
Teeny tin tanks AKA Scorpion and Scimitar.
Imprint, now owned by Empress, have the Scimitar in 1/50.. Alas it's a pretty late version. Bob's models are simply amazing, the benchmark for sculpting and resin casting. Alas he confined himself to ultra modern kit so this is one of the few examples I can accomodate on this list.
HLBPS do pretty much the entire CVRT family in 1/48; Scorpions, Scimitars, Stormers etc etc. Red Star also carry them. For true Cold War Warriors and Falklands buffs, you'll want to take a saw to the extraneous late model stowage bins on the Scorpion but at least it's a start.
APCs:
FV432: Sloppy Jalopy in 1/56, ex Chieftain. Two versions one standard, one with Peak Engineering MG turret.
Warrior:
Two choices. In 1/56, TAG; in 1/50 Imprint/Empress. Both seem to be Gulf war or Iraq 2 Versions. I don't think anyone does a suitable unadorned late 1980s version so these are your best proxies.
Wheeled Fighting Vehicles ( armoured cars,scout cars APCs and the like)
Ferret. Probably one of the most useful vehicles to the post war gamer out there. Service everywhere from Malaya to the Gulf War(s).
Four options. Sloppy Jalopy make a nice, Ian Crouch sculpted resin and metal kit of the Mk 4/1 in 1/56. axles could do with some work and they way they package their kits in blister packs isn't ideal but this is a very nice kit. So good I bought four of them.
Option 2 is the old Corgi diecast. It's an early open topped version and scales out at about 1/50 ish, ie noticeably bigger than the SJ version. Needs new wheels and some added detail like smoke dischargers but for a toy it's pretty well detailed. If trying to match 1/48 scale kits, then it is an affordable option.
Option 3 is the very pricey Hartsmith version
Option 4 Commando Miniatures early Mark I version.
Saladin: My favourite armored car, ever. Corgi make a very nice diecast toy. They made these for many years and some were made in Hong Kong. As a result, they are plentiful and cheap on Ebay. This scales almost perfectly to 1/55-56. The gun barrel needs replacement, it's of the old insert plastic shell, firing mechanism type but easily replaced with brass or aluminium or even plastic tubing and a bit of metal foil. Needs smoke dischargers and a cupola MG but beyond that it's almost the ideal gaming toy. Hartsmith make one in 1/48.
Saracen: Britannia, ex Inkerman make this in 1/56 in resin. It's one of the few items I currently lack but by all accounts it's a lovely model. They also make a post war Daimler Dingo with dustbin turret if you are after models for the Malayan Emergency.
Dinky made a diecast Saracen. Pretty rudimentary and I belive the turret is fixed.
Humber Pig: Sloppy Jalopy in 1/56. Contrary to popular belief these didn't just serve in Northern Ireland. They popped up in all sorts of places, like West Germany in the late 'fifties and allegedly a few made it to places like Aden.
AT-105 Saxon:
Sloppy Jalopy produce one in 1/56.
Daimler Armoured Car. Ok it's another WW2 leftover but they did see service in Palestine, Malaya, Cyprus and Suez. Warlord make one in 1/56 and there is a nigh ubiquitous Dinky diecast available as well.
B vehicles, Trucks and other softskins.
Land Rover: Oddly enough for one of the most ubiquitous vehicles in military service anywhere, probably second only to the Willy's Jeep, there's very little out there at least in terms of the earlier marks, like the Series II and Series III.
TAG make a beautiful stripped down 1/56 Series II in resin. It really is a wonderfully crisp and well detailed casting. Alas the wheels are way too thick and they only give you four (where's the spare, you tight bothered buggers?) I've had to search high and low to source suitable alternatives. Still it's the only game in town. Pretty much all the diecasts are way to big and the ones that are useful tend to be late models like the Defender.
Commando Miniatures also make an early SWB Series I/ II. Their website doesn't mention scale but to put it mildly, it's somewhat undernourished. It might just be pushing 1/60. I bought one second hand and frankly it's an underwhelming piece of kit. roughly cast and poorly detailed. I can't say I'm a fan. Others' mileage may vary.
Austin Champ. The Rolls Royce of post war 4WD. Alas it was in a similar price range. Still they saw considerable service up to the early 1960s. Dinky did a diecast. Plentiful and quite a nice little toy. Probably scales out around 1/58- 1/60. Perfect for Malaya, Cyprus or Suez. Only thing you might want to change are the wheels.
Bedford RL: The British Army truck of the '50s through to the '70s and beyond. Archetypal post war medium truck. ProMod make a simply superb, if rather expensive multi media kit in 1/50 scale. Resin cab, body fittings, with white metal chassis, wheels etc and a vac cast clear insert for the cab. Main body screws together like a diecast. insanely good model but fairly pricey. Small company that provides excellent service. I only wish they did more military vehicles in this scale.
Cheaper alternative ( marginally) is the Dinky 1/60 scale diecast. Functional and looks the part but nowhere near as good as the ProMod.
Humber 1 tonner. Very common vehicle in the 1950s and 1960s, also the basis for the Humber Pig and the Hornet, which was a supposedly airportable armoured can version with a pair of whacking great Malkara anti- tank rockets on the back. Dinky make a really beautiful diecast complete with clear windows in approx 1/56 scale.
carlos marighela:
Part 2, British Kit contd.
Bedford MK: The successor to the Bedford R series. The British Army's medium truck of the seventies through to the Gulf War.
ProMod make the TK, whisch is the nigh identical civilian version (the MK was 4WD) in 1/50. Both short wheel base and long versions. Corgi did a newish MK diecast in British army scheme that only really requires some weathering. It's the long wheel base version, annoyingly and bizarrely it comes packaged towing a 25pdr so it's an expensive toy.
Various diecasts. Various civilian Fodens and of course the famous Antar tank transporter exist in diecast. Many saw service with the British army.
Guns.
Bit thin on the ground here. There's an appropriately scaled 5.5" howitzer available from Dinky. Not sure what use most people would have for a medium gun but they did see service in various post war conflicts. Most notably as counter battery units during the Indonesian Confrontation in Borneo.
Sandsmodels make the L 117 105mm Light Gun. useful for the Falklands and beyond. They also make crew for said model.
Hartsmith make 1/48 models of the Wombat and Mobat 120mm RCLs.
Alas the big gap in the market is the 105mm Pack Howitzer of Aden and Borneo fame. Pity it's one of the most ubiquitous guns of the post war era. It's also justifiable on a table as they were used in single gun detachments at fire bases in Borneo. Perfect objective.
Helicopters.
I'm sure there's no shortage of Lynx models or Chinooks and what have you but the pool for the 1960s gamer is pretty small. Italeri do a nice Sioux, with appropriate decals in 1/48 as well as an astonishingly good Wessex in the same scale. If you want Whirlwinds or Belvederes then 1/72 is your only option. Corgi do a diecast of the former and Airfix a plastic kit of the latter.
Alas the only AH-1 Scout in all of modelling world is the old Airfix 1/72 kit. Fujimi did a Wasp in 1/48 but it's rather rare these days and would require quite a lot of conversion work to turn it into a Scout.
Figures. Suitable ranges in 28mm.
Eureka: tropical kit for Aden and at a pinch Borneo.
Commando Miniatures: Aden and Borneo.
Mongrel Miniatures (sporadically available through Inkerman) these do a suitable range of British Army in temperate kit that would work for anywhere from 1960 through to the mid 1980s. Their Congo mercenary range also have some figures useful as proxies for British Army/ RM in tropical kit.
carlos marighela:
Part 3, French kit.
Interestingly enough, French kit is pretty well served for 28mm. You have all the diecast 1/50 stuff from Solido/Verem, loads of modern gear from QuarterKit in 1/48 and the French branch of Dinky, made some nice little toys back in the 1960s.
Tanks.
Solido/ Verem made quite respectable 1/50 diecast models of the AMX-30 and AMX 30B2. Usual Solido style unrealistic model tracks but spray painted a dark metal black they look the part.
Ever wanted your own table top tactical nuclear weapon? Well Solido also did the Pluton SP nuke on the AMX-30 chassis. I've never quite been able to justify one myself but...... just in case. Both Corgi and Solido make 1/50 diecast models of the AMX-30 D, the recovery variant
Solido mades several versions of the AMX-13 light tank, including the version with SS-11 missiles attached to the sides of the turret. They tend to have the export model 105mm gun but that's an easy fix, if you are a purist and it's helpful if you want to model those countries that used the version. They also make the F2 155mm SP howitzer version.
Dinky made an earlier FL-10 version of the AMX-13 (the 75mm gun version). It's a very basic model and has rather unconvincing rubber band tracks. On the smaller side of things. Nominally 1/60 but none the less it has a certain appeal. They are bloody expensive to buy these days. look for scruffy versions and be aware that if you find a cheap version with a bent or broken gun barrel there's a French chap who sells after market white metal accessories like complete turrets on ebay.
APCs:
Solido/Verem, make the AMX-13 VTT /VCI as well as a variety of VAB variants in 1/50. Quarterkit also do some modern variants of the VAB in 1/48 resin.
Sandsmodels also make two versions of the VAB, four wheel and six wheel in resin. Scale I believe is around 1/60.
Armoured Cars:
The Panhard AML-90 is available from Solido/Verem in 1/50. FoA also makes this version in 1/56 resin
Dinky make the AML-60 in 1/60, FoA make it in resin in 1/56.
Dinky made rather nice models of the EBR FL-10 and FL-11 versions in 1/60. My second favourite armoured car. The latter version was used exclusively in Algeria. Getting expensive these days, see pervious comments re after parts and buying play worn examples.
Softskins:
Dinky made 1/60 scale models of the Berliet Gazelle, the Unic and various Renaults. They are all pretty good models, the Berliet is particularly nice.
Quarterkit make a rather nice model of the Acmat VRLA in 1/48, Sandsmodels make the same item in 1/60 as well as the Peugeot- P-4 Jeep. Company B also make a P-4 in 1/56
Helicopters.
Alouette 2. Not sure if anyone makes one.
Alouette III. Fujimi make a really shitty to build kit that's supposedly 1/48 but more like 1/55. Solido/Verem made a diecast version taht's actually pretty good and about 1/55. Eureka produce a resin/white metal/vacform kit in 1/57.
carlos marighela:
Part 4. The Soviet Union.
Tanks:
T-54. Don't know of anyone making a dedicated T-54 model in any useful scale but fortunately there are plenty of T-55s out there.
It's rare, it's a toy and as a piece of Cold War history you should probably just leave it in it's box. VEB Plasticart made toys in the DDR and they made a T-54, allegedly in around 1/50. They pop up occasionally on ebay. To be honest they are pretty rudimentary, with one piece low relief suspension and little wheels under the hull. But you would have the pleasure of plaing with a genuine bit of Warsaw Pact kit. :)
T-55: FoA make a very nice resin T-55 at 1/56. For my money the wargamer's dream is the diecast version made in China and frequently seen on ebay. Cheap and very well detailed they scale in a shade under 1/50. The only reference I've ever seen to a manufacturer is the eponymous "Made in China" but these are easy to find on ebay.
There is also a similarly scaled diecast that was produced as part of a James Bond toy collection. Nicely detailed and covered in reactive armour. It's not a strictly accurate depiction of any updated T-55 that I'm aware of but it looks the part and would work well for Balkans or Third World type scenarios.
The ex London War Room "Jungle Rot' range contains a T-55 in 1/56, these are available through RLPBS
T-62: I understand Chieftain made one and it might be one of the masters Sloppy Jalopy obtained. Hopefully a future release. The folk that produce the Chinese diecast T-55 have a teaser ad in the packaging that shows a T-62. Alas, all search efforts have failed to turn anything up. Prize to the man who does.
QuarterKit/Gasoline produce a T-62 in 1/48 and there is a 'Polystone' model in the same scale produced by Fujimi
Polistil produced a diecast T-62 in the 1970s. Never seen one in the flesh but the photos don't look particularly enticing. I suppose if you just have to have one....
T-72: Imprint/Empress produce a beautiful T72-G, the export model in 1/50. A real work of art.
There exists a cheap, motorised, plastic kit in nominally 1/48 scale. It's been variously marketed by Academy, Zhengdefu etc etc. It's NOT 1/48 or anything like it, it's probably around 1/40. This is true of most of these kits which are in truth box scale'. The wheeled items like the LAV-25, various BTRs etc all share the same lower hull and wheels. Only the BTR-80 comes close to 1/48.
T-80 : About the end of what I would consider Cold War kit. Imprint/Empress produce one but IIRC it's a post cold war export model.
PT-76:
RLPBS make one at 1/56 and there is a new Spanish company, Combat Models that makes a rather nifty looking version in the same scale. Th latter are available through Empress. VEB Plasticart made a PY-76, again allegedly circa 1/50. East German child's toy and fairly expensive.
T-34/85: Ok it's a WW2 tank but these saw so much post war action it deserves inclusion. Plenty of resin 1/56 models out there from JTFM and Warlord but my personal fave is the Warlord/Bolt Action 1/56 plastic kit. This really is a superb little model, well detailed and goes together very easily, better conversions potential due to the medium.
SU-100: Again, strictly speaking WW2 but saw considerable service in the Middle East. Warlord make a resin 1/56 version . JTFM have one listed as forthcoming in the same scale. Solido/Verem produced on in 1/50 and finally there's a rather decent version by Corgi in diecast.
JSI-3/ IS-3:
The tank that sparked a minor panic in the West. Limited action in the Middle east. Aurora made one in 1/48. Apparently it's a pretty indifferent and inaccurate kit. Available on ebay for usually fairly silly prices.
T-10, T-10 M. Nope, sorry no takers.
carlos marighela:
Part 5, The Soviet Union Contd.
APCs/ Recce Vehicles etc:
BTR-152: Company B have produced a master in 1/56. Currently awaiting production.
BTR-60PB. Sloppy Jalopy produce one in 1/56, ex Chieftain. There is a rather crude looking Russian diecast out there that is allegedly of a useful scale.
BTR-70: Sloppy Jalopy, 1/56. Quarterkit produce one in 1/48 as IIRC did Planet Models If you are in extremis, the there is the Aurora/ Zhengdefu plastic kit.
BTR-80: Imprint/Empress. Lovely model, could benefit from some brass wire foot steps. Resin 1/50.
BMP-1:
Sloppy Jalopy in 1/56; HLPBS in 1/48
BMP-2: Sloppy Jalopy, 1/56; HLPBS in 1/48
MTLB: HLPBS 1/48
ACRV: HLBPS, 1/48
BMD-1, BMD-2: HLBPS 1/48
ASU-57: Nothing out there
ASU-85: Ditto., The Prague Spring will have to wait.
BTR-40: Company B have made a master. A Shapeways version is available in 1/56
BRDM 1: Save for a 1/43 Scale Solido diecast of the Sagger armed version, nothing out there, which is a real pity as the actual vehicle is incredibly cool
BRDM-2: Sloppy Jalopy, 1/56. HLBPS, 1/48, Gasoline 1/48
Softskins:
There are one or two trucks out there including a few Russian diecasts in 1/55 scale, mostly variants on the Ural-375. LAF poster Cuprum, sells these on his webstore, along with the ZIL 130 and 131. They can also occasionally be found on Ebay. Sloppy Jalopy have a 1/56 scale GAZ-66 and fellow poster Col Stone recently mentioned that he had the master for a Soviet truck. If you aren't too anal about thse things, then Solido Studebaker makes a pretty decent proxy for a Zil-157.
Sandsmodels, produce a UAZ-469 in 1/60, alas nobody produces it's predecessor, the GAZ-69.
SSMs ( Surface to Surface Missile systems): Ok, I know, you think you don't want one even as an objective marker but hey a whacking great Scud missile? Arii make several variants of the Scud in 1/48 and very nice models they are too. Solido/Verem make the PT-76 hull version of the FROG 3/5 AKA the 2K6 Luna missile.
SAMs.
In a similar category of silliness, there exists a 1/50 diecast SA-2 Guideline missile made in China alas I cannot recall the maker but they appear on ebay from time to time.
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