Mayday no longer - it's now July for Takoms two latest releases....

Takom's two new releases are a little late to come out from the east - COVID & all that malarkey held everything up, but now a July release looms. We have the box-arts of the new kits & what we know about them and a little of each of their histories in our preview...

Preview: The Merkava 2D & two small scale Chieftains from Takom.

Chieftain MK.5 & FV432 Mk.2/1 
"1+1" kit

1/72nd scale

2 kits in the one boxing 

This is another "Two in one" boxing in 1/2nd scale from Takom showing just how well their designs can be downscaled. The kit contains one single previously released Chieftain plus one copy of the other British vehicle the FV432.
The FV432 entered service in 1963, and over 3000 vehicles were produced between that time and 1971. The 432 was designed to be adaptable and to carry out multiple roles without major modification. Whilst its’ key role was that of a ‘battle taxi’, it could be quickly turned into an Ambulance, a command post or a motar carrier. The 432 platform was also used as other specialist vehicles such as the ABBOTT 105mm Self Propelled Gun, the FV434 Fitters vehicle, and the FV438 Swingfire. Weighing 15 tonnes, and powered by a Rolls Royce B60 multi-fuel engine, the FV432 could reach speeds of 53 Km/h with a range of 580kms. The vehicle had a driver and a commander but had the ability to carry an infantry of 10 men to battle.

The FV432 was armed only with a single 7.62mm GPMG and two sets of smoke discharges. It was protected by a layer of armour only 12.3mm thick. Space was always an issue for the fully equipped infantry the FV housed, so upgrades in the 1990s’ would see additional stowage bins fitted to the sides as well as the addition of the open mesh basket in the top of the vehicle.

Chieftain Mk.5
Mk.5 variant fixed these pressing issues with a new engine and NBC protection. The Mk.5 would be the main variant of the Chieftain in British service. During its production life from 1965 to 1985, a total of 2,265 Chieftains would be built by Britain, with about 1,000 used by the British Army.

The British Chieftain was the first and most powerful Main Battle Tank in NATO during the former Cold War. First deliveries to the British Army were completed in 1966 and was finally withdrawn from service in 1995 as its replacement the Challenger 2 entered service. A number of Combat Engineer Vehicles were built on the hull.

Merkava 2D Israel Defence Forces Main Battle Tank

1/35th scale

Kit No #2132

The Mark II was first introduced into general service in April 1983. While fundamentally the same as the Merkava Mark I, it incorporated numerous small adjustments as a result of the previous year's incursion into Lebanon. The new tank was optimized for urban warfare and low-intensity conflicts, with a weight and engine no greater than the Mark I. The Mark IID version came with modular composite armour on the chassis and turret, allowing rapid replacement of damaged armour.

Both of these kits will be available in July from Takom's Suppliers Worldwide...