Tamiya 1/35th Challengers – Working at getting my own Squadron together!

Here are some images of various Challengers I've built over the years. The Mk1 is the original Tamiya moulding. This has been reissued as the Challenger 1 Mk 3, with a few extra parts over the original. With the side mounted water jerry can holders lack a bottom ledge for the cans to sit on! They must just be held there by pure thoughts... The thing that does annoy me is that the kit lacks a "solid" hull, obviously at one time they planned to motorise the kit. In fact, a company called Hypa have released a motorised Challenger 1, the moulds look like a direct rip off from the Tamiya one's. Even the instruction sheet is the same as the Tamiya one, just a poor facsimile copy with Hypa where Tamiya should be. Hey-ho.

The Mk3's with their extra parts offer a wide variety of options in various camouflage schemes/markings. The Challenger 2 has the same basic hull components with a new turret and various other bits. Sadly, as it comes, the Tamiya Challenger 2 can only be made in the desert version. I think Tamiya missed a trick here, for the want of the un armoured side skirts would have offered a greater flexibility with markings. As you would expect, all the Tamiya mouldings and engineering is superb, they all went together like a dream. The first Challenger kit I made when I was in BAOR just after it came out. So that would have dated it late '85 early '86

22 additional images. Click to enlarge.