1st August 2025
I guess we all have favourite kits, those that we return to over and over again. I’ll wager that more often than not those kits are of famous subjects, Spitfires, Mustangs, Shermans, Tigers, that kind of thing. After all, you’d have to really love a subject and a kit of it to return to it over and over, so why wouldn’t they be of well-known subjects?
One of my favourite kits, is Tamiya’s Field Kitchen. Yep, you read that right; amongst all of the fast jets and armoured vehicles that I could pick, I absolutely adore that little horse drawn set-up. But here’s the rub: I’ve only ever completed it in separate parts. Never as intended. Never with the horses.
I first became aware of the kit in a Tamiya catalogue, not their picture of their built-up model: François Verlinden’s offering that he created for his wonderful diorama that appeared, not long after the kit was released. I instantly loved both: the model and the diorama.
Over the years I’ve owned lots of Field Kitchens, building them up for a variety of set-pieces, most recently, the Archer diorama that I built a couple of years ago. I’ve planned to complete the whole thing at some point but fear, driven by those complex reins, always gets in the way, so that particular ambition remains steadfastly unfulfilled.
So why am I writing about this now? It’s not like I have any particular plan to build one in the near future, so why the sudden desire to discuss this ancient kit?
Well, this morning whilst surfing through the Book Of Faces as I tend to do first thing, I was taken by the news that Miniart are to release their Field Kitchen as a standalone kit with a few figures.
Looking at the drawings, this new package looks a million miles away from the old Tamiya kit, which would allow the creation of a far more detailed model and in the process, diorama or vignette around it. Having thrown ideas for such a set-piece around the pudding bowl of my brain for longer than I care to remember, I really like the idea of grabbing one and seeing how far I can take a scene that features little more than a kitchen, some cooks and some food. Just by typing this out I can visualise such a thing, so doing it seems less pipe dream, than firm reality.
I’ll definitely have a go at the kit when it comes out, which in turn may inspire a return to the Tamiya Field Kitchen along the way. Who knows, I may even feel confident enough to tackle it as intended, horses and all. Now wouldn’t that be something?
See you tomorrow.
SPENCER POLLARD'S KIT BOX 
the ICM field kitchen and figures are very good.
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That Tamiya field kitchen kit. I love it too. My most recent build was also my first pandemic-era build. And, you know, it is such a fun and well-priced kit I could easily see trying another. Thanks for the reminder. So much fun.
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Dioramas bring subjects to life. Even a pilot and ground crewman on the tarmac. Granted a well done plane, tank, or car is great. But dioramas tell stories.
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There is a dermatologist in the city I’m from who has a rather extensive collection of World War II German equipment. One of the items he has is this German Field Kitchen. The thing that is most amazing is he kitchen is completely kitted out with all the pots, pans and other utensils. The manner and means these items are designed to fit in the wagon itself is a bit of German engineering! Everything has its place.
This equipment was featured on the TV show, “American Pickers.”
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