A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: IS THERE ANYTHING MORE RELAXING THAN A TAMIYA KIT BUILD..?

So I have a model. I have some ideas. And a I have very little time to carry most of them out. Thankfully, the simplicity of the kit helps push things along, so painting and weathering won’t be too far away.

12th August 2025

With the hot weather now back with a vengeance, I’ve been working on the new Tamiya M-36 Jackson. Slated for an in-depth feature in an upcoming TMMI, this new kit will as usual have to be built and painted quickly, something that I’m now so used to, I hardly give it a second thought any more.

As usual, this new kit is a breeze to build. Everything just fits where it is supposed to, so it’s little more than a clip and glue exercise, with little need for much in the way of clean-up and zero need for adjustment and filling. So far, I’ve dealt with the lower hull and suspension and I’m now working of the upper hull with turret to follow, something that will be completed tomorrow all being well.

The great thing about these kits is that I can switch off that part of my brain that needs to deal with the construction of what’s in the kit and focus instead on other possibilities, including extra detail, the set-up of the model, stowage and when the fancy takes me, the construction of a vignette or diorama around the complete vehicle. 

Today, whilst gluing the parts together, my mind has wandered in all sorts of directions, most of them taking me down paths leading to a war-weary machine, well used, with plenty of stowage in place. With so many pictures available of these vehicles in action, inspiration is not hard to find, but I have had to temper my expectations somewhat, knowing that I have to use what’s in the box, so not everything will be as I would like.

A lot of the ones I could see for instance seemed to have lost their grouser stowage, whereas mine will have it in place. How likely is that to have been, if the mudguards are smashed up or even missing all together? I can of course fudge the issue with overlaid stowage, but it will grate a little I am sure when I finally have a completed model to admire on my workbench, that those racks are full, rather than prototypically empty.

So I have a model. I have some ideas. And a I have very little time to carry most of them out. Thankfully, the simplicity of the kit helps push things along, so painting and weathering won’t be too far away. This one has around two and half weeks to completion, which should be enough, so long as I don’t let aspirations overwhelm common sense. Despite that condensed timeframe, I’m sure I will enjoy the ride, safe in the knowledge that any mistakes I do make will be down to user error and not in any way, something related to the kit and any unforeseen hurdles that will suddenly appear, when I least need them to do so.

See you tomorrow.