French Light Tank H39	Tamiya, 1/35 scale
by Brett Green

Description

This is Tamiya's brand new 1:35 scale Tamiya French Light Tank H39.

The model has been built entirely from the box except for the decals.

As you might expect, fit was pretty much perfect and assembly was a joy.

Tamiya acrylics were used.

I did not find myself particularly inspired by either of the kit marking options.

I found the Star Decals sheet online. I liked the messy scheme for the Hotchkiss operating in Gabon, equatorial Africa, and also the location of the first defeat of Axis forces.

This was done by first painting the standard two-tone green and red-brown scheme with a messy, streaky overspray of Tamiya XF-88 Dark Yellow 2.

Star Decals were uncertain of whether this was paint or mud, so I simply tried to replicate the small illustrations in Star Decals’ instructions.

I’m writing this up for a new article in Model Military International magazine, Issue 233.

Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited for the sample.