1/35 Centurion Mk.5/1 Australian Army

The Centurion was the one of the most widely-used tanks by Western countries for fighting the Cold War in the late 20th century. The Centurion Mk.5/1 is the version modified by the Australian Army. It is equipped with a 20pdr. (83.4mm bore diameter) gun, co-axial 50-calibre heavy machine gun, a large IR/white search light, and infra-red night vision devices. Three companies of Australian Centurions were sent to Vietnam in 1968.

This kit is a completely new tooling and features crisp details. Many of the grab handles and guarding plates are molded in separate parts, and a nice fret of photo-etched parts is included. The suspension bogies are workable via brass springs. The road wheels have rubber-like rims made of soft plastic. The nicely-formed gun barrel is lathed aluminum. Periscopes, including those in the commander's cupola, are molded in transparent plastic. A length of wire is included for the towing hawser. The tracks are the cementable rubber belt type, and are of fine quality, but these can be replaced with the easily-assembled injection plastic individual track link set available separately (link below). A great debut for an epochal tank!