I've been visiting Track-Link for almost two years now, pretty much soon right after I got back into the hobby after a break of some fifteen years. I have benefited immensely from the help of people who frequent Track-Link and make up its community.

I have been thinking about contributing to Track-Link's User Reviews for some time now, but have been held back by my perceived lack of knowledge and expertise. After all, it's a bit intimidating to post a review to be read by those some of whom have been building models for 20-30 years and who have forgotten more than I know about various subjects! But, I figure there are others out there, yes the silent "lurkers," who may be in the same situation as I am or I was some time ago, and who may benefit from an non-expert's review of a kit. "Wisdom from the mouth of babes," etc... So, those of you who consider yourselves "experts," please bear with me!

Before I begin the review, a little introduction of myself is in order, so that you'll have an idea of where I'm coming from and what my skill level and expectations are. As I stated before, I have been back in this hobby for two years now. I would consider myself an intermediate-level modeler. I build any scale AFVs (mostly 1/35) of all nations from 1930 onward. Pretty much all my kits are built straight OOB--with the exception of the Academy Tiger individual track-links and Anvil Miniatures Click-Tracks for Tigers, I don't think I've ever bought any PE or aftermarket enhancements. What I do enjoy is adding to and enhancing model I'm working on with parts from the spares box or even various household items. I'm not what you'd call a "rivet counter" when it comes to accuracy of the kit--the overall "look-right" factor is more important to me.

A12 Infantry Tank Mk II, Matilda, commonly known as Matilda II, came into service with British Army in 1939. It is best known for its exploits at the Arras counterattack during the Battle of France, and for the solid performance in the Western Desert theater of operations. In its days, it was the only British tank with armor thick enough to stand up to any German tanks, and the only sure way of defeating it was the employment of the legendary 88-mm FlaK gun. Matilda II's main shortcoming was its terminally ineffective armament: the 2-pdr. (40-mm) quick firing gun, firing only solid AP-shots. It is interesting that an Infantry Tank should be armed exclusively with AP shots, but in those pre-war days the reasoning went that the Infantry Tanks are there to protect the infantry from the enemy tanks, and the 2-pdr. gun was the best anti-tank gun in British inventory at the time. Maximum speed was 15 mph, considered plenty fast enough for an Infantry Tank. It had a crew of four and maximum weight of just under 27 tons.

Tamiya's Matilda II kit (no. 35024) is the only styrene offering of this kit available. It was released back in 1970s, and typical of Tamiya kits from that era, has motorization holes on the bottom of the hull. AMPS review of the kit states "Fair. The only game in town, and now a rare kit. Expect to do a bit of work, but will turn into a nice model." Thankfully, it is not a rare kit, as it seems to have been re-released by Tamiya some years ago. It retails for less than $20, and can be found via mail order sites for around $14.

There are four sprues total in tan styrene, as well as the older-style, one-piece rubber band tracks. The twelve-part instruction sheet is for most part easy to follow and understand, with some black-and-white photos of the Matilda II and useful side-bar commentaries. The only problem I had was the assembly of the turret and the commander's cupola, part C8. Placement of some of the cupola parts wwas obscure, and needed guesswork. Same with the placement of turret tools. But these were minor points; the overall assembly of the kit was easy and straight-forward.

The detail level is not very high. Thankfully, unlike some of the earlier Tamiya releases, most of the on-vehicle tools are provided separately, rather than being molded directly onto the hull. On the upper hull, the oil cooler covers are separately molded and need to be assembled, but the radiator pipes are molded on to the hull directly. Typical of the earlier Tamiya kits, you can peer under the hull over the tracks and see gaping holes--same with the back of the tank where there is a snap-on hook that attaches the upper hull to the lower half. The gaps can be "walled up" with sheet styrene, and the back hook can be cut off, the lower-hull attachment hole filled with putty and sanded up, and the hulls glued together. Most of the running gear detail is hidden by the side armor plates. Elefant Model Accessories and Jordi Rubio make replacement barrels for the main gun; Eduard has a photo-etched detail set available.

Some of the included options available are: use of Mk. I vs. Mk. II gun shields (Mk. I shield has a cover for the Vickers co-axial machine gun), opened- or closed- positioning of the turret hatches, and the position of the driver's visor hatch. Considering the bare inside of the tank, I glued the visor hatch shut. Also included are a number of bedrolls for the turret storage and some spare tracks (unfortunately, rather clunky and devoid of detail). The kit comes with one figure, that of the tank commander with binoculars looking out of the commander's cupola.

The instruction calls for painting the tank in three-color camouflage pattern of dark yellow, red brown, and light grey, simulating a tank of the 42nd Tank Regiment in the desert. Personally I chose to paint mine with Tamiya flat Buff (XF-57). Decals are provided for three named tanks, seven different tank units (1st Armoured Division, 2nd Armoured Division, 6th Armoured Division, 4th Tank Brigade, 7th Tank Brigade, 8th Tank Brigade, and 23rd Armoured Division--these are taken from the instruction), as well as four different squadron markings. These decals seemed a bit thick, but went on without any problems.

The dimensions are not so accurate, due to Tamiya's design decision to incorporate battery and motor pack into the lower hull, but the finished kit "looks" like a Matilda II. For those interested, the historical and model dimensions are listed below:

Length: 6.019 m historical, 5.99 m model Width: 2.59 m historical, 2.66 m model Height: 2.515 m historical, 2.62 m model

Overall, I am pretty happy with this kit. It has several advantages going for it: it's the only styrene offering, it's cheap, and it's readily available. For those just getting into modeling and interested in WW2 British Armor, this would be a good choice. For more advanced modelers, I feel this kit would provide enough basic framework for a conversion project to a more accurate model.

References:

Matilda Infantry Tank 1938-1945 by David Fletcher and Peter Sarson, New Vanguard No. 8, Osprey Military Publishing, London 1994. Probably best single-volume reference available, in print, nowadays. Good and detailed information on genesis, production changes, and operational history of Matilda I and IIs. Has a number of color plates as well as plentiful photos.

British and American Tanks of World War II, Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis, Arco Publishing Company, New York 1969.

Tanks of World War II by Chris Ellis, Chancellor Press, Lond