I’ve produced this for the best Tank That Never Was Campaign and most of its progress is recorded there.
However, I thought that some may not venture much into the Campaigns area so I’ve recorded it here as best as I am able. This is not a plaudit Jagd by any means. As the campaign is now over, I intend to incorporate it into a larger setting, so this topic will describe how I go about it all.
This is the Dragon Kpz-70 (MBT-70) and has been much criticised for its shortcomings; whilst I appreciate the yearning for accuracy, and Dragon seemed to have been a bit lazy with this one, I was just pleased that someone had decided to manufacture one; of course, it comes with the stigma of Dragon’s Black Label sobriquet, but what the hell? Despite that, I feel an interesting model can be built, but then, I do tend to lean towards the What If side of the house on occasion and this is my interpretation of a tank as envisaged in service.
Preternaturally perhaps, I have modelled a Dutch version; not many may be aware of the Dutch interest in the beast, and indeed, I was unaware until Jakko offered up this snippet, provided from his reference books:
The MBT-70 project had barely been begun when minister of defence de Jong made it known to the German and American governments that the Netherlands was interested in participating in it. In 1965, in Bonn, the possible terms for taking part were explained to the Netherlands and Belgium, among others. Towards the end of that year, the Netherlands took out a non-binding option for four hundred tanks, with the request to be kept updated about the project’s progress. The expectations at the time was that deliveries would begin in 1971 or 1972. In the autumn of 1967, Dutch military authorities, accompanied by experts, were given the opportunity for a number of orientation visits to take a look at the current state of affairs and inspect the prototypes that had been developed (in both the USA and Germany).
So, that’s the rationale for this model. Jakko also opined that the likely title of the tank in RNLA service would be GVT-70.
The instructions are not necessarily the most logical, but I understand this is often the case with Dragon kits, of which I’ve built precious few; however the modifications I made are as follows:
Added lashings of model railway scenic flock to the running gear as this will be a vehicle on exercise, and the flock represents mud.
I replaced the infantry telephone box on the hull rear as I believe the Dragon one is too large; as it happens I have a spare from the Revell Leo kit and merely applied that.
On the glacis plate I added my interpretation of the armoured TV camera housing, which was there to aid the Driver. Sadly, it doesn’t look much like the prototype version, but is at least the same as the rather ham-fisted version I’d devised for my earlier model of the MBT-70 using Commander’s kit.
Other modifications/additions included a mantlet cover, tow ropes, hull stowage boxes (purloined from the Revell Leo 1), ditto the radio antennae though further modified using Accurate Armour antennae bases), a Gunner’s hatch scratched, after drilling out the moulded closed hatch (why Dragon, why oh why did you do that?) – don’t look too close(!), and a stowage box on the turret top. Oh, and a pair of cylindrical containers for the bore brushes. I also added a pair of rear mudflaps.
The distinctive Dutch pattern smoke dischargers came from another Revell kit, their Leo 2 A6; decent scratch builders could have fashioned same I’m sure, but not this Callsign folks
Whilst I laboriously covered the construction process within the campaign, I don’t intend to repeat all that here; there were no great snags, but below are a series of build pictures so you can monitor the progress as it were:
Finally, I added draped cam nets – in addition to one stowed on the turret rack – and these were fashioned using PVA glue, gauze bandage and used tea leaves
Of course, concealing all that lovingly applied detail is always open to question, but I normally want my models to look as though they’re going about their daily business, and if a Cold War rendition is depicted as on exercise, then camouflage nets it is!
And the final construction pic is this – prior to primer. Brass antennae just lodged in position for the pic. I had acquired the Voyager Model etch set but ended up only using the mesh engine covers as shown.
Now, how am I going to display this? Well, the scenario is, following the acquisition of a first tranche, the Dutch deployed it on a NATO work-up exercise in West Germany, in, say, 1974, which I would feel, falls about right. I have further assumed, that after purchase from the Germans, they modified their radio/stowage fit accordingly (as they did with their Leo 1 fleet) and in the early days, kept the 152mm gun/launcher; I had to emphasise the latter as I wanted to model to retain the original chunky main armament – even though it’s swathed in camouflage. It is mentioned in several references that the Germans were going to opt for a 120mm gun as opposed to the 152mm, so in due course, I imagine that the Dutch too would have adopted the same. However, in this scenario, as it’s relatively early days, they have the tanks fitted with the 152mm.
Now, any new kit undergoing participation on an exercise, is going to attract a fair bit of attention, so I devised a setting whereby the Inspector-General of the Dutch Armed Forces, His Royal Highness Prins Bernhard, has turned up to have a look and a talk to the soldiers manning one. To this end, the tank is parked along a tree-line (which I may or may not depict), and HRH has just rocked up in an equally new vehicle, albeit a softskin, the DAF YA-66.
I have just acquired some figures and the vehicle from Sylly’s Models, and this is my concept of ops utilising one of my larger bases, to A3 paper size:
That folks is the plan; I still need to acquire a round 4 more figures from Sylly’s Models. The build of the GVT-70 is complete and painted; it’s awaiting an oil wash, and some dry brushing.
The latter is German, and though Bernhard was that, too, he wasn’t anymore as soon as he became a prince due to his marriage to Crown Princess Juliana, who was Queen at the time your diorama is set.
