The Matilda MKIII. What's in the box?

Tamiya. Matilda MkIII 1/48.

Tamiya. Matilda MkIII 1/48 Caunter scheme.
The Matilda MKIII. What's in the box?
Matilda MKIII Caunter Scheme build. That's the odd one with the blue.

Tamiya. Matilda MkIII 1/48 Malta scheme.
Matilda MK III 'Malta alternative history.' Making the model.
Matilda alternative history. A display on a shoestring.

View the You Tube video.

Ladies and gentlemen… A box.

The Matilda Mk III.

I know you were expecting the ‘Empress’ from the 11^th century civil war in England but this is actually the British WWII infantry tank. (I think the picture on the box gives us a clue.)

When I was a young, I loved the Matilda and the Churchill designs.

They looked so indestructible. They were in fact not indestructible but they were powerful machines. In reality the arms race caught up with them but I still have a soft spot for these beasts.

The Matilda Mk III, also known as the Matilda III, was a British infantry tank used predominately during the early part of World War II. Developed and manufactured by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, the Matilda III was part of the wider Matilda tank family, which included earlier versions like the Matilda I and II.

Matilda MkI Matilda MkII

(Actually, the tank was named after the character "Matilda" from the children's novel "Just William" by Richmal Crompton.)

It was designed to be an infantry support tank with strong armor protection and adequate firepower to engage enemy positions effectively.

Production of the Matilda III began in 1938, and it saw active service primarily during the early years of World War II, including the North African and Mediterranean theaters.

Looking around the box, we have some nice box art on the front. The main draw of this model, I think is the interesting colour scheme. (Which I’m not doing this time around.)

The important information we need for our purchasing decision is found on the end panels.

The two side panels show the two colour schemes featured in the model. I’m fond of this model. I might do them both.

It comes with some additional plastic around the box which should be removed gently with a pair of scissors thus.

And inside is…

A rainforest of paper.

Painting instructions Putting together instructions A hints and tips sheet.

The painting instructions. The information written in the instruction leaflet.

The paint schemes included.

The three designs in the box.

This is the tips sheet.

Should find something useful here.

And now…

Let’s have a look at the instructions.

What else is in the box?

Lots of bags with tanky plastic goodness.

Wheels and stuff.

Turrety stuff.

Body stuff.

Colourful decals too along with some weights to give our model a sense of mass. There’s also a piece of string to make the tow rope and some plastic parts for allowing parts to move. We’ll see them again later.