The Hasegawa 1/20th scale Mk44
Ammo Knights (Maschinen Krieger 44 Type) is hard to find in the UK. It was
released in 2014 and these sci fi walking tanks are from graphic/comic
serialisation not available much outside Japan. The original SF3D series was
shut down after a few years only to re-emerge as the "Ma.K."
(Maschinen Krieger ZbV3000) series. The Ammo
Knights originate from yet another spin-off - "Robot Battle V".
Needless to say this kind of thing has quite a cult following in Japan but
is almost unheard of abroad. Of course Hasegawa are practicaly a household
name in the UK & USA where they are better known for their aircraft and
military vehicle kits. Other than some
Formula One kits the 1/20th scale seems almost unique to the
SF3D Ma.K. sub-genre. There are quite a lot of small players in the
Japanese market supplying these sort of sci fi kits from the
graphic serialisation - all in 1/20th scale. It has its own
aftermarket offerings too. Japanese modellers quite like to build
some intricate dioramas around these walking robots.
This specific kit caught my attention in 2014
after I created a Small Wonder Twitter account and started to
follow several of my counterparts in Japan who were building
science fiction subjects. I was looking for a fun sci-fi build
to follow-up the Finemolds Millennium Falcon. I liked the smoke
grenade launchers on this one. Of all the topics I saw this one
looked less like a toy and more like a tank on legs.
The project I have planned for this is a diorama.
There are two kits in the (large) box. I will ignore the genre's
scale and adapt these kits using 1/48th scale tank kit parts and
accesories. It should be an interesting build. No doubt the SF3D
Ma.K. fan base will be appalled so I apologise in advance. I am
not a fan of the series - I just like the potential of this
topic and would like to do something just a bit special. I have
seen quite a bit of artwork from the walking-tank fanbase
and quite like the idea of recreating a scene from the Soviet
Great Patriotic war based post 1946. A genuine fantasy where
walking robots have taken over from their crawling counter-parts
but the technology is all very familiar. So I will be adding a
couple of (cheap) Soviet GPW tanks to the collection for the
turrets and various accessories. I have also purchased several
German and American tank stowage sets for the diorama. I won't
use everything but the rest will be great for 1/48th scale
aircraft dioramas. Nothing will go to waste!
So, watch this space.. |