BA20 - RUSSIAN ARMOURED CAR

In fact it was my sister who very kindly got me the BA20 as a gift years ago. The kit was a Dragon reboxing (Ref: 9003) of an Alan kit that is even older - marketed as part of DML’s 1/35th scale Imperial series.

This is not comparable with modern kits, even at the time of its launch the moulding was pretty basic.

On the other hand, the BA20 is a surprisingly attractive little vehicle – even if it wasn’t that good. The civilian/staff car (the GAZ M1) - that formed its base was underpowered. Added to that, the BA20 scout car was under-armed & under-armoured too! The only plus side seemed to be the bullet-resistant wheels. Nevertheless, despite its lacklustre performance, the BA20 which was built between 1935 and 1942, still saw service in both the Spanish Civil War & in the Second World War – mainly serving in reconnaissance, HQ & communications formations. It soldiered on until the very end when it was largely supplanted by the BA64 but, some examples could still be found in service.

The kit comes with a limited number of parts, all simply moulded in a glossy grey plastic. There’s no interior detailing whatsoever, although the side doors can be left ajar. Construction followed the prescribed instruction guide & as this was a simple out of the box build, we just made the minimum number of alterations, including two new armoured doors for the radiator & we made the wheels slightly steerable.

The only other element to realise was the simple dusty uniform Russian green colour scheme, concocted from various enamel shades, with a dusty overspray in Tamiya Buff & finally, a very heavy drybrushing using a sand & green enamel mix. It’s funny how this painting technique is no longer "a la mode" but it still works to add a dusty finish to a model kit. If nothing else this old build serves to showcase a painting technique that we’ll be covering in more detail soon & which may come back into fashion.