Meng Chieftain Mk.10 British Main Battle Tank 1:35

Feature Article with Colin Izatt

Just before we get started, here’s a look at how it all turned out…

The Subject…

Entering service in 1966 the Chieftain was the first British Main Battle Tank (MBT) to have the driver in a supine position. This allowed the hull profile to be lower and sloped for better protection. The main armament was a 120mm L11A5 rifled gun and the vehicle was powered by a Leyland multi-fuel engine.

Nearly 1900 were built with just under 50% for the UK armed forces. In British service the variants went from Mk’s 1-11 with marks after 5 all being upgrades of existing vehicles.

A good outline can be found here
An article on the gun can be seen here

Mounted on a Challenger Mk1 the same gun scored the longest range kill in Operation Granby/Gulf War 1 of an Iraqi T55 at 4.7Km/2.9 Miles. The distance is disputed with some stating it was even further at 5Km/3.2 miles!

The kit

The model depicts a Mk10 in British service and is beautifully moulded in a very light grey plastic typical of recent Meng releases and can be seen on the manufacturer’s website.

The best previous offering was a Takom one which I made as a Berlin Brigade wagon.

If you want to make the Berlin option note that Meng have got the wheel colour completely wrong. The wheels should be satin black.
This is an excellent reference.
I wish I had had a copy when I made the Takom one as I have used Nato Green for the wheels!

Here are the sprues…

Accessories used:

Accurate Armour resin barrel
Masterclub 35079 metal tracks

The build…