Under the current state of affairs, we've all found ourselves with a fair amount of unanticipated idle time.  

 

While some folks could easily fill it with their existing hobbies, some of us have had to find other diversions.

 

I've written on here before about the brick tank military models from the Polish firm COBI.   

 

Not requiring a lot of muss and fuss (paint or glue), and yet challenging enough to build, I have to admit they have become an addiction. 

 

I haven't had this many model kits on my shelves since I was a kid!  And I have more coming.

So just a quick walk through of my most recent builds that have not been covered elsewhere...

 

One nice thing about the COBI line is in addition to all the classic Panzers and Sherman tanks, they also have the administrative and logistics vehicles that keep

any Army running.  This is their rendition of the venerable VW Kubelwagen. 

 

Having said that, they tend to put the Balkenkreuz (Iron Cross marking) on everything German, a la "Rat Patrol", as you can see in the opening photo.  This can be remedied easy enough... as soon as I find a flat 2 x 2 grey panel, the marking will be replaced.

 

In the coming year it looks like they will be offering a selection of staff cars.   https://cobi.pl/en/small-army-ww2/tanks-and-vehicles/1937-horch-901-kfz-15-limited-edition,art,12139.html

 

 

COBI's version of a SD.KFZ. 251/10.

 

I was lucky to snag this one.  While certain vehicles, such as the Panzer IV always seem to be in production, others are only on the market for a limited amount of time.  The problem is trying to figure out which ones are going to on more limited production.  And apparently, from what I can see on all of my retail sources on the internet, once they are gone, they are gone.

 

Another aspect of this particular model was a bit of inauthenticity.  It was advertised with a forward mounted PAK 35 antitank gun, with shielding.  For reasons only known to the manufacturer, what they supplied was a US .50 caliber machine gun.  

 

Fortunately the  kit had a rear facing MG 34 which I simply moved to the front.

 

COBI has reissued this kit in grey with a larger anti-tank weapon mounted on it.

COBI seems to have themes some years.  I believe some of the earlier ones were the Battle of France, Battle for Berlin, WWI, and the Polish Campaign.

 

2020's theme appears to be the Afrika Corps, with new kits and reissues in desert tan with the troops to match.

And this is what the SD.KFZ. 250/3 looks like out of the box.

 

The tubing for the overhead cage was a bit tricky to balance, but it fell into place eventually.

 

While the details on these vehicles is a bit basic, sometimes they add little touches of authenticity, such as the wear on the rear registration plates.

My build of the M7 Priest.  

 

I believe our member Proud Kraut posted a more detailed view of this same kit, but I can't locate it at the moment.

Moving forward in time, the venerable M113 Armored Personnel Carrier.   This one features a rear ramp and opening hatch for the crew compartment.

 

This comes from their current Vietnam series.  But this also works for the Cold War in Europe as well. 

 

And lastly, on the other side of the Vietnam War, the PT-76 amphibious tank as used by the NVA.

 

The profile is actually better than the photos show.  Hatches open to reveal the engine compartment.

 

 

In sum, these darn things are addictive, like potato chips.  You build one, and then you want to build another.

 

With a cold winter ahead, and few places to go, I've stocked up.

 

I am not sure if this is a hobby, or manifestation of some form of madness at this point.

 

Thanks for reading. 

For a detailed tutorial on building COBI tanks, please see:

 

 

I think it is a hobby and a very addictive one. These are some really great vehicles you have built. Excellent models, in fact I don´t know which I like most. In any case I will get me the M113 as soon as possible.

You mentioned the rarity of some of these models. Your camouflage color SdKfz 251/10 is about 130,- - 175,- EURO over here meanwhile. So this hobby is a good investment as well. Thanks for sharing your models and looking forward to see the next one completed.

 

Lars

 

P.S.: I have found my M7 pictures again. It was my first COBI model and I posted them in your "COBI # 3 - M3 Scout car" topic at the USMF modeling section.

Those are neat.  Rich A. in Pa.

My latest project... an M3 Gun Motor Carriage.  I couldn't resist the markings on this one.  This might be a compliment to their current Afrika Korps theme for their German models.

And a few more views.

We (my son And I) have some Cobi kits.  They are very affordable and are 1/35 scale which are compatible with Lego mini figures.  I use do to be struck Brickmania, but there stuff is overly priced and do no hold hold as nice as Cobi Blocks.

 

Use Lego mini figures with Cobi Blocks.  We have a bunch of Cobi kits; especially like their ships, Worl of Tanks kits, and WWI kits.  They are better built than Brickmania and kids can play wi try them.  If you get a chance, buy their planes.  We just got the Memphis Belle kit.  I am currently working on replacing all guns with Brickarms guns and rebuilding the ball turret.

I built the M3 in 1/35 scale and must say this Cobi model looks very realistic. I also like how they did the camo pattern. A great kit, thanks for sharing!

Get the Jagdpanzer E-100 and the Maus: that will put some things in perspective.  My son and I just built the B-17 Memphis Belle.  We bought some Brick arms guns and are replacing all guns with better looking guns including rebuilding the ball turret

Cobi looks as nice as Brickmania and is actually affordable.  With some extra legos you can do some good modifications to make them more realistic. Overall, yes, addicting hobby

Looks great.  Rich A. in Pa.