2022

I like the ‘year in review’ format I tried for the first time last year, so here we go again. No point in sugarcoating it - 2022 was a terrible, terrible year, with horrible war starting in Europe. Of course this affected all parts of my life, including hobbies, as I was too depressed and anxious to bring myself back to it.

Legendary Renault FT-17, most influential and revolutionary tank design in history. It’s so tiny by modern standards that 1/35 model feels like 1/48. That’s why it’s even more interesting and challenging to build it with full interior. Model quality It’s just perfect, even compared to modern Airfix kits. No flash, very dense and hard plastic allowing amazing level of details, and very detailed build manual. It’s the best plastic kit I’ve ever built. Also it’s worth mentioning that kit provides workable tracks and suspension (even with tiny metal spring for amortization).

Protected Cruiser Varyag Built in USA in 1899 for the Imperial Russian Navy, Varyag became very famous in Russia after the Battle of Chemulpo Bay. In that battle, she got trapped in the bay and tried to break out by fighting against Japanese squadron. Sadly she scored no hits on the enemy, lost 31 men dead and 191 injured, returned back to the bay and got scuttled.