Thursday, March 18

Two iconic vehicles of the Bundeswehr in 35th scale from Takom in May...

Putting together two long out of production kits into an iconic 80's duo of Bundeswehr vehicles for May release. Takom bring us the Volkswagen T3 "DOKA" & the heavy Feldumschlaggerät FUG 2.5t forklift in 1/35th scale. See a little about them both and what we know about the kits in our preview...
Two iconic vehicles of the 80's Bundeswehr in 35th scale from Takom in May...

T3 & Feldumschlaggerät FUG 2.5t
From Takom
1/35th scale
Kit No #2141
The Subject:  Feldumschlaggerät Fug 2.5t Heavy forklift & Volkswagen T3
The field handling device produced by the Steinbock company, or FUG for short, was put into service by the logistics associations of the Bundeswehr as early as 1983. The vehicle is used wherever supplies have to be handled. 
No matter whether from rail to road, in the depot or in the material warehouse. Due to its all-wheel drive and the possibility of level adjustment, the FUG 2.5t has excellent off-road capabilities and is therefore suitable for transporting supplies even in easy to medium terrain. The FUG 2.5t is popular with the troops because it can also be used or converted for other work. For example, it can also be used to clear snow. The forks can be exchanged for attachments such as a dozer blade or a crane boom in just a few simple steps.
The field material handling machine is designed for use on paved and unpaved areas, paths and roads as well as in light to medium-difficult terrain.
The Volkswagen T3 Transporter DOKA in Bundeswehr service:
The backbone of the smaller transportation units and general-purpose vehicles. VW  Vans formed an integral and important part of the vehicle Fleet of the German Army (Bundeswehr) for the best part of 60 years, now, with Split-Screen, Bay Window, T25/T3, T4, T5 and T6 vans applied to all sorts of uses within the Service, both as Buses and Crew-Cabs. 
Doka stands for Doppelkabine, or double cab, and it has two doors on the other side, as you would expect—that was how VW cut build costs. With the engine still located in the back, these featured an unusually high cargo floor, and we always thought that the panel van version of the T3 provided a much more versatile alternative once you've made the decision to make the T3 your workhorse. 
While Vanagons and their plusher versions were powered 1.9- or 2.1-litre water-cooled four-cylinder gasoline engines, the trucks in the European market were often diesel flavoured, usually with a 1.6-liter inline-four diesel in the back.
This kit from Takom
The first half of this kit represents the Feldumschlaggerät Fug 2.5t Heavy forklift of the modern German army, the Bundeswehr. All the wheels are workable and steerable, you can open the doors of the cab as well and it comes with the crate as well. You can build the forklift in four ways: long forks, short forks, with plough attachment or with crane/ jib attachment.
Marking options are four types for this fork, again supplied by the dudes at AMMO – saying that the world is your oyster as I suppose there are endless markings with how far and wide these are still being used.

The T3 van features a full interior and markings for several Bundeswehr vehicles. A combination of two popular German vehicles that have been out of production for a while in the same kit - what's not to like!?

For more on this kit and all of Takom's other models look at their Website