Super Heavy

Since WWII, the tank has been thought of primarily as a way to rapidly deploy heavy anti material weapons directly into enemy formations, primarily aimed at knocking out opposing AFVs (whether tanks, troop transports, or softer targets as required). This might be laid at the feet of Heinz Guderian, whose theorizing on both Bewegungskrieg and its 20th Century Grandchild, Blitzkrieg, were central to the early successes of the German ground forces in the early days of the war.

It was not always so, however. There was a time from the end of The Great War to the beginning 1939 when countries did not know how to handle tanks, or what they should be.

Hence why smaller, lighter tanks grouped up into tight formations could overwhelm French forces so easily and even topple what was considered one of the best tanks of the era (for reasons still not yet quite understood), the Char-B, as the French military had them rather thinly spread in what was seen as a practical infantry support role.

Some Animals are More Equal Than Others

Whilst many folks will only know Miyazaki Hayao from his film works, before his rise to fame, at the peak of his career and, so it is said, even now, the Master was an accomplished (if not actually prolific) artist.

Anyone who has seen his Nausicaa comic will be able to attest to Master Miyazaki’s sheer skill, eye for Gothic technology, and love for nature. However, this series which ran from 1982-1994 was not Master Miyazaki’s only outlet for his passions for flight, technology, and unusual stories.

For example, the film Porco Rosso (1992) sprang directly from some of the work which Miyazaki published in Model Graphix Magazine, under the title of ‘The Age of the Flying Boat‘. However, this short comic itself was part of a larger series on military technology speculation, under the parent title of ‘Daydream Data Notes’ (hereafter known as DDN and available from Hobbylink Japan: here). Today’s review model was drawn from this series.