This recent decal set from the Spanish company FC Modeltips covers the AMX-30/E/EM MBTs of the Spanish Army in the 70’s and 80’s.
The set
The decals come in a re-sealable plastic bag with A4 size instructions folded in half – this is very extensive and provides color drawings and notes over 8 pages. The first page explains the structure of 4 units but only in Spanish – luckily yours truly can cope with this language – and also gives a brief description on the coat of arms and numbering possibilities for: Bakali Company, WAD RAS Regiment, RIAC 61, RCLAC 14. The following pages cover these with colored graphics and short instructions in both Spanish and English, and also present vehicles from: the Cavalry Academy, RCLAC 9, RIMZ 16 and 18, sub-units of the RIAC 61 and RCLAC 14. FC Modeltips claims on its webpage that the set covers 300 possibilities and I must say this is true, at first glance it is not easy to overview the possibilities especially for those who have not too much knowledge on this subject.
The quality of the instructions is average but useful and that is more than enough. The decal sheet has no numbers on it, but its copy in the instructions has, so identification should not be a problem. The colors are provided in Vallejo Model Air, and since they are a local company, I am pretty sure that these are accurate.
The decal sheet has a size of approximately 10cm x 20cm and contains plenty of numbers of different colors, coat of arms and mascots. A few texts and prearranged number combinations are also available. The print quality is very sharp and the details are good, although I do not have the possibility to compare them to the originals.
One version has an interesting ”feature” and as this is in Spanish only I think I will summarize it here. In vehicle 702 of RIAC 61, King Juan Carlos I fired the cannon during an exercise, and later gave an interview to the press on board of number 710.
Conclusions
This creation of this set has definitely involved a lot of research and knowledge so it is warmly recommended to anyone who plans to build an AMX-30 kit in Spanish colors.
SUMMARY
Highs: Loads of options, can be used for multiple builds.Lows: The intro page would have been nice to have in English as well.Verdict: Highly recommended to anyone buliding a Spanish AMX-30.
Our Thanks to FC Model Trend! This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.
As Spanish made AMX 30s were slightly different from the original ones Spain purchased from France, does FC Modeltips mention whether those decals are suitable for French or Spanish made tanks ?
Hello Guys, French made AMX-30 tanks can be used for the Bakali company ones, the rest of the Spanish AMX-30 has slight differences like the MG-3 gun, lack of coaxial gun, different phone box and US antennas. The AMX-30EM is a more complex transformation.
Just a small revision, two graphics are marked as AMX-30EM2 in the set. As far as I know only 19 French made tanks were present in the Spanish army the rest should be local production.
I am modelling for a wargame using the Bakali Company of the Spanish Legion. I understand these were the French version and there were 19 total. Does anyone know how they organized and distributed? And what would be the best base color for early to mid 80's painting?
Comments