Tamiya 35025 - 1:35 Sand Bags Set

Tamiya 35025 Sand Bags Set for 1:35 dioramas

Wherever soldiers had to improvise cover in a hurry, sandbags appeared. The Tamiya 35025 set contains 48 of them in 1:35 scale – each moulded as an individual plastic part, ready to be stacked into a pile, a parapet or a low wall.

Because the bags are not cast as fixed, rigid sections, the shape of the emplacement is entirely up to you. You can build a tight wall around a weapon pit, an irregular barricade against a building, or scatter single bags across a vehicle. The set uses 1973 tooling and belongs to the Tamiya 1:35 diorama accessory range, so it combines easily with vehicles and figures from the same series.

What is in the box:

• 48 sandbags – each moulded as a separate plastic part

Kit specifications:

• Scale: 1:35
• Item number: 35025
• Manufacturer: Tamiya
• Type: diorama accessories
• Tooling: 1973

Assembly and painting required

The parts have to be removed from the sprues, cleaned up and painted. Cement, paints and modelling tools are not included in the set and must be obtained separately.

Use in a diorama:

• A parapet for a machine gun, mortar or anti-tank gun position
• Cover for a bunker entrance, observation post or command post
• Improvised armour – bags laid over the glacis plate, fenders and turret of a vehicle
• Filling windows and shell holes in walls for urban combat scenes
• Reinforcing the edge of a trench, a checkpoint or a bridgehead

Tools you will need:

• Sprue cutters
• Hobby knife and files or sandpaper to clean up the parts
• Polystyrene cement
• Model paints, brushes or an airbrush
• Precision modelling tweezers

Sandbags on the battlefield:

A bag filled with sand or soil is the simplest cover available: cheap, easy to carry empty and, once filled, effective at absorbing fragments and rifle rounds. Sandbag revetments were built on a huge scale in the First World War, strengthening trench walls, machine gun nests and dugout entrances. In the Second World War the solution remained in daily use on every front – from anti-aircraft gun pits and observation posts to windows of buildings converted into strongpoints.

Sandbags also ended up on vehicles. In the closing period of the war Allied tank crews piled them on glacis plates, fenders and turrets, hoping to weaken the effect of shaped-charge rounds fired from German Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck launchers. The results of such improvisation varied and the extra weight strained the suspension, but for a modeller it is a rewarding subject – irregular stacks of bags on the armour instantly give a vehicle a front-line look.

About the manufacturer – Tamiya:

Tamiya is a Japanese company based in Shizuoka, active since 1946 – first as a timber business and, from the 1960s, as a manufacturer of plastic scale models. The brand built its reputation on precise tooling, good parts fit and clear instructions, which is why its kits are chosen by beginners and experienced modellers alike.

The 1:35 Military Miniature Series, to which this set belongs, covers military vehicles, figures and diorama accessories. A shared scale and consistent style make it easy to combine parts from different Tamiya sets in one scene, and classic accessories such as sandbags, jerry cans and fuel drums have been basic diorama equipment for decades.