Because each one comes with two to seven iterations of a vehicle, Plastic Soldier Company kits have been causing the size of my collection to explode over the last couple of years, and that has caused me to start questioning what my collection is even about anymore. For the first time ever in my model-building life (that’s nearly 50 years now), I actually cannot quite remember everything I have, or whether I have taken a picture of it yet — and it is only the system of labeled boxes in the garage that lets me even find anything reliably… Even when it comes to the tabletop battles my 11-year-old son and I conduct, we now have far more weaponry than would realistically find itself in any given skirmish.

But these PSC kits really hit a sweet spot for me: 1) although there are few parts, which usually means less detail, the detail that the manufacturer molds into the pieces is really well done and, in my opinion, looks pretty much as good (at least from a just-looking distance) as a finished 1/72 kit made from many more parts; 2) since the threshold between “fine precision” and “stressful bother” is fairly low for me, this balance of process challenge level and finished outcome quality is comfy and fun; and 3) because I (and now, with my 11-year-old son in the game with me, we) always think of the collection as an army for actual use in wargaming, having multiples of vehicles not only looks neat but might also have some utility. So although I try to stop myself (“No, you don’t need PSC’s Panzer IVs, too — or their STG IIIs — or any of their Russian stuff!”), I keep buying more of their kits and will probably end up having collected all of them at some point.

Here you have the PSC Tiger I. I did two of them as early-model Tunisian Tigers, and the third as a late-model in Normandy. The way I present them is typical of my style. First, PSC kits don’t come with decals, so you need to acquire/find your own, and I almost always use spares — without getting hung up too much on accuracy. For example, on the Tunisian Tigers the ID numbers are the right color, and they are actual numbers of two vehicles in that theatre, but they are not the right “font,” which would have been taller and skinnier. For a fleeting moment I consider buying the right decals but land, as usual, on “it’s fine!” The Normandy Tiger is wearing the spares from a Dragon kit depicting just such a vehicle, though, so those are right, as far as I can tell. Also, in terms of my style, the models are staged in “pop-up” dioramas out on the driveway in natural light. I hope you enjoy how they look. Just don’t look too, too close! 😉