May Campaigns in History: Build the Moments That Shaped WWII

Throughout this week, AFV Hobby Hub highlighted major WWII campaigns and battles connected to the month of May — each one offering modelers a different kind of historical build opportunity.

From mountain ruins and desert roads to muddy Pacific ridgelines and fast-moving early-war columns, these campaigns show how much the battlefield shaped the story. Terrain, weather, supply lines, defensive positions, armor, infantry, and support weapons all played a role in how these moments unfolded.

For scale modelers, that means each campaign is more than a history lesson. It is a starting point for a meaningful build.

Why These Campaigns Matter to Modelers

Historical modeling works best when the subject has context. A tank, figure set, artillery piece, or accessory becomes more powerful when it is placed into the right setting.

A Sherman in the Pacific tells a different story than a Sherman in Europe.
A German infantry set in France 1940 feels different from one defending Berlin in 1945.
A desert-worn vehicle from North Africa needs different weathering than armor fighting through mud, rubble, or jungle terrain.

That is what made our May Campaigns in History series so exciting. Each campaign gave builders a different challenge:

• Monte Cassino — ruined stone buildings, hills, rubble, infantry fighting, and fortified German positions.
• North Africa / Tunisia 1943 — dust, sun-faded armor, supply lines, field guns, and the final collapse of the Axis position in Africa.
• Eastern Front / Fall of Berlin 1945 — urban rubble, exhausted infantry, battered armor, roadblocks, and the final days of the war in Europe.
• Okinawa 1945 — mud, ridgelines, caves, jungle growth, U.S. armor support, and Japanese defensive positions.
• Fall of France 1940 — fast-moving road columns, early-war German armor, infantry, artillery, and the shock of Blitzkrieg in the West.

Each one offers a different way to build history in 1/35 scale.

Featured Campaign Bundle Links

Use the links below to shop the specific campaign bundles featured during our May Campaigns in History series.

Monte Cassino Campaign Bundle

North Africa / Tunisia 1943 Campaign Bundle

Eastern Front / Fall of Berlin Campaign Bundle

Battle of Okinawa Campaign Bundle

Fall of France / Western Campaign 1940 Bundle

Build the Campaign, Not Just the Kit

One of the best parts of historical modeling is turning individual kits into complete scenes.

Start with the main subject — a tank, infantry set, artillery piece, truck, or support weapon. Then build around it with the details that make the campaign recognizable.

For a Monte Cassino build, think rubble, stone walls, shell damage, and defensive positions.
For North Africa, add dust, dry terrain, faded paint, jerry cans, and road-worn armor.
For Berlin, use broken signs, brick rubble, damaged buildings, and late-war weathering.
For Okinawa, focus on mud, palm leaves, cave entrances, wet ground, and close infantry movement.
For France 1940, build roads, bridges, villages, early-war gray armor, and advancing columns.

The right details turn a model into a story.

Find Your Next Historical Build at AFV Hobby Hub

Whether you are planning a full diorama, a vehicle-focused display, or a figure-heavy scene, AFV Hobby Hub has kits and supplies to help bring these campaigns to your workbench.

Shop 1/35 scale military model kits, figures, armor, artillery, accessories, terrain supplies, and finishing products at AFV Hobby Hub.

Build the moment. Build the scene. Build the history.