1999 was a special year for B.A.T. for three reasons. First, that summer we engaged in an intense building program to construct an Italian village in 1/16th scale. (The easily-transported buildings began as wood frames that were then covered in lightweight panels made up of a thin cast polyurethane shell reinforced by 2-part expanding foam. Commercial vacuum-formed tile roofs completed their basic form.)

Secondly, we used this village as a diorama for B.A.T.’s two Battle Day events in the same year. The first one, which featured a flowing river through the town, was at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in June, as guests of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association’s national convention. This event saw the introduction of Ron Bair’s scratch-built 1/16th Pershing which had earlier in the year won "Best Off-Road Vehicle" at the American Model Aeronautics International Model Show held annually in Pasadena. Also, Jerry ran a rare Imai Elefant, breaking a track link.

Thirdly, in the October Battle Day, which was held in San Jose, B.A.T. introduced a formalized wargaming approach for the 1/16th scale tanks. This method used a stopwatch and a tool with an attached tape measure and something that resembled a protractor laid flat. According to this "Ballistic Stick," if your tank’s barrel was within 5 degrees from center, and at most 8 feet from your target, you would have killed your target. The Axis and Allied sides would take turns performing some action for about 15 seconds. Individual tanks during this period could choose to remain stationary, move, or shoot. A judge would oversee the action.

(This method worked fine, but was soon outdated with the welcomed introduction of the new Tamiya tanks and their optional "Battle Unit" infrared devices.)

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