Tamiya 1/35 scale French battle tank B1 bis

Kit: No. 35282
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Tamiya, from Tamiya America, 800-826-4922, www.tamiyausa.com
Price: $59
Comments: Injection-molded, 362 (8 poly caps, two metal chains), decals
Pros: Easy assembly, great track, choice of color schemes, good painting guide
Cons: Basic figure, fragile decals

Tamiya surprised the modeling world when it announced the release of the French "Char" (French for "tank") B1 bis. The tank's thick armor could withstand a direct hit from most German antitank weapons, but its hull-mounted 75mm gun had limited traverse. Many of these tanks were captured and "repurposed" by the Germans when France fell.

The first thing I noticed was the number of road wheels: 32 pairs. I found it less tedious to assemble them in small groups during several building sessions. A small sprue stub must be removed from the face of each outer road wheel (part A2). Since the road wheels are nearly hidden on the finished model, you may elect to ignore the stubs.

The overall fit of the parts is great, with filler required only on the commander's cupola. There is no flash, and ejector-pin marks are mostly hidden. However pin marks on the outside surface of parts D5 and D6 had to be cleaned. There is interior detail on the driver's and crew hatches, but no other interior details are included. The figure lacks the detail of other plastic figures on the market.

When you get to step 15, it's time to decide which vehicle you want to model. Optional fender and exhaust styles are provided, so you'll need to determine which goes with which marking choice. I left off the tiny auxiliary light to match pictures of tank No. 257. Parts A7, seen in step 21, are lifting jacks. There's a picture of them in use on page 43 of Chars B Au Combat from Historie & Collections. A pigtail lifting hook and six bolt holes on the 75mm gun mantlet are missing but shown on the boxtop illustration. I made the hook from brass wire and drilled the holes.

A full-color pamphlet shows five-view drawings of four tanks. I painted tank No. 257 "Bourrasque" with the Tamiya colors recommended in the directions, using Silly Putty to mask the camouflage. I primed the chain in black, then repeatedly bathed it in Rustall. The Tamiya decals were very thin, but they tended to break up when moved.

The working individual track links simply snap together in two runs of 61. There are eight left over to replace any you break. It was easy to sand off the tiny pour stubs on each link. They were painted Floquil dark brown and drybrushed with rust. CMK aluminum powder provided the worn-metal effect. I wish all individual-link tracks were this easy.

This kit almost fell together, taking only 19 hours to complete. Most of that time was spent on the road wheels and painting the camouflage pattern.

Tamiya's B1 bis looks accurate compared with reference photos. A French Web site, www.chars-francais.net, also is a good reference with lists and photos of many individual vehicles, including many of "Bourrasque" being captured by German forces.

- Mike Scharf