Ever since Tamiya released its 1/48 scale Citroën Traction 11CV Staff Car a few years ago, 1/35 scale modelers have hoped it would be upsized to fit the rest of their collection. Their hopes hopes have been answered with an excellent kit of the popular French car.
You’ll realize just how simple this kit is as soon as you open the box. Most of the parts are molded in a standard dark gray plastic, with a clear sprue for the windows and a set of poly caps for the tires. Also included is a decal sheet and, of course, Tamiya’s always-excellent instructions.
The kit can be built in several variants. Decals and instructions call out five different sets of markings: two for French civilian cars; one for a French army car; and two World War II Wehrmacht options.
The parts breakdown is similar to the previously released 1/48 scale kit, but 1/35 scale accommodates a few more details. Both front doors are now molded separately, allowing them to be open or closed, and door handles are molded separately for easier painting. Front fenders are molded separately, too, making two-tone schemes easier to paint. The windows are molded as individual pieces, too, a step up from the one-piece glass of the smaller scale (more about the glass later).
The tires are molded in styrene with the wheels included. The back sides take two separate pieces that enclose a polycap to allow the wheels to move on their axles. However, the front axles are molded straight ahead with no way to turn. Detail is crisp and will receive painting and weathering very well.
The front suspension consists of separate lower arms and individual shocks. The rear suspension has only a rear axle.
This is a curbside model – no engine, only the lower half of the chassis pan and a separate full-length exhaust.
The interior is simple: Two front seats, a rear bench seat, a dash, a steering wheel, and that’s it. Again, the separate doors are nice for showing the interior or the kit-supplied driver. Because I built a civilian version, I left out the driver figure.
After the body is installed over the chassis, there is a gap at each rear wheel well opening into the rear seat area. Two small strips of styrene may be needed to close off these openings.
With open doors, separate windows were a must. But these have two issues that slightly spoiled the build.
First is the need to mask and spray the window frames, using a kit-supplied, printed guide. Even as closely as I tried to follow them, I still had some borders that came out too large, and some that just looked odd. Kit-supplied tape masks would be a big help.
The second problem was the tight, precise fit of the windows into the body; the windows barely fit, and the front and rear ones showed stress cracks from trying to get them in. Maybe sanding the openings before paint will help, but I would have preferred a bit more leeway for installation.
Other than those two small points, this kit really is a gem. It is the perfect car for building up a diorama, weathering practice, or just a quick build for relaxation.