1/76 & 1/72 Scale AFV Museum: WORLD WAR ONE VEHICLES
The French "Char d"assault Schneider" tank was inspired by the American Holt tractor and the need for vehicles that could overcome barbed wire and machine-gun nests. It was armed with a short 75mm gun on the front right-hand side and a Hotchkiss mg on each side. Its six man crew could drive the tank at a top speed of 5 mph. The first battle action in April 1917 revealed several faults, including inadequate Armour.
The folks at REVIRESCO make this metal 1/72 model. A bit bulky and heavy, but a welcome addition to any collection, as WWI tanks are few in this scale.
Another EMHAR WWI tank kit, this time the German A7V. Only 20 of these tanks were manufactured, and the kit depicts one of the earlier vehicles. The design was criticized as having poor cross country and trench crossing performances, and a too high center of gravity. Some of its features were considered design advances, however, and the A7V (from Allgemeine Kriegsdepartement 7, Abteilung Verkehrswesen) would be the first in a long line of German tank designs.
Here I have depicted vehicle 506 "Mephisto", with the red brown and sand blotches over a field gray base color (referred to as scheme B2 at the Landships site, and shown on the model's package reverse side). Mephisto is actually the only surviving A7V (there was one at Aberdeen, but it was donated to a scrap metal drive! There is a nice reconstruction at the Muenster museum).
As shown on the box art and decal/painting schemes in the instructions, the earlier vehicles do not have exhaust pipes on the hull sides; but they are included in the kit so you can convert this to a later mark (see the Landships website for more details). You will however need to remove the footrests that are on the kit's hull to properly depict the earlier vehicle.
In 1916 the French firm F.A.H.M. at Saint Chamond near Lyon designed this vehicle which was supposed to be an improvement over the Schneider tank, incorporating a lengthened hull based on components from three Holt tractors. The "St. Chamond" as it was called proved to be a faulty design, plagued by large front and rear hull overhangs giving it poor cross country performance and handling characteristics. It first saw action in May 1917; the armament consisted of four Hotchkiss Mgs, and a 75mm gun.
This model was made by FINE SCALE FACTORY, and shows very good casting quality. The track links are separate parts, and it comes with illustrated instructions.
The Austin-Putilov armored car was made by the British firm Austin Motor Co., and given additional Armour by the Putilov armament works at Petrograd. The Russians also relocated the two MG turrets, staggering them to improve field of fire. Supplies of the Austin continued up to 1917, and almost 200 armored cars of various types were in Russian service. Unfortunately, Russian crews were not always trained in mechanical skills, and the performance of the cars was marred. Some Austin cars were fitted as half-tracks, and may have served into WWII
The model is made by LEVA PRODUCTIONS (run by Alain Levesque of Canada) and is distributed by Stuempfle's Military Miniatures. It is in 1/76 resin. The pieces came in three different colors and the casting was very nice. The resin did feel a bit tacky to the touch which may indicate immature curing of the resin, but it painted up okay. I added the headlights, made of plastic hemispheres with a drop of glue to simulate the glass.