HobbyBoss Schneider CA - Armoured 1:35

[Mike]

Schneider CA - Armoured
1:35 HobbyBoss

Development began on the first French tank in 1914 at around the same time as the British were working on their Mark.1s. Although it lacked a turret and was plagued by similar reliability problems to the British, it was still pressed into production, despite having some serious design deficiencies that limited its usefulness. It was armed with a 75mm cannon and two Hotchkiss machine guns, with the cannon on the starboard side, which limited its field of fire as well as forcing a kind of broadside manoeuver in order to draw a bead on targets on the vehicle's left side. It is easy to confuse it with the larger St Chamond that followed it, and this too suffered from some of the same problems. The sloped frontal armour of the Schneider was initially effective, but once the enemy started using armour-piercing bullets, an additional 5mm spaced armour sheet was added to strategic places, which of course increased all-up weight, putting more strain on the 60hp engine. The overhanging "bow" was also an impediment to getting over rough ground, and the internal fuel cells were moved outside the hull after a number of tanks exploded due to hits in that area.

The type saw action until the end of the Great War, but due to its flaws, any further development was cancelled, leaving just the remainder to be converted or scrapped. Six tanks were used by Spain, but were soon withdrawn when their uselessness became apparent at the beginning of the civil war. One original example in running condition survives in Saumur in France, which is the oldest functioning tank in the world.


The Kit
The early model without the improvements was released first, with this tooling variation bringing up the rear, just like the real thing. It is just what the WWI tank lover needs to add to the growing stable of Great War armour that surely now qualifies as a golden age of WWI modelling. The kit arrives in a compact box in usual HobbyBoss style, with an internal divider keeping parts movement to a minimum during transit. Within the box are five sprues, tow hull halves and two armour panels in tan styrene, four sprues of track parts in brown, two sheets of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, decal sheet, instruction booklet and of course the painting guide. Looking over the sprues, it's a well-detailed kit of the exterior of the vehicle, with plenty of slide-moulding evident at the edges of the sprues and on the hull parts to add extra detail without increasing the part count. The second large fret of brass is actually a rather nicely etched emblem commemorating the Great War, with the words World Peace under a British Mark IV tank with some Tommies trudging past. A very nice little extra that would look good attached to the base of a diorama. The date has been done in a reverse format though (YYY-MM-DD), which detracts a little bit from the overall effect to both British and American audiences.

The caterpillar track sponsons are first to be built, both of which are split into front and rear parts which are joined once the road wheels and suspension parts are added. A ladder containing five return rollers attaches to brackets at the top of the sponsons, the axles for which slot into the lower hull. A pair of triangular fairings house the final drive for the rear-mounted drive-sprocket, each one made up from five separate parts. The tracks are individual links, each of three parts that are first glued together, then made into runs of sixty four links after the glue has set. The track can be tensioned on fitting by rotating the swing-arm on the sprocket before gluing it in place. A bracing strut is also added to the underside of the hull at this point, improving rigidity of the tracks.

The upper hull is substantially complete as moulded, with only a few panels missing, which are added along the way, together with the fuel tanks mounted either side of the aft hatch, and a spinal hump that extends over most of the roof panel. A rear unditching "shovel" is attached to the rear box frame, and the additional spaced armour is added to the sides along with a PE grille on the nose. More armour is fitted to the vertical section behind the nose, and the driver's double-layered vision panel covers his hatch at the front. There appears to be a goof in the instructions at this point, as the panel with the circular machine gun mount just appears in place with no mention. It then disappears again until later in the build. The main gun is mounted in a hemispherical(ish) mount, as are the two Hotchkiss guns, and the 75mm cannon gets a full breech with controls tucked away behind. The machine guns are mounted on substantial curved brackets that could be left unglued in their mounts if you wanted the guns poseable. The main armament is glued to the starboard sponson floor and the upper hull fitted over it, so that it projects from the angled panel next to the driver's ear, after which it has a piece of additional armour added to the mantlet. The two secondaries fit onto mounts further back on the sponson floor, and are covered by the panels with circular cut-outs. More spaced armour is added under the nose, and a long exhaust runs from the front-mounted engine bay to the very rear of the tank where it kicks up vertically to vent above the roof level.


Markings
There are two markings options included in the box, each covering one side of a sheet of glossy A4 and printed in colour. No details are given other than the serial number, so a little digging will be needed if you'd like to know where and when they appeared during the war. From the box you can build one of the following:

• 61213 in dark yellow, red brown, navy blue and dark green camo, with black delimiting lines.
• 61024 in dark yellow, red brown and dark green camo, a white diamond with red circle within and the words "Fee Kaputt" on a white flag-style background painted on the rear fuel tank.
  

The decal sheet is barely bigger than a large postage stamp, but as it only contains eight decals it's to be expected. Colour density, registration and sharpness are good, and the carrier film is of the thin glossy type.


Conclusion
If you missed the early mark like I did, just fancy the updated version sporting a very early form of spaced-armour, or just like WWI armour, then this is a great little kit that won't take you too long to put together, but gives you plenty of scope for painting and paint effects.

Highly recommended.

Armoured


Early


Review sample courtesy of

[swordfish fairey]

Just for inspiration...............Taken 3 weeks ago in Saumur......

Smudge