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Tristar 1/35 Panzer I Ausf.A

By Dave Manter

Background

Designed primarily as a training vehicle, the Panzer 1A saw combat action during the Spanish Civil War between 1937 and 1939. Over 1500 of these vehicles took part in the Polish Campaign, and in steadily decreasing numbers they saw action in France, Norway, Africa, Greece, the Balkans, and a few were used during the opening months of the invasion of the Soviet Union. The Panzer 1A was not an exceptionally good combat vehicle, suffering from lack of power, inadequate armament, and very thin armor. It did however train thousands of new panzer crews to drive fully tracked vehicles.

The Panzer 1A weighed 5.4 tons and measured 13’3” in length, height from ground to top was only 5’9”, and its overall width was 6’9”. A Krupp M305 air-cooled engine that produced 60 horsepower at 2500 RPM powered it. The maximum speed was 23 mph. It was crewed by only 2 men, a driver and the commander/gunner. It was armed with a pair of rifle caliber machine guns mounted side-by-side in the turret. A total of 3125 rounds of ammunition were carried.

The Kit

The kit is molded in light gray plastic and consist of 154 parts on 7 trees. The parts are very well molded with virtually no flash. Also included is a full set of Model Kasten workable tracks, adding another 356 parts, and a set of photo etch muffler guards from Aber. The instruction sheet is divided into 16 steps and is very well laid out and easy to follow. Decals for 4 vehicles are included and are very well printed and in perfect registration.

Construction

Step 1 begins with the assembly of the drive sprockets and some of the suspension components. All parts fit well.

Step 2 is the suspension and road wheel assembly for the right side of the vehicle. Again no problems were encountered and all parts fit very well.

Steps 3 and 4 are identical to steps 1 and 2 except they are for the left side of the vehicle.

Step 5 is the assembly of the lower hull and one curious parts is C6 which is an interior bulkhead that has detail on the inside surface. As this is not really visible on the finished model unless the hatches are opened I wonder if an interior set is in the works? We can hope!

Step 6 in the construction of the upper hull and it is here that I encountered my only fit problem. Part C19 was about 1/16th of an inch to narrow front to back on my kit but was very easy to fix with a small amount of filler.
Steps 7 and 8 consist of the turret assembly and there are several very small parts involved, but again detail and fit are superb.

Steps 9 to 13 are all assembly of upper hull detail parts and this is what sets this kit apart in my opinion. The detail is fantastic! There are many small parts so take your time.

Step 14 is the construction of the superb Model Kasten tracks. The tiny track pins will scare many of you, but they really are not that bad to assemble. I removed all of the track links first and then assembled them with the pins. I used 88 links per side and this allowed a nice amount of “track sag”. Please keep in mind that there are right and left hand links, so I would suggest doing one side at a time. I had about 2 and a half hours of assembly time in mine. The photo-etch muffler guards were cut out and folded next but I left mine off for painting. Also included in this step is the installation of the rear fenders. I left mine off because the majority of my reference photos show the tanks that were in combat had them removed to keep the tracks from fouling with mud.

Step 15 is the installation of the final details on the front of the vehicle and again I left off the front fenders.

Step 16 is the installation of the optional armored covers for the air intakes. These were fitted on the later vehicles.

Steps 17 and 18 is the assembly of the 2 wonderful figures supplied with the kit and these can be built with either the Panzer Berets or the standard side cap.

Painting

Painting begins with an overall coat of Tamiya Dark Gray. The entire vehicle is covered. This is followed by a very thin coat (about 75% thinner) of Tamiya Dark Grey lightened with white by about 30%. This mix is only sprayed in the center of the panels, taking special care to stay away from any edges. This adds the first step in the weathering process and also breaks up the monotone of the base color.

Details are painted next and several colors were used to add some “sparkle” to the vehicle. The road wheels were done with flat black. Flat Black was also used on the metal parts of the tools and the machine gun barrels. The exhaust pipes and mufflers were done with a rich red brown color. The tool handles and the jacking block were done with a medium wood brown color. The taillight was done with a very dark red color.

Finally the tracks were base coated with Tamiya Flat Brown darkened with black to achieve a rich chestnut color. With all of the base painting done, I applied Archer Dry Transfers for the markings.

I began the weathering process with a thin application of a nice dirt color made by mixing Tamiya Dark Yellow and Tamiya Flat Earth. I airbrushed this fairly heavy on all of the suspension components then worked it upwards on the rear panel and the bow. This color was also used around the access panels and the fuel caps. I worked it into some of the crevices also. With that done I installed the tracks misted a light coat of the same mix over the entire vehicle.

The next step was to apply a VERY thin wash of Lamp Black oil paint to the entire vehicle. This helps to tone down the fading and also blends all of the paint layers together. Once this had dried, I mixed up a fairly thick wash of dark brown and applied it to the running gear and the track links. I also used the mix on the wood handles of the tools. I then mixed a heavy wash of Indian Red oil paint and applied it to the exhaust system and the metal parts of the tools.

The next step was the application of a dark brown pin wash to the entire vehicle to accent all of the recessed panels and the raised details. Once this had dried I dry brushed a light gray over the vehicle to accent the raised details. The final step was to dry brush the track links and the machine guns with Tamiya Metallic Gray. I installed an MV lens in the main headlight as the last step.

Conclusions

All in all this kit builds into a beautiful model of an important vehicle. No major fit problems were encountered. The detail is outstanding. The inclusion of the Model Kasten tracks and the Aber photo etch is a very nice touch. The figures are also superb.

If you are interested in early armor than this kit is a must have. Highly recommended!