Introduction
This RPM kit was eagerly awaited. Not only is it the first 1/72 Renault
R35 in plastic, but it also promises a lot of possibilities: early
and late French versions of the tank and several German “Beute
Panzer” modifications. RPM has indeed released several versions,
but they turned out to be a major disappointment.
Contents
Kit No. 72214 represents a late version of the R35 with a trench crossing
tail and SA 38 gun with longer barrel.
There are three sprues of plastic parts. The biggest one with parts
for the hull and suspension is common for all of RPM's Renaults. Some
of the access hatches are molded open and you also get parts for the
engine and transmission.
On the second sprue you can find parts for the turret. The leftmost
part of this sprue contains gun and vision slits. It is marked SA
38 and is meant only for the late version of the tank. There is no
earlier gun with the short barrel in this kit.
Finally, the third and smallest sprue contains parts for the trench
crossing tail and it is also only meant for the late version of the
tank.
Note that these small sprues are rather loosely packed in the box,
even though they are wrapped in a plastic bag. The gun barrel was
already broken off, when I bought my kit.
Accuracy
After going through all the effort with interior details, the guys
from RPM really killed off this kit with the suspension. The one-piece
tracks are thick and without details. You can salvage this with a
needle file and a lot of patience, but the result is uncertain. Alternatively,
you can use some aftermarket sets, which will raise the price of the
kit. As far as I know, there are already PE tracks by OKB Grigorov
and resin items made by CPL Overby, Modell Trans and Propaganda Kompany.
Markings
Decals are provided for 7 (seven!) vehicles. All of them are in a
two color green/brown scheme and two examples are shown on the back
of the box. Earlier versions of this tank were more colorful.
References
Renault R35/R40, Pascal Danjou, Trackstory No. 4 (bilingual French
and English)
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