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SDV Models Kit Number 87041 1/87 PRAGA AH-4R | |
Reviewed By Jim Pearsall, #2209 | |
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Available in US from Fidelis Models MSRP: $12.95 USD (2 models in 1 box) History This is one of those neat little pre-WW2 “infantry tanks” which everyone built, thinking they’d use the firepower of a couple of machine guns with the mobility of Caterpillar® treads to outflank enemy trenches. The Vickers-Carden-Lloyd Mark 4 and the PzKpfW I come to mind. The invention of anti-tank artillery soon cooled this enthusiasm, but there were certainly some cute little “cavalry” vehicles out there. The kit contains parts and decals for two Rumanian Army AH-4s. One appears to be pre-war, the other served on the Eastern Front near Stalingrad. The Rumanian version was called R-1, which was actually a version of the Czech LT-34 or otherwise known as the CKD AH-4. 35 were purchased. These vehicles were used by cavalry brigades until 1943 for recon work. All R-1 tankettes were assigned to the 1st Royal Cavalry Division. It was difficult to find much info on the AH-4. A Google search turned up only 26 hits (!), instead of the usual hundreds. There is a quarter page of history on the instruction sheet, but my Czech is worse than lousy. I was able to get some meanings via cognate words in English and German. | |
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| The Kit The kit looks too simple. 15 parts total (there are 2 part 11s). And the instructions take only 5 steps. I assembled an entire kit in less than 3 hours, including painting and decals. This doesn’t mean I just threw it together. This kit is very well engineered. The fit is great, and except for the turret halves, the seams just disappear. 2 minutes with a sanding stick was all that was required. It is a good representation of the actual tank. The one-piece track and wheel assembly may disappoint some who want absolute detail, but in this small scale, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to create suspension and track which a human could assemble. Also, more parts are expensive. I had to use magnifiers to keep track of the small parts. | |
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noticeable flash between part 1 and the sprue, but it separated cleanly, and had no effect on construction. The decals went on fine, stood up well to position adjustment, and then stayed where I wanted them. The instructions were clear, easy to follow, and except for putting the track assemblies on last, I followed them. The only problem with the kit was one I’d seen elsewhere. The pick and shovel accessories (parts 13 & 14) are out at the end of the sprue, and the picks were damaged on both kits, and the shovel handle broke on one. This was not a show stopper, as I was able to fix the shovel handle, and a bit of stretched sprue replaced the pick head. Much easier to fix than the broken prop blades on the Airfix Hampden. (Airfix had to redesign the mold to add protection for the props.) A word on assembly. I went back to a very old method for assembling the kit. I used Testors liquid cement (in the glass bottle) thickened with tube glue. You can put it exactly where you want it, it stays there, and you have time to work with the parts to get good fit and alignment. I used CA to glue the guns on. No Tenax. | |
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| This was a fun build. It’s small, but cute. SDV Models put a lot of thought into the way this kit assembles, and it makes it easy to build, with no fiddly problems to overcome. In a scale this small, getting accurately molded parts which fit well is a huge plus. If you have a train layout in HO representing Europe in the 30s, these would be really nice accessories, either in a factory yard or on a flat car. | |
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