Attack Hobby Kits

1/72 PzKpfw 35(t)

Kit Number: 72832

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: €8.90 ($12.00) Website: www.attack-hobby-kits.cz/ . The Vehicle Skoda Works in Plzen was the largest manufacturing plant in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They produced locomotives, steam turbines, machine tools, and heavy guns. Skoda produced the world's first triple turret for the Austro-Hungarian Tegetthoff class battleships. After World War I, Plzen was part of Czechoslovakia. Skoda developed AFVs between the wars. When Germany took over Czechoslovakia in 1939, they found a treasure trove of useful equipment there. One of these was the LT vz 35 tank, which became the Panzer 35 (t), and was used in Poland later in 1939, and in France in 1940. Even the Czechs found the suspension to be a troublesome area on the vehicle, and when they came out with the improved LT vz 38, it used the simpler, rugged Christie suspension. Also, the 35(t) had other troublesome systems, as the brakes, steering and clutch were all operated by compressed air. I believe the term is "plumber's nightmare". The 35(t) is interesting to me, in that it was used in the Polish Campaign of 1939, the Blitzkrieg into France in 1940, and Operation Barbarossa into the USSR in 1941. Once the 35(t) met the faster, better armed Soviet tanks, its days as a front-line AFV were over. I decided to build mine as it appeared in the Polish Campaign. The Model When I built the Morserzugmittel 35(t) from Attack (that review is also on the IPMS USA web site) I discovered that the track system was a real bear. Attack has vastly improved this by putting in resin tracks for the ends where the track bends around the sprockets. Look for this logo. Attack also has a version of this kit available with a detailed fighting compartment and engine/transmission. If you can get this version, I think it would be worth the extra cost. Look for the Special logo. The version with the interior also includes resin hatches to allow the spectator to see all that work you did on that interior. Construction You get one fairly large sprue with all those parts, plus resin detail parts. The basic and SE kit are pretty much the same, except the SE has more resin parts for the interior and engine. Assembly follows the following steps: 1. Lower hull (and interior on the SE). 2. Suspension. 3. Tracks. 4. Upper hull and detail parts. 5. Turret. Lower Hull The lower hull consists of 4 sides, the bottom, and a stiffener which fits inside. Suspension The suspension is very complex. Lots of small parts. I first assembled the wheels, (there are 18 wheels, 36 halves), then put one spring assembly into each side of the suspension bogies. There are 4 wheels on each bogie. There is also a part which I suspect is a stabilizer bar which goes from between the front pair of wheels to between the rear pair. So each 8-wheel bogie set has 13 parts. There's also a tensioning wheel on each track. The finished bogies look like this.

The suspension is then attached to the lower hull. I used liquid cement thickened with tube glue here. It allows the parts to be attached, then adjusted to get all 16 wheels on the ground before the glue dries completely. I installed the resin return rollers at this point, when they're readily accessible. They're tiny, and trying to get them in when there's other stuff in the way could be a frustrating experience. The tensioning wheel and its support are really easy to install. I had some concern about the drive wheel and the front wheel, as they have sprocket teeth which show up on the side where the track doesn't "hide" them. Unfortunately there's no locating method. Fortunately the large lengths of track for the top and bottom can give you a pretty good idea where the teeth need to be. The other good news is that there are large "hub caps" which cover the teeth to the casual viewer. Tracks The tracks are a series of lengths. The top and bottom are long runs, and the ends have shorter parts which go nicely around the end rollers and the tensioning roller on each side. Then you only need to install the long flat pieces. That's the theory. In practice I still had to cut 2 links from the spare tracks to get correct fit. But that's sure better than cutting them into 20 or so per side! Upper hull and detail parts The basic kit is now on the downhill side. Assemble the top hull (3 parts), then add the two stowage items on the side. The muffler, the blackout light, the horn, and the bow machine gun finish most of it. Decals are minimal, with only 4 German crosses on the turret, and 3 vehicle numbers on the hull. Turret The turret is really a piece of cake. There are 2 main pieces, upper and lower, then a gun mantlet, the gun, and a machine gun. The Commander's hatch has 4 openings in which the viewers are installed. I'm not sure if they're windows or periscopes. The turret slips cleanly into the hole in the top of the hull. If you get the Special Version, you might leave the turret loose to show off the goodies inside. Overall Assessment This is a neat model of a little-known vehicle. Since Attack is based in the Czech Republic, they probably knew about the 35(t), and there are still a couple of them in museums around Europe The early part of World War 2 was interesting. No one quite knew what to expect, and lots of crazy ideas were brought up and some tried. No one knew what would work, and what wouldn't. So there are a lot of interesting vehicles like the 35(t) out there. Thanks to Attack for this kit, and to John Noack.

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