The Panzer I was a tiny thing compared to the tanks we’re used to, this kit is more akin sizewise to the Universal Carrier ( Bren Carrier ) than the Tiger. This version is the ammunition carrier which dispensed with the machine-gun armed turret in place of a light steel box used for carrying ammo for the larger Pz.Kpfw III and Pz.Kpfw IV.
So not surprisingly there isn’t a huge ammount of parts in this kit. But what you do get are very well presented. Moulded in light grey, an absolute minimum of flash in a few small places, ( not enough to really even draw attention to actually -), mould seams are barely visible and knock out marks are where-ever possible in locations that won’t be seen. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and this kit just falls together.
As far as I can tell from reference material the kit is accurate in detail and has some nice touches such as individual link tracks ( patience and good tweezers are definitely two important requirements for assembling these ) and photo-etch parts for the exhaust covers and engine grilles.
Decals are provided for two versions of a 1st SS ( Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler ) vehicle, one in 1942, the other in 43-45 with additional markings for the temporary markings used at Kursk when many SS units changed their divisional symbol to confuse the russians as to which unit they were fighting. I think the attention to detail in providing both the early and late LSSAH divisional symbol is a nice touch.
This kit comes in two options, the vehicle alone or together with a three man crew. If you don’t like figures the slightly cheaper vehicle on it’s own would be the way to go, but for those who want them they only add around $5 NZD to the price of the kit.
Other than the fact that the tracks will probably take as long to assemble as the vehicle itself this is a quick and simple build that makes up into a very nice little kit that really cries out to be displayed with figures to give viewers the sense of scale really needed to show just how small this vehicle is.
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