Renault R35 mod.1939

Kit # 72214

Preview by Miro Baric - baricz(at)smallscaleafv.com
Edited by Rob Haelterman

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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Article Last Updated: 09 March 2009