Tamiya Char B1 bis

[avukich]

The French Char B1 bis has always been one of my favorite vehicles (In fact, the first armor model I ever built was the Matchbox 1/76 Char B1 bis). Obviously, I was very happy and excited when I heard that Tamiya was doing one in 1/35. There is no manufacturer I would have rather seen make this kit. I bought one as soon as it hit the shelves at the local hobby shop (which is really rare because I had paying retail prices for kits) and have a few more on the way to use with all of the AM stuff that is sure to follow. I started the kit the night I bought it (Thursday, June 8) and was mostly finished by the middle of the next week. Unfortunately, life got in the way of me finishing it within a week as I hoped, but I am ready for paint now after less than 3 weeks which is by far a record for me since I have discovered the joys/sorrows of AM goodies.

This kit is engineered so well that it is a bit scary. The parts fit like a dream and I couldn't find any errors with the kit. As always there are a few things that can be added, but Tamiya doesn't have anything wrong that I can see. They have obviously done their homework with this kit.

Here are a few overview shots of the completed model:

http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2190.jpg
http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2191.jpg

As you can see, I have added some cast texture to the turret, turret ring, commander's cupola, hull howitzer housing, driver's hatch, driver's area, and some texture to the exhaust to help simulate rust. The tracks are built and will be added after painting. The tools and their tie down straps will also be added after painting. I plan to replace the chain supplied with the kit with a chain that is a bit chunkier since photos show a really heavy chain in use.

Now here are some closeups of the extra details added.

http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2192.jpg

http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2193.jpg

http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2194.jpg

http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2195.jpg

http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2196.jpg

I have never once had good luck with Tamiya decals so I decided to get some decals from Decalomaniacs and will be building tank number 206 "Madagascar."

http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2189.jpg

If you see anything wrong or anything I missed, please let me know as I haven't started painting yet and won't start until this weekend.

Thanks for looking!

[RC_Hill]

Sweet! That's a decent amount of work that you've done to it. Looks great ;)

I bought one as soon as it hit the shelves at the local hobby shop (which is really rare because I had paying retail prices for kits)
I know what you mean...I saw it at a hobby shop around here recently and man, as awesome as this kit seems to be, I can't make myself pay out $60+ for it...I blame the tracks! As cool as they seem to be, in a way, having workable tracks seems useless...there's no sag to be seen :( Only seems to work if they've been knocked off or something...it's cool, but you know, it is pointless if you can't take advantage of it...

Can't wait to see it when it's painted!

RC

[sam_dwyer]

Looks great Adam.

Think yourself lucky with the price, theyre AUD$85 here in Australia. Worth every penny tho, its a sensational kit!

ill be doing my next one as a Flamm, then maybe a French one after that. Maybe.

Looking forward to seeing yours painted,

Sam

[Sticky]

Looks great - cannot wait to see it painted. Are the rows of bolts you added along the track runs visable with the track in place?

[avukich]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I am really looking forward to trying my hand at that paint job.

RC--The major advantage to the tracks that I found wasn't that they were workable (though that certainly helps placing them even with the fenders in place), but that they just click together. They were the easiest set of tracks that I have ever put together. Do yourself a favor and bite the bullet. This kit is a work of art. You will be shocked at how well it is engineered.

Sam--It really is a sensational kit isn't it! I've never found a model that is that easy to clean and build. I am partial to the French vehicles myself, but I definately want to build the Flamm version and the version with the 10.5cm leFH 18 on it. I will build at least 3 more of these beasts.

John--Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Those bolts sit outside of where the tracks run so they are very visible. If you take a look at the walkarounds on Flying Frogs (http://www.ffsmc.com), Kit Maker (http://photos.kitmaker.net/showgallery.php/cat/14519), and Chars-Francais (http://www.chars-francais.net/archives/renault_b1-bis.htm) you will see what I mean depending on the angle that the photo was taken.

Adam

[Larry Bates]

Very nice Adam,

I love those french camo schemes.

Larry

[Andrew Hall]

Nice tweaking Adam.

There's also some 'casting' numbers on the top of the bar below the 75mm which read 'KO'+makers stamp?+'No.100' or it might be 109 I can't quite make it out.

Mine's down my local Post Office waiting for collection and I'm pretty excited about it :)

Andrew

[avukich]

Thanks to some feedback I got regarding this model over on Missing Lynx, I made a couple of small enhancements.

I added the handle used to hold the headlight cover in place when it was opened.
http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2197.jpg

I added the little slit seen on the Commander's AA Machine Gun mount.
http://www.tankshack.com/testing/xoops-2.0.9.2/html/uploads/photos/2198.jpg

Andrew also advised that there are casting numbers on the round (axle?) bar directly underneath the hull howitzer. Those numbers were definately there on the surviving example at Saumur, but they don't appear to be there on the Bovington example or the runner, "Flandres", that is located somewhere in France. I will do a bit more research to decide how common those number were and possibly add them.

[Andrew Hall]

Hi Adam, they're definitely there on the Bovington one, as that's the one I did a walkaround photo session of once I heard the Tamiya kit was in the pipeline :)

Also note the different types of bolt used, normal six flats and then another type with two flats.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y274/Andrewausfa/Char-4a.jpg

I picked my kit up this morning :)

Andrew

[Plushy]

Looks Great Adam , i am in the process of building a b1 myself so thanks for listing all the tweaks so far ! ;)

Andrew have you got more of those detail photos ? any chance you could send me some copies ?? :) only for personal reference .

[Vadster]

Adam,

I have seen Char after Char popping out of the woodwork as it were what with it's release and warm welcome by most. I personally want to say I like what I have seen with yours and at the same time I hate you for it! (not really!) I had this dilemma because I had pre-ordered my Char ages ago and basically forgot that I ordered one. I then moved. I was and still am trying to purge my collection as best I can as all models are in a pile behind me in my office at work - everything else is still in boxes. Then I get this email saying to pay up as my Char is ready to ship. Doh! It arrived yesterday. I decided to try to turn my dilemma into something positive by spending this 4th of July weekend putting my Char together regardless of my disheveled modelling state. Ahhh a nice, fun, oob build, a little snip here, cement a9 to c7... have a drink...or 4... la-la-la-la-la-la until I saw yours! :angry: Oh well :lol: mind if I break the unwritten rule of never using another person's model as reference and use yours?

Seriously, I like it what did you use for reference if I may ask?

[avukich]

Thanks for the help and compliments guys!

Andrew--Thanks for the info on the casting numbers and bolts! The walk around of "Flandres" on Flying Frogs (www.ffsmc.com) clearly shows that those numbers aren't on it, but now that I know that the Saumur and Bovington examples have the casting numbers I will put them on since 2/3 is a clear majority. ;) Also, could I talk you into sending some of those pictures my way as well. This is one of my favorite WW2 vehicles and unfortunately, getting to Bovington or Saumur in the near future is not in the cards.

Alex--You are more than welcome to use my build as a reference. :) Seriously though, I have done a bunch of research on this vehicle to get the tweaks that I have and am pretty confident that I have made real (as opposed to museum fiction) additions to my model. I have both the Trackstory and Histoire & Collections books, and literally hundreds of photos collected on the internet (from walkarounds of museum pieces to pics collected off of eBay).

If people are interested enough, I will try and match the photos that I have used as reference for particular tweaks and post them.

[general zod]

Adam

Great job with that beast Can't wait to see it done

[Overlord]

Hey guys.... i see a lot of high prices for the kit. I bought it on ....... for only 28.90 Euro (about 36 US Dollar). You can try it.....

Grtz,
Overlord

[Overlord]

;) ......sorry forgot the URL..... http://www.tristarmodel.com

[amba]

Hey guys.... i see a lot of high prices for the kit. I bought it on ....... for only 28.90 Euro (about 36 US Dollar). You can try it.....

Grtz,
Overlord

Have we got "unregistered" sales representatives here now? Or did you just forget to Log in?

-Ambjoern

[Stuke Sowle]

Darn missed this one! Excellent work Adam. Between you and Andrew we will have everything we need to know about this vehicle.

[Finnmodeler]

I've looked this, too. Very tempting tank and as Stuke said Adam and Andrew give you everything you need :)

Niko