In Box Review of Commander Series 1/35th Scale Pz.Kpfw. 1 Accessory Kit
Kit no. 2-005
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 199x
MSRP: Back then $14.00
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 199x
MSRP: Back then $14.00
HISTORY:
The Panzer I was a light tank produced by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Its name is short for Panzerkampfwagen I (German for "armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as PzKpfw I. The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 101 ("special purpose vehicle 101").
Design of the Panzer I began in 1932 and mass production began in 1934. Intended only as a training tank to introduce the concept of armored warfare to the German Army, the Panzer I saw combat in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, in Poland, France, the Soviet Union and North Africa during the Second World War, and in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Experiences with the Panzer I during the Spanish Civil War helped shape the German Panzerwaffe invasion of Poland in 1939 and France in 1940. By 1941, the Panzer I chassis design was used as the basis of tank destroyers and assault guns. There were attempts to upgrade the Panzer I throughout its service history, including by foreign nations, to extend the design's lifespan. It continued to serve in the Spanish Armed Forces until 1954.
The Panzer I's performance in armored combat was limited by its thin armor and light armament of two machine guns, which were never intended for use against armored targets, rather being ideal for infantry suppression, in line with inter-war doctrine. As a design intended for training, the Panzer I was less capable than some other contemporary light tank designs, such as the Soviet T-26, although it was still relatively advanced compared to older designs, such as the Renault FT, still in service in several nations, and others.
Although lacking in armored combat as a tank, it formed a large part of Germany's mechanized forces and was used in all major campaigns between September 1939 and December 1941, where it still performed much useful service against entrenched infantry and other "soft" targets, which were unable to respond even against thin armor, and who were highly vulnerable to machine gun fire.
The small, vulnerable light tank, along with its somewhat more powerful successor the Panzer II, would soon be surpassed as a front-line armored combat vehicle by more powerful German tanks, such as the Panzer III, and later the Panzer IV, Panzer V, and Panzer VI; nevertheless, the Panzer I's contribution to the early victories of Nazi Germany during World War II was significant.
Later in the war, the turrets of many obsolete Panzer Is and Panzer IIs were repurposed as gun turrets on defensive fighting positions, particularly on the Atlantic Wall.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Light tank
Place of origin: Germany
In service: 1934–1945
Used by: Nazi Germany, Bulgaria, Republic of China, Hungary, Spain
Wars: Spanish Civil War, World War II, Second Sino-Japanese War
Designed: 1932–1934
Manufacturer: Henschel, MAN, Krupp, Daimler
Unit cost: 38,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ (Ausf. B Without weapons)
Produced: 1934–1938, 1943
No. built: 1,659 as light tanks, 184 as command tanks, 445 as training tanks, 147 as special convertible chassis
Mass: 5.4 tonnes (6.0 short tons)
Length: 4.02 m (13 ft 2 in)
Width: 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
Height: 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Crew: 2- commander and driver
Armor: 7–13 mm
Main armament: 2 × 7.92 mm MG 13 machine guns
Engine: Krupp M305 four-cylinder air-cooled gasoline engine of 60 PS (59 hp, 44 kW)
Power/weight: 11.1 PS (8.1 kW)/t
Suspension: Quarter-elliptical leaf spring suspension.
Operational range: 200 km (120 mi) on-road; 175 km (109 mi) off-road.
Maximum speed: 37 km/h (23 mph) on-road; 25 km/h (16 mph) off-road.
The Panzer I was a light tank produced by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Its name is short for Panzerkampfwagen I (German for "armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as PzKpfw I. The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 101 ("special purpose vehicle 101").
Design of the Panzer I began in 1932 and mass production began in 1934. Intended only as a training tank to introduce the concept of armored warfare to the German Army, the Panzer I saw combat in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, in Poland, France, the Soviet Union and North Africa during the Second World War, and in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Experiences with the Panzer I during the Spanish Civil War helped shape the German Panzerwaffe invasion of Poland in 1939 and France in 1940. By 1941, the Panzer I chassis design was used as the basis of tank destroyers and assault guns. There were attempts to upgrade the Panzer I throughout its service history, including by foreign nations, to extend the design's lifespan. It continued to serve in the Spanish Armed Forces until 1954.
The Panzer I's performance in armored combat was limited by its thin armor and light armament of two machine guns, which were never intended for use against armored targets, rather being ideal for infantry suppression, in line with inter-war doctrine. As a design intended for training, the Panzer I was less capable than some other contemporary light tank designs, such as the Soviet T-26, although it was still relatively advanced compared to older designs, such as the Renault FT, still in service in several nations, and others.
Although lacking in armored combat as a tank, it formed a large part of Germany's mechanized forces and was used in all major campaigns between September 1939 and December 1941, where it still performed much useful service against entrenched infantry and other "soft" targets, which were unable to respond even against thin armor, and who were highly vulnerable to machine gun fire.
The small, vulnerable light tank, along with its somewhat more powerful successor the Panzer II, would soon be surpassed as a front-line armored combat vehicle by more powerful German tanks, such as the Panzer III, and later the Panzer IV, Panzer V, and Panzer VI; nevertheless, the Panzer I's contribution to the early victories of Nazi Germany during World War II was significant.
Later in the war, the turrets of many obsolete Panzer Is and Panzer IIs were repurposed as gun turrets on defensive fighting positions, particularly on the Atlantic Wall.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Light tank
Place of origin: Germany
In service: 1934–1945
Used by: Nazi Germany, Bulgaria, Republic of China, Hungary, Spain
Wars: Spanish Civil War, World War II, Second Sino-Japanese War
Designed: 1932–1934
Manufacturer: Henschel, MAN, Krupp, Daimler
Unit cost: 38,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ (Ausf. B Without weapons)
Produced: 1934–1938, 1943
No. built: 1,659 as light tanks, 184 as command tanks, 445 as training tanks, 147 as special convertible chassis
Mass: 5.4 tonnes (6.0 short tons)
Length: 4.02 m (13 ft 2 in)
Width: 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
Height: 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Crew: 2- commander and driver
Armor: 7–13 mm
Main armament: 2 × 7.92 mm MG 13 machine guns
Engine: Krupp M305 four-cylinder air-cooled gasoline engine of 60 PS (59 hp, 44 kW)
Power/weight: 11.1 PS (8.1 kW)/t
Suspension: Quarter-elliptical leaf spring suspension.
Operational range: 200 km (120 mi) on-road; 175 km (109 mi) off-road.
Maximum speed: 37 km/h (23 mph) on-road; 25 km/h (16 mph) off-road.
THE KIT:
Commander Series Models is an old prolific model manufacturer, based in Rochester, NY. They make kits in resin and metal parts, in mostly 1/35th scale.
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped, generic white box, that has a hinged-lid with a locking tab to hold it shut and a blue sticker on one side that shows Commander Model’s white logo and QUALITY RESIN KITS.
The hinged-lid has a black and white photo of the Pz.Kpfw. 1A built and posed against an all-white background. It is overall Panzer-grey, with a skeletal white German cross on the sides of the hull.
This is NOT the normal box art for this kit. Commander Series uses a navy-blue, shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box for this kit.
I got this kit from a deceased modeler friend of mine that willed it to me. I don’t know what he did with the original box?
Commander Series Models is an old prolific model manufacturer, based in Rochester, NY. They make kits in resin and metal parts, in mostly 1/35th scale.
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped, generic white box, that has a hinged-lid with a locking tab to hold it shut and a blue sticker on one side that shows Commander Model’s white logo and QUALITY RESIN KITS.
The hinged-lid has a black and white photo of the Pz.Kpfw. 1A built and posed against an all-white background. It is overall Panzer-grey, with a skeletal white German cross on the sides of the hull.
This is NOT the normal box art for this kit. Commander Series uses a navy-blue, shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box for this kit.
I got this kit from a deceased modeler friend of mine that willed it to me. I don’t know what he did with the original box?
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
This kit holds a loose medium-grey resin part, 2 light-tan resin parts, 16 steel parts, a brass PE fret in zip-locked clear cello bag, cushioned in clear bubble-wrap and white styrene bubbles, and 2 sheets of instructions.
The medium-grey part is the top of the rear engine deck.
The 2 light-tan resin parts are hull walls.
The metal parts are 2-spoked idler wheels, 2 mufflers, 12 axle parts.
The brass PE fret holds air-intake screens etc. (7 parts)
This kit holds a loose medium-grey resin part, 2 light-tan resin parts, 16 steel parts, a brass PE fret in zip-locked clear cello bag, cushioned in clear bubble-wrap and white styrene bubbles, and 2 sheets of instructions.
The medium-grey part is the top of the rear engine deck.
The 2 light-tan resin parts are hull walls.
The metal parts are 2-spoked idler wheels, 2 mufflers, 12 axle parts.
The brass PE fret holds air-intake screens etc. (7 parts)
The instructions consist of 2 single-sheets. Both are printed on one side.
The largest sheet shows one assembly step. Line drawings of the Testors or Italeri brand kits hull sections (that his conversion kit is designed to go on) showing what sections to remove and a top view of a Pz.Kpfw. 1A. The sheet is 8 ½” x 11”, letterhead size, folded 4 times to fit the small box.
The largest sheet shows one assembly step. Line drawings of the Testors or Italeri brand kits hull sections (that his conversion kit is designed to go on) showing what sections to remove and a top view of a Pz.Kpfw. 1A. The sheet is 8 ½” x 11”, letterhead size, folded 4 times to fit the small box.
The second instruction sheet shows how to attach the metal suspension parts. The sheet is in 5 ½” x 4 ¼” format and folded to fit the box.
The detail is excellent.
Recommended.
Recommended.