In Box Review of Tamiya 1/35th Scale
French B1 bis Tank
Kit no. MM282
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2006
I paid $51.92 for this kit when it was marked down from $59.00 at a local hobby shop that went out of business.
Available at Mega Hobby for $63.75 or at 1001 Hobbies for $77.99 or at Sprue Bros for $59.99 or at Kit Linx for the same $59.88 and at 15 locations overseas and one location in the USA on the web.
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2006
I paid $51.92 for this kit when it was marked down from $59.00 at a local hobby shop that went out of business.
Available at Mega Hobby for $63.75 or at 1001 Hobbies for $77.99 or at Sprue Bros for $59.99 or at Kit Linx for the same $59.88 and at 15 locations overseas and one location in the USA on the web.
HISTORY:
The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before World War II. The Char B1 was a specialised break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a "battle tank" fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm.
Starting in the early twenties, its development and production were repeatedly delayed, resulting in a vehicle that was both technologically complex and expensive, and already obsolescent when real mass-production of a derived version, the Char B1 "bis", started in the late thirties. A further up-armoured version, the Char B1 "ter", was only built in two prototypes.
Among the most powerfully armed and armoured tanks of its day, the type was very effective in direct confrontations with German armour in 1940 during the Battle of France, but slow speed and high fuel consumption made it ill-adapted to the war of movement then being fought. After the defeat of France, captured Char B1 (bis) would be used by Germany, with some rebuilt as flamethrowers, Munitionspanzer, or mechanised artillery.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Break-through tank
Place of origin: France
In service: 1936–1940 (France). 1944–1945 (Free French Forces)
Used by: France, Germany
Wars: World War II
Designed: 1921–1934
Manufacturer: Renault and others
Produced: 1935–1937 (Char B1), 1937–1940 (Char B1 bis)
No. built: 405 (34 Char B1, 369 Char B1 bis & two Char B1 ter)
Mass: 28 tonnes
Length: 6.37 m (20 ft 11 in)
Width: 2.46 m (8 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.79 m (9 ft 2 in)
Crew: 4
Armour: 40 mm (Char B1), 60 mm (Char B1 bis)
Main armament: 75 mm ABS SA 35 howitzer
Secondary armament: 47 mm SA 34 (Char B1), 47 mm SA 35 (Char B1 bis), 2× 7.5 mm Reibel machine guns
Engine: Renault inline 6 cylinder 16.5 litre petrol engine
272 hp
Power/weight: 9.7 hp/tonne
Transmission: 5 forward, 1 reverse gear
Suspension: bogies with a mixture of vertical coil and leaf springs
Fuel capacity: 400 L
Operational range: 200 km (120 mi)
Maximum speed: 28 km/h (17 mph), 21 km/h (13 mph) off-road
Steering system: double differential
The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before World War II. The Char B1 was a specialised break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a "battle tank" fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm.
Starting in the early twenties, its development and production were repeatedly delayed, resulting in a vehicle that was both technologically complex and expensive, and already obsolescent when real mass-production of a derived version, the Char B1 "bis", started in the late thirties. A further up-armoured version, the Char B1 "ter", was only built in two prototypes.
Among the most powerfully armed and armoured tanks of its day, the type was very effective in direct confrontations with German armour in 1940 during the Battle of France, but slow speed and high fuel consumption made it ill-adapted to the war of movement then being fought. After the defeat of France, captured Char B1 (bis) would be used by Germany, with some rebuilt as flamethrowers, Munitionspanzer, or mechanised artillery.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Break-through tank
Place of origin: France
In service: 1936–1940 (France). 1944–1945 (Free French Forces)
Used by: France, Germany
Wars: World War II
Designed: 1921–1934
Manufacturer: Renault and others
Produced: 1935–1937 (Char B1), 1937–1940 (Char B1 bis)
No. built: 405 (34 Char B1, 369 Char B1 bis & two Char B1 ter)
Mass: 28 tonnes
Length: 6.37 m (20 ft 11 in)
Width: 2.46 m (8 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.79 m (9 ft 2 in)
Crew: 4
Armour: 40 mm (Char B1), 60 mm (Char B1 bis)
Main armament: 75 mm ABS SA 35 howitzer
Secondary armament: 47 mm SA 34 (Char B1), 47 mm SA 35 (Char B1 bis), 2× 7.5 mm Reibel machine guns
Engine: Renault inline 6 cylinder 16.5 litre petrol engine
272 hp
Power/weight: 9.7 hp/tonne
Transmission: 5 forward, 1 reverse gear
Suspension: bogies with a mixture of vertical coil and leaf springs
Fuel capacity: 400 L
Operational range: 200 km (120 mi)
Maximum speed: 28 km/h (17 mph), 21 km/h (13 mph) off-road
Steering system: double differential
THE KIT:
Tamiya is an old prolific model company based in Shizuoka, Japan.
They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
The kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a color illustration of a B1 bis posed against an all-white background, that Tamiya uses for the majority of their cover arts.
The tank is in a camouflage of wide bands of tan and dark green. It has a blue heart, outlined in white, followed by a white nick-name “BOURRASQUE” on the sides of the turret over a small French flag.
On the sides of the skirts there is a small white no. 257. On the front of the tank there is a yellow cat drawing over “BOURRASQUE” and the French flag repeated.
The tank commander is seated in the rear turret hatch. He wears a brown leather jacket and tanker’s helmet.
One side panel of the box has a color 3-view of a B1 bis in a wave pattern camouflage of tan and dark green.
The dark green waves are outlined in black. It has a French roundel followed by a white no. 2 on the sides of the turret and the white no. 2 repeated on the back of the turret. On its nose it has the white nickname “VERCINGETORIX” over a French roundel. It was tank no. 481, with 2nd Company, 46th Combat Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, France, 1940.
Its colors are called out in Tamiya brand paint colors. It is followed by a paragraph in Japanese and the copyright of the kit as 2006. Kit made in Japan and Tamiya’s web address is provided.
Tamiya is an old prolific model company based in Shizuoka, Japan.
They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
The kit comes in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows a color illustration of a B1 bis posed against an all-white background, that Tamiya uses for the majority of their cover arts.
The tank is in a camouflage of wide bands of tan and dark green. It has a blue heart, outlined in white, followed by a white nick-name “BOURRASQUE” on the sides of the turret over a small French flag.
On the sides of the skirts there is a small white no. 257. On the front of the tank there is a yellow cat drawing over “BOURRASQUE” and the French flag repeated.
The tank commander is seated in the rear turret hatch. He wears a brown leather jacket and tanker’s helmet.
One side panel of the box has a color 3-view of a B1 bis in a wave pattern camouflage of tan and dark green.
The dark green waves are outlined in black. It has a French roundel followed by a white no. 2 on the sides of the turret and the white no. 2 repeated on the back of the turret. On its nose it has the white nickname “VERCINGETORIX” over a French roundel. It was tank no. 481, with 2nd Company, 46th Combat Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, France, 1940.
Its colors are called out in Tamiya brand paint colors. It is followed by a paragraph in Japanese and the copyright of the kit as 2006. Kit made in Japan and Tamiya’s web address is provided.
The other side panel shows a color photo of the tank made up in the box art scheme, followed by another paragraph in Japanese and a color photo of the track links wrapped around the drive sprocket Tamiya’s street address in Shizuoka, Japan is provided.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
This kit holds 5 tan parts trees, a loose tan hull top part, the decal sheet (with tissue facing), black vinyl poly-caps, a length of steel chain and 2 turned aluminum parts, in 8 staple-bound clear cello bags.
There are 2 instruction sheets.
The main one accordion folds out into 10 pages in 6 ¾” x 10 ¼” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the box art. Over the history of the B1 bis in 4 languages, including English.
Page 2 begins with READ BEFORE ASSEMBLY instructions, over PRECAUTIONS, suggested Tamiya brand cement and tools and a suggested paint color listing of Tamiya brand paints.
The bottom of page 2 through to page 9 gives a grand total of 21 assembly steps. There is a painting and marking guide for the commander figure in step 21.
Page 10 has painting and decal application instructions on it, in the 4 languages, over a aftermarket service card in Japanese only.
The second instructions is large single sheet, folded in the center to create 4 pages in 9 ¼”x 13” page format, printed partially in color on 2 of the 4 pages.
Page 1 is a color and marking guide that has two 5-view of B1 bis’ on it.
The first one is overall dark-green with large white letters U O on the turret sides and a large white letter U on the sides of the skirts, along with a small white serial no. 467. It has a white nickname “Nivernais II” on the right side of the turret. This nickname is repeated in white on the front of the tank along with the white 367. There are two of the large white letter U’s on its rear. It was with 2nd Section, 3rd Company, 37th Combat Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division, France 1940.
This kit holds 5 tan parts trees, a loose tan hull top part, the decal sheet (with tissue facing), black vinyl poly-caps, a length of steel chain and 2 turned aluminum parts, in 8 staple-bound clear cello bags.
There are 2 instruction sheets.
The main one accordion folds out into 10 pages in 6 ¾” x 10 ¼” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the box art. Over the history of the B1 bis in 4 languages, including English.
Page 2 begins with READ BEFORE ASSEMBLY instructions, over PRECAUTIONS, suggested Tamiya brand cement and tools and a suggested paint color listing of Tamiya brand paints.
The bottom of page 2 through to page 9 gives a grand total of 21 assembly steps. There is a painting and marking guide for the commander figure in step 21.
Page 10 has painting and decal application instructions on it, in the 4 languages, over a aftermarket service card in Japanese only.
The second instructions is large single sheet, folded in the center to create 4 pages in 9 ¼”x 13” page format, printed partially in color on 2 of the 4 pages.
Page 1 is a color and marking guide that has two 5-view of B1 bis’ on it.
The first one is overall dark-green with large white letters U O on the turret sides and a large white letter U on the sides of the skirts, along with a small white serial no. 467. It has a white nickname “Nivernais II” on the right side of the turret. This nickname is repeated in white on the front of the tank along with the white 367. There are two of the large white letter U’s on its rear. It was with 2nd Section, 3rd Company, 37th Combat Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division, France 1940.
The second B1 bis is in a wave pattern camouflage of tan and dark green. It has a black diamond outlined in white on its turret sides, with white nickname “INDOCHINE” over a French flag. It has a white serial no, 205 on the sides of the skirts and on its nose, along with a repeat of the nickname and French flag. There are two large solid white squares on its rear.
Page 2 & 3 give the history of the tank in 4 languages, including English, with 3 black and white photos of an actual B1 bis.
Page 4 is another color and marking guide, showing two more color side views of the B1 bis.
The first one is the cover art one. (already described above). It was tank no. 257, “BOURRASQUE” of the 2nd Section, 1st Company, 15th Combat Tank Battalion, 2nd Armored Division, France 1940.
The second one is in a wave pattern camouflage of tan and dark green. It has a French roundel, followed by a white no. 2 on its turret sides, with nickname “VERCINGETORIX” on the right side of the turret, a small white serial no. 481 on the sides of its skirts. The nick-name, roundel and 481 are repeated on its front.
Page 4 is another color and marking guide, showing two more color side views of the B1 bis.
The first one is the cover art one. (already described above). It was tank no. 257, “BOURRASQUE” of the 2nd Section, 1st Company, 15th Combat Tank Battalion, 2nd Armored Division, France 1940.
The second one is in a wave pattern camouflage of tan and dark green. It has a French roundel, followed by a white no. 2 on its turret sides, with nickname “VERCINGETORIX” on the right side of the turret, a small white serial no. 481 on the sides of its skirts. The nick-name, roundel and 481 are repeated on its front.
Trees are alphabetized, but not illustrated in the instructions. Bad move Tamiya!!
There are 2 identical tan letter A trees. They hold: drive sprockets, main gun parts, small road wheels, idler wheels, exhaust cover etc. (71 parts each)
There are 2 identical tan letter A trees. They hold: drive sprockets, main gun parts, small road wheels, idler wheels, exhaust cover etc. (71 parts each)
Tan letter B tree holds: engine air intake grill, fender options, railing, exhaust pipe, doors etc. (33 parts)
Tan letter C tree holds: turret parts and gun, figures (divided into heads, torsos, lower bodies and arms) also helmet and pistol holster, pick, sledge hammer, shovel etc. (24 parts)
Tan letter D tree holds: the floor, sides, mantle, roof section etc, (16 parts)
The tan hull roof part is not alphabetized. (1 part)
Next is the 2 identical trees of black vinyl poly-caps (4 parts per tree)
The individual brown track links in their own cello bag are 123 parts and are snap-together assembly.
Next are the two turned-aluminum gun barrels.
The final items are the length of steel chain and the decal sheet.
This is one neat kit with great exterior details. Unfortunately, there are no interior details.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.