KIT:

Mirage 1/72 C7P Artillery Tractor

KIT #

 72891

PRICE:

 $19.98       ($17.97 at Squadron)

DECALS:

 several vehicles

REVIEWER:

Scott Van Aken

NOTES:

 Small etched brass fret included.

HISTORY

Allow me to quote from the kit history on this one. "The C7P tractor was made in Poland by the State Engineering Works from 1935. It used components from the Vickers 6T tank that was being built under license and used the same engine, body, suspension and transmission. They first entered service in 1935 and used to pull the 220mm Mark 1932 Mortars then in service. Five of these tractors were needed to pull the pieces for one mortar. Each two gun mortar battery had eleven C7P tractors. They were also to be used as recovery vehicles for light tank units and were used  in railway engineering units. Of the several hundred built, most did not survive the 1939 campaigns. Around 70 were used by the Soviets and approximately 15-20 by German forces in various miscellaneous services."
 

THE KIT

There has to be at least 200 parts in this kit. They are superbly molded and beautifully done. One will definitely be getting their money's worth of modeling on this one. I searched the sprues for glitches and other than a few sink marks here and there and a few ejector pin marks (which won't be visible when the kit is built), I found little to complain about. No flash whatsoever on any bits. The sprue attachment areas are rather small so I'd recommend a razor saw to remove parts from the sprues. With so many parts, some of them are rather petite so care will definitely be needed removing them. Treads are one piece soft plastic. Some of us prefer these to the individual links which can turn small scale armor building into a chore. A small etched fret is provided for some extra detail. For those who are less than enamored with PE, it appears that it can be left off with no problem.

There are 29 construction steps; all very well drawn so there is no problem with parts placement. Color information is given throughout construction. The color chart provides Humbrol and Vallejo color data with the Vallejo colors being the primary choice. Some of the Humbrol numbers are given as an 'approximate' match. There is a small decal sheet provided for several vehicles which are either in Polish Khaki, a combination of Olive and Sand or in the rather convoluted camouflage shown on the box art.

 

CONCLUSIONS

Mirage is going to be getting a lot of mileage out of the T-26 chassis as there are many more vehicles in the works. Judging from some of there ship and aircraft models of the past year, it should be an enjoyable build and make into a great little model when done.

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