RPM 1/35 TKS Tankette

575 TK/TKS tankettes formed the bulk of the Polish armoured forces before the outbreak of war. They suffered heavy losses during the invasion of Poland, often being the only armoured fighting vehicles available. Their small size suited them for reconnaissance and infantry support, but with their light armament of a single machine gun they stood no chance in combat against German tanks, except against the Panzer I.

The handful of tankettes armed with 20 mm guns were more effective against enemy tanks; in one instance on 18 September 1939 a 20 mm gunned TKS commanded by Podchorąży (Officer Candidate SFC) Roman Orlik destroyed two German Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) tanks and a Panzer IV B tank which was commanded by Victor IV Albrecht von Ratibor.

After the conquest of Poland, captured tankettes were used by the German army in various support roles, mostly for training, security duties or as artillery tractors. Many captured tankettes were also used by the Luftwaffe for airfield security and snowplowing. Some were later sold to the puppet state of Croatia. In spring 1941, the National Police received 18 TK-3 tankettes, some with the 20mm gun, while in summer 1941 the Army received 18 TKS, 4 of them being sent to the Ustashe Militia.

Tankette kits are fairly few as things go, though it is not surprising that RPM would produce one. They tend to concentrate on Polish subjects and the TKS was widely used during the German invasion. Based on photos, I'd hazard a guess that this is one of the 20mm equipped vehicles, though the machine gun is also supplied.

This kit differs from the standard boxing by having a complete interior. This includes the gun breech but does not include the engine. It would be fair to say that the inclusion of the interior effectively doubles the number of parts in the kit. In fact, you get two sets of instructions with one being dedicated to the interior bits.

The super flimsy box has a 1998 date on it so the kit is somewhat new. Surface detail is quite good and the molded on rivets are not overdone. I did find a few sink areas with most of them being easy to remedy in that no detail will be harmed filling them. Tracks are vinyl 'rubber band' typs. There are also quite a few plastic tracks and those could be used once they are properly formed over the drives and road wheels. Some of the hatches could be posed open so you can view the work done on the interior. For those wanting a closed up vehicle, then all the interior parts can be discarded.

You get two instruction sheets. Both are quite small though are adequate for the job. All the printing is in Polish so any notes on color and such will have to come from other sources. It seems that the options are several so use the Internet to help out. There are no deals as it seems these vehicles were unmarked.

In all, this appears that it would be a fairly decent build. I didn't see a lot of tiny parts, which was nice. The overall vehicle will be pretty small, but should be a nice addition to any armor collection.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TKS

March 2023

Copyright ModelingMadness.com. All rights reserved. No reproduction in part or in whole without express permission from the editor.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.