Steelwork 1/72 Constructora Field 1 armored truck
| KIT: | Steelwork 1/72 1937 Chevrolet armord car |
| KIT #: | SK7209 |
| PRICE: | €27.00 from www.steelwork-models.de |
| DECALS: | Two options |
| REVIEWER: | Scott Van Aken |
| NOTES: | Resin kit with photoetched fret |
| HISTORY |
Paraphrased from the instructions:
"The Spanish armored car Chevrolet 1937 was created on the chassis of the Chevrolet SD 6X4 Model 1937. The pattern example was the Soviet BA-6 armored car (which is why it is rather familiar). Production started at La Hispano Suiza Barcelona in May 1937. At the beginning, only machine guns were planned. With the 37mm Puteaux gun from old Renaut FT 17s available, these were used. Production was casual with only 4 vehicles a month produced. This rate decreased as more and more Republican territory was lost during the Civil War. Overall, about 70 vehicles were produced and their use in combat is pretty much unknown.
After the end of the Spanish Civil War in early 1939, some of these vehicles escaped to France. At least two of them were captured by the Germans in 1940. These were used in action during 1941 against partisans in occupied areas of the Soviet Union."
| THE KIT |
Superbly molded in tan resin, the kit has very good detailing and I was quite pleased not to find any molding glitches during inspection. The kit comes in four bags; one for the heavy chassis and body and turret, another for the very fine guns and decal sheet (not shown) and two others for the rest of the parts. The box was full of plastic peanuts and survived shipping with no problems.
The body, chassis and turret only have very minimal clean-up required prior to use; little more than a light sanding. Fenders seem to be able to be removed from their pour stub backings with little more than a hobby knife. The rear suspension bits are designed to be installed on the rectangular backings. The most difficult part of parts removal will be the head lights and a few other small bits. The rest of the pieces should be a breeze. A small etched fret with tow hooks, steps, and rear lights/plate housings is included. The brass is quite hefty so no worries about bending flimsy bits on this one.
The instructions are a single piece of paper with the history and a photo on one side, with a parts listing/drawing, exploded view, and color/decal marking sheet. It seems that there are two nearly identical vehicles on the decal sheet (which is printed on a near white background so won't scan), differing by name only. Both options are overall Panzer Grey.
| CONCLUSIONS |
This is really a sweet little kit. The molding is excellent and the break-down of the parts is such that you should be able to get this one together in a relatively short time. Best of all, no track links and no road wheels to paint!
October 2010
Thank you to Steelwork for the review sample. You can buy yours on-line at www.steelwork-models.de
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