Tuesday 17 December 2013

First to Fight - C2P

Yeah, so I've been busy the whole last week and had no time nor energy to write anything... Sorry for that. Today's post isn't very inventive either - another guest review of a model from "September 1939". It seems we have succeeded in gathering a group of people ready to review the whole series. However, with different reviewers we get different texts - this one is a bit short.
But let me start with a short historical intro. The C2P was a light artillery tractor built on an improved chassis of the TKS tankette. It was used to tow 40mm Bofors AA cannons and could carry 4 people.
The same chassis was later used to build 2 prototypes of TKS-D, a light tank destroyer equipped with the 37mm Bofors AT cannon (standard anti-tank cannon of the Polish Army in the 1930s).


The magazine is 11 pages long and for the most part describes the vehicle - its development, technical details and operational use. As usual, you get a painting guide, although it does not mention the camo used by the Wehrmacht on captured tractors.
What is more, there's also a description of the Battle of Tuchola Forest, concentrating on the Polish 9th Infantry Division.
The box contains one sprue made of hard green plastic, plus the usual toothpick and glue. The model is made of 14 finely crafted parts, with nice details and no excess plastic. The only fault were some marks on the bottom of the hull. The parts are easy to assemble, with the exception of the driving wheel and the towing hook. These two can be problematic for less experienced modellers, as they are very small and thin, and thus easy to cut out and glue in place. The level of detail should satisfy gamers, modellers might want to work a bit on the interior.


The model is so easy to assemble that the guide seems needless - nevertheless, it was provided by the manufacturer. As I have mentioned, beginners might find it difficult to assemble the driving wheel and glue the hook in place. Its really easy to upgrade the model by adding the windscreens made out of transparent plasticard. The tractor can be assembled with or without the tarpaulin.


To sum up, in spite of small deficiencies, I recommend the kit to both modellers and gamers. Those of you who have bought the TKS should not be disappointed - both the quality of both sets is identical. Its interesting to compare the C2P with the Panzer I - the latter is definitely a model for gamers, while the former is far more detailed.

I'd like to add, that the author of the review, Gottesknecht, is quite experienced with scale models. I personally think that the C2P (and the earlier TKS) are somewhere between scale models and fast-assembly ones, so be advised.
Otherwise it's a splendid mini of an unusual vehicle, though its usefulness on the battlefield is a tad limited.
Oh, and you've got to be careful when removing the frame for the windscreen, as it's cast along with the headlight, so don't cut it off accidentally!

Next are Panzerbefehlswagen I (command tank on the Panzer I A chassis) and TK-3 tankette. Both will probably get guest reviews, though I'm definitely buying the German vehicle, so who knows...

All the photos and text in italics are by Gottesknecht.

You can see more photos on War in Miniature and Blog modelarsko-wargamingowy by Marins.
Review in Polish can be found here. / Recenzję po polsku można przeczytać pod tym adresem.

If you want to know more about the September 1939 series, visit their site or their Facebook profile.

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