Once upon a time I got a great kit from a 50% off sale in a toy shop around (and not only this one). To be honest, I never seen this kit before but knew that Tristar tanks are a safe buy so to speak. I looked in the box of the Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf. A ohne Aufbau (=w/o turret) and was overwhelmed. Sharp details, PE parts. Single tracks. And even two figures - what can go wrong for 15€ only?
Some words about the history of the tank - directly from the box:
Prevented by the Treaty of Versailles from possessing or manufacturing tanks or similarly designed armored fighting vehicles, Germany skirted the treaty restrictions by producing 15 tank hulls without superstructures, turrets or armament. To spread production experience as far as possible, five companies had been selected in 1933 to produce three vehicles each. The official designation "Landwirtschaftlicher Schlepper" helped to disguise the fact that any type of tracked armored vehicle was being manufactured.
Designed as a training vehicle, the turretless Krupp tractor was not intended for combat. In spring of 1934, it was issued to the first two Panzer regiments, Kraftfahrlehrkommando Zossen and Ohrdruf* to give the troops their first experience of driving a fully tracked armoured vehicle. Krupp-Gruson-Werk was awarded a contract to overhaul these 1st Serie/La.S chassis and convert them into training vehicles by adding a rail.
*note: The Truppenübungsplatz Ohrdruf is still active today and the German Bundeswehr uses it. Went there in 2001 when I did my military service.
So... this is it so far. The factory building from Reality In Scale is a project for its own I guess. Base just for playing around for the moment.
