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Char B1 Bis (Tamiya 1/35)

RichB

Well-known member
While waiting for washes, filters, etc to dry on the Mk. A Whippet, I got the urge to cut and glue fresh plastic. This was the kit that jumped out of the stash and said "Build me!."

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The project that would become the Char B1 began formally in 1921. It was conceptualized as a heavy self-propelled gun optimised to break through fortified enemy positions. Its main armament was a 75mm howitzer mounted low in the hull allowing it to fire directly into the vision ports of bunkers. A small machine-gun turret was added to the upper hull to defend against attacking infantry and provide an observation post for the commander. By the 1930's it was recognized that the Char B1 would need to defend itself against counter-attacking armour. As it was too late to redesign the vehicle, the MG turret was replaced by a one-man turret equipped with a 47mm anti-tank gun.

The tortuous development program resulted in a technically complex, expensive (approx. 1.5 million Francs each) and largely obsolescent vehicle by the time the Char B1 production line started in December 1935. By the time production ended in July 1937, 34 vehicles had been built (SN 102 to 135). An improved version, the Char B1 bis, entered production in April 1937. It saw an increase in armour, improved 47mm gun and a more powerful engine. Production remained slow with only 129 vehicles completed by 01 September 1939. By the Fall of France in June 1940, only 369 of the 1144 vehicles ordered had been delivered (SN 201 to 569).

Despite its shortcomings and being pressed into service in a role it was not designed for, it was one of the most heavily armed and armoured tanks of its day proving to be very effective against German armour. On 06 May 1940, a Char B1 bis attacked elements of 8 Pz Regt in the village of Stonne, destroying 2 PzKpfw IV's, 11 PzKpfw III's and 2 anti-tank guns, absorbing 140 hits from return fire, none of which penetrated its armour.

The German Army captured 161 Char B1's and pressed them into service for training and garrison duties. Some were converted to flamethrower tanks and 105mm self-propelled artillery for use in the Balkans and on the Eastern Front. After D-Day, a few were re-captured by individual resistance forces. The Free French Forces equipped a company of the 13th Dragoon Regt with a mix of Char B1's and B2's (German modified) and were in action from October 1944 thru the end of the war.

:soldier

Cheers,
Rich
 
Step 1 starts with trimming and sanding 16 pairs of road wheels for each side. The sprue attachment is on the thin rim of each wheel which does increase the difficulty slightly, but the wheels won't be seen again once the kit is built. Once the wheels are assembled they are placed in their respective cradles. The instruction emphasis that they are not to be glued but that is only necessary if you want to have then rotating because you can or you are building the motorized version.

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Step 2 sees the road wheel cradles attached to the lower hull. With the wheels floating in the cradle it takes some dexterity to line everything up and them flip it over to glue it together without scattering road wheels all over the work area. I did one side this way but after getting the cradle glued in place most of the wheels were also glued in place. For the other side I tacked the road wheels in place before assembly. While here, I filled the openings on the underside that seem to be there for the motorized version.

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After that challenge, Step 3 is simply assembling the idler wheels and drive sprockets. They are the Tamiya tried and true poly cap sandwiched between two halves. There is a seam down the centre of each assembly that can be filled if you wish but it will not be seen once the tracks are on. Do not remove what appears to be ejector pin marks on the idlers, they are supposed to be there. The pin marks on the drive sprockets will be hidden once installed.

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:soldier

Cheers,
Rich
 
Carrying on, Step 4 and the build up of the left and right idler mounts and the 75mm gun. The gun comes in two pieces with poly caps to allow elevation and traverse. Careful assembly and sanding will get rid of the slight seam and keep the barrel round. Lion Marc makes a brass and aluminum replacement for the kit assembly. The idlers are pressed on to their axles.

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Step 5 adds the outer skirts and the idler mounts to the lower hull assembly. With the skirts in place the idlers cannot be removed or installed if you don't have them in place before the skirts.

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Step 6 adds the inner skirts and maintenance panels to the outer skirts. With the skirts in place the road wheels are hidden.

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:soldier

Cheers,
Rich
 
Step 7 calls for 26 1mm holes to be drilled in the nicely molded one piece upper hull. Its quite easy as all the holes are marked with recesses on the inside surface.

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Also on the upper hull are two handles on the engine covers. These were added during on the German modification line and should be removed for a pre-1940 French machine.

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Curiously, the cutouts for the mud chutes aren't called out in the instructions but are marked by recesses and can be opened up by scribing and/or drilling.

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Step 8 starts the build up of the upper hull. The mud chutes are marked left and right to get them on the correct side but be careful with top/bottom as they are contoured to match the sponson. The rear bulkheads for the sponsons, the drive sprocket mounts, track skids, jacking points, lifting hooks, engine vent and two engine covers are also added.

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While I was here, I added the outboard row of fasteners to the top of the sponsons (approx. 75). The scraper found just forward of the mud chute opening was scratch built from some styrene strip. There should be a row of fasteners where the sponson meets the hull but will mostly be hidden once the tracks and guards are in place.

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:soldier

Cheers,
Rich
 
Moving on to Step 9 and we join the upper and lower hulls, press the drive sprockets on to their mounts and add the last engine hatch.

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There are 5 rivets to be removed from around the antenna mount holes on the upper hull, the sixth was taken out by the hole drilled in Step 7.

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Step 10 assembles the drivers periscope and hatch, blackout headlight and auxiliary light. Not all the vehicles had the auxiliary light so check your references to see if it is needed. The vehicle I'm building didn't have it installed.

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Step 11 attaches front hull details. The glacis plate, blackout and auxiliary lights, 75mm gun mantlet and tow hooks. An armoured cover can be installed on the headlight in either the open or closed position. A couple of details were added to the mantlet. On the top there is a small flat spot where a pigtail lift hook could be installed. Not all vehicles had it installed at all times. Some left the mounting hole open, some are seen with a bolt installed and some with the pigtail hook so check your references. My vehicle has the hook installed so it was made from a piece of wire. Around the mantlet opening there are six mounting points for a weather cover. Again, some vehicles had the mounting bolts in the holes and some just the open holes. Both of theses details can be seen on the boxart.

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A vision slit needs to be added to the right side of the drivers compartment.

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There are a couple of seams on the drivers armoured cab to take care of. On the right side, a vertical seam needs a bit of filling and the edge rounded. The seam at the base also needs to be filled and blended in.

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Step 12 adds the crew door, grab handle and a rain/mud shield. The door has a nicely detailed insert for its interior details which, unless you are scratch building an interior, won't be seen. The circular feature (houses the door opening system) on the outside of the door should be enlarged for a early production vehicle.

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:soldier

Cheers,
Rich
 
Thanks for looking in. The kit builds up very well, typical Tamiya fit.

On to Step 13 and making tracks. There are 130 individual links supplied in a zip lock bag (no sprue to trim them off of) and have only a small nub of plastic that can be quickly removed with a sanding stick.

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Instructions call for 61 links per side. They click together very smoothly taking about 45 minutes to complete both runs.

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A quick test fit and 61 links look to be right.

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They will be left off until after painting.

Continuing on with Step 14 and the addition of the rear hull pintles and chain hooks. There are two different sizes of hooks with the larger hooks going on the left. Take care not to mix them up. A touch of filler may be required around the hooks as the holes are slightly oversized. The tool rack is also installed on the upper hull. They require the removal of a couple of rivet heads as shown in the instructions. They only have a single locating pin so require some attention to get them lined up properly.

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:soldier

Cheers,
Rich
 
On to Step 15 and the addition of the mud guards. There is a choice between the early spaced guards or later full guards. My vehicle is a later build and uses the full guards. I thinned thinned out the edges a bit giving them a more scale appearance. There are one or two PE sets available that include fenders if you so desire. The right guard also requires a rivet head to be removed at the front of the hull and is called out in the instructions.

The turret ring is also installed now along with the antenna pot and wire guard. The wire guard is molded as a solid piece when it should be an inverted channel. I have some styrene strip that was the right size and made a new guard using the kit part as a guide. I cut the support legs from the kit part and slid them into position on the new guard. Later a wire will be added from the rear of the guard to the antenna and from the front of the guard to the hull access point. The insulator were the wire enters the hull is missing from the kit and looks like a small dome. As I wasn't using the auxiliary light, it looked to be about the right size and shape. With the mount cut off and cut down a bit it was glued in position to the left aft of the turret ring.

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:soldier

Cheers,
Rich
 
Love this build.

When the kit came out, I shook my head and wondered who would want to build that ?? - Now that I've seen a fair number built on-line and 'in the flesh', I've completely changed my mind.

I don't build too much armour, but I REALLY want to build one of these, one day !!


Ian.
 
On to the home stretch. Picking up with Step 16 there is a choice between two styles of mufflers and exhausts. According to references, there were five different styles that were used randomly on the Char B1 with no relation to early/late production, the manufacturer or build number. My vehicle has the longer, straight fishtail system.

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Step 17 assembles and installs the antenna base, a guard rail, the exhaust system and an added plate on the rear hatch. The antenna base comes in two pieces and requires some careful cleanup of the running through the bellows. The guard rail has a fine seam to removed.

In Step 18 the pioneer tools are cleaned up. You also get to perform a magic trick by attaching a solid link of the supplied tow chain to the solid plastic tow shackle.

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All the items from Steps 16, 17 & 18 in place. All of these except the guard rail and plate will be permanently attached later. The instructions do show how to neatly stow the tow chain on the hooks. From some of the reference photos I've seen, this wasn't always the case.

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That finishes up the major construction on the hull.

:soldier

Cheers,
Rich
 
Step 19 starts work on the turret building up the 47mm gun and mount (I forgot to take pictures of it) and the commanders periscope cupola. Lion Marc makes an aluminum barrel to replace the kit plastic barrel and the MG barrel. The cupola has the option of having the periscope port cover opened or closed. I also added the 6 fasteners found on the top of the cupola, the lifting hooks from spares in the kit and added some cast texture with liquid glue and an old stiff brush.

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Step 20 builds up the turret. The large hatch at the rear may be positioned open but there is no interior. With the figure installed, the view into the turret should largely be blocked. I'll find out as I plan to build it with the turret open and the commander in place. I drilled out the coaxial MG as well. The weld around the lower part of the turret was added with some stretched sprue softened with liquid cement and textured with an X-acto knife blade. From reference photos, this weld is quite fine, especially on late build vehicles, and not nearly as heavy as seen on some builds. The turret also has cast texture added.

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And the turret with cupola in place.

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And finally, Step 21. The commander figure will be built up once painting starts. The jack stands are placed on the mud guards and require some tie down straps to be scratch built.

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That's it for major construction. Time to take a last look for any areas that need cleanup and/or filling and add a few details like tie downs and wires and it will be ready for paint.

Before I forget, a great reference site for French armour from 1902 to today is Char Francais. It is in French so you can practice your high school French or run it thru an on-line translator.

:soldier

Cheers,
Rich
 
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