Meng # TS-017 1/35 German A7V Tank (Krupp)

Meng # TS-017 1/35 German A7V Tank (Krupp)

This new kit from Meng Models in their WWI series is of the first German Tank used operationally in WWI the A7V initially built by Krupp, it was armed with one 57mm QF cannon and six 7.92mm Maxim heavy machine guns with a crew of between 16 and 18 normally.
This is just a preview of the kit contents with brief comments to give a rundown on what you get in the box with a full review to follow time permitting.

The kit consists of:

509 parts in light beige plastic
224 parts in black plastic for the track links
30 PE parts
1 decal sheet
1 length of string
2 poly caps

The quality of the parts is excellent with clean crisp details and virtually no pin marks than will be seen after assembly, with just the usual mould seam lines and small plastic nodes on some parts that are common to most kits. The large hull plates all feature a combination of round rivets and hex bolt head details and while I’ve not done a full examination to make sure there are all where they should be the fact the kit features both styles is a good start. It should also be noted that the A7Vs were basically built "one offs" that meaning they were not all identical and some rivet patterns and smaller details may differ between vehicles, unlike later mass produced tanks of WWII.

Dimensionally the parts measure out well against the 1:35 plans in the Tankograd A7V book in most areas although there are a few minor discrepancies but overall it is dimensionally accurate. I am not going to get excited over the small discrepancies due to the fact there are some glaring errors in the Tankograd plans, the most obvious being they depict the hull side MG ports level with the top of the crew doors but a quick look at any photo will show you the MG ports are below the door line. With this in mind I am not going to put my house on these plans and use them as a guide only. Meng incidentally got the position of the MG ports correct so that isn’t an issue.

The kit features three multipart lower bogie assemblies attached to the lower chassis assembly along with the drive sprocket and idler wheel for a quire detailed undercarriage and suspension that includes workable individual link tracks. These have the track plate with the two inner flanges in one piece that click together to form the track runs, with just two parts per link assembly should be quick and easy.

The interior is quite comprehensive with the upper commander/driver station featuring seats, gear levers and steering wheel that sits above the engine empty compartment as there is no actual engine included but the compartment is blanked off either end by two large engine radiators with etched front mesh.
At the front is a nicely detailed 57mm QF canon with breech and gunner’s seat along with large ammo box and seats for the forward machine gunners, all the floor sections include tread-plate pattern for a good appearance.  The rear compartment has additional seats for the 4 MG gunners as well as racks for 4 infantry rifles that are included with the kit.

The large one piece hull sides have interior panel details and mountings for the four 7.92mm Maxim MGs that includes ammo belts again for a nice appearance although the belts are a little rigid and altering the position of the supplied belts will add a bit of variation. The rear hull wall has the additional two Maxims again with full mountings and the gunner’s seats as mentioned.

The entire extensive interior is basically hidden after assembling the hull panels with only the two separate large hull side crew doors and front vision ports to see the interior if these are left open?

The hull top plate is one large part with open slats for the top ventilation intakes that have additional outer panels added to give a good representation of these details. The driver’s compartment side plates all have separate visors (with etched brackets) that again can be positioned open to expose a little of the compartment interior if you wish?
There are numerous smaller hull details added around the outer hull and suspension to complete the kit which should look quite impressive given the level of details included in the kit.

Instructions:
This is a 25 page booklet with the usual exploded view drawings showing the assembly sequences and while some are a little busy none look over complicated and shouldn’t pose any problems during assembly providing you study the sequences beforehand as with any kit.

Decals:
The large decal sheet is nicely printed with markings for just a single A7V named ‘Schnuck’ with five view colour illustrations in the instructions showing the cam scheme and the decal placement.
504 "Schnuck", Abt.2, German Army, Northern France, Autumn of 1918

Paints and Glue Sold seperate