Hi everyone! Today we have a close look
at the German Panzerkampfwagen I Ausführung F, (also known as VK1801) from Hobby Boss in 1/35 scale. This is a rather unknown vehicle, it was rarely used
because it was a prototype and pre-series tank. I like it that Hobby Boss releases models of these special vehicles, one or two years ago, i can´t really remember, i
made the Panzer I C from the same brand. I also discovered that there will be a Panzer II J
available soon which looks very similar to this tank. That is pretty cool in my opinion! Alright,
let´s have a look inside the box. Let´s start with the instructions, on top you can see the
box art, then we have some notes about tools, a legend to symbols and some tips on how to apply the decals. Here we have a little diagram with all included sprues, this
helps a lot to keep track of the build.
There is also a list of the parts which are not used. Here the assembly starts, first of all like always the wheels and the suspension. No questions should arise, the instructions are clearly arranged. There is the danger of mixing up all those
axes, you have to keep that in mind. Beautiful interlaced running gear. The tracks come in segmented pieces, not many parts actually. It is good
for beginners in particular, you won´t get frustrated or bored with these. The tank itself is very small, the assembly all in
all is not that complex. Small but great model. Looks very nice, exemplary, nothing to complain about. Here we have a single sheet of paper with the paining and decal instructions. There is only one version suggested in Panzer grey with no further
information about it, like the area or unit it was used. It was only a test vehicle anyway, so it was
used on a testing area or military training ground. Reportedly it was used to fight partisans and at the Battle of
Kursk, but i could not find much information about it.
Down here you can see a paint chart refering to Vallejo, Tamiya,
Humbrol, Model Master and Mr. Hobby. Just some common paint brands. Overall we don´t need that information anyway because the tank is mainly grey. There are only these two Balkenkreuz decals included, this is pretty meagre
but the real vehicle had not much decorations on it aswell. The decals look alright. Photo-etched parts are included aswell, those engine grills are good in particular.
Those smaller parts should be easy to use aswell,
we don´t have to bend them a lot. There is also a small sheet of clear plastic
foil which is used for the observation slits. Here we have upper and lower hull. As you can see the tank is very
small compared to my hand. Well, it is a Panzer I after all. Details are nice. On the sides there will be a big hatch later, if you
want you can drill a big hole here and show it in opened position.
Might be interesting for a diorama if you have a
suiting figure which can be positioned in this hatch. The weld seams look good in my opinion, pretty cool. I think the parts are not twisted, they are nicely
protected in the box with some foam – exemplary. Here we have two identical sprues with parts of the running gear. Lovely moulded parts, no flash in sight. Looks very good to me. The rivet details could be a bit better but
afterall this is not a serious problem. Here we have the fenders. Although those hooks are moulded on
the parts they look good, same with those hinges. Impressive to see what is possible to do with plastic injection casting these days. Very nice. Here we have the parts for the turret, again nice looking weld seams. The parts are very filigree, like this antenna
for example or those parts over here. In my opinion top notch! Here some smaller sprues with some smaller parts, again
nicely moulded with no flash and nice details.
The tools look good, of course you can improve
them by using photo-etched parts for the fixations. I don´t like that, it is terrible to assemble,
in my opinion moulded on fixations are alright. Here two sprues with the tracks. The Hobby Boss tracks are always very nice. No they aren´t, usually they are pretty bad, at least the
ones i had in the past. They were simply lousy. They were impossible to assemble with tons of ejection marks,
but as you can see they learned from it. I can´t spot any weaknesses right now, the segmentation of the tracks really helps
to assemble them, even if they should be as bad as usual. Nice, finally a Hobby Boss kit with nice tracks (at least on
the first view!). I hope they keep going this way. All in all could not spot any flaws, looks good to me. Even the tracks are nice, i was surprised by that. The boxing is very solid, the filigree parts should not
break because they are well protected with foam material. I always liked this tank in general, fascinating vehicle, just like all other weird
versions of the Panzer I and II which are among my favourite tanks.
It is cool to have those tanks now available as Hobby
Boss kits, i might get some more in the future. This kit costs about 30€, it is not beneficial but
moderate, i think the kit is worth the money. Ok, i hope you enjoyed this kit review, see
you in the next video, your Hamilkar Barkas..
