Neucraft Resin - PzKpfw 38H 735(f) 170906

[tyroflyer]

I'm no expert on the subject but one of the difficulties appears to be the historical interchange of the H35 and H39 designations. Certainly I've found this to be the case with the few Polish examples. Although I'm inclined to believe Osprey's recent publication these were H35's Rubicon think otherwise. Without photographic evidence or something else substantial it is currently a mystery. Or at least it is to me.

[ripley]

Encyclopedia of German Tanks says the H-35 had the small engine and short gun , the H-38 had the large engine and short gun , while the H-39 had large engine , long gun .  The rear hull and exhaust layout changed with the larger engine , but pictures show the early hull with long gun labelled as H-39 . Might they have labelled the tank by the gun , not the engine / hull variant ? It dosen't help that the tank seemed to have a longer / more distinguished service life in German hands , then its original owners . And the Germans seemed to swap the gun / turret around from hull to hull as needed , as seen in many pictures . Hmm , need to find a good book on French tanks

[tyroflyer]

Further trawling suggests 400 H35's built and a further 800 or so H39's (all of the H35's and 240 of the H39's by 1 Sept 1939). Although the H38 is mentioned it is in the context of a description used by the factory rather than a different vehicle. Of the 400 H35's 50 subsequently modified with the longer gun. If this is true the gun is not a distinguishing feature between the two types. H39's went with the French army to Norway with the short gun. The most obvious difference is the sloping engine deck on the 35 and an almost flat one on the 39 to accommodate the larger engine. Of these 1200 H35/39's some 550 captured examples thought to have been used by the Germans. They appear to have added to the confusion by calling the tanks Panzerkampfwagen 35H and 38H.

It appears common for H39's to be described as H35's even when built. My current thinking is a tank described as an H39 in unit strength reports etc probably is. Those labelled H35 (including the Polish ones) are more problematic. The Encyclopedia of German Tanks is describing accepted wisdom post war (and might prove to be correct yet!).

[Rubicon Models]

We have out done ourselves again!!

Did some minor changes to the overall design of the Hotchkiss H39 in terms of assembly structure, plus a new German copula and rear stowage!
Now can also be assembled as a PzKpfw 38H 735(f), but without the German decals.  Should be plentiful from our other kits!





Enjoy!

[Captain Blood]

Very nice. When do you expect these reworked resin kits to be available?

[ultravanillasmurf]

That makes it more useful.

[ripley]

Fantastic .  Wasn't to sure about getting any  French tanks , but French tanks in German service , YES !

[tyroflyer]

The German cupola is a very useful addition. I hope a forum member will provide a review of this kit when it comes out. I'd be particularly interested to know if it is a leap forward from Resin vehicles already available or not.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Fantastic .  Wasn't to sure about getting any  French tanks , but French tanks in German service , YES !

That must be Rubicon's first multimedia kit.

[ripley]

Would be nice if Rubicon would  cross kit plastic and resin parts to make other variations of vehicles , but I think the idea of using the plastic rockets from the 251 is all mine . It all goes back to my youth in the 70s swapping bits of Bandi 1/48 tank kits to make some cool ( and not so cool ) Frankentanks . I still do the same thing now but with a lot less glue smears and finger prints in the paint , most of the time 

[elias.tibbs]

I'm looking forward to resin conversion kits.

Sandbags, snorkels, etc

[ripley]

Some deep wadding kits and Sherman Ark or Dozer add ons in resin would be great .

[tyroflyer]

I agree that resin opens up some interesting possibilities. Although I am a little concerned we don't end up with things in resin that would have been significantly better done in plastic. This tank maybe an example of that. I'm trying to keep an open mind.

[Pinky]

I agree that resin opens up some interesting possibilities. Although I am a little concerned we don't end up with things in resin that would have been significantly better done in plastic. This tank maybe an example of that. I'm trying to keep an open mind.

Everything is better in plastic! 

If it came down to a choice of a French tank in plastic, I would go for the Somua S35.  I see that Warlord have a plastic Char B1 bis in the pipeline.

[elias.tibbs]

Plastic is better than resin in my opinion, but we all know there's either whole kits or potential conversion kits that just wouldn't be cost effective to do in plastic.

I think forge world (despite the price) have proved what you can do with resin/plastic hybrid conversion kits.