7TP Polish Tank -
Single Turret

IBG Models, 1/35 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Background

The 7TP (siedmiotonowy polski - 7-tonne Polish) was a Polish light tank of the Second World War.

It was developed from the British Vickers 6-ton. A standard tank of the Polish Army during the 1939 Invasion of Poland, its production did not exceed 150 vehicles.

All 7TP tanks took part in combat in the defence of Poland during the German Invasion of Poland in 1939. Most of them were attached to two light tank battalions (the 1st and the 2nd). The remaining tanks, that is the ones used for training as well as tanks that were finished after the outbreak of the war, were used in an improvised tank unit fighting in the defence of Warsaw.

Although technically superior to any of the German light tanks of the era, the 7TP was not available in sufficient numbers to change the outcome of the war.

Its chassis was used as the base for the C7P artillery tractor.

This is not the first 7TP that we have seen in 1:35 scale. Mirage Hobby from Poland released a family of injection-moulded plastic 7TP kits from 1987 onward. I don’t recall seeing any of these kits but I confidently expect that we are not talking about “state of the art”.

In the Box

IBG is also a Polish company, and they have added a brand-new 7TP Polish Tank to their growing and impressive line-up.

This is an all-new kit.

IBG’s 1:35 scale 7TP comprises 384 parts in grey coloured plastic, five parts in clear and a single photo-etched fret bursting full of small metal parts.

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Thumbnail panels:

The kit boasts a fully detailed interior plus link and length tracks.

The quality of the plastic is lovely - smooth satin finish with crisp raised rivets, structural features and recessed panel lines. There are some sink marks but most of these will be hidden by other parts on the finished model.

The photo-etched fret is small but is packed with detail parts.

Assembly commences with the engine compartment. This includes the radiators and cooling system, the engine with separate detail parts and associated plumbing.

Once the engine compartment is complete, the sidewalls of the lower hull are built up around it. In front of the firewall, the fighting compartment is also highly detailed. Highlights include the drive train, transmission, ammo stowage and seats. The driver’s compartment is also thoroughly fitted out.

Hatches for the engine compartment, the driver and on the turret roof may be posed open to view the interior detail.

Running gear is made up from four bogie trucks with authentic-looking leaf springs and separate road wheels.

The tracks are broken down into one long top run per side with very subtle sag between return rollers, another not-quite-so-long flat lower run and 35 individual links to run around the idler wheel and drive sprocket. This looks like a pretty straightforward job.

There is plenty of hull stowage and on-vehicle equipment creating a nice busy look.

The turret is as chock full o’ interior goodness too – spent shell basket, main gun breech, coaxial machine gun, Commander’s and Gunner’s seats, radio, scopes, turret traverse mechanism and more.

Clear parts are included for the light lenses.

The package is rounded out with decals for five options (based on two three-coloured camouflage schemes.

Instrument dials are also provided on the decal sheet.

Instructions are supplied in a glossy A4-sized booklet. Construction is clearly called out in 46 steps.

Conclusion

IBG Models' 1:35 scale 7TP is beautifully moulded and comprehensively detailed.

The full interior is impressive, but if you want a less complex build you could choose to simply omit the interior parts and button up the hatches.

At the other end of the spectrum, you could also paint and weather the detailed interior and have all the hatches posed open.

The choice is yours. Either way, you will have a striking 1:35 scale 7TP. Thank you, IBG!

Thanks to IBG for the sample http://www.ibgmodels.com