Cromwell Models 1/76 LK II

The German LK - LK meaning Leichte Kampfwagen, Light fighting Vehicle - was very much inspired by the British Whippet, the only captured tank they thought worth copying, and it certainly influenced the German designers - otherwise very preoccupied with building heavy machines - to try something new. 

It was evolved directly from the LK I, following experience with that machine, which helped formulate official specifications and performance desiderata for a light tank. Like its predecessor, the LK II was intended to make use of the available supply of redundant heavy motor car chassis without excessive modification, and so the design was again forced into the front engine, rear crew compartment layout, with track drive from sprockets attached to the rear axles.

The two prototypes of LK II produced in the summer of 1918 by the Daimler firm were generally similar mechanically to the LK I, but in place of the direct drive from the rear axles an extra gear train was introduced and a somewhat higher degree of accessibility for maintenance - particularly of the track system- was included. The armour was thicker (14 mm. maximum) to resist close-range rifle fire (as stipulated) and the "turret" of the first version was fixed, like that of the Whippet.

The armament was a 5.7-cm. gun (although a 3.7-cm. gun of higher velocity was intended for production models) some of which were alternatively to be armed with machine guns only, fitted in a turret. The LK II weighed about 8 tons (slightly over specified weight) and its length was 16 ft 8 in. (That was shorter than LK I, but sufficient to be able to cross a 6 ft 6 in. trench as laid down in the Kriegsministerium requirements.) An order for 580 production vehicles was placed in June 1918 but the end of the war prevented the completion of any of these.

Surprisingly enough this rather eclectic vehicle bore a lot of promise. It was both faster and more manouverable than the tank it copied, and was also to be more versatile than the Whippet, as both a gun and a MG version was to be produced. 

Just a few LK II:s were completed before the end of the War, and the tank never saw any action. Some of completed tanks were sold to Sweden in the autumn of 1921. They were the Swedish Army's first tanks and were used for many years under the name of "Stridsvagn m/21" - i.e. "Tank model 21". (They modified the vehicle somewhat, among other things they equipped it with a wireless.)

For more info on this tank, including a lot of detail photos of a surviving tank, click here! For a nice swedish page showing camo on the LK II - Strv m/21 click here!

Contents of the kit:

The kit comes packed in a ziplock bag, typical of Cromwell, and typical of this company it also lacks all plans. But you don't really need one, as the kit only consists of four parts, all moulded in Cromwells standard light-yellow resin: the hull, two track assemblies and the turret - for what you get is the turreted MG version, the same as used by the Swedes. 

As always with Cromwell, the details are sharp and well defined. The mud chutes really look the part, and the detailing on the tracks are very good. The moulding is also very fine: there no air bubbles, but there is some flash, and also some excess resin to be trimmed away - especially under the hull. 

The accuracy of the kit is fine. It is an excellent kit, and it has been built straight out of the box with only some minor alterations. Also there is some smaller detail that you can supply yourself: a cranking handle can be added, and also a new MG. 

Well, another fine kit made by Cromwell Models. As it is also the only Braille Scale LK II available, I can't do other than recommend it!