MGM:s 1/72 Marienwagen gepanzert

Already before the war had the German Army started investigating the possibility of introducing a cross country truck, to be used as a carrier for a anti-balloon gun or simply as a tractor for heavy artillery pieces. Consequently they were much interested when they heard of such a design, the Marienwagen, made by the engineer Hugo G. Bremer.

In June 1915 Bremer was given the go-ahead. The Marienwagen cross-country lorry, produced in the Daimler factory at Berlin-Marienfelde, was a pretty complicated vehicle, that went through several re-designs and test (not all successful), and which appeared in several forms, some semi-tracked, others full-tracked, although the basis of them all was the Daimler four-ton lorry.

After the first British tanks had appeared during the later stages of the Battle of The Somme in 1916, the chocked Germans searched meet this new and unexpected threat with vehicles of the same kind. One of the first ideas (which was a desperate stop-gap measure really) was to turn the Marienwagen into a sort of tank, and an order was issued to convert ten lorries into AFV:s. The order stated that these 10 AFV:s were to be delivered in the end of february 1917.

The work of turning these fully tracked lorries into armoured vehicles was led by Josef Vollmer, senior engineer of the VPK, the Motor Transport Inspection Service. The aim was to substitute an armoured hull in place of the normal lorry cab and body, and armouring the engine. The lorry transmission in the Marien­Wagen was adapted to drive the rear pair of tracks, which were of rudimenary design, sprung on semi-elliptic leaf springs. The front pair of tracks were also sprung on semi-elliptics: they were used only for steering and were not driven.

The result of this work was the armoured Marienwagen, or as it was called officially Marienwagen I mit Panzeraufbau. This can be seen as the first German tank, since it was completed by the early Spring of 1917. But it was not a tank technically speaking, only tactically. It was, in fact, more of an armoured personnel carrier: it had no fixed armament, although ports were provided for the use of the crew's weapons. (The vehicle was to be equipped with two HMG:s and two 20mm Bekker AA guns, plus a flame thrower and other close combat weapons, to be used outside the vehicle.)

Officials had already in october 1916 declared that the Marienwagen was not suitable to be used as a AFV, but work continued despite this. (Also, the Prussian War Office pressed ahead with the work on setting up on setting up the very first armoured units of the German Army, the ancestors of the famed Panzer Divisions!: Sturm-Panzerkraftwagen-Abteilung 1 and 2).

A Marienwagen with a mock-up armoured superstructure was to von Hindenburg, Ludendorff and other members of the General Staff at Mainzer Sand on 11 March 1917. It was a disaster. (It was underpowered, and because of its height it also had a very high centre of gravity, of course making it very prone to toppling over.) The generals were very disappointed with what they saw, and as a result, Ludendorff lost all interest in further German tank development. Without his interest and support the whole area was left to "quarrels and rivalries of subordinate authorities" (Hundleby and Strasheim), with the effect that the further development of German tanks were much delayed. And the whole plan of using the Marienwagen as a AFV was finally scrapped.

Later on, as a private venture, a semi-tracked version of the Marienwagen (for which a much more satisfactory type of rear track had been developed) was fitted with the armoured hull and turret of an Ehrhardt armoured car. This was only an experimental vehicle, but is interesting in foreshadowing the impressive development by the Germans of armoured halftracks in WW2.

This photo probably shows
the bungled trial of MArch 11, 1917

Contents of the kit:

Click on the pictures for an enlarged version! 

The kit comes packed in a small cardboard box, showing the assembled kit. It is done in a light-yellow, medium hard resin, that is easy to work with. The mouldings of MGM are getting better and better, as can be seen also in this kit. There are some flash and some airholes on the big chassis, but otherwise the moulding here is good. The sharpness of the moulding itself is OK - even up to a point it gives away one or two sloppy details on the hull, where you can see that a bit too much glue has been used on the master. But there are quite a few rivets that have been lost in the moulding, sometimes leaving small holes instead.

The kit itself consists of some 20 parts, the main ones being the hull, and the four track assemblies. Note that the cab is hollow, and you can make it up with one of the entry doors open. (Not much of an interior is supplied, however, save for a pretty good MG /08. But I think it would be pretty easy to supply one yourself, using the middle photo above as a guide.)

The latest MGM kits have not come with any instructions, just simple plans. In this kit, you get two A4-sheets of colour photo-copied photos of the assembled kits, and although not as good as proper a assembly plan, it is adequate, and much better than the previous solution.

The detailing is good, when you compare it with photos of the real thing: all that is supposed to be there is there. However, some of the details are a little mis-aligned. (Check the engine grille, for instance.) The rivets are good, not as long (!) as on the two latest armoured car kits - which in itself is not such a big deal, as they are easily cut down to shape with the help of a little sanding. But like some other details, some of them are a bit misaligned. And it doesn't take that much to give a line of rivets a somewhat crooked look. Also, there are traces of glue-joints and/or filler on some spots: they shouldn't be there really.

The kits of MGM can can be bought through through Smallscale.de, 7th Company or Blitzkrieg Models.(Thanks to Peter E. who let me have a look at his kit.)

Michael Gohres of MGM has the most exciting WW1 range of any resin manufacturer right now. (He has really taken over the position formerly occupied by Retromodels.) Although his kits are not yet as good as, say, Al.By, they are quite en par with, say, Matador, and better than, say, Convoy. And his choice of subject is top rate: he will ALWAYS surprise you! Some of the detail work is a bit off, but it doesn't change the fact that this is an interesting kit of a really exotic subject, and although not perfect I still recommend it! Well done again, Michael Gohres!