Retromodels 1/76 Charron Armoured Car
The worlds first Armoured Car was the French Charron, and it was rolled out in 1905. (That very same year the Austrian Austro-Daimler - a rather small vehicle, characterized by a large, dome-shaped MG-equipped turret, sited at the rear - also saw the light of day, but as the Charron made it's debut in the newyear of 1905, it is safe to say that the French vehicle was first.) But while the AFV was built and engineered by a French firm, the basic design came from a Russian officer, M.A. Nakasjidze, based on his experiences from the then on-going Russo-Japanese war.
It was basically an ordinary automobile, including large windows, equipped with a steel plate body, and shutters for the windows. On the roof was mounted a turret with a Hotchkiss MG. (It also carried a spare MG.) It had a crew of four, and could be driven in a maximum roadspeed of 45 km/h. It had a number of interesting features, including tyres filled with liquid, that made them semi-selfhealing in case of a hit. Only a small number of vehicles were produced. Some (perhaps only one) was used during the unrest in Russia, as a urban-pacification vehicle. The German Army tried at least two, used them in maneuvers, but were obviously not impressed. The French Army used a number of Charrons during WW1, but obviously mainly as a sort of AA or baloon-buster vehicle.
The French firm of Retromodels make (or made, I've heard that they are no longer active) the only known Braille Scale model of the Charron. It comes in the hard grey resin typical of this company: some 15+ parts, all well moulded, with minimal flash. The instructions are, as always with Retromodels, fine. (Click here to see part of it.) It comes with optional parts, enabling you to build either the original 1905 configuration, or the one characterizing the cars that participated in the Great War. It's an OK kit, supplying you with all the parts needed to build an accurate model - including a very good Hotchkiss. The wheels, however, are a bit crude, a bit square-ish, and lacking all thread.
The only REAL problem, at least with the sample I've got, is that the sides and especially the roof of the vehicle is a bit sunken in. (It could possibly be the effects of either problems in the moulding process, or a result of aging of the moulds themselves.) Especially the roof needs to be rebuilt, which is pretty easy: you just glue over a thin sheet of plastic card, and there you are. Recommended. As mentioned: Retromodels are perhaps not active any more, and anyway this kit is hard to get nowadays. But if you get a chance: grab it! Recommended.
