Tauro A7V WWI Tank

[gin sot]

I just found one of these monstrosities in my pile of unbuilt kits today, and made the mistake of opening the box and playing with the parts . . .  now it's calling to me.   

Before I start cutting/filling/gluing, I need to determine what sort of end product I want.  A straight build would involve grappling with the inaccuracies of the kit and the general lack of reference material for these vehicles.  Only 20 were made, apparently none of them were quite the same, no solid color references exist for any particular machine at any given point, it was built 90-odd years, ago, etc., so I'd sorta have carte blanche to build it in any manner reasonable to the Teutonic mind circa 1917. 

On the other hand, I could go completely off the deep end and base some sort of fantasy vehicle on what the kit provides.  Suppose some evil scientist escaped from central casting and was able to obtain a primitive German tank, then modified it at the lab for use in some nefarious plot . . . first I'd need to figure out what sort of late-teens/early-twenties criminal purpose could be served with a giant armed and armored tractor, then I could engineer the necessary modifications, which could include anything from ray guns up to a "temporal manipulation and translocation device."  It wouldn't exactly be "steampunk," whatever that is, given that the thing was propelled by twin Daimler internal combustion engines-- maybe "petroleum distillate punk?" 

Anyway, I'm interested in what youse guys think: about the kit, about the prototype A7V, the potential for moustache-twirling villainy, etc.

[shropshire lad]

Any chance of a photo of said item ?

  I say go Steampunk as that will be the new " Big Thing" . Well , I'm hooked .

   Nick

[DaKra]

One of my favorite tanks, there is a particular sort of beauty in its slab sided uber-riveted ugliness.  Who needs steam punk when you have real world prototypes as monstrous as this?   

You are correct regarding the Tauro kit.  As bad as it seems on first glance, its much worse when you start comparing it to the plans and documentation.   

But there is actually a lot of reference material on this tank.  Besides the original preserved in Australia, and a full size reconstruction in Germany, there are two excellent large format hardcover books (one in English the other in German) with photos and plans, well documented color schemes and markings, plus the Australian War Memorial pamphlet which has fold out plans, and I think a couple of softcover pictorials. 

I've not seen any good rebuilds of this model which correct the mistakes.  Another thing I've not seen is a good paint job, they are usually airbrushed.   But the original camo seems to have been brush painted, with the soft edges between colors dry brushed or blended wet on wet.   

So, lots of potential for a unique model, just by making it accurate.     

Dave

[DaKra]

PS the books are:

The German A7V Tank by Hundleby & Strasheim

Sturmpanzerwagen A7V by Komitee Nachbau Sturmpanzerwagen A7V.   

Regarding post WW1 conversions, there are photos of a converted A7V used by Freikorps in Berlin, during the 1919 communist uprising.   

[DaKra]

Oh one other thing comes to mind, speaking of the A-7V and fantasy modeling, from the 1977 Star Wars movie:   

[gin sot]

Ugh.  I have an A7V kit, I have paint, I have glue, I have putty, I have a vast array of styrene and spare parts, I have the internet, I have tools, I have time, I have a can-do attitude.  What I do not have right now is disposable income.  The Hundleby & Strasheim reference is going for over $150 bucks.  Can't afford it and probably wouldn't spend that much even if I could.

Based on an hour or two of computer-based research on the relevant enthusiast sites, I was under the impression the the Tauro kit was at least generally accurate in terms of outline and configuration-- it certainly looks like the pictures I can find on the internet.  Frankly, I was hoping to avoid a lot of the rivet counting BS that afflicts me.  Can't I just build a damn OOTB model once in a while?   

Obviously, the commander and driver seats suck out loud, and the engines are mounted incorrectly-- what other nits need picking?  Are the inaccuracies so glaring that you could call them out if the model was sitting on a table and no reference materials were on hand to demonstrate its wrongness?

If I'm going to take this rig into the realms of fantasy, I'm going to keep it based on early twentieth century Earthling practice, so no Jawa Sandcrawlers.     It might make a decent base of operations for a zombie suppression task force.

[DaKra]

I found that book on eBay for about $40, after a few months of patient waiting and fair price bidding.  Been collecting research material on this tank for a few years, for technical drawings I've been working on.  Since I'm familiar with this tank, I can't really give you the sort of answer you're looking for.  For me, there are few usable parts in the kit.   

Dave

[gin sot]

Okay, Dave-- fess up.  You're clearly involved in some sort of nefarious plot involving short-run Great War Kraut armor.  What gives?   


I take it that the bottom line is I'd be polishing a turd if I proceed with this thing?

[DaKra]

Well, not really.  I start all my model projects with a technical drawing, I intend to built an A-7V in 1/35 scale, just a personal project for someday.   I'd compare the Tauro kit to one of those first generation plastic model kits.  I guess they were designed based on a diagram they found in Popular Mechanics and a couple of photos clipped from the newspaper.   They resemble the subject matter, but the details are distorted.   I've seen nice models built from old kits like that.