Hi to one and all ,
Its my pleasure to be given the opportunity to review the latest from Model Cellar , a WW1 French Tanker .

Firstly lets have a little history about this fledgling and very new form of warefare in WW1 .The French tank arm was at the start formed as a branch of the artillery - Artillerie Spéciale . From October 1917 a badge for tank crews was gradually introduced, in the form of a knights helmet upon 2 crossed cannons .The headgear also varied a lot. In action the bluegrey-painted Adrian helmet, was pretty standard. Two types of cloth headgear were also worn, without any system to it: either the horizon blue sidecap with two tall peaks, or the low, soft horizon blue kepi with a black chinstrap. No insignia were worn on these cloth headgear. Very popular, albeit unofficial headgear among officers and men from 1917 onwards, was a black or dark blue beret, with no insigna and usually rather small.
Life inside these new machines was cramped (just look at the picture) , hot , full of danger from not only from the enemy shells but also the splinters that sheared off when the tank was hit but also the stench from fumes and sweat .....a living hell that can only be imagined .


Here is a few pictures of the men and a link to the tanks they actually fought in .

http://youtu.be/eIDg_ng-Qi0

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Moving onto the actual model itself :

Scale : 1:9 th

Material : Resin

Reference Number : MC 19009

Sculptor : Carl Reid

Box Art : Dave Maddox


As usual with Model Cellar models it comes well packed in bubble wrap with the pieces in a plastic bag to prevent loss , around which are which polystyrene chippings , this is all retained in a cardboard box with colour pictures of the finished model itself

Consisting of a total of 17 parts , the torso , the 2 arms , the left hand (holding a bottle of wine ...well he is French !!!) , the head , a choice of headwear , the Adrian helmet and a beret , the gas mask container , the 2 litre water bottle, the pistol holster ,a fighting knife 2 straps and 3 locating lugs (not needed) plus the cigarette and of course the base ...you get a lot for the money

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Moving on now to the torso :

This is sculpted wearing the leather coat with belt and , with a neck cloth (preventing rubbing from his uniform collar worn underneath) hanging on the chest is a relic from the middle ages a chain mail splinter mask .

The folds of the coat are nicely done which will aid painting , the chain mail is well defined , an area so often forgotten , there are various holes on the belt and area's on the torso in which the rest of the parts will snugly fit in . The collar is nicely undercut and there is a badge on his right chest (possibly a cockeral) , straps are nicely cast as well and for once in a model the surface of the coat looks like worn leather ..WELL DONE Carl and Model Cellar .

The rear of the torso has as expected the Carl Reid trade mark of a large opening , some might prefer to smooth this out but it in no way detracts from the finished piece.

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Looking now at the arm and the hands:

Both arms are cast separately with fitment being excellent in the dryrun , minmal filling will be needed ..if any , the left arm is held down with a locating hole for the cigarette with the right being held high to meet the mouth area once the right hand is secured to the end , fit again is 1st class .

The leather effect is even more noticable with all the little lines that appear as leather wears , nice defintion on the seams , and the wine bottle is nicely done as well (be fun to research and paint the labels !!!)

A serving of 'pinard', the cheap wine issued to all French forces , I have put a couple of labels for idea's !

The hands could I feel do with being a little more softer in defintion , this is my review opinion of course as I have the parts in front of me ..but nothing too much to worry about .

There is again minimal prep required , mostly on the base of the bottle !!!

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Lets have a look at the head and headgear now , firstly the head then the 2 choices of headwear:

Carl has done a stirling job of the face , so french looking , facial lines are really well done (especially in the area of the eyes and forehead), the moustache he has is one any frenchman would be proud of .

The helmet is of the course an Adrian one with a nicely detailed badge on the front , the comb on the top is well sculpted , it looks like the original .

The beret is also well sculpted , it looks like it should and very french .

Again minimal prep (a swipe of filler) with fitment being really good .

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Lets have a look at the equiptment now , we have the water bottle , the gas mask container , the pistol holster , fighting knife and straps that fit across the body , also the cigarettes .

Firstly the waterbottle , this is the 2 litre version , which is nicely sculpted with a metal cup secured inbetween the spouts , nice cross stitching on the edges of the water bottle , fit is good in a pre cast hole on the belt .

The gas mask container is a cylindrical piece with a fitment lug , a little bit of work is needed with the wet and dry on the ends .

The fighting knife and the pistol holster are well cast, sculpted and both fit snugly in the locating holes on the belt

The straps are ok but some will probably replace them with their own version using lead foil and photoetch , the cigarettes are of course small pieces of plastic (locating pins ...not really needed due to fit) .. and of course a cigarette .....lets see who puts a whiff of smoke on the end !!!!

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Finally lets have a look at the base and a conclusion :

The base has the same effect sculpted on it as at the back of the model , fits is good , what I am extremely happy about is the thought that has gone into the addition of a Renault tank on the front ..nice touch .

Conclusion: Model Cellar have released a great subject , full of character , all well sculpted by Carl Reid with the box art by Dave Maddox ..what a combination .

ALL are to be congratulated on the model , its an area so often forgot , fit is great with minimal work required , presentation is 1st class .

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Marks .......9/10

The French Tanker can be obtained from Model Cellar of course at $47 plus shipping www.modelcellar.com .....or if in the UK at SK Miniatures www.skminiatures.co.uk (approx £37 plus shipping , this will be confirmed once Steve has it available)

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Hi Carl ,
Thanks for the comments , it is a really nice bust , hope I can review some more fom Model Cellar soon.

I also like the beret as well , it adds that certain elite status I feel.

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Hi Gordy,
Thanks for the words ..much appreciated , not sure about going the extra mile ..just like to add something different to reviews ......

and now I know the meaning of a punt...sweating a bit when I clicked on the link !!!!

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Nice review. Figure looks good overall, though I think the artillery (?) plate on the helmet is a bit roughly done.



Thanks
Jason

Jason ,

Here is a couple of helmet plates , the 2nd one was cast from an original .

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