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REVIEW
Char 2C
CMOT
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ARMORAMA
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Posted: Sunday, January 26, 2014 - 10:01 PM UTC
Meng Models second release in their WW1 series of kits, see them produce the enormous French Char 2C Super Heavy Tank. Although not strictly a First World War tank, this will no doubt appeal to anyone with a interest in interwar armour.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
AFVFan
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 02:17 AM UTC
I'm currently in the midst of building one of these. So far, I agree with everything the reviewer noted, with one caveat. The PE screens are very thin and fragile. Extreme care must be use when cleaning off the attachment nubs to avoid damage to the screens.

On a side note, as alluded to, there is now an aftermarket barrel available for the main gun.
Violetrock
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 03:18 AM UTC

Quoted Text

On a side note, as alluded to, there is now an aftermarket barrel available for the main gun.



From which company?
panzerbob01
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 04:11 AM UTC
Nice review:

The noted very serious error by Meng in not providing any part of the suspension for all those tiny road-wheels is, alas, a complicating issue for builders interested in portraying any of the 10 real Char 2C which were photographed wearing either no shields or only some of them.

It gets complicating as only a few marking options are provided - and I cannot personally say that all of the provided markings are for tanks with shields, etc.! The historically and accuracy-interested modeler will want to check and see whether his/her chosen markings are appropriate for this build, given as you will probably have to build with shields on unless you want to display it mired in weeds or mud or otherwise do something to hide the missing details!

For all of this huge fault, it is otherwise a VERY interesting kit and subject, and I'll maybe still buy one - and plan on doing a shielded individual (or maybe mud or weeds! )

Bob
AFVFan
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 04:44 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

On a side note, as alluded to, there is now an aftermarket barrel available for the main gun.



From which company?



They are from Lion Mark. I found a couple listed on Ebay just this morning and promptly ordered two in. I'm hoping the quality is up to the normal standards for the company.
AFVFan
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 04:52 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Nice review:

The noted very serious error by Meng in not providing any part of the suspension for all those tiny road-wheels is, alas, a complicating issue for builders interested in portraying any of the 10 real Char 2C which were photographed wearing either no shields or only some of them.

It gets complicating as only a few marking options are provided - and I cannot personally say that all of the provided markings are for tanks with shields, etc.! The historically and accuracy-interested modeler will want to check and see whether his/her chosen markings are appropriate for this build, given as you will probably have to build with shields on unless you want to display it mired in weeds or mud or otherwise do something to hide the missing details!

For all of this huge fault, it is otherwise a VERY interesting kit and subject, and I'll maybe still buy one - and plan on doing a shielded individual (or maybe mud or weeds! )

Bob



I imagine that all of them had the shields at one point in their lives. You may just have to limit any dioramas or vignettes to reflect an earlier, pre-war time frame.

It is amazing though, with the quality of details they did put in the kit, that they skipped over the suspension like they did. Bad Meng! Bad!
afv_rob
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 07:50 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

On a side note, as alluded to, there is now an aftermarket barrel available for the main gun.



From which company?



Thanks for the heads up on the screens Bob!
afv_rob
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 08:01 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Nice review:

The noted very serious error by Meng in not providing any part of the suspension for all those tiny road-wheels is, alas, a complicating issue for builders interested in portraying any of the 10 real Char 2C which were photographed wearing either no shields or only some of them.

It gets complicating as only a few marking options are provided - and I cannot personally say that all of the provided markings are for tanks with shields, etc.! The historically and accuracy-interested modeler will want to check and see whether his/her chosen markings are appropriate for this build, given as you will probably have to build with shields on unless you want to display it mired in weeds or mud or otherwise do something to hide the missing details!

For all of this huge fault, it is otherwise a VERY interesting kit and subject, and I'll maybe still buy one - and plan on doing a shielded individual (or maybe mud or weeds! )

Bob




Pleased you liked the review Bob.

As a note on the shields:

No.93 'Alsace' appears in pre-war photos sans shields, hard to say whether fitted when mobilised as i've not found a decent shot of it on its rail bogie

No.97 'Normandie' seems to have the shields fitted on some pre-war photos, but they appear absent in photos of it wrecked on its rail bogie (despite the damage theres no evidence they were fitted at all).

No.90 'Poitou' not fitted on pre-war photos, again hard to tell whether fitted in 1940

I'm really hoping that someone comes out with a full set of markings for the remaining tanks, as i'd personally like to build No.95 'Touraine' which had the skirts fitted and was abandoned off its rail car so allows for some decent 1940 diorama potential, although it does have the rear trail fitted.
afv_rob
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 08:03 AM UTC
[/quote]



It is amazing though, with the quality of details they did put in the kit, that they skipped over the suspension like they did. Bad Meng! Bad! [/quote]

I would say the decision was perhaps intentional, had they wished to include the suspension this would have made for a much more complicated build and breakdown of parts. Theres no way they could have missed this detail from the available photos.
AFVFan
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 08:30 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I would say the decision was perhaps intentional, had they wished to include the suspension this would have made for a much more complicated build and breakdown of parts. Theres no way they could have missed this detail from the available photos.



I would say it was definitely intentional. As to why, it may well have been a cost factor and a desire to keep MSRP under $100. Only the bean counters know for sure!

On the screens, I found out the hard way. I managed to damage 3 of them before I realized what was going on.
C_JACQUEMONT
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Posted: Monday, January 27, 2014 - 09:56 PM UTC
Good review, thank you!

One small point : "the superb decal sheet provided by Cartograf" have the French flags printed the wrong way around, but I guess only French modellers would notice this kind of thing... That's not too difficult to correct, cutting with a sharp hobby knife and repositioning, but maybe worth a mention for the unwary?

I must say I didn't like that tank at all and didn't intend to buy the kit, but when I saw the model in the plastic, I changed my mind. It's now on my "to buy" list.

Cheers,

Christophe
afv_rob
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Posted: Tuesday, January 28, 2014 - 03:12 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Good review, thank you!

One small point : "the superb decal sheet provided by Cartograf" have the French flags printed the wrong way around, but I guess only French modellers would notice this kind of thing... That's not too difficult to correct, cutting with a sharp hobby knife and repositioning, but maybe worth a mention for the unwary?

I must say I didn't like that tank at all and didn't intend to buy the kit, but when I saw the model in the plastic, I changed my mind. It's now on my "to buy" list.

Cheers,

Christophe



Thanks for taking the time to comment Christophe, I'm glad you liked the review.

Re: the flag, thanks for the heads up, its such an obvious thing I thought they couldn't possible foul up that I didn't even check it. An easy thing to correct but odd the mistake was made at all.
AFVFan
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Posted: Tuesday, January 28, 2014 - 09:35 AM UTC
That is a useful bit of info Christophe. I hadn't looked at the decals, but I never would have caught the mistake. Thanks for the heads up.

AFVFan
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Posted: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 - 06:30 PM UTC
Two more build observations....

The upper screens are just as fragile as the smaller side ones and will not fit properly unless the attachment nubs are filed down completely.

The main gun mounting system was a bit of a PitA to fit. Really kind of surprising considering how well the rest of the kit is designed.
philmmusic
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Posted: Sunday, August 24, 2014 - 09:40 PM UTC
thanks to the review I now bought this kit and hope to be able to build it soon. with a watchful eye on the advices here.
TAFFY3
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Posted: Sunday, August 24, 2014 - 10:28 PM UTC
Niko, from Poland, makes a resin Trench Skid, or 'Tail', for this kit.



The openings in the side rails need to be opened (the piece on the right is shown with them cleaned up). A sharp blade and a file made short work of it. There was very little flash and it goes together well. Just study the instructions and you can see how everything fits together. The bottom plate also has some excess material to be removed from around the edges. A short dip in boiling water made it flexible enough to bend it to fit the curve. Take care to keep it straight, and the whole assembly square.



The instructions don't mention them, but the kit includes the mounting bolts and nuts. Much simpler than scratch-building one and an interesting addition to the kit. Al
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