Sunday, November 10

A French beast to put the FT “in the corner” – Takom’s new St. Charmond heavy assault tank in 1/35th..

Only available previously in 35th scale in (pretty expensive) resin kit – Takom have announced their second 1/35 scale kit and it is another monster from WWI – the French Heavy St.Chamond Assault Tank

New from Takom…


1/35th scale
Kit includes 1 figure

For those unfamiliar with the French made St. Charmond heavy Assault tank it was a WWI era vehicle that dwarfed the better known French FT tank and it carried the biggest gun of any tank in that war.

For it’s 23 ton weight the tank’s holt running gear was too short and the engine to puny to make this as effective as other smaller tanks with better power to weight.
The frontal part of the hull, housing the gun, was too heavy, and tests showed it had a tendency to sink nose first into the mud. They were not liked by their crews and the noise, hot environment, smells and toxic poisoning weren't sufficient enough, the crews experienced sea sickness after prolonged, rough rides - is that why they are riding on top in this picture?
The sole survivor was actually in a US ordnance museum, part of the tanks provided to the US forces in 1917. It was donated back to France, and is on display now in the Saumur museum (Musee des Blindes) as a static model.
Saint Chamond specifications
Dimensions 8.9 x 2.70 x 2.40 m (29.2x8.86x7.87 ft)
Total weight: battle ready 23 tons
Crew: 9
Propulsion: Panhard Levassor 4 cyl petrol, 90 hp (67 kW) Speed 12 km/h (8 mph)
Range on/off road 60/30 km (37.3/18.6 mi)
Armament: Schneider 75 mm (2.95 in) gun 4xHotchkiss M1914 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns
Armor:11-19 mm (0.43-0.75 in)
Total production 400

This kit features tracks that are made to move and flex like the real items, a crew member in 35th scale with a mesh helmet and two different markings. Takom had help from Mr.Paul Le Goff as a technical advisor - 



The kit should be released at the end of November.