1:35 German Pzkpfw.I Ausf.J (VK1601)

Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. J, that is the VK 1601, in 1:35 scale

A plastic kit of a German heavily armored light tank in 1:35 scale. Only a small number of these vehicles were built, so on the shelf among the usual German tanks it stands out by its subject alone.

The real subject

VK 1601 is the development designation of a machine that was based on the Panzer II line of light tanks but was given a completely different brief: it was to get close to the enemy, take hits while doing so and come back. It looked the part. The frontal armor was thickened to as much as eighty millimeters, a figure that at the time not even far heavier machines had. That, however, roughly doubled the weight compared with an ordinary Panzer II without a matching increase in power, so the vehicle was slow and ponderous.

The armament meanwhile stayed weak, a 20 millimeter cannon and a machine gun. Heavily armored but barely mobile and lightly armed, the machine never reached large-scale production and only a few examples ever got to the units.

Building and painting tips

• The parts are polystyrene and are bonded with liquid cement for plastic.
• Build the running gear according to the instructions and make sure that all the wheels sit down on the track.
• The heavy armor comes into its own after dark shading of the edges and light lightening of the surfaces.
• Keep the mud mainly on the lower hull; on the sides it looks overdone.

Who the kit is for

For collectors of German equipment of the Second World War who are missing exactly those machines that never reached large-scale production. The build is reasonable in scope and a modeler without much practice can manage it.

Paints, glue and surface finishing materials are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.