Modeller Build Logs

PzKpfw I Ausf. F

This has been a fun little kit to build. Since there isn't a lot of information on this particular tank I was not so constrained to get every little rivet correct and I could concentrate on some different techniques of building and weathering the vehicle. There were only 30 of these tanks made from April through December of 1942. They were first given to the 1st Panzer Division and then sent to the Eastern front. At first reading that Ausf. Fs were made in 1942 I pre-painted the vehicle in panzer gray. According to what little reference there is available the little panzers were in the field after February 1943 thus must have been panzer yellow and camouflaged. You will see that there is a mixture of colors, the kit light gray, pre-painting of panzer gray and also panzer yellow. I like to pre-paint several parts as I go along (especially interwoven wheels like on German armor), wash and drybrush prior to some assembles just because the airbrush won't get into those tight spaces. This kit is by Alan. Some areas the detail appears soft and as on many of there kits some work on the underside of the fenders is needed to get the tracks to fit. The plastic on this kit is peculiar in that it is excessively soft yet prone to crack easy. Strange! Overall it looks right. While building it made me wonder how such a complex and expensive yet impotent vehicle could have put it into production.