After the defeat of the German Army in WW1 which led to the dismantlement of the armed forces, Germany's military were bereft of any weapons to wage any more wars. This was the idea behind the victorious Allies crippling and scrapping of post armistice Germany's war industry. However-the Krupp steelworks, a major supplier to Germany's armies,(as well as many other countries) of its then revolutionary steel barreled artillery and cannon , was not silenced completely. It merely retooled the untouched shops for fabricating inoffensive and benign items for the general public. Later in the 20's the manufacturing of railway steel wheels and the tracks to roll them on, plus the massive locomotives to pull the cars, generated astronomical amounts of revenue for Die Firma. With the economic and social ties that Krupp had to the old Imperial Germany and the ability to remain close to the major figures of power in a new and rebuilding Fatherland, Krupp was able to continue in secret with the powers that be, research and development of weaponry. With the slow and cunningly staged rearming of the German forces under Hitler in the 1930's, Krupp still had retained the technical people and designers, as well as machinery to start down a new road upon which the notorious Panzerkampfwagen would rumble to infamy. While the world in general will easily recognize the name of the notorious Tiger tank, the beginning of the fascinating journey which would lead to 60 ton behemoth began in 1934 with a Lilliputian, twin machine gun toting Panzerkampfwagen I. From this humble beginning the German Panzer Divisions would germinate and grow into one of major components upon which Hitler's Blitzkrieg would rely.
I have always been interested in the less popular (and therefore, unhappily, unavailable in injection plastic), tanks of the early war years so it is only natural for me to have another go with this excellent kit from Tristar. I had attempted to build the Historic Panzer Ia but its sitting in a box on the "Shelf of Shame"- probably never to be finished. This time, going all out with the interior details as well as outer details I'm learning a great deal about the history and development of Germany's Panzer forces of WW2. |
