COBI Renault R-35 Set 2719

COBI's Renault R-35 is a 1:48 model built from 258 blocks, 9 cm long, with working tracks, a rotating turret and printed markings for both Polish and French service. Brick scenery is included — a section of fence, a tree and vegetation.

One man, four jobs

The R-35's turret held one person, and that person was the tank commander. He had to watch the battlefield, find targets, decide what to do, aim the gun, load it, fire it, and at the same time direct the driver.

French doctrine accepted this because tanks were seen as infantry support: they would advance at walking pace alongside foot soldiers, and nobody would need to react quickly. German tanks of the same period had three men in the turret — commander, gunner, loader — so the commander could keep his head out and think while somebody else worked the gun.

In May 1940 that difference mattered more than armour thickness. The R-35 was better protected than most German tanks it met and lost anyway, because a tank whose commander is loading a shell is a tank that is not looking where it is going.

Poland's R-35s

Poland ordered a hundred from France and took delivery of about fifty in July 1939. They fought in September; some were evacuated to Romania and Hungary as the campaign collapsed, and the second batch never arrived.

Specifications

Pieces: 258 · Scale: 1:48 · Polish and French markings included
Model dimensions: 9 × 5.5 cm (3.5 × 2.2 in)