Although Hitler did not provide large numbers of German troops to aid Franco during the Spanish Civil War, he did provide much technical assistance that was invaluable. Part of that was the provision of tanks (with instructors), including the PzKpfW-1 included in this set. This tank was the first armoured vehicle Germany produced (secretly) after having all such vehicles banned by the Treaty of Versailles, and in many ways it was a training exercise in the necessary production techniques, and a teaching device in tank tactics, rather than a formidable battlefield weapon. Armed with two 7.92mm machine guns and only lightly armoured, its effectiveness was minimal against forces armed with anti-tank weapons, but it was adequate during the civil war, and in total about 75 tanks of this type were sent to the Nationalists.

We do not usually include tanks on this site, mainly because our knowledge of these is limited, but as this is part of the BUM SCW range we have covered it here. The tank is a hard plastic kit made under licence, and was originally a Fujimi kit. The kit is well made and fits together easily using the adequate instructions. Despite the set name, however, this model depicts the model 1b and not the 1a, although both were used in the civil war. The model seems accurate (for a type b) and therefore does the job well. A sheet of decals is also included.

As with tanks, so metal figures will not be a regular feature of this site. The tank kit includes one plastic figure, and BUM have also included two metal figures. All wear German tank crew uniforms, which are not ideal for depicting Spanish Nationalist crews (the Germans generally trained the Spanish rather than going into battle themselves). The plastic figure is a mere 21mm tall, which is because both he and the tank were created in 1/76 scale. The two metal crew, who tower over their comrade, are both 25mm tall, which means they do not comfortably match the scale of the tank. The standard of sculpting is about the norm for metal figures.

So, a fine but slightly undersized tank with a mismatched crew. Still this set does depict an important component of the very complicated forces employed during the civil war.