The German Army set up a special program to get captured tanks (Beute-Panzer) back into service. A 1941 initiative directed a flamethrower to be installed on the French Char B1 bis. The conversion replaced the 75mm main gun with a flame thrower while the turret retained the 45mm gun.
I really like the looks of the French Char B2 but have no interest in painting the complex French paint schemes. Beute-Panzer to the rescue! It doesn’t get much easier than Panzer Grey. This build uses the excellent Tamiya Char B2 bis with the Blast Models resin conversion. There are a few details missing from the Tamiya kit and the Blast conversion has some accuracy and molding issues. I also used the Eduard PE set which is especially helpful for the exhaust details.
The build so far.
The Tamiya kit is easy peasy. If I had stuck with the basic kit I would be done by now. I added the missing run of bolts along the top run of the side sponsons. I didn’t have the correct bullet proof bolts but this is a minor going to be hidden by dirt and muck. The turret is complete except I need to plink off the sight vane as the one B2 (Flamm) does not have this. Some of the Blast parts are poorly cast or have too much shrink to properly fit. The resin set came with a gorgeous converted copula with interior details but was so undersized it wasn’t useable. I used a spare DEF models copula and added the missing screw heads. A few missing details were also added to the main turret.
There is still a ways to go.
