The upgraded modèle 1937 R was licensed by Romania, while an armed version
was exported to China.
I've seen several sources describe the machine gun on the armed version as being a 7.7mm MAC model 1936, but I can find no evidence that such a gun exists (though I don't claim to have much knowledge of French machine guns).
On the other hand, Tankomaster (issue 5, 2004), and some Chinese language sources identify the gun as the 7.5mm MAC mitrailleuse modèle 1931.
Make of that what you will, but all kinds of mistakes are propagated on the Interwebz because people only look at information from one source and pass it on at face value.
S-Model makes a very nice quick build version of this vehicle in 1/72 scale, but identifies the machine gun as the 7.92mm Hotchkiss modèle MH5.
The kit contains two identical models of two sprues each. The larger sprue
is probably the same as the one for their regular Chenillette UE,
except the part for the upper hull has been removed.
The smaller sprue
contains a modified upper hull with casemate, and the MH5 heavy barrel which looks pretty much like what is shown in photos of the actual vehicle. Of the 21
parts, 18 are used in the model.
Nationalist Chinese markings are also included.
I needed to do some sanding and filling to remove ejection marks on
parts A4 and A7. I filled in the hollow portions of parts A10 and
A11 that would be visible after assembly.
I also had to file down the attachment points for parts A10 and A12 so
that they would fit easier, but you could also just make the corresponding
sockets larger.
The built up model is tiny, and unfortunately the machine gun on my model was lost to the carpet monster.
I'm currently trying to decide on how to paint this model. The two-color scheme on the box art has been widely used by modelers, but I've also found a color scheme in the Illustrated Guide to Chinese Tanks of the Sino-Japanese War (抗日战争中国军队坦克装甲车辆图鉴) that is similar to a four-color Solomon pattern camouflage scheme.
I'm personally leaning toward a three-color pattern, but I'll have to make the
final decision after I create a new machine gun for the model.
2 comments:
I'm in the same boat with you on French machine guns, but in my experience a lot of rifle-caliber machine guns will either fit in the same cradle or have an adapter kit available to fit in another gun's cradle. They're meant to be taken out of the vehicle for disassembly and cleaning, so infantry sized guns normally only attach with a couple of pins.
Hi KWolf,
Point taken that the chenillette could have been armed with any number of MGs. However, unless someone can point me to a source, I can't find any evidence that MAC ever made a 7.7mm gun.
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