The 1930s were a time of great innovation for the French army. They sought to take the lessons learned from the Great War and apply them using modern technology. This meant an upgrade for the French Armored Corps. Many French companies submitted tank designs, but the Peugeot design stood head-and-shoulders above all others due to its great size. Such a menacing machine seemed perfect to defend France.
The new tank featured four 7.5 m.m. machine guns mounted in side sponsons along with a 37 m.m. cannon in a turret on top. This was a great advance as France had no heavy tanks with turret-mounted cannon at the time.
It was thought the new heavy Peugeot tank would be the ideal weapon for stopping both enemy armor and infantry in its tracks.
Unfortunately, turret-mounted guns were not yet a mature technology. The Peugeot company had trouble finding the right lubricant for the turret. While they eventually found a workable solution, the new lubricant had a distinct odor that many compared to an unclean cat box. Thus the new tank was given its unofficial nickname of "Merde de Chat".
While tank crews eventually got used to the smell, the rest of the French army never did and troops ran away fast when the Merde de Chat approached. This caused problems attempting to coordinate armor and infantry during maneuvers.
This spelled doom for the Peugeot heavy tank prototype. All further work was abandoned and today all that's left is this design model, found in the men's room of a derelict Peugeot factory in Mal Odeur, France.
This modeling mis-adventure started innocently enough with Airfix's magnificent 1/76 scale W.W. I Female tank. The box art is a classic, and seeing this tank in action certainly stirs the blood:
Of course, there was no way mine was going to look like that by the time I was done. This kit may be marked a Skill Level 1, but I think it's more like a 9. I was hoping for something easy, but those clowns at Airfix fooled me again!
Right off the bat, I knew this tank needed a turret. Fortunately, Airfix's Grant/Lee tank comes with a spare which I swiped for this build.
I started by reversing the upper part of the chassis and bending the end a little so it would fit.
Then I covered over the holes with cardstock and stuck the ring from an orange-juice carton pull tab on top of one of the kit's big rear wagon wheels. On top of the ring went the turret.
I extended the roof with more card and added the square cupola meant for the top to the front.
The model was brush-painted by hand with acrylics. I was worried about the tracks, but dry-brushing a little steel-colored paint over them seems to have helped. The decals came from my stash and I used railroad markings for everything but the roundels.
This is the first tank I've built since I was about 10 years old. Challenges aside, I had a lot of fun with it and I especially liked the small scale which seemed easier than the typical larger scale Tiger tank I built as a lad.
I'm beginning to see how AFVs can be addictive and fair warning, I've got three more tank kits in the pile!
Brian da Basher
