![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
You may be familiar with the St. Chamond tank, that huge lumbering French beast of a WW1 tank with a 75mm gun sticking out at the front. 400 were built in 1916-1918 by the Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécourt, better known as Saint-Chamond, the city where it was located. For simplicity's sake, their tank was named the same.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/vOwDKEs.jpg)
The French had adopted the Schneider CA1 tank in 1915, but Schneider was not interested in allowing a competitor to build their design, so Saint-Chamond came up with their own tank. The result weighted 23 tonnes, had a maximum armour of 13mm and a sophisticated gasoline-electric drive system powering a slightly lenghtened Holt tractor suspension. It was also completely ill-suited for the cratered battlefields of the Great War.
Depending on your definition three to five sub-versions were built, with some differences in armour layout and the type of 75mm gun used. Late in the war they saw some limited success when used in what would later become assault artillery. In a certain way this is the ancestor of the famous Sturmgeschütz.
However, when the overall flaws became apparent, a number of early models were converted to unarmed armoured transports and recovery vehicles, called the Char Caisson. And that's exactly what I'm going to build.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/iHBZtbV.jpg)
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/ZOKAEhg.jpg)
I'll be using the Hobby Boss kit. Takom also released one, but this one is a fair bit cheaper.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/ngEzLmA.jpg)
I also have the late version kit. If time and circumstances permits I might do that one as well...
BUT - It's getting a little late right now so I'll start tomorrow.
![Embarrassed :oops:](./images/smilies/icon_redface.gif)
Philipp