Review - Battlefront R1 Light Cavalry Tank

History:
The R-1 was the Romanian designation for the AH-IV  that was used by several nations. The vehicle weighed 3.5 tons and was equipped with 2 machine guns. notable, one is mounted on the outside of the hull. Being that there was only 2 crew, the second machine was basically not used. In flames of war, the tank is only equipped with one machine gun.

The Romanians assigned the R-1 to the cavalry brigades - 2 platoons of 3 tankettes each. 18 of these fearsome monsters participated in operation Barbarossa but were all out of action by 1st October. Later 29 participated in the 1942 Case Blue operation. By 1943, the 13 remaining vehicles were relegated to the Cavalry training center.

Review:
Battlefront supply 3 R-1 vehicles in blister RO005. These retail for US$30. Here are the contents:

Blister contents.

The vehicles are a one piece resin mould without a base. The turret is a metal one piece cast with just a hatch and commander to glue.The final piece is the extra hull-mounted machine gun.

The hull was perfectly cast without imperfection. There was a little flash and some mould lines on the turret. The hull MG fit perfectly.  I am a little worried about the soft MG in the turret. I am not sure Battlefront could have done anything else with this short of brass rod.

Total assembly time 5 minutes.

The models are tiny but really nicely sculpted. Overall I give these models 9.5 out of 10.

In Game Terms
These little guys are recce and in Early War are only 70 points for 3. They are a cheap way to cover off on the virtually compulsory recce slot. They are rated as half track so they will move 12 inches cross country, 18 inches on a road but only 4 in slow or difficult going. So, stay in the clear.

They have an armour profile of 0-0-1. I glued the turret straight into the model as it doesn't matter in game terms which way the turret faces - the side and front armour is the same. With an armour rating of zero, these boys should be just used for roles like lifting gone to ground. They wont last long in a fight. They could be handy reaching for back objectives though, especially on a road.

Painting:
Quite simply these were a joy to paint. They are tiny but very well detailed. I think they came up well. This is the first unit I have painted for my new Romanian army. I am starting with early war. I cannot wait to get these onto the table.

Pictures: