"TKW" - the Polish tankette - prototype

The tankette "TKW" was built on the basis of the tankette "TK-3", which is indicated by the first two letters of the marking, and the letter "W", indicates that it was a combat vehicle with a turret (Polish: tower - "wieza"). In this tankette, the constructors slightly changed the chassis design, installed a rotating tower with a Wz. 30 machine gun and a stationary driver's turret with a rotating driver's periscope, designed by R. Gundlach. It was possible to enter the installed tower through the rear access hatch, the tower was riveted from 20 mm thick armor sheets, which perfectly protected the commander of the machine - the gunner. The turret did not rotate 360 degrees, because the driver's turret was in the way. During the tests, many errors and problems were revealed, such as an incorrectly positioned center of gravity, no way for crew members to communicate with each other, and a tight rotating tower. All these problems led to the tankette not being serially produced. The model represents a “TKW” tankette with a prototype turret of a later period, which was later used in the PZInž 130 tank project. A later period 7.92 caliber Hotchkiss Wz. 25 machine gun is also installed in the turret.

The model is not complicated, but gluing requires a lot of patience and attention due to the large number of small details. A simpler and more complex version is planned. Beginners and less experienced modelers should not have many problems with this tankette, especially if they work under the supervision of a more experienced modeler.