Tristar's 1/35 scale Panzer I Ausf. A is a beautifully detailed kit straight from the box (see Brett Green's Construction Feature), but this new Hong Kong company has also released an amazing interior detail set for their premiere tank release.

Tristar's 1/35 scale Panzer Ia Interior Set is presented exclusively in resin. More than 60 parts are packed into the stout box. All the parts in my sample were perfectly cast, although the rear deck had warped slightly.

Every aspect of the vehicle interior is covered, including the drivers compartment and transmission, detailed floor and sidewalls for the main fighting compartment, machine guns, sight and other turret details, a full engine compartment and replacement decks with open hatches for the forward upper hull and engine deck.

Detail is breathtaking. I will let the photos of the model tell the whole story of just how good this set is.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The resin parts in the interior set do not unnecessarily duplicate plastic kit parts. The only parts that appear in resin and plastic are the rear engine deck and front upper plate, both of which are enhanced with open hatch positions and interior detail.

Construction was fairly straightforward. After removal from their casting blocks, all the parts fitted well without further modification.

I also used the Lion Roar photo-etched set. This supplies extensive exterior detailing which compliments the Tristar resin interior very nicely.

The Lion Roar photo etched set included two of the small attachment points for the front fenders, but four are required. I therefore used the kit plastic parts.

In all, I used around 60-70% of the photo-etched sheet and virtually all of the resin parts. The only resin part not used was the covering vent for the rear radiator, as my resin version was damaged. The kit part was nice anyway, so I cut it out of the styrene engine deck.