Tamiya 35394 1/35 SCALE GERMAN TRACTOR RSO/01

第二次世界大戰期間，俄羅斯的深厚積雪與惡劣路面令德軍大為困擾，德軍為此開發的多用途牽引車即為RSO。這個在德語中意為「東部戰線用裝軌式牽引車」的車款，配備裝軌式足部與70匹馬力的空冷V型8氣缸引擎，雖為低速行駛，卻能不受路面條件限制而穩定前進。最初的生產型RSO/01，以壓製鋼板製成的圓潤座艙為其特徵，還可加裝雪地履帶以提升惡路通過性。

RSO/01的生產始於1942年10月，翌年春季起，為避免雪地履帶與車體互相干涉，陸續施以座艙底部墊高約30mm等改良，也可見到拆除排氣管消音器的車輛。RSO以東部戰線為中心，於大戰後期的廣闊戰域中，持續擔負起火砲牽引與物資運輸的重任。

During World War II, the German army, troubled by the deep snow and poor roads of Russia, developed the RSO as a multi-purpose tractor in response. This vehicle — its German name meaning “tracked tractor for the Eastern Front” — combined a fully tracked running gear with a 70 hp air-cooled V8 engine to travel steadily over almost any terrain, albeit at low speed. The first production type, the RSO/01, was distinguished by its rounded cabin of pressed steel, and could also be fitted with snow tracks to improve cross-country capability.

Production of the RSO/01 began in October 1942, and from the following spring a number of improvements were applied, such as raising the cabin floor by about 30 mm to avoid interference with the snow tracks; some vehicles were also seen with the exhaust silencer removed. Serving mainly on the Eastern Front, the RSO worked across the broad battlefields of the latter half of the war, towing guns and transporting supplies.