SKIF from the Ukraine
makes four versions of the Soviet T26 light tank. This is the T26-1, and
has parts for two different hull versions. Introduced in 1939, it carries
an improved turret compared to the earlier version. The paint scheme of
white with blue geometric stripes represents a vehicle on the Moscow front
in 1941. The kit includes well diagramed instructions and a set of decals
for several versions.
The kit comes with lots of small parts and a set of brass photo-etched pieces. Personally, I feel the kit is overly complex: for example, each of the four main suspension assemblies has 15 components. Fewer parts would have been just fine...I had trouble getting all the small pieces to line up straight and level (I wonder if the kit is a scaled down version of a 1/35 model). Interesting are the one-piece flexible tracks. They are loop-shaped parts that do not need to have their ends joined, which is nice. But the detail is simplified, so I suspect most modelers would prefer sectioned plastic tracks.
The turret also did not have enough detail, i.e. pistol ports and rivets were missing (I scribed in a pair of ports on the turret side).
A lot of modelers like photo-etched parts. I have not yet warmed up to them. They are difficult to cut from the sprue, more difficult to file down, and often too flat for the part they represent. Also, they often need to be shaped into the right configuration. A lot of work! I guess I just prefer plastic. But for those of you who really like to fidget with a lot of parts and are accustomed to scratchbuilding, I guess photo-etches are acceptable.
In 1943, the new 85mm gun, which had proven itself in the T34, was used
to upgrade the armament of the KV-I tank. Mounted in a new turret, the result
was the KV-85 heavy tank; which was actually able to take on the German
Tiger tank on almost equal terms.
A number of resin kit producers have modelled this vehicle. Mine is the OSTMODELS 1/76 scale version, which was a nice clean kit.
NOTE: PST makes a plastic-injection model of the KV-85.
An evolution of the T40 and T60 light tank designs, the T70 was an up-armoured and up-gunned vehicle designed to cope with German armour. Production ran from 1942 to 1943, reaching a total of 8,000. It saw service with reconnaisance battalions until light tanks were generally withdrawn from duty before the end of the war.
This 1/76 resin kit comes from US CASTS and turned out to be a nice little addition to the collection.
NOTE: A new company called UniModel makes a plastic injection model of the T70.
The successor of the KV series of heavy
tanks was the Iosef Stalin line. The first version (seen here) was armed
with an 85mm gun, and was a total redesign when compared to the KV85. Designated
IS-1 or IS-85, only about 100 were produced. The IS-1 tanks were eventually
uparmed with a 100mm gun, and finally with a 122mm cannon. In the final
configuration the tanks were designated IS-2 or IS-122, or even still as
IS-1. The kit is a 1/72 scale injection model from PST Models; although
an interesting vehicle, it may be of limited historical interest. The IS-1
with the 85mm gun may not have seen much combat action.
The kit was actually quite a chore to assemble; the parts were held onto the sprues by many thick attachment points, so there was a lot of cutting and trimming involved. Also, many parts just did not fit together as well as I would have liked. The decals are very thin, which allows them to really snuggle onto the kit surface; however, they are also susceptible to crumpling up. So be careful when sliding the decals off the sheet onto the model. The tracks are individual pieces, and mounting them can be quite a fidgetfest. Note that the teeth on the drive sprockets are not evenly spaced; the teeth feeding into the tracks are a bit wider apart, so assemble the port and starboard parts appropriately. The kit comes with lots of spare parts; PST makes several similar kits of other IS variants....
...and here's another one. PST has an interesting method for packaging their kits. I received one as a donation from museum visitor Brent Koller (thanks!). While the box art and instructions only indicate the IS2m (the last version of the IS2 tanks armed with the 122mm gun, and the version that I built), all the parts necessary to build either the IS1, IS2, or IS2m are included. The crewman is in metal from Skytrex.
PST kits do require a bit of cleanup and fitting work, but result in very nice models! there were enough of the plastic link&length track parts to work in some track sag.