¹⁄35

Soviet KV-1S Heavy Tank

the Build

Stage one is really two stages beginning with attachment of the two hull sides to the main hull component and then attaching the rear of the tank. This step went well with no real issues to contend with, the fit of the parts is good although you will need a few clamps when attaching the hull sides to get a good fit along its whole length. I did not use all of the photo etched parts listed in this step as I saw no real gain in doing so, I did however utilise the mesh and it is a good fit and easy to attach in the correct location. The two towing eye brackets on the rear of the tank are a very tight fit but don’t despair they will go in if you soften the plastic by applying glue to the rear of the location points.

Moving onto what I consider the second step in this first stage I started by adding the three parts of the upper hull. The front and the middle fitted well with no issues encountered but the rear panel does not match up with the rear of sides leaving a step on both sides above the rear vent. I made various attempts to rectify this problem but to no avail as it refused to line up with both the centre panel and the rear line, I do not believe that a step should be there and so I believe it needs to be built up and reshaped, this panel also has a gap between it and the middle panel you could ignore it as there is no light inside the vehicle or place a piece of plasticard under there to hide this problem.

The last parts to be fitted in this stage is the axles for the return rollers, the travel stops for the suspension arms, the two front towing brackets, and the eight engine deck lifting brackets. The suspension parts on this kit as with all of Trumpeters KV tanks is a joy to put together and has what I consider excellent detail. The front towing brackets are located within two defined circles on the front plate and you must get this right or the extra added armour which is placed at a later stage in the build will not fit. Lastly the eight lifting brackets for the engine deck are difficult to clean up due to their small size and can be easily lost. On this occasion I did not lose any but I have on other Trumpeter KV tank builds, and I believe I didn’t lose any this time because Trumpeter have provided eight spares in this kit.