Is this kit worth the powder to blow it to hell? Only other ZIS 2 I know of is the Miniart one but you can not get just the gun,

Can't really say but last kit I built from them say 2000, I got it together, but I had to add a lot of my own stuff. Hit and Miss , unless they have changed in the 17 odd years.

You can get the gun and crew by themselves, hardly an extravagance or price driver. Additionally, the MiniArt Zis-3 76mm is the same kit and many of the releases have the 57mm parts, like this:



Note the greyed-out 57mm shield and gun tube on the right hand A sprue.

Both of these kits have been issued a number of times with crew, vehicles, and bases, with varying prices and desirability. If you shop around you can usually find one or the other (57mm or 76mm) versions cheaply. Once you do, check MiniArt's site or one of the online hobby shops to see if it has the Zis-2 parts.

I would not bother with the Maquette kit. BTW, both Mirror Models and Hobby Boss have issued ZiS-30 kits that have the whole ZiS-2 upper carriage and gun.

KL