I ahve finished the KV 2 by Trumpeteer,which I started last Sunday.
So 6 days after I began,I am finished.If I keep this up,I can clean out my stash in 4 years...












It is the stock kit.I swapped out the rungs up the side of the turret with bent copper wire.
The track is the link and length,the kit also includes band style ones.The benefit of the link and length,is that the 1 piece upper run,has the sag molded in.
The kit goes together perfectly.There were no outrageous gaps anywhere.
I painted it with Model Master Soviet Armor Green,and gave it a dusty coat of Raw Sienna.


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Hi Carl,

Nice work! ;-)


vince

I think it could use some weathering with pastels, maybe a few sand washes to. Other than that, it looks like a great build. Somthing you should be proud of

Harrison,the weathering is very light,and easier to see in person in sunlight,should I mail the tank to you?

Fugly, simply fugly!

that one came out really well,i like it a lot.still havent got mine do. .you will only clean out your stash in four years when you stop buying too carl :-) keep up the good work.

greetings jeroen.

Thanks,the more I think about it,I will take some pictures outside in the sun.I see there is quite a difference between what I see with the naked eye,and with shows up on a page.
Now what to start tomorrow?

Hi, A super job on a super kit. Good work. I just started mine this morning and you can almost throw the glue bottle into the box and the kit almost builds itself. Found a very small amount of flash on a few things, but nothing a quick swipe with an emery board or hobby knite won't fix in quick order.

Been wondering about those tracks and if they go together as well and the rest of the kit has so far. Looks like they pretty much do. Can't wait for the other releases of the vehicle.

About the only thing that would be better is that they had released it in 1/16 instead of 1/35. Still haven't gotten over this company's T-34s. Oh well..... It is an outstanding kit.

Thanks for posting the pictures.

Take care, Sgirty

Nice looking KV-2. Keep up the good work...

Larry,the link and length tracks fit perfectly,no finagling at all.
I recomend using them.There were knockouts,if you find my oher thread,I show them on that thread.

a good-looking (ugly) tank you have there carl!
...from the posts, i gather that this is an excellent kit.

are you going to add any decals or further weathering? can any of the hatches be opened? are there any basic interiors?

ta.

Wow thats fast! I took 2 weeks to finish my sherman and i thought that was quick!

Hey Carl,

Pretty nice KV-2 you've got there!! What's your overall opinion on this particular kit? I ask this because I'll get this kit for my birthday, from my daughter.
Since this is the very first kit she buys me, I want to make something special of it....So if you have any tips&tricks regarding this kit, I would be much obliged!!

Thanx in advance, John.

Hmmm,my review of the kit:

Part molding: Very good/exellent.No flash on mine,and the track knockouts aren't bad enough to detract.

Fit of parts.Exellent.There were no warped pieces,and evrything fit tightly.I didnt use any filler,

Clarity of instructions: exellent.

There are decals ,but I didn;t use any markings,since my photo's in a Concord book about Stalin's heavy tanks didn't show many.

It would make a simple 4 -5 day build OOB
The hatches have interior detail (operating handle) so when an interior comes out,that bit of detailing is done.


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Very nice build, for an ugly yet fasinating tank. Will it be going in a dio. It would look good running over a German PAK gun :-)

Nice looking KV-2 kit Carl ! Looks like its ready to parade in front of Iosef Stalin himself.....lol

Better kit then the original Tamiya KV-2 right ?

Not bad for a weekend project

Cheers !!

Alpen

I never built the Tamiya one.I will have to check my stash list to see if I even bought one.
Dragons / Trumpeteers output of kits are making the old tamiyas fairly antiquated.I now have many old Tamiya SdKfz's which have been done better by Dragon
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Fine looking KV2, Carl.

I have a Tamiya KV1 which I plan to build. The tracks on the Tamiya kit is horrible. If I'm not wrong, the Trumpeter comes with 2 sets of tracks (individual link and vinyl). Anyone knows if I can fit this to the Tamiya kit?

Cheers

Very good work!

i like how it ended!

Mirko

Adrian,yes it comes with band style track,and link and length.I used the Link and length on mine,and might use the extras on a Eastern Express KV 85 which I have. (++) (++)

I succumbed to temptation and bought myself a trumpeter KV-2 kit. The rubber tracks are slightly wider and looser than the Tamiya ones but should fit with a bit of work.

I plan to build the Tamiya kit first (gotta brush up on my skills after the long layoff) and scavenge extra/optional parts from the Trumpeter kit.

TankCarl, I noticed that there are 2 pairs of 'hooks' (used to fasten the tow cables to the side of the chassis). These can be found on sprues D (bottom right corner of pix) and H ( to the right of the hatch cover). Are both of these pairs used in the kit or can I scavenge one set for the Tamiya kit? (I read through the instructions and can only find reference to the parts on sprue H).

If you like to see a build-up KV-2 with German markings or get some info on the Tamiya KV-2 kit, do join us for the Malaysian SnT. Details are here.

We have members here to help you. Just let us know.

Having both the (elderly/inaccurate) Tamiya kit and the two Trumpeter kits I could get ('Small Turret' and KV2) i'd like to add the following comments... There is no need to replace the side hooks on the Trump one whatsoever, they are the correct shape and scale out very nicely indeed. What I would suggest is the following, if you have both, dump the Tamiya one. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would seriously buy the Tamiya KV in favor of the Tumpeter ones.

Regarding, the building of the German KV II, the additions are reasonably simple - Pz 3 (or early Pz 4) cupolas, new lights, Notek light and a scratchbuilt ammo rack on the rear:



The real pity, is that Mig Productions produced an accurate update set for the German KV 2 just a few months before Trumpeter:

Sturm Pz.Kpf.Wg. KV II 754 r

Effectively, the only game in town in KVs is Trumpeter - both the the Eastern Express and Tamiya kits are totally inadequate nowadays. When I did the build-review of Trump's KV, I was sorely tempted to actually do a comparison article at the same time, but the difference is so immense, it eemed like a pointless exercise. The full (BUILD) review of the Trumpeter kit can be seen:

KV1 (Model 1942) Simplified Turret Tank

Finally, although the Trump KVs are superb, some reference material is definitely needed, in the coming weeks I will be putting together a feature on the KV along with a number of (easily obtainable) reference sources..Jim

Hi Carl. Nice clean build and finish. Although my personnal taste would like a bit more weathering, it looks great. Its great to see a quick build, and your mini-review really makes this an attractive purchase.
Im particularily impressed with the tracks and fit. Trumpeter have led the way again with link and length, adding sag into the top run. Anybody who has been afraid to try indy tracks, or tried and didnt like them, should give this a go.