Looking for something to do while on vaction and found some cheap kits made by Eastern Express. Looking at their WWII Russian stuff in 1/35th. Are these kits any good at all or should I just stay away and save money for something else? Still trying to find some Trumpeter or Mini-art stuff with out much luck. Any good source for these?

I have a sample of one -- the Zvezda BA-3 Armored Car, which is a re-pop of the Eastern Express kit.

It isn't all that bad. Reasonably detailed; fit isn't bad, although a few locator pins would have helped, a few instruction errors. No interior detail, but because it is based on the GAZ-AAA truck, the kit comes with all sorts of truck interior parts that could be used to kludge an armored car interior ... Rubber tires, yuck ... Both Eduard & Part are doing aftermarket for these kits & *may* be of use ...

Not beginners kits, but at the low price, if you find a vehicle of interest, it isn't a waste of money ...

IMHO,
John

I have build a single Eastern express kit. The BA-3. It was an ok kit. Had no major problems with it.
The instructions were a bit unclear, in some places. The doors and hatches didn't fit to well, but could easily be cut to fit. Since the plastic is quite soft, you need to be very careful, when cutting the kit parts. It's not vinyl soft, but softer than your average kit plastic.
All minor problems.
Have go at them. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

hey,
my son and i have built quite afew models by eastern express,for the most part they where fairly decent,afew problems with flash,detail could be abit better,biggest problem we had was with thier vinyl tracks,my son has built thier KV tanks,and the tracks are in four pieces and are very stiff and heavy looking,thier trucks are decent,the zis-fuel tanker was a good build,the zis-ambulance was also okay,but the zis-halftrack truck,gave our son a tuff time,in the area of the track suspension,boogie wheels,vinyl tracks for this are abit better than thier armour,but still are abit heavy(thick looking).
joe

Eastern Express kits are a mixed bag, since some kits are their own, while others were acquired from defunct companies. The BT light tanks are original toolings, and are quite nice, though the hulls are molded as flat assemblies rather than one-piece tubs like Tamiya, so you have to align everything carefully. Tracks are delicately molded styrene link and length. You will need a photoetch set for the characteristic grill on the engine deck (Eduard, among others).
Their BA series armored cars are not bad, but are missing one spare tire, and the side rivets are missing to facilitate removing the upper body part from the mold.
The ZIS-5 truck and halftrack kits are former Fort kits, and are a bit rougher to build with less detail. The modern Gaz-66 truck is also an orphan mold from a bankrupt company (and also turns up in Revell Germany boxes).
Eastern European kits are constantly reappearing in other companies' boxes, so it can be difficult to figure what you're getting.
If you want a treat, check out Miniart's brand-new T-70M kits. Big step up in tooling quality, and the grills are molded separately so a photoetch part is a simple drop fit if you want to add one.