There is little doubt that one of the most welcome 'series' of vehicle kits in 1/35th scale were the KVs which started arriving a year or two ago amidst a great deal of critical acclaim. Now, the first of the HobbyBoss KVs are in production with many more to follow...

Before I begin the process of listing all the new releases, it's worth pausing for a minute and considering where we are regarding 1/48th scale. Tamiya, has done a generally good job in this scale with a prettty complete list, albeit not perhaps the most brilliant technically or the cheapest on the market. Now, when 1/48th scale was announced, my initial thoughts were that this was going to be little more than a niché market with little prospect of capturing either support from the AM companies or, more importantly the consumer. However, looking at the volume of new releases, my thoughts have changed somewhat. Out of curiousity, I bought a couple of the HobbyBoss T34s recently and frankly, they are extrordinary, not only for the low price, but also for the quality. However, much as I like the T34, I was curious to see if they could weave the same magic with their KVs. At the recent Nuremberg Trade Fair, I was able to see them up close and the verdict is simple - 1/48th has TRULY arrived....

HobbyBoss KV Series (1/48th Scale)

84810 - Russian KV1 (Model 1941) 'Small Turret' Tank

84811 - Russian KV1 'S' Ehkranami

84812 - Russian KV1 (Model 1942) 'Simplified Turret' Tank

84813 - Russian KV1 (Model 1942) 'Heavy Cast Turret' Tank

84814 - Russian KV1 (Model 1943) 'Lightweight Cast Turret' Tank

84815 - Russian KV2 (Model 1940) 'Big Turret' Tank

84816 - Russian KV2 (Production model)

84818 - German Pz. Kpfw KV1 756(r) Tank

84819 - Pz. Kpfw KV2 754(r) Taank

My thanks to the staff of HobbyBoss for their help in preparing this report.