Railway track (1435 mm,6000 mm) Full Kit
In the occupied territories of the USSR
Item: ARM35025
Scale: 1/35
Media: Resin, gravel, coal

Introduction

During WW2 Germany had to re-gauge wider Soviet railroad track to accept Nazi rolling stock. This length of re-gauged track is part of Project Armor35, an endeavor from Russia to create accurate 1/35 German and Soviet railway track of the Great Patriotic War.

Railroad modeling is being fortified with an ever expanding selection of models in the dominate military scale of 1/35. The Project Armor35 is an endeavor from Russia to create accurate 1/35 German and Soviet railway track circa the Great Patriotic War. Armor35 produces track and rail spikes in resin, wooden and resin sleepers (crossties), scale sand and stone ballast, coal, and now figures.

While there is not currently a 'model rail scale' for 1/35, it is very close to No. 1 Scale (also referred to as Gauge 1, Gauge One, 3/8", etc.) of 1/32. Regardless, it does afford some crossover to electric model railroading.

Currently Armor35 offers 20 1/35 models and accessories, including two figures. Resin, wood, and other natural materials are used to create these authentic products.

Railway Track

Full Kit - In the occupied territories of the USSR:

This model track is of Soviet 5-foot track re-gauged to 4-foot 8.5-inches for Nazi rolling stock. What makes this model unique is the re-gauged track is asymmetric on the sleepers: to re-gauge the track one rail was unspiked and the rail was moved over to the new gauge. This leaves an impression of the outside tie plate and hole from the spike in each tie. Armor 35 faithfully reproduced this characteristic of re-gauged track.

Your track is packaged in a zip-lock bag with smaller baggies of accessories. The bags are held in a cardboard one-piece top hinge self-locking box. Armor35 sandwiches the pieces between bubble wrap, providing good protection. The box features a photograph of the product.

The main component is a length of resin track on a rectangular resin base. This surprised me as the website and box refers to this product as a kit, and I thought I would have scores of parts to attach to each other. Additional components are a small sampler of sand and stone ballast, and coal.

The length of track is attached to the tie plates (crutches) on crossties (sleepers). The sleepers appear to be cast onto the plain base. The base is slightly concave underneath.

Measuring 6.75 inches long the track model is a scale 6000 mm / 19-feet 8-inches long. The gauge is 1435 mm / 4-foot 8.5-inch ("standard gauge"). I measured the gauge and it is 41 mm, which is almost spot-on for 4-foot 8.5-inch in 1/35.

Armor35 casting is crisp. There are no air bubbles or other flaws in the resin. The only flash I found was around the edge of the concave base. Each rail side have rail joining fishplates (also known as a splice bar or joint bar) attached. The fishplates are sharply cast with bolt detail and flanges that straddle each tie.

Detail:
Crisp scale bolt and nut detail is molded on the fishplates.

The rail is seated on double shoulder tie plates (crutch) on the sleepers. Track spikes (nails) are molded into the crutches / plates, two inside and one outside the rail. All plates and nails are to scale and crisply cast.

Sleepers have beveled edges and show faint wood grain on the tops; the ends lack detail. Small packs of ballast and coal are included (Armor35 ballast has also been reviewed on this site). With the longer section of track there was not enough to completely ballast the track.

Conclusion

This is an impressive length of model track. The casting is high-quality, sharp and crisp, without air bubbles. The flash is minor. Detail is great. I also appreciate the packs of ballast and coal although it does not seem like enough to detail the track.

If I could suggest two things it would be a brief discussion of rail and sleeper coloring, and perhaps a basic outline of roadbed profile for those who want to put this track on a diorama.

This track is very good and I happily recommend it.