Introduction

Detailing is something many of us are really obsessed with. Photo etched sets, metal tracks, turned barrels – all these things make our models look better and hopefully closer to real vehicle. Often the aftermarket solutions also fix issues when the styrene parts brake down is ugly and it takes too much time to make the plastic element look good and authentic. This is where resin solutions come to rescue – although they are often based on original kit parts they fix issues with parts alignment, filling gaps, sanding and so on; especially when it concerns elements that should be round in shape.

Review

Panzer Art from Poland are extending their range of products for fans of Soviet armour dramatically and I like their attention to details in their products. This particular set (RE35-128) is dedicated to one of the prominent features of Soviet tanks during WW2 – cylindrical external fuel drums. These are most often seen on T-34/76 mod. 1943, T-34/85, IS-2, SU-85 and SU-100.

Packed in ziploc plastic bag stapled to a cardboard backer there are 6 resin parts with remains of casting block and 1 PE fret with 12 parts for handles on the sides of the drums. The resin casting is excellent and drums have all necessary features – small weld seam (it’s thickness is varied on tanks from different factories from almost invisible to very prominent), drum lid with a base and location points for handles. It should be noted that the vertical walls of the drums were welded 1 cm inside of the edge of the drum itself and this element is also nicely replicated on Panzer Artoffering. Dimensionally the drums are 29 mm long and 10,5mm in diameter which makes perfect rendition of original 100,5 cm and 36cm respectively (Thanks to Igor Perepelitsa from Novokuznetzk for walk around images with measurements.

The handles that were welded to vertical walls come as PE part and these are nicely done and bend easily. Assembly is very straightforward – bend desired number of handles (2 per drum), remove left overs of casting blocks from drums, sand it a bit, attach handles with CA glue and then attach to your model.

When it comes to comparison with styrene parts (here with Dragon) you can see that the edges of fuel drums from Panzer Art are thinner and more realistic to scale as well as having better detail present on the lid. Also, there is no weld seam on the drum itself on the styrene parts.

Should you wish to make damage to resin drums this can be easily achieved with sanding tools, just be aware that you should have water on resin during sanding as resin dust is harmful to your lungs.
Altogether the set contains enough fuel drums for 1 or 2 tanks depending on how many you would like to put on your model. Priced at 7.3o euro these are worth getting.