Russian Tank Destroyer ISU-152 (Zvezda)

This is the Zvezda 3532 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Tank Destroyer ISU-152’.

Russian Tank Destroyer ISU-152

History

The ISU-152 marks its beginning on January 24, 1943. This was the moment of appearance of the first fighting vehicle of this family. It was designated Object 236 (Объект 236), using the same concept as the SU-152.

The Object 236 was completed in Factory No. 100 in Chelyabinsk, and on the same day, January 24, underwent trials on the Chebarkulski artillery range, 107 km from Chelyabinsk. By February 7, 1943 the trials were over, passed with success. On February 14 the vehicle was adopted and put on production under the KV-14 (КВ-14) designation.

In April 1943 was ordered KV-14 to be henceforth designated SU-152 (СУ-152). In time, the combat performance of SU-152, based on the KV-1S tank, made necessary the modernization of the vehicle, using the new IS tank as a base.

Source: Wikipedia

Manufacturer

Where I got it

Russian Heavy Self Propelled Gun, JSU-152 (Tamiya)

This is the Tamiya 35 303-4300 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Heavy Self Propelled Gun, JSU-152’.

Russian Heavy Self Propelled Gun, JSU-152

History

Beast Killer – In the latter half of WWII, in order to counter German tanks, the Russian army used the JS-2 heavy tank’s chassis to create the JSU-152 heavy self-propelled gun. It featured improved armor protection and a simple superstructure which housed a massive ML-20S 152mm howitzer.

They officially entered combat in the summer of 1944 during Operation Bagration, where Russian soldiers gave it the nickname Zveroboy (beast killer) due to its ability to destroy Tiger I and Panther tanks. The JSU-152 proved its effectiveness against both tanks and fortifications all the way to the Battle of Berlin and greatly contributed to the Russian victory.

Source: Tamiya website

Manufacturer

Where I got it

  • Hobbymesse 2012