Category Archives: Kits, Missing

Russian 2S7M Self-Propelled Gun (Trumpeter)

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This is the Trumpeter 05592 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian 2S7M Self-Propelled Gun’.

Soviet 2S7M Self-Propelled Gun

The 2S7 Pion (“peony”) or Malka is a Soviet self-propelled gun. “2S7” is its GRAU designation.

It was identified for the first time in 1975 in the Soviet army and so was called M-1975 by NATO (the 2S4 Tyulpan also received the M-1975 designation), whereas its official designation is SO-203 (2S7). Its design is based on a T-80 chassis carrying an externally mounted 2A44 203 mm gun on the hull rear.

      It carries 4 203 mm projectiles for immediate use while the remainder is carried by another vehicle and it is capable of firing nuclear ammunition of the same caliber. The gun has a range of 37,500 m but the range can be extended to 55,500 m by using RAPs (Rocket Assisted Projectiles). The Pion has also been the most powerful conventional artillery piece since entering service in 1983.

Source: Trumpeter website

Manufacturer

German 128mm PaK 44, Krupp (Trumpeter)

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This is the Trumpeter 02317 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German 128mm PaK 44’.

German 128mm PaK 44 (Krupp)

The 12.8 cm Pak 44, (Panzerabwehrkanone) was a German anti-tank gun used during World War II.

It was designed as a result of experiences on the Eastern front in 1943. The German army had encountered the Russian 122 mm guns and had issued a requirement for a similar weapon.

Development initially concentrated on a field gun known as the Kanone K 44. However once heavier Russian armour such as the IS-2 started to appear the design requirements were altered to include an anti-armour role.

Source: Trumpeter website

Manufacturer

German 128mm PaK 44, Rheinmetall (Trumpeter)

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This is the Trumpeter 02312 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German 128mm PaK 44’.

German 128mm PaK 44

The Rheinmetall 12.8cm K44 L/55 was a German anti-tank gun used during World War II. It was designed as a result of experiences on the Eastern front in 1943.

The German army had encountered the Russian 122 mm guns and had issued a requirement for a similar weapon. The first prototype guns were delivered for testing in late 1944.

After initial tests the Rheinmetall design was dropped and development continued with the Krupp design. However the service tests showed that a towed anti-tank gun weighing nearly 11 tonnes was impractical so the towed design was terminated.

Source: Trumpeter website

Manufacturer

German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. F (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 374-4000 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. F’.

German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. F

History

In service throughout WWII, the Pz.Kpfw.IV was a durable servant to the German Army.

The Ausf. F was the last variant to utilize a short-barreled gun: the L/24 7.5cm KwK37, and was also equipped with wider tracks to cope with the increasing thicknesses of armor.

470 Ausf. F Pz.Kpfw.IVs were manufactured between May 1941 and February 1942, mainly seeing action on the Eastern Front and in North Africa and taking on enemy armor such as the Soviet KV tanks and the British Matilda.

Source: Tamiya website

Manufacturer

Where I got it

Russian Heavy Tank KV-2 (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 375 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Heavy Tank KV-2’.

Russian Heavy Tank KV-2

History

In December 1939 the KV-1 was officially adopted by the Soviet military; it was followed by the KV-2, a heavier design based upon the KV-1 chassis, but upgunned to a 152mm howitzer with the intention of breaking enemy strongholds.

In order to accommodate the larger gun, the KV-2 was given a remarkably tall turret. Around two hundred were produced, and supply to the military began in July 1940.

The following June, Nazi Germany invaded and the KV-2 – while suffering a number of breakdowns – took part in Soviet resistance against the invaders, their 152mm guns and impressive survivability enabling some amazing feats, helping stem the tide.

Source: Tamiya website

Manufacturer

German Brummbär (Late production) (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 353 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Brummbär (Late production)’.

German Brummbär (Late production)

History

Developed for infantry support during WWII, the Assault Tank IV married the trusty Pz.Kpfw.IV chassis with a simple fighting compartment featuring 100mm of front and 50mm of side armor, plus a high-powered 15cm gun that could defeat 160mm of 30-degree armor from 5km.

Its variants can largely be grouped into early, mid and late production types, the latter of which was most numerous with 160 examples manufactured between May 1944 and March 1945. Feedback from crews of earlier Brummbärs had led to new a fighting compartment design and cupola, plus partial use of steel road wheels.

Brummbärs were assigned to their own dedicated Assault Tank Battalions and fought on the Eastern Front and in Italy as the war drew to its conclusion.

Source: Tamiya website

Manufacturer

German Marder I (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 370 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Tank Destroyer Marder I’.

German Tank Destroyer Marder I

History

With the fall of France in June 1940 Nazi Germany came into not only new territory, but also a large amount of captured materiel.

Many of the French armored vehicles were pressed into German service, including the Marder I. It was based upon a late-1930s Lorraine tractor vehicle, paired with the German 7.5cm anti-tank gun and based in a new fighting compartment installed on top.

The Marder I fought on numerous fronts in WWII and its offensive potential made it a foe for Allied forces to fear.

Source: Tamiya website

Manufacturer

Russian Heavy Tank KV-1 Model 1941 (Early production) (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 372 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Heavy Tank KV-1 Model 1941 (Early production)’.

Russian Heavy Tank KV-1 Model 1941 (Early production)

History

The Soviet KV-1 was officially adopted in 1939 and went through a number of variants. Model 1941 KV-1s employed the 76.2mm ZIS-5 gun, which could tear through the armor on contemporary German tanks.

The early production variants had a welded turret with armor up to 75mm thick, and hung tough in fierce fighting with German armor following the Nazi German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, contributing to the Soviet resistance that would eventually turn the tables and push back the German advance.

Source: Tamiya website

Manufacturer

German VK 4501 (P) (Italeri)

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This is the Italeri 6565 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German VK 4501 (P).

German VK 4501 (P)

History

The German Army, during the Second World War, expressed the specific need to have available a heavy tank, characterized by an high protective armor and armed with a high velocity gun able to defeat every kind of enemy tank.

Ferdinand Porsche, to meet the request, developed the heavy tank VK 4501 (P) prototype. The tank introduced several innovative solutions for the time but not enough reliable. In fact, during the testing, the tank highlighted some weaknesses in the driving system and in the engine that didn’t permit to go ahead with the mass production.

The German Army preferred the Henschel prototype, the VK 4501 (H), which became the development base for the famous and lethal Tiger I. However, from the first production batch of the VK 4501 (P) Porsche released other versions as the new heavy Jagdpanzer “Ferdinand“ that mounted the longer 88mm. gun.

Source: Italeri website

Manufacturer

Russian KV-7 Mod. 1941 (Trumpeter)

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This is the Trumpeter 09503 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian KV-7 Mod. 1941’.

Russian KV-7 Mod. 1941

History

The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks were a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defense commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov and used by the Red Army during World War II.

The KV series were known for their heavy armour protection during the early part of the war, especially during the first year of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In certain situations, even a single KV-1 or KV-2 supported by infantry was capable of halting the enemy’s onslaught.

German tanks at that time were rarely used in KV encounters as their armament was too poor to deal with the “Russischer Koloss” – “Russian Colossus”.

Source: Wikipedia

Manufacturer

Russian JS-2M Heavy Tank (Early production) (Trumpeter)

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This is the Trumpeter 05589 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian JS-2M Heavy Tank (Early production)’.

Russian JS-2M Heavy Tank (Early production)

History

The Iosif Stalin tank (or IS tank, named after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin), was a heavy tank developed by the Soviet Union during World War II. The tanks in the series are also sometimes called JS or ИС tanks.

The heavy tank was designed with thick armour to counter the German 88mm guns, and sported a main gun that was capable of defeating the German Tiger and Panther tanks. It was mainly a breakthrough tank, firing a heavy high-explosive shell that was useful against entrenchments and bunkers.

The IS-2 was put into service in April 1944, and was used as a spearhead in the Battle for Berlin by the Red Army in the final stage of the war.

Source: Trumpeter website

Manufacturer