Hi everyone,
as I've not seen a review of these I thought I'd post up my own opinions along with some dimensions ect.
Personally I love these tanks, the detail on them is very nice. The tracks are very thin and look much better scaled than most 1:100 models, but they're still more than strong enough.
The T-26 is the 1939 version, with the conical shaped turret without the rear facing machinegun. The turret is nicely shaped but as a one piece plastic casting the details on the sides are a little soft (such as the view ports and the gun mantlet).
The hull and tracks are very nicely done, once again the details that are vertical are a little softened but not to badly. The riveted hull is nicely represented and I think with some careful highlighting could look very nice. One small inaccuracy I've noticed is that the flip down drivers lamp seems to be a little on the small side, its not something I'm going to bother to alter though.
Sizing for the T-26:
Actual Scale Model
Length 4.65 m 47mm 47mm
Width 2.44 m 24mm 23mm
Height 2.24 m 22mm 22mm
Obviously this model is well scaled, unfortunately I only have one other T26 to compare it to which is a QRF OT-26, which I'd happy put on the table with the Zvezda model, but perhaps not next to eachother.
I currently have 3 of the T-26 and will definitely be buying more, I hope Zvezda will do other T-26 variants.
The Panzer II is an early model either an A or B. The detail on this model is very nice, the fenders are textured in a fairly realistic way for the scale. A lot of the tools are also present and are very nicely proportioned. It is however missing the aerial channel from the left side of the hull, something that I think is very noticeable.
The turret is quite nice too. The gun barrels are actually fairly strong despite being quite thin, due in part to the fact the plastic isn't quite as rigid as most styrene that's used for models. One slight problem is that the turret is a very tight fit to start with, and with the delicate guns I can imagine some accidents occurring.
Sizing for the PzII:
Actual Scale Model
Length 4.8 m 48mm 42mm
Width 2.2 m 22mm 21mm
Height 2.0 m 20mm 18mm
This is where the PzII model disappoints, its just not long enough. It appears to me that the front of the hull is actually correctly scaled, however the engine deck is quite badly shortened. This leads to most the detail on the rear looking a little odd.
Now despite the fact its rather too short I still feel this is one of the best looking PzII models in this scale. Especially considering the cost of this model, which at this time is at least half that of any other manufacturer and nearly a third of some.
For further reading on available PzII models I'd highly recommend the wargames@Nordalia article:
link
As an added note it appears the Zvezda T-34 mod.1940 and PzIII G will be available soon, I hope these follow the high standards of these models. I also noticed that on the stat cards that come with these models there are silhouettes for Gaz and Opel trucks, a BA-10, a KV-2, sdkfz 251/1 and a Tiger tank. All of which I'm sure would get snapped up if they stay at the current low prices.
Hope this was helpful guys,
Rob.
ponders nirvana.
