"KV Tank Company (Plastic)" Topic

"The KV-1 heavy tank is one of the most heavily-armoured tanks in the world, with up to 120mm (4.7 inches) of cast steel armour on the turret. Few enemy tanks (or even anti-tank guns) have any chance of penetrating its thick hide…"

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Amicalement
Armand

Contrary to my skepticism of the "early" T-34 "company" ( TMP link ), this presentation fully passes "Mr. Picky's Sniff Test"(tm).

It looks like an up-armored 1942 production KV-1 (classified as KV-1C by many German and British sources). That's the right tank for the description of "up to 120mm (4.7 inches) of cast steel armour on the turret." Also, 5 is a workable number for a company (although some versions of the company TOE had 7).

A bit odd of a combination in that the turret is cast, but the hull looks like a welded up-armored hull (rather than a cast up-armored). But hulls and turrets were mixed from time-to-time (sometimes frequently). So I don't object.

However, I do very much object to the KV-1s as it is presented. A KV-1s did indeed have an updated turret, which they show / provide. Looks good. Fine. But … it also had an updated hull! And this is not provided.

The visual identifiers of a KV-1s are the rounded turret with two hatches on top, offset right and left from the centerline, with a comander's cupola on the rear-most hatch. All find and good.

It also had a refined hull shape, with a noticeable downward slope on the engine deck. GONG! Thank you for playing, next contestant please…

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Dude – there's nothing wrong with it – the exploded diagram on the box show alternate rear hull tops, one of which will be (presumably) for the sloped rear hull of the KV1s.

As I said in the T34 thread, the minimum size for a Soviet tank company is 5 tanks in Flames of War.

Glad you like it my friend!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

… there's nothing wrong with it – the exploded diagram on the box show alternate rear hull tops, one of which will be (presumably) for the sloped rear hull of the KV1s.

Ooooh, right you are! I was looking only at the builds shown on the link, not at the parts on the sprue.

The KV-1s build photos are only left and right front-quarter views. From that angle it is not clear if the engine deck does or does not slope. But it is clear that the glacis has a re-enforcing plate (ekranami). As this plate should not be present on a KV-1s, but is fully appropriate (and visible) on the KV-1 in the photos above, I assumed they were just putting a different turret on the same hull.

I do indeed see the alternate rear engine deck. And it may well be installed on the KV-1s model. And the re-enforcing plate for the glacis is also an additional part on the sprue, which does not need to be added. So it may indeed be possible to assemble a pretty reasonable KV-1s from the parts … presumably, as one might say.

My objection is withdrawn.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)