A while ago, I blithely announced that TMP was launching a project to collect, paint, and game with 28mm scale figures and models for an early Eastern Front WWII scenario. At the time, I did not fully understand how difficult it would be to procure the vehicles in that scale! (I do now...)
One of the vehicles called for by the scenario was the Soviet T-28 tank - a three-turreted fighting vehicle that was obsolete by the start of the war, but nevertheless saw action in the initial defense of the Motherland. While the T-28 is remembered affectionately by armor buffs, it is certainly no powergamer's dream vehicle - and if 28mm models are hard to find, the T-28 should be impossible to get in this scale...
Fortunately, I was rescued from my folly by John Bruce of Force of Arms, who pledged to add the T-28 to his product line. And here it is.
The largest components of this metal-and-resin kit are the main hull and track assemblies, cast in an odorless resin with a smooth finish.
Next come the three turrets. The two smaller ones are a lighter color, perhaps from a different type of resin. I was again impressed by the crispness of the moldings.
The kit also includes a ziploc bag full of metal components. If you'll look closely at the photo, you may see what I failed to notice - that the bag has a hole in the bottom, and several cuts in the sides! Immediately after I took this photo, the bag disintegrated when I picked it up, scattering tiny parts all about the room...
I hope I recovered them all. (John, you'll tell us if we're missing any, OK?)
Building this model for TMP will be Neil Burt of Troop of Shewe, who has considerable experience working with 28mm scale vehicles. "The FoA kits are a treat," he says, "and I haven't done the T-28 although have wanted to."
So the model is now in a box on its way to Neil in the U.K., who has put TMP onto his schedule (though he has other work ahead of us in the queue, including some Aztecs which will be going to France...).