Hobby Boss KV-2 1:48 English

Armor

Building the Russian KV2 Hobby Boss 1/48 scale

by Michael Capell © Modeler Site

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Imagine for a moment being a highly trained and motivated German soldier , with unit moral very high after successful campaigns in Poland and France. With every confidence in your superiors and equipment especially the Panzer spearhead of the advance sweeping every thing in its path. Quite impressive by any standard in history. Then comes the Russian invasion, Operation Barbarossa , and their version of how tanks should be made.

I would agree they are rough and ready with basic technology and lower machine tool tolerance, but . This allowance enabled the the crew and mechanics to keep this mutation of a tank design in operation , as it is neither a tank or mobile artillery in the true sense of its use or definition.

Its 152mm Howitzer was tested on captured pillboxes achieving good results , allowing the KV2 to be accepted into service .

However due to its slow speed and barn door size target for enemy guns , it soon fell from favor . Its one saving grace was its ability to withstand immense punishment with only the infamous Eighty Eight able to defeat it . There are many accounts of the German advance being held up by these colossal machines.

So what do...

We get for our money? First of all the box top provides an accurate depiction of the KV colour and possible weathering ideas. Crammed inside seven sprues in light grey plastic, I really like this colour as it shows off the detail very clearly as opposed to some other manufactures that use other colours such as dark green plastic in their moulding process. Making it difficult to make out the finer detail which may or may not be present, especially when viewed through a plastic bag !

Also a small etch fret and a perfectly printed decal sheet with a patriotic slogan for the left and right side of the turret.

Last but not least the instructions which are simple to follow. We have all experienced some really second rate attempts that look like a rush job and can lead to confusion and frustration.

A closer look at the parts shows some really sharp detail in particular the plastic tracks which comes with realistic track sag , nice one. Plus as shown in step eight, parts B4 and B5 are used as a jig for the positioning of individual track links around the idler wheel and drive sprockets, a clever and very helpful idea.

So lets get....

On with it. First thing I noticed are four rectangular recesses on either side of the lower hull . Try as I could, there is no reason for them being there. So they were simply filled using Vallejo superb water based filler and when dry ,rubbed down using a fine grade sanding stick.