Russian KV "Big Turret" Tank

FirstLook by Jay Laverty

Summary

FirstLook

Hobby Boss is proving to be a champion of the 1/48 scale armour market and are bringing out some less obvious subjects, leaving the more “mainstream” choices to Tamiya. Aside from the Sherman series, the Hobby Boss catalogue contains some surprising choices, all of which intimate a close relationship with Trumpeter as they seem to be scaled sown versions of larger scale Trumpeter kits.

Admirably Done

The Trumpeter KV-2 was a superb kit, and this release from Hobby Boss is every bit as good, with only the slightest concessions to the reductions of scale. The moulding is very clean, free from flash, and crisply detailed. Spread across 7 sprues of grey styrene, along with a lower hull, small etched fret, the only thing I was disappointed with was the omission of a clear headlamp lens as this was a very welcome addition with the T-34 series Hobby Boss produced earlier.

The level of detail realised on the sprues is admirable, and very well executed, as you can see with the accompanying images. The injected link and length track has the sag moulded in which will make for an acceptable appearance for those wishing to make the kit straight from the box, however the addition of some WWII Productions resin individual links will improve the appearance and raise the level of detail that extra little bit. The turret is broken down into a very simple to assemble yet nicely detailed 14 odd parts not including the handles. Depending on how the handles some away when cut from the sprues I see little need for additional detailing, although the interior of the hatch could probably do with a small amount of sprucing up should you wish to do so.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

As with any model, there are some spots that could do with some improving should you wish to do it, although the kit parts are acceptable as is. For instance one spot that immediately catches my attention is the engine deck grilles, which would benefit from the addition and reconstruction utilising some etched mesh, to reveal the louvres beneath.

Aspects like the wheels and turret detail are very respectably covered, and it isn’t hard to imagine how all of this will come up rather nicely under paint and weathering. The barrel is a two part affair and looks pretty decent although again hopefully one of the aftermarket producers will come through with something that includes some rifling detail produced in turned Aluminium.

One of the best aspects of the surface detail is the delicately defined weld seam detail which will look superb after being brought to life with a good wash. It is finesse touches like this that makes a model special in my opinion.

Avoiding Pitfalls

Hobby Boss has resisted the temptation of reproducing moulded on detail, thus making this a very suitable model for additional detailing, so this kit has unlimited potential without the necessity of removing inconveniently placed items such as pioneer tools, as we have seen on some of Tamiya’s kits for instance.

In my personal opinion if Hobby Boss can keep producing models of this quality and of the quality of the T-34 series in this scale, 1/48 will quickly become a scale that can be taken seriously. This is a fantastic model as it comes out of the box, it lends itself easily to super-detailing, and for this reason I rate it very highly indeed. Considering it comes in at £11.99 in the UK it is great value for money.

Highly Recommended

Thanks to David at SBX Models for the review sample.

In the UK Hobby Boss and a wide selection of 1/48 scale kits can be purchased from SBX Models at:

425 Norwich Road
Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 5DN U.K.
Phone: +44(0) 1473 464 311
e-mail: info@sbxmodelschop.co.uk