Russian KV-1 Small Turret

This kit makes a fairly nice KV-1 heavy tank model. The tread system has the option between molded sectional link style and the long rubber strip type. It comes with an additional KV-1 M1939 gun mantle and 76.2mm L-11 gun tube, in case you would rather build it that way. It also has the correct, smooth-front type gun mantle used on the M1940 Early-M1941 Mid Applique production vehicles, but the gun tube provided for use with that style mantle is the same length as the one included for the M1939 option, which was only used on the M1940 Early Production units before switching to the little longer F-32 gun with the mid production of that year. The upper hull is made to support the option of either add-on bow MG equipment, or the simple pistol port of early vehicles, but has no provision for add-on front/rear turret race protection strips, utilized beginning with the M1941 units. It does have some interesting, optional upper hull side combination applique armor/turret side race protection plates, but the optional upper hull front plate is of the short variety, and offers no driver's hatch/frontal turret race protection. I have plenty of the F-32 gun tubes and tall-style upper hull frontal plates around from various Tamiya kit builds, and Trumpeter does make KV kits with the optional add-on frontal/rear turret race protection strips as well, so it shouldn't be much problem taking the kit to its advertised 1941 production era. Overall, the kit is good quality and nicely detailed, and I would recommend it to others.