Soviet SMK Heavy Tank (New Tool)

Takom's SMK Heavy Tank was a pleasure to build and paint. The detail of the entire kit was outstanding. Part fit is nearly perfect, with only a small amount of filler used here and there. This was the first Takom kit that I have built, and I'm impressed. The kit offers movable guns for the two turrets, single link tracks that were fairly easy to remove from the sprue (two connect points each). I built up an entire length for each side, and before the liquid glue completely set, wrapped the length around temporarily placed road wheels to get a good fit. Then I removed the wheels and track and let it set up completely before painting. There is a small photo etched intake grill cover, a copper cable used for the two tow cables, and a clear sprue with light and optics. One small decal sheet contains two Russian red stars, two numbers and two Russian sayings for the turret sides. Not all versions use the decals. The instruction booklet was excellent with CAD drawings and detailed painting guide for four different paint schemes. I went with the white winter camo. Be prepared for building lots of wheels and make sure you have room to show off this monster - this tank is large. Overall, a straight forward build that any level of modeler can pull off.