1/35 T-60
MisterCraft 1/35 T-60

The T-60 light tank was a Soviet light tank of the early second world war. Built with scouting and reconaissance in mind, the vehicle was also intended to be used in the anti-infantry role.

The vehicle itself was rather small, the primary armament being a 20mm ShVAK aircraft cannon, modified for use on a tank as the TNSh cannon. This had an exceptional rate of fire of 800 rounds per minute. The vehicle was also fitted with a coaxial 7.62mm DT machine gun.

The vehicle featured rather light armour, the thickest on the hull being 35mm for the driver's front plate, whilst the turret was 25mm all around. This armour whilst thin was enough to protect it from heavy machine gun fire, and some autocannons.

The vehicle was not hugely popular with crews due to its small size, thin armour, and weak anti-tank armament. However many crews did give it a sort of grudging respect, remarking that it was far better to have a T-60 than no tank at all. It was certainly a highly effect vehicle against infantry and soft targets.

Now about the kit. I'm just going to get this out the way to start off with, this is an awful kit. It really is. The parts fit was poor, the instructions were AWFUL (I ended up working out where some parts went from photos of the real vehicle). Worst of all were the tracks, which were just an absolute nightmare. I barely got them on, and there are still several problems with them now, although I think luckily they are not so noticeable. The kit also included no tools or stowage of any kind, leaving the track guards a little bare. I improvised a little detail with a cocktail stick I cut down and painted, which at least makes the vehicle look a little more busy.

The kit also only includes the small single piece exhaust, rather than the larger arrangement with muffler, and no grille or cover of any kind for the engine vents. Thankfully I had some mesh left over from the Tamiya Tiger II I did previously, which worked perfectly when cut to shape.

Painting however was actually really good! I used my new vallejo airbrush paints for the primer and base coat, which worked flawlessly, and then added mud and rust, as well as other details using my enamel paints. I think it came out really well, in terms of painting probably my best tank yet.

I decided not to use the kit decals, as I was not confident on the quality, or if they would even fit. Instead I used the decals which were included with my Meng Models Tanktoons T-34, which I did not use for that kit. Their small size made them perfect to use on the T-60. I also decided not to do a clear coat in the end, as I was not sure how it would interact with the mesh, and I felt the finish on the tank looked good enough as it is. The decals had little carrier film too, so I didn't have to worry about that.

In conclusion, whilst I am actually very happy with how this kit came out, I can in no way recommend the kit, or any other AeroPLAST reboxing. The only good thing was the kit itself was very cheap, although the postage more than doubled the price.

If you are desperate for a T-60 and willing to pay a higher price, MiniArt do an excellent series of T-60 kits of all variants, that include photo etch and full interior. These are fairly pricey though, so if you are not that desperate, might be a good idea to wait for another manufacturer to bring out a kit.