Recovery
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OlivierA whole story is being told here. And one feels the physical strain on the guys working.
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KV-1 is pretty straightforward kit. It does have some fit issues but I'm willing to accept that ones that leave gaps are due to post production wrapping. The kit gives you several options, mostly revolving around additional armour. As that requires additional holes you are instructed where to make them but not how big, which is a bit frustrating. There are some other places where instructions are unclear so it's best to keep some reference material at hand. Overall kit has some accuracy issues but those are easily fixed. Ling & length tracks are much appreciated. An easy weekend build. As decals provided were for a specific tank that didn't fit into the set up for dio I used some old decals I had lying around.
With weathering I tried to go down "a bit more" route, but ended up messing the engine cover area. When It tried fixing it I only made it worse so I opted for more dust and dirt build up. I'll probably add some more when it's actually on dio to integrate it better. Overall it could have come out better. Turret looks fine, though……
Despite its size FAMO is a simple build. Not fast by any account but not complex. Logical steps, clear instructions and generally nice fits. Some fit issues but with a kit his size that's almost to be expected. Even track assembly is tedious rather than hard, 47 links on each side with each link having a boot as well. Links are part snap and part glue together so they are mostly workable later.
I didn't build the engine because it's not visible and I rather saved it for something else (it's same engine as in Panzer III so…… The biggest issue is lack of goodies and tools. Tamiya does have separate kit with this that you can sue so I guess that's why this kit doesn't have anything. I simply dug into my spares box and added some old engine, some boxes, tools, barrels, jerry cans…… They are only partially added to the kit, rest will be added once figures are done and exact placement of kits on the ground is compelte.
Some thought has to be given to how much of the kit you'll build before painting. I opted for lower chassis as one subassembly, passenger and cargo cabin another and various bits and bobs separate as well, in addition to road wheels and tracks, but this is pretty standard. This also allows for better access to transmission, exhaust, winch and such so they can be painted later.
This was my first kit where I used individual link tracks. Luckily the design allows them to be movable(ish) which allowed me to just assemble them in one piece and then wrap around required wheels and bent them to create proper sag. Not the ideal result but fine enough.
Dusting was done in way that is similar to KV-1, same pigments and roughly same amount.
Figures are standard MiniArt. Pretty good overall though I'd appreciate more flexibility when it comes to positioning body parts so you are not tied to specific poses.
Terrain is nothing special. A bit of paste, a bit of scatter, a lot of pigment. I combined various shades to differentiate road from surrounding.
Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned, considering the size and several firsts for me. KV tracks could be more flush with ground, though……
