Soviet SU-100Y Self-Propelled Gun

Ron Garcia
Not a "paper panzer" as the Soviets did make one example so I decided it build this tank. This is very large tank but a quick build due to minimal details and no turret. The minimal details comment is not a criticism. I guess the original tank's exterior was spartan and so it is on this one.

I had four track links left over with a slight sag so you will pretty much be using all of them. Cutting them all out and cleaning up the attachment points takes longer than putting them together. If you leave the drive sprocket and idler wheel loose, you can remove the tracks for painting and reinstalling.

The front periscope was the only thing that gave me a bit of trouble. The directions show gluing in part GP1-2 first before D6. I would reverse that. D6 has a frame around the top that goes over the periscope. With GP1-2 in place beforehand, there's no way to get the frame around the periscope and securing it to the upper hull. The holes for D6 are also too small so I had to widen them to get the part to fit. The directions do say to install D6 first but that's on the second drawing so it's not immediately clear they are talking about the entire step 4. I didn't realize this and it caused me problems so be careful. Also, the covering, part D7, doesn't quite go low enough over the periscope in my opinion. If you install it into the notches, the covering leaves the top of the periscope exposed. I modified mine so it sat closer to part GP1-2.

When attaching the cable end to part E3, the only way to do so is to cut one side of part D15 so you can spread it open like a clasp and then attach it over the bar in the middle of part E3. That being the case, it would probably be easier to cement part E3 in place and attach the cable afterwards. I super glued E3 on after I painted the tank and cable. It was a little awkward with the cable attached to it.

Other than that, this was a trouble free build. The gun even elevates (I've had trouble with this on other recent builds). It looks good sitting on my shelf next to my SMK and T-100 tanks. Recommended if you want an easy build of a very large and obscure early WWII Soviet tank.