Gaso.Line GAS50085 Char lourd russe JS-2

French manufacturer Gaso.Line has produced a 1/48 scale resin kit depicting an IS-2 from the latter half of 1944, with a hull manufactured by Factory No.200.  The kit includes the later style return rollers with three lightening holes, single-link tracks with guide teeth on every link, D-25T gun with TsAKB muzzle brake and wider mantlet fitted to vehicles with the Tsh-17 sight.

The kit consists of 128 parts cast in grey resin, including a resin gun barrel with a brass rod cast into the part to help prevent warping.  It also includes brass wire for the handrails, a short length of fine brass tubing for the rear-facing machine gun and nylon string for the tow cables.

The lower hull is molded as a one-piece tub including the lower front and rear plates.  The tow hooks are provided as separate parts but lack the spring-loaded retaining clips.  These can be added from scrap styrene.  The roadwheel, idler, sprocket and return roller mounts are all separate castings, as are the shock absorbers.  The suspension swing arms are molded separately from the wheels, allowing the suspension to be posed on a diorama base, but the arms are not keyed to the lower hull so you must align them and set the correct ride height (9.69mm from the ground to the bottom of the hull in 1/48 scale, including the height of the tracks) manually.

The tracks are provided as 12 lengths of 12 links each, plus individual links to go around the drive sprockets.  The lengths must be heated using a heat source such as a hairdryer and bent to conform to the suspension, including the sag of the upper track runs.  This will be no easy task and you may wish to replace the kit tracks with aftermarket items.  At the time of writing, no manufacturer provides after-market tracks of the type included in the kit, but Friul's set ATL4808 represents the split-link tracks that are equally appropriate for a vehicle from the latter half of 1944.

The upper hull is cast as a single part with the engine deck grilles, exhausts and fenders molded integrally.  The upper rear hull plate features the correct pattern hinges for a Factory No.200 hull.  The rain gutter is also included, but its top section is depicted as flat whereas it should have a slight peak in the center.  The lifting eyes are present on the engine deck and the upper rear hull plate, but are missing from the radiator grille mounting plate.

The main turret shell is a single casting like the original, with the roof plate molded integrally.  The loader's hatch is cast as part of the turret shell and cannot be posed open unless you wish to cut out the aperture and fabricate your own hatch cover.  The cupola is cast separately but the commander's hatch is integral with the cupola and again cannot be posed in the open position.  The lifting hooks are separate and very tiny castings, so take care when separating these from the pour blocks and attaching them to the model.

The gun mount is molded separately and the gun barrel and mantlet attach to this part.  The mantlet is a separate component.  With careful assembly, the gun can be made to elevate.  As noted above, the barrel has a brass rod molded into the resin to help prevent warping.  The TsAKB muzzle brake is also molded separately.

The kit does not include any markings.  Since most IS-2s carried tactical or unit markings of some sort, you must source these from aftermarket manufacturers.