#35119 Heavy Tank KV-1 Mod 1941 Late Version

Built from the box, this kit depicts a KV-1 Model 1942 from the spring of 1942, with the up-armored Model 1942 hull and simplified welded turret with 76.2mm ZIS-5 gun.

The kit provides two alternate sets of one-piece all-steel road wheels but neither of these types was commonly seen on the Model 1942; they were not introduced until late 1942 and were most commonly seen on the KV-1S, SU-152 and KV-85.  This creates some difficulty as no after-market manufacturers produce the correct one-piece all-steel reinforced wheels.  However, you can cannibalize a set of wheels from a Tamiya or Trumpeter kit.

Late style drive sprockets with eight hub retaining bolts are included, but the hub features a raised lip that was not present on the original vehicle.  This lip should be sanded away to improve the accuracy of the kit part.  The kit includes all-steel return rollers and late pattern torsion bar hubs with three retaining bolts, which are correct for the Model 1942.

The upper hull includes all details such as the engine access hatch, radiator intake screens etc, molded in place.  The kit provides the domed engine access hatch, with inspection port.  The arrangement of retaining bolts and lifting eyes on the engine deck and the transmission compartment roof plate are largely correct for a Model 1942, but several bolts are inexplicably missing.

The radiator intake screens are of the correct late pattern.  The screens attempt to portray the woven mesh but the pattern is incorrect and there is no evidence of the reinforcing bows beneath the mesh.  The screens should be removed and replaced for an accurate representation.  However, this will require great care since the parts are molded integrally with the upper hull and surrounded by bolt detail.

The hull hatch is also molded integrally with the upper hull, but portrays the earlier domed type and not the later type with raised rim, as was commonly fitted to Model 1942 hulls.  The correct type of hatch is provided in the kit as part 29A, so you can carve away the integrally molded hatch and replace it with the correct version.

The kit provides the chevron-shaped armor fillet on the forward hull top and bar armor on the rear quarters to protect the turret race, as well as an additional armor plate for the driver’s front plate.  However, it does not include the additional armor plate for the hull front, which was almost universally fitted to the Model 1941 and Model 1942.

It is worth noting that the additional armor provided for the driver’s front plate is the tall Type 2A variant that projects significantly above the hull top, as fitted to hulls produced by Factory No. 200.  A slot was cut in the plate to accommodate the wiring conduit for the headlight and horn.  This particular type of plate is correct for the vehicle depicted by the kit’s markings; “Besposhadniy” (“Merciless”) of the 12th Tank Regiment on the Western Front in the spring and summer of 1942, but that vehicle carried a flat engine access hatch, not the domed hatch as depicted in the kit.

The kit provides late style tow cables with cast ends.  The instructions direct you to use thread or wire for the cables themselves, but no thread or wire is provided in the kit.

Three large rectangular stowage boxes as well as two small stowage boxes for the fenders are included, though the smaller boxes are not mentioned in the instructions.  The subject vehicle was fitted with a single small stowage box on the number 7 fender position but does not appear to have mounted the larger stowage boxes.  The inclusion of the larger boxes provides the option to model a vehicle with the earlier stowage configuration of two large boxes on the number 9 and 10 positions, as fitted in January 1942.

The kit also includes four cylindrical 100-liter fuel tanks for the fenders.  This type of fuel tank appeared frequently on the KV-1S and was seen on some Model 1942 vehicles, though typically only one tank was fitted.

The kit provides a late production simplified welded turret, with dove-tailed joints between the sides and the top plate, and beneath the turret bustle.  The gunner’s periscope housing is of the conical type but the subject vehicle “Besposhadniy” carried the box-shaped periscope housing.  The turret rear periscopes are correctly positioned, and the rain guard above the mantlet is commendably thin though it lacks bolt detail.