#7230 Russian KV-1’s Ehkranami Tank

Out of the box, this kit represents a KV-1 Model 1940 with ekrany on the hull and turret, manufactured in late June 1941.  Like Trumpeter's 1/35 kit, this kit is basically kit #7232 with an additional sprue containing the parts for the ekrany.  Unlike its 1/35 scale counterpart however, the kit does not include the applique armor for the hull front and driver's front plate, nor for the upper hull sides, restricting you to building a vehicle with the full hull and turret ehkrany, or a very early ehkrany-equipped vehicle with turret ehkrany only and without any additional armor on the hull.

Like all the Trumpeter kits, the lower hull is comprised of a tub that includes the underside, hull sides and the lower front hull.  The underside includes bolt detail for the engine bearers, filled bolted holes along the joints betweenthe underside plates and the hull sides, drain ports for the transmission and final drives, and the emergency escape hatch.  The oil drain port under the forward left-hand corner of the engine compartment is missing however, as is the circular access port beneath the engine.  The hull sides include integrally molded suspension swing arms, shock absorbers, sprocket and return roller mounts.

The grille beneath the rear hull overhang and the exhaust air deflector plate are included as a single, separate component and the deflector plate is commendably thin.

The lower rear hull includes integrally molded base plates for the rear towing eyes.  The forward towing eyes are separate component that attach to hull tub.  All the towing eyes feature separate towing shackles with integrally molded retaining pins.

The suspension swing arms are of the correct early pattern and include the correct six retaining bolts on the torsion bar caps.

The idler mounts and adjustment mechanisms are separate assemblies with three parts each.

The nose plate is smooth and lacks the 11 filled bolt holes across each face.  However, these holes would be barely visible in this scale so the omission is not a major problem.

The kit includes pressed steel two-part resilient road wheels with lightening holes and six cooling vents on the inner discs, as fitted from October 1940 until the end of June 1941, and which are therefore correct for a late June 1941 production example.  The outer rims of the road wheels are quite thick however, and will benefit from sanding.  The return rollers are the pressed steel pattern with rubber rims, and are also correct for this variant.  The sprockets feature the correct 16 bolts securing the convex hub cover.  The mud scrapers are the correct welded design, though you must take care when attaching them to ensure that the joints between the separate mud scrapers and the base plates molded onto the hull sides are filled, since the base plates on the rear vehicle were part of the mud scrapers themselves.

As on all Trumpeter's KV kits, the tracks are the reinforced Omsh pattern that were in fact not introduced until July 1941, and are therefore incorrect for a vehicle completed in June.  However, the differences are very minor and will go unnoticed by most observers.

The entire upper hull, including the fenders, fender brackets and most hatches, is molded as a single component.  The fender brackets are all of the solid type, whereas most KV-1s in early 1941 carried the skeletal pattern.  The brackets are also quite thick and would benefit from replacement with thin styrene or brass.

The glacis plate includes an integrally molded antenna mount and protective cover.  The cover is rather thick and should be thinned down iwth a hobby knife for a better appearance.  The glacis plate also includes the protective armor fillet below the hull machine gun.

The driver's visor is molded integrally with the driver's plate, though the hull machine gun, headlamp and siren are separate components.

Unlike Trumpeter's 1/35 scale kit, this kit does not include optional applique armor for the lower front hull and the driver's front plate, nor for the upper hull sides.  The applique armor plates first appeared in May and became more common over the next few months.  By mid-July, they were almost universally fitted to new vehicles.  The inclusion of the pressed steel two-part road wheels with lightening holes and six cooling vents, rather than the later pressed wheels without lightening holes or the cast wheels, restricts you to building a vehicle from late June 1941.  The omission of the applique armor allows you to build either a vehicle with the full complement of hull and turret ehkrany, or one of the few vehicles fitted with turret ehkrany only and no additional armor at all on the upper hull.

The crew hatch in the forward hull is a separate component.  It depicts the correct early pattern with rounded edges, appropriate for a May/June 1941 vehicle.  The kit part includes the hinge, locking bars and operating cam on the interior face of the hatch cover, but the grab handle and operating handle are missing.  The driver's epsicope cover includes a flange, which is appropriate for a May/June 1941 example.  The fuel, oil and water filler caps are all present, correctly positioned and of the correct design.

The bolt configuration on the engine compartment and transmission compartment roof plates is correct, with eleven equally spaced bolts across the rear edge of the engine compartment roof plate, and the same number on the front and rear edges of the transmission compartment roof plate.  The bolts have the correct conical heads for a May/June 1941 vehicle.  The lifting eyes are molded integrally and are of the correct shape, including those beneath the turret bustle.  However, Trumpeter includes four lifting eyes on the transmission compartment roof plate, rather than the correct two.  Carve away the two lifting eyes in the rear corners of the plate.

The engine access hatch is molded integrally and is the correct early pattern without the inspection port, and with only a single lifting eye.  The cable and hook used to secure the hatch in the open position are molded integrally with the hatch.

The radiator intake screens are also molded integrally with the upper hull.  The kit includes the early pattern screens.  These are not appropriate for a late June 1941 vehicle since the transition to the late pattern screens took place in early May.  The screens are also molded solid and the model would benefit from their replacement with etched brass items.  The exhausts are also integral components and lack the undercuts that correctly separate them from the hull top.  Careful work with a sharp hobby knife can rectify this.

The transmission maintenance hatches are molded integrally with the hull top.

The kit includes the regular curved rear hull overhang which is appropriate for a May/June 1941 hull.

The kit includes three revised large rectangular stowage boxes for the fenders, and the instructions show the correct positioning on the number 7, 8 and 10 positions.  A cross-cut saw and its mounting bracket are included for for the number 5 position on the left-hand fender, but the saw and its bracket were relocated inside the stowage box on the number 10 position in March 1941.  You should therefore omit the saw and not open up the locating holes for it on the fender.  The cylindrical stowage tube for the barrel cleaning rods is provided for the number 6 position on the right-hand fender, and this is appropriate for a late June vehicle, though the tube was eliminated in late June/early July.

The kit includes late pattern towing cables with cast ends.  These are molded in vinyl on the track sprue.  The transition from the early cables with grommets and sleeves to the later pattern with cast ends occurred in May/June 1941, so these cables are appropriate for the vehicle represented by the kit.

The kit provides an early welded turret with butt-welded corners, which is appropriate for a June 1941 example.  The front and rear faces include the filled alignment pin holes.  However, the turret roof features ring-shaped marks that were characterisic of turrets manufactured in Chelyabinsk from June 1941 onward so if you wish to depict a vehicle manufactured by LKZ, which was the predominant manufacturer in the early summer of 1941, you should sand away the marks on the roof, leaving those on the front and rear faces.  Even if you wish to depict a Chelyabinsk-built turret, the ring-shaped marks are rather too prominent for this scale and should be sanded down.

The turret ehkrany are provided as separate components that are glued onto the turret shell.  The parts are rather thick however, and the perfectionist may wish to thin them down from the inside or replace them entirely with styrene using the bolt heads from the kit parts.

The episcope and ventilator covers include flanges, which is correct for this variant.  The conical covers for the periscopic sights are molded integrally with the turret shell and lack detail.  The grab handles for the edges of the turret roof are included as integral parts of the turret shell and are correctly located, but you may wish to replace them with brass wire.

The turret hatch includes the base plate for the P40 anti-aircraft machine gun mount, but this is incomplete and lacks the rectangular socket into which the butt of the machine gun was placed when travelling.  For accuracy, you should add this from scrap or aftermarket parts.  The hatch cover itself includes a socket in its center but this is incorrect; the socket was not present on KV-1 turret hatches (though it was present on KV-2 turret hatches).  Fill the socket and sand it smooth, leaving the hinge bolt detail.  The hatch cover provides some interior detail including the locking bars and cam, but the locking bars should be slightly offset to accomodate the machine gun mount.  The operating handle and grab handle are also missing.  If you wish to display the hatch in the open position, you should replace the operating mechanism with aftermarket parts.

The F-32 gun and its mount are accurately depicted and the gun barrel is a single piece but the muzzle must be drilled out.  The kit part is adequate but you may still wish to use an aftermarket barrel instead.  The rain guard above the mantlet is commendably thin and includes bolt detail.  The configuration of the rain guard is correct for an F-32-armed KV-1, with the rear edge turned up and riveted to the front face of the turret.  The turned-up edge is molded integrally with the turret shell, so you should take care to ensure a seamless join between the parts.