KV-1 Model 1941 w/ Up-Armored Welded Turret (October 1941)

This sub-variant is a fairly simple conversion from Trumpeter kit #00357 Russian KV-1 's Ekhranami.  The only modifications required are to omit the ehkrany, update the turret to represent the up-armored (90mm) turret introduced at the beginning of August and add the ZIS-5 gun using parts from kit #00358 Russia KV-1 Model 1942 Simplified Turret Tank.  You will also need the applique armor plates for the upper hull sides from kit #00356 Russia KV-1 (Model 1941) "KV Small Turret" Tank.

In Step 1 of the kit instructions, DO NOT open up the holes in the lower hull sides (parts B1 and B2), but DO open up the four round holes just below the top edge of the hull sides as indicated in the instructions.  DO NOT open up the forward holes near the centers of the fenders (parts C1 and C14) but DO open up the rear-most holes on part C14 as indicated in the instructions.  DO NOT open up the holes in the turret shell.  Follow the instructions to open up the holes in the hull top (part A27).  Additionally, open up the three holes forward of the turret ring.

In step 2, omit part M1.

In step 3, omit part M3.  Omit the two rearmost lifting eyes from the transmission compartment roof plate (part C6) and fill their locating holes.  The kit provides four lifting eyes on the transmission compartment roof plate but there should be only two.

Add the chevron-shaped armor fillet from kit #00358 (part F2) to the hull top forward of the turret ring.

Follow step 4 of the instructions, but add two armored strips to the forward corners of the engine compartment roof plate using strips of 2mm x 2mm square section styrene, using the upper drawing on page 101 of KV - Technical History & Variants as a guide.

In step 5, the nose plate (part C5) features 11 filled bolt holes across each face.  In July, the number was reduced to 8 equally spaced bolts.  You should sand away the molded-on detail and either recreate the bolt holes by drilling shallow holes and filling them with putty, or leave the plate smooth since on many vehicles, the holes were almost impossible to see.

In step 6, omit the hull ehkrany (parts N7, N8, N9 and N11).

Instead of the hull ehkrany, fit the applique armor parts from kit #00356 (parts N1, N2 and N3).

In step 7, DO NOT open up the hole in the engine access hatch (part C2).  The inspection port (part A18) was not fitted until the end of 1941. 

Omit the hull ehkrany (parts N5, N6, N10 and N11).

In step 8, assemble the road wheels and bow machine gun as directed.  The number of retaining bolts on the covers over the drove sprocket hubs was reduced progressively from 16 to 12 and then to 8 in August, so an October 1941 vehicle should have 8 bolts.  To represent the 8-bolt covers, modify the covers from kit #00357 by removing every second bolt, or use the covers from kit #00358.

In step 9, assemble the tracks as directed.

Follow steps 10 and 11 of the instructions.

Follow step 12 of the instructions, though I recommend leaving the tracks off the model until after initial painting.

In step 13, omit the cross-cut saw and its bracket (part M6).  By this time, the saw was located inside the lid of the stowage box on the number 7 position.

In step 14, replace the grab handles on the upper edges of the turret sides (parts N4) with brass wire, and eliminate the upward bend in the handles.

Omit the trunnion cheeks (parts M9 and M10).  Instead, use those from kit #00358 (parts P11 and P12).

Omit the turret ehkrany.

For a turret manufactured by the Izhorskiy Plant, still the most common manufacturer of turrets in August, sand away the ring-shaped marks on the turret roof, but leave the six bolt holes around each periscopic sight cover and the round marks on the front and rear plates.

Add the chamfer beneath each side-facing episcope cover by carefully filing the top edges of the turret side plates, then add the 'splash bar' beneath the chamfer, using the drawing on page 311 of KV - Technical History and Variants as a guide.

Fill the socket in the center of the turret hatch (part D19).  KV-1 turret hatches did not include the socket, though KV-2 turret hatches did.

Omit the gun and mantlet (parts M8, M11 and M13) and the rain guard (part M16).  Sand away the riveted flange for the rain guard along the top edge of the turret front plate.  Add the gun, mantlet and rain guard from kit #00358 (parts F16, F19 and P13).

In step 15, construct the two cables as directed.

Follow step 16 but omit the cylindrical stowage tube from the right-hand fender (parts M12, 14 and M15).  The tube was eliminated at the end of June.

Many vehicles at this time carried the small 50-litre box-shaped fuel/lubricant tanks on the fenders.  Unfortunately the Aber items are incorrect in size and the only correctly sized items at the time of writing come from Zvezda's KV-1 Model 1941 kit.  Hopefully another manufacturer will rise to the occasion and produce correct after-market tanks in resin.  In the meantime, you can either cannibalize a lot of Zvezda kits (hardly worth the expense), cast your own using the Zvezda item as a master, or use the Aber brackets only and depict one of the many vehicles on which the brackets were present but the tanks themselves were missing.

In step 17, attach the tow cables, though again you may wish to delay this step until after initial painting.

By following these steps along with the kit instructions, you will create an accurate representation of a KV-1 Model 1941 manufactured at ChTZ/ChKZ in October 1941.