Small Scale Military Headquarters

Waiting on mine - it should have arrived by now or else Smalljoes might have some explaining to do

I'll post some pictures when I get it.

There were actually some near Leningrad that survived until 1944.

What's the lowest price you've seen for the K1? I saw $47.50.

Here are the pictures - to go along with this thread's namesake





The KV-1 is a nice tank and its big. They used a lot of plastic in its construction - moreso than the older FOV vehicles. Only the upper hull section is actually metal. The turret and lower hull are plastic. The guns move, turret rotates, treads roll, but not much else. No opening engine and the only working hatch is the commander's. In my pictures, the turret does look unweathered, but it does actually have darker shading on it that doesn't show too well in the photos. It looks much better in person. The logs are an interesting accessory, attach well to the tank and don't look bad in person. The tow cables look good and come pre-attached. The sandbag emplacement in a neat little accessory, but the dog is kind of funny.

In my opinion this is not a bad tank and is detailed well. I think it is too pricey for what you get, but that seems to be the general trend these days... Still, it is a piece of Russian armor in 1:32 scale (that makes three now) and is a great looking model.



Comparison shot with the S1 FOV T-34/85 (My personal favorite FOV tank of all time).


Comparison with the FOV Panzer IVF (Either this or the D version would have engaged the KV-1).


Comparison with the Elefant, which is a little bigger.

Was the K1 actually that much bigger than the T34?

Looks like it was made by 21stCt (little weathering and details ) so I'll skip this one which is a shame since its one of the only two russian tanks thats been made in the 1/32 scale

"Was the K1 actually that much bigger than the T34?"

yep you always used to get the impression that the german panzers badly outclassed anything the allies had but compare that Panzer III to the KV1 (nearly twice the size at 45 tons) with much heavier armour and you can see that is not really true.

In 1941 a panzer III or anything smaller a KV1 would be much the same as a sherman facing a King tiger later in the war.

The KV1 was a Heavy tank , T34s were medium this seems to get lost on many tank fans it is unfair to compare medium tanks against Heavys

Oh for the record a Panther also is about 45 tons (hardly medium at nearly twice the weight of a panzer IV or T34) so it would be the comparable model but arriving fully 4 years later.

Kudos to Flying Mule! Ordered my KV-1 on monday evening and I get it Thursday Morning!

All you Panzerpervs, this IS Soviet armor, big green mean machines! You want an artistic paint job, go get a marder

There is weathering on the turret, just different from the hull. I like the paint job, looks like a Soviet tank. I LOVE the fact that it has only one hatch that opens. The TC guy even fits in the hatch. The Logs look bad, think I'll leave them off. As someone else pointed out DANG THIS THING IS BIG!!! It's actually bigger than my FOV TIGER. The Tiger's wider but the KV's bigger in all other dims.

STOP THE KV-2 STUFF! FEED THE BEAST! SU-152! The running gear and hull are also the basis for the JS series. JS-2, JSU-122, JSU-152!

FOV has a T-34 hull too, SU-85, SU-122, SU-100?! Is the Red Army finally about to show up?




p.s. I like the FOV KV-1.

I didn't realize the Russian army could afford binoculars for their tank crews. And the German PzIV-F-1 crew appear a bit blase about their proximity to a KV, although the Russian is looking away and they'd have to be at about that range to have a good shot at a kill.

On a slightly more serious note a KV-2 would be a true delight. Rare and bizarre and a wonderful addition. I'd be sorely tempted to get one.

the kv-1 was a large tank for the time it appeared. It was subsequently not that big compared to panthers, elefants, KT's etc. But it was considered a monster early in the war (in fact the 1/16 r/c KV-1 is probably nearly the size of a 1/18 Abrams; not as wide but higher and nearly same length). Many stories of single KV's holding up german advances, until air support could be called in (but the luftwaffe was reluctant to do an airstrike on one tank) or 88's could be set up close enough to take them out.

Anyway, it's a cool looking model. The dog is bizarre, however. I strongly suspect they'll be a KV-2 come out....all they need do is a new turret and they'll double (probably more than double) their sales.

aferguson wrote:
Anyway, it's a cool looking model. The dog is bizarre, however. I strongly suspect they'll be a KV-2 come out....all they need do is a new turret and they'll double (probably more than double) their sales.

Oh of course. The KV-2 is a real monster of a a tank and I would def. buy one or two of 'em. The KV-1, while more common, just doesn't have that appeal that the bigger KV does.

My very first actual tank model was from COMET, back in the mid '50s, and it was a KV-2.

MG-42 wrote:

krieglok wrote: Cant wait for the KV-2.

TJ

>>> A unique & bizarre AFV on KV chassis ,.. but seriously , are you kidding me ! *

............ this thing begged to be t@rget practice , especially for the novice enemy tank gunner.



* * * Edit - Footnote added :

........... still , no matter what , the fact of the matter remains is :

* The T-34/76 & T-34/85 remained superior against most anything at the time.


- Mitch v MG

>>>


- Mitch v MG

I strongly suspect they'll be a KV-2 come out....all they need do is a new turret and they'll double (probably more than double) their sales.

That makes good sense when you consider that the chassis could conceivably serve as the basis for as many 5 different Soviet tanks... KV-1 and 2, Stalin 1 and/or 2, and KV-85, any of which would make nice additions to a 1/32 collection IMO, especially if you have a soft spot for Soviet armor.

* I strongly feel they won't. It wasn't that great a tank as stated above , to begin w/.

* More power to'em if they do ,.. then , they'll just have to do some more exotic German AFV pieces.

............ and the list could go on ..............


* We'll just have to "wait & see". heh heh heh ! ! !


- Mitch v MG

It isn't the tank that's important. It's how well it will sell. I know that Tamiya made/makes a KV-II model. I wonder about the sales of that. I suspect that if the KV-I goes well a -II may be in the offing. It would be a fairly simple job to make a turret.

* Nah ,.. I don't think they'll ever do it , despite the turret , the chassis. There's too many other variants to focus on. What is the fixation or fetish w/ this tank anyway ?


- Mitch v MG

lets face it as time goes by companies will start to make tanks and vehicles that others havent done yet. they are always trying to set themselves appart. i think its great. look how well HM has done with the little or never done planes, tanks and vehicles. thier new items are doing very well. how many T-34's ,Panzer IV's and Shermans can you have in a collection. im not totally happy with the KV but its a start.

MG-42 wrote:* Nah ,.. I don't think they'll ever do it , despite the turret , the chassis. There's too many other variants to focus on. What is the fixation or fetish w/ this tank anyway ?


- Mitch v MG

It was just so outlandish. Mountainous. Looming.

It has "Tankismo", even in 1/285th.

............ and so does the Maus ! *


- Mitch v MG

The Maus is just absurd. A land battleship of extreme size yet on the small end of what was planned. It was also just a tank on steroids. The KV-II had a certain mis-shapen charm. Like a kid with a really big head.

ltcbj wrote:The Maus is just absurd. A land battleship of extreme size yet on the small end of what was planned. It was also just a tank on steroids. The KV-II had a certain mis-shapen charm. Like a kid with a really big head.

BIG HEAD! thats funny!
I cant stop laughing

yur right



but my maus Pwns your girly bigheaded kv1

The Maus is just absurd. A land battleship

Agreed. The Germans wasted tremendous manpower and scarce resources on Hitler's wild and unrealistic "armored giant" fantasies, including a (proposed) so-called "land Monitor" of... get this... some 1000 tons!! The Nazis squandered a qualitative advantage in their best and most effective AFV designs, mostly at Hitler's direction, in favor of producing a bewildering array of vehicle types and sub-types, whereas the Russians had the foresight and good sense to focus their wartime production efforts on a relatively few proven and highly effective tank designs that were continually upgraded and improved as the war progessed, and it ultimately proved to be the correct decision in a strategic context.