Soviet ARV

These are also bridge launcher tanks.  I went with a simple superstructure.

The cross bars are the Roco clips that hold the underside wheels on the tanks!

A third type of ARV.  One has a Roskopf 14.7mm machine gun on it.

An overhead view.

Soviet ARVs

Right now my project has been to repair and rehabilitate old Soviet models.

To assemble any unassembled kits.

And to primer paint any unpainted resin or metal kits.

I am also primer painting some of the plastic kits.

Particularly the conversions.  This conversion has a cargo of supplies that is removable, but mounted on a sheet of styrene.  Placed together they form an nice supply dump or maintenance location.

Russian JS II Tanks

The previous tanks stored away in their box.

More Soviet WWII tanks.

This time a mixture of types.

They include M4A2 diesel engine Sherman tanks.

And a few Lend Lease White Scout Cars.

Polish Red Army JS-II and T-34/76 tanks.

WWII Soviet Union

I have spent about a year working on the WWII Soviet Collection.

My main focus was organization of units.

And building unbuilt kits,

making a few conversions.

After that, I wanted to at least primer paint all my Soviet Vehicles.

T-34/85 Tanks

Roco T-34/85 tanks in HO scale.

First thing is to take them apart.

Cut off the flash and put them back together.

It takes a while to get them all done.

Soviet Tanks

Twenty tanks, all ready for combat.

T44 tanks in the WWII version.

A simple yet different conversion.

Twenty tanks, two companies.

Plenty tanks for a pretty good wargame.

Soviet Tanks

I finally got my T44 company completed.

I am also just finishing my T34/76 company too.

These tanks were in rough shape, they needed a lot of work.

But they are all better now.

And they are all nicely painted up too.

T44 Soviet Tank

This is the ancient Roco T-44.  It often was sold with the Roco T54 turret and T44 turret together.

 The standard hull is the post-WWII version.  Mostly the fenders and fuel tanks need to be modified.

So I dragged a few out of storage and using a razer saw buzzed down the fenders.

 Since during the Great Patriotic War the Soviet Union usually organized tanks in companies of ten, I got ten of them ready for modification.

 Evergreen plastic sheet and angle pieces cover the sawn away areas.  I used some JS-II parts from Paul Heiser Models to make the tank tracks and fuel tanks.

A brush bristle and a small resin tarp go on the turret as seemed typical for the wartime T44 tanks.  They had various mechanical problems that were never really solved although they were sent to training units in September 1944, they never served in combat and even postwar they were limited production.  Still, had the Soviets suffered reverses, fixed the problems or got an order from Stalin the could have been used in combat well before the end of the war.

Soviet Tanks and Seals

Working on the Soviet WWII tank collection continues, now with T26 light tanks.

I am spraying them with primer.

I am also spraying seals and penguins.

Penguins are going to be allied with The Penguin from Batman fame.  Penguins ride on the seals.

I am also finally getting around to painting primer on some of the resin models that have languished in the queue for 25 years.

Russian supplies are also getting some paint.  Each artillery battery gets a supply dump and fire direction center.

Flags mark the battery number so I know which fire direction center goes with what.

I am using the Rustoleun gray Primer to paint these.

Russians As Germans

In searching the Web, I have found a few interesting bits of information that are useful for a wargame army.  I located a photo of the Soviet BT-7 fast tank in North Africa, captured from the Germans by the Americans.  No one seems to know what the tank was doing there with the Germans or how many were there.  My speculation is this, the Germans did capture vast numbers of these tanks, they had a short engine life in Russian use, but I suspect with spare parts from damaged tanks the Germans could keep them in service for a while.  The BT-7 tank was very fast and would probably have done well in the open terrain in North Africa.

The second bit of information I found is that the Germans had both the T-26 light tank and the T-34 medium tank in France.  I found photos of one T-26 tank and several T-34 tanks.  The Germans did capture large numbers of both of these tanks.  The T-26 tank was an okay light tank but the T-34 was tough and reliable.  The units that captured them often kept them in service.  At least one division set up a workshop and put T-34's back into service and added German specifications to the tanks.  Notek lights, side skirts, and of course German camouflage and markings.



One theory is that the Germans used the T-26 and T-34 tanks to use to train German troops resting and refitting before assignment to the Russian front.  The Germans did use Soviet tanks in training films to teach their troops how to attack the masses of Soviet tanks.  Once the Allies invaded the training tanks could have been impressed into combat units.  Imagine a Tunisia game with Germans using Tiger I, Panzer III and BT-7 tanks.  Or a Kampfgruppe in France with Panzer IV, Panther and
T-34 tanks vs Shermans.

ISU-122 / 152 Soviet Assault Gun

The gun barrels on this kit are great! Look at the detail on the muzzles. These ISU-122 / 152 Soviet Assault Guns by Pegasus are 1/72nd scale and come two in a package. They retail for about $12 a box.

The kit is flash free and is a rather quick build. The model is huge, just like the real thing.

The model comes with parts to build either version, but with two kits per box, you can build one of each. TOE is three per platoon, three platoons, and an HQ one for ten per company.

The instruction sheet shows how simple these kits are. A quick build and pretty sturdy.

These monsters were used late in WWII and continued in service for decades afterwards. These will go great with the new Pegasus JS-II tanks and soon to be released Soviet Infantry sets.