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| "Победа будет за нами" means "Victory will be ours". |
As I own both of them, I have chosen for this article Zvezda models. First let's find something more about this awesome tank from beginning of WWII, which was the wreath for German panzers during the Operation Barbarossa.
KV Series Tanks History Research
Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks were a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defense commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov and used by the Red Army during World War II. The KV series were known for their extremely heavy armour protection during the early part of the war, especially during the first year of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
They were practically immune to the 3.7 cm KwK 36 and howitzer-like, short barreled 7.5 cm KwK 37 guns mounted, respectively, on the early Panzer III andPanzer IV tanks fielded by the invading German forces. Until more effective guns were developed by the Germans, the KV-1 was invulnerable to almost any German weapon except the famous 88 mm gun. Even then, the sloped and reinforced front armor and turret of the KV-1 caused hits from the 8.8 cm Flak gun to ricochet.
Prior to Operation Barbarossa (the German invasion of the USSR), about 500 of the over 22,000 tanks then in Soviet service were of the KV-1 type. When the KV-1 appeared, it outclassed the French Char B1, the only other heavy tank in operational service in the world at that time. Yet, in the end, it turned out that there was little sense in producing the expensive KV tanks, as the T-34 medium tank performed better (or at least equally well) in all practical respects. Later in the war, the KV series became a base for the development of the IS (IS - Josif Stalin) series of tanks.
(Source: Wikipedia)
KV-1 Series Manufacturers for Flames of War (15 mm scale)
As first thing all gamers think about finance, as they are limited by their wifes or their budget. Happy gamers without any restrictions! Let's see what we can get looking at the KV-1 options on market.
Flames of War - Battlefront Miniatures Wargamer Rating 2.3 of 5
Battlefront Miniatures is usually my first pick, as I prefer easy assembly and some variants matching Flames of War game. In the moment there are available the following KV-1's:
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| KV-1 obr 1939 / 1940 (SU080) |
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| KV-1e with KV-8 option (SU082) |
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| KV-1s with KV-8s option (SU083) |
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| KV-1s Company Box (SBX04) |
Zvezda Wargamer Rating 2.4 of 5
Zvezda model is better with details then Battlefront model, but it has some drawbacks too. It is not exactly 15mm (it is either 1:100 or some measures are not matching), I personally do not like too complicated assambly of model and the way how turret is attached to tank body. I am trying to ignore two first drawbacks and I am connecting turret and tank body with 2 small magnets. I have chosen this producer to test and prepare few tanks for fun.
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| Zvezda |
Skytrex.com Wargamer Rating 2.65 of 5
Skytrex models usually have very good quality, unless some of the tracks with some tanks (like Abrams) are too light for the tank body weight and these tracks tend to get deformed. I am convinced, this is not KV-1 case. |
| CD405 KV 1 Tank |
Plastic Soldier Company (Planned in production)
Plastic Soldier has usually very good quality and great level of detail including variability. Therefore you will buy 15mm KV 1/2/S/85 version right away. My personal preference here is better for going into this models, as usually they are vey flexible with versions for reasonable price.
ORF Models Wargamer Rating 2.65 of 5
QRF has approximately the same quality like Skytrex.com, sometimes are models very similar. I like metal for model's cast, but I am not convince of too ligt parts. |
| KV-1 obr 1940 |
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| SFV11 KV-1E |
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| SFV12 KV-1 1941 |
Rating
To be continued...
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