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KV-220 Rearmed


BryanKrueger

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kv220-1.jpg

The KV-220 was an experiential tank prototyped in 1941. It was an attempt to level-up the KV-1 series. The armor was increased, a new gun was mounted - the 85mm F-30, and the hull was extended one road wheel station to reduce the ground pressure from the increased weight.

The design didn't meet expectations and was abandoned. The Turret was used as a static defense and the hull was reequipped with a KV-1 turret with the 76.2mm gun and used around the defense of Leningrad.

The kit is the Trumpeter 05553 Soviet KV-220 "Russian Tiger". I decided to add a few upgrades to the rather basic kit. The taper-less F-30 looked like a dummy gun so I used a spare ZIS-S-53 barrel from a Dragon T-34/85 kit. I'm tempted to upgrade further to a 100mm D-10S so this is still a work in progress. These weren't introduced until 1943 so this is more of a what-if build.

I added appliqué armor plates to protect the turret ring. All hull welds were created with stretched sprue. There are no aftermarket fenders available for the KV-220. I tried to scratch my own from brass but wasn't too happy with the results so I just left most of the fenders off. It looks more aggressive this way and is good way to show off the tracks. The stowage boxes are from an ET Models set that had to be modified to fit the narrow style fenders. I cut about 2mm off the back end and patched it up with brass I was using for the fenders. I scratched the brass bits used for the light and horn mount and left that hardware off because I just didn't want to deal with them.

The tracks are from MasterClub. Fortunately the set contained enough links to make the extended run of the KV-220. Unfortunately between breaks and losses, I came up short by 2 of the resin nuts that face the outside so I will need to scratch some replacements. The tracks were a real bear to deal with on this build. Besides cleaning up flash on the knuckles, I had to drill out the holes on each link for the exterior pins for a press fit while the interior ones all required a tiny drop of superglue to retain them. Very tedious work.

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Additional images can be found here: KV-220

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The build isn't too bad but it's not the best of the Trumpeter KV line. There is some flash and pitting on the sprues from the old molds. The detail on the new molds isn't as good as their previous KV kits. The tracks are nicely detailed but I prefer to use metal tracks.

 

The fit of the periscope guards on the commander's turret is vague. Install the periscopes first then glue the guards so they align properly. The instructions also have you use a mix of parts for the guards. I'm not sure if this is correct.

 

The engine deck plate lifting ring studs are molded as little bumps. The more accurate ring studs are on the sprues so shave off the molded detail and add these for better detail. I made the rings from solder wire.

 

Neither of the kit barrels have riffling (which is kinda noticeable at this size) but there isn't an aftermarket alternative.

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Over the weekend I picked up a copy of a 2000era Russian language publication on the KV series. It contained 1/35 scale drawings for the KV-220. Comparing the drawings to the kit, it looks like the trumpeter kit hull is about 5-6mm short. Basing on one set of drawings is risky though. Had I known sooner, I might have lengthened the kit hull but it's a little late for that now.

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  • 1 month later...

OK, finally something to show for my absence. This model has had more touch ups and repaints than I care to mention but it's coming together.

Sorry for the grainy quality. Took these real quick this morning.

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  • 3 months later...
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