RPM 1/35 Scale Kit No. 35044; Czolg
Lekki T-60 z dodatkowym opancerzeniem (T-60 Light Tank with Applique Armor)
by Cookie Sewell
254 parts (127 in grey styrene, 127 etched brass); price US$22.95
Advantages: best T-60 kit on the market coupled with full set of etched
brass is a bargain at this price
Disadvantages: the brass is very thin and tricky to work with
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: to all light tank and Soviet amour fans
I noted in a previous review that I have trouble sorting out the relationships
among eastern European companies as to who produces and who reboxes their
kits. This one is no different, as the Polish RPM company has taken a
Polish Techmod T-60 kit and boxed it with a large and complete set of
etched brass as their own kit.
The Techmod T-60 is one of their better kits; while not as detailed as
their T-50 with applique armor kit that came with etched brass, it is
far better than the T-70 kits as it is at least accurate and offers a
choice of early (spoke) or late (disk) wheels. I built the basic kit and
recall it being a (relative) snap to assemble, and even the link-and-length
tracks fit without much hassle.
This kit comes with a large (125 x 150 mm) brass sheet to replace most
of the lighter details, such as the engine air intake, radiator exhaust,
fenders and braces, and also provide a relatively scale 10mm applique
armor package for the turret. The directions are unfortunately only in
Polish, but most of the items can be discerned and attached correctly.
At least the entire Techmod kit is provided, so the modeler can use all
the pieces he wants to without having to use fiddly brass bits where he
may not want to use them.
The sample I had came with damaged intake and radiator exhaust screens
(brass parts 4 and 20) but someone must have done quality control, as
there were replacement parts included with my sample. (Of course, as it
was purchased at a "sale" table the original owner may have
ordered them to fix the problems with the kit in the first place.)
A total of five finishing options were provided: a plain T-60 with aerial
marking, an all white one from Manchuria in winter 1944, and three plain
green ones – Stalingrad 1943, and two from different companies of
the same unit in 1943 with variations on the same markings.
Overall this is a nice kit made even better by the brass sheet, and the
price is reasonable to begin with before you check around. (I picked this
one up for $10 as it is an older kit, but one still offered from Squadron
and other dealers for around $20.)
Cookie Sewell
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