Trumpeter 1/35 Strv 103B Main Battle Tankby Dave Manter |  |
History
The Swedish made “S” tank first entered production in the 1960’s. Labeled by some as a tank-killer rather than a main battle tank, the “S” tank was new in design as a “turret less” tank. The Strv103B was the main version of the “S” tank in its early years from 1970-1984. The Strv103B was based on the S103 but features a major renovation and modification. These updates included a laser rangefinder coupled to the driver/gunners sight, a new diesel engine, a new transmission and LYRAN illumination flare mortars. A series of test showed that the Strv103B was more accurate than the M60A1E3 and was well suited for both offensive and defensive action. About 300 S103Bs were made and were replaced with the Strv103Cs in 1984.
The Kit
The kit features 234 very well molded parts on 3 trees molded in a light olive colored plastic. These are some of the best-molded parts that I have seen in any kit. The detail is exquisite and all of the parts are flash free. One example that really stands out is the thought that went into the attachment points on the trees. Parts C1 and C2 are the exhaust deflectors and they have numerous ridges molded into them. On most kits these have to be removed in order to clip the parts from the trees. Trumpeter has thoughtfully put the attachment points on the bottom of these parts so you don’t have to remove any detail from the part itself. Lets have a round of applause here please!
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The instruction sheet is very well laid out and breaks assembly into 20 easy to follow steps:
Step 1 is the assembly of the wheels.
Steps 2 and 3 are the assembly of the lower hull.
Steps 4, 5 and 6 are the assembly of the upper hull details.
Step 7 is the assembly of the driver’s hatch, sights and the machine gun.
Step 8 is the assembly of the commander’s cupola.
Steps 10 and 11 are the assembly of the final upper hull details and the main gun.
Steps 12 and 13 are the making of the antennas and the assembly of the tracks.
Step 14 is the assembly of the upper and lower hulls.
Steps 15,16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 are the assembly of the final details.
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Decals are included and they are well printed and in perfect registration.
Track links are supplied as rubber band type and the detail is wonderful.
Conclusions
All in all this looks to be an outstanding kit of a long awaited subject. Anyone who is modeling modern armor should defiantly add this one to the collection. The detail is superb and it looks like it will build in to a great model with out a lot of extra effort. If you want a kit with detail and will stand out in any collection due to its unique shape than this kit is for you. Highly recommended!
My thanks to Stevens International for the review sample.
