UM 1/72 SU-85M Self-propelled Gun
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Overview
This
first self-propelled gun mount using the T34 chassis was the SU-85. With
the corresponding upgrade of the T34 with the same 85mm main gun it became
unnecessary and limited in its production. This SPG would soon be replaced
by the more powerful SU-100. Its primary role was anti-tank support for
tank and infantry units. It suffered due to its limited range of gun depression.
The SU-85 was withdrawn from service in September 1944. It went on to
serve other countries in other conflicts.
The Kit
UM's standard box art is very well done as a reference with a color
plate on the back when you get 
ready
to paint and apply decals. The color plate on the back of the box art
contains a Humbrol color reference to use when painting this model. This
SU-85M kit contains a three-part sprue of photo-etch, 2 vinyl sprues containing
22 parts, and 5 styrene sprues containing 142 parts. The styrene parts
molded in a green drab color with no sinkholes, injector pin indentations
or flash residue. UM seems to use a softer styrene for their kits. This
is good in that small parts may bend but not break when mishandled. All
parts appear to be well defined and in scale. The SU-85M kit shares 4
sprues with their SU-122 kit, mainly the rear deck, lower hull and suspension
parts. The black vinyl parts include two tow cables and 20 rubber tires.
Somewhat puzzling is the rubber rim detail which looks somewhat like an
automobile tire tread. Having the rim separate from the road wheel allows
the builder to be more creative with this model especially if you wanted
to emulate a burned-out vehicle. One notable difference with this kit
is instead of the dish-type road wheels you get the spoke-type and they
are very nice in detail. 
There
are front and back rims with 2 rubber rims to complete one road wheel.
Separate suspension arms allow you to articulate the vehicle on smooth
or rough surface. The length and link tracks are finely detailed on both
sides. The lower hull is made up of 9 parts. The upper hull is divided
into 2 sub-assemblies, one for the main gun housing and the other for
the engine deck. Both are very well detailed. The nine-piece 85mm gun
housing sprue appears to have a rough texture to it similar to rolled
steel. The eighteen-piece engine deck has the same level of detail. The
photo-etched two-man saw and engine deck screen enhance the level of detail.
The photo-etched bow machine gun ring is not used. Do not throw it away,
save it for another model perhaps. There are 4 external fuel tanks that
are made up of 4 parts each. Building these will be the most time-consuming
part of the upper hull assembly. A suggestion would be to drill out the
engine exhausts. I suggest using a round dental bit to open up the headlight
assembly (part 67A) for MV lenses. That would really enhance the appearance
of this model. The nicely illustrated kit instructions are tri-lingual
(Ukrainian, German and English) and use symbols to assist you in assembly.
These symbols tend to make some steps look somewhat 
confusing
but are effectual. Knowing someone who reads Ukrainian would help. Which
brings me to the decal sheet. The quality is excellent in that the decal
film is very thin and the printing of the markings are fine. There are
markings for two vehicles from different battlefronts. Eastern Prussian
Front (Winter 1945) and Belo-Russian Front (Spring 1945). Unfortunately,
there is no unit information associated with the decals. Positioning of
the decals does not appear to be difficult as they are all located on
the angular surface of the main gun housing.
Conclusion
UM's venture in producing the T34 variants is a welcome addition to small-scale Russian armor subjects. With the T34 chassis in the bag now UM is doing the SU self-propelled gun tank series. As with their other kits they do not lack for quality and are reasonably priced. You will not be disappointed with purchasing a UM product.
I would like to thank Squadron Mail Order for the review kit.
