UM 1/72 SU-100 Self-propelled Gun By Chris Banyai-Riepl

History

Production of the Su-100 began in the fall of 1944, and by the end of the war the SU-100 was one of the most successful SPG designs to come out of the Second World War. The heavy armor, powerful gun, and strong engine blended together to make an effective fighting weapon, and 3,037 were built, some of which soldiered on for over 20 years in many different countries.

The Kit

For those who are familiar with UM kits, this one has no new surprises. Molded in the typical UM green plastic, the kit also includes a small fret of photoetch, some vinyl wheel pieces, and a small decal sheet. Detailing throughout is crisp, with minimal flash.

Construction begins with the hull. This is fairly straightforward, but still a bit complicated. The entire hull is built up from separate pieces, with no less than seven main pieces for the lower hull alone. As long as care is taken in aligning all these pieces, though, there should be no problems later on. The suspension and wheels are well detailed as well, with separate arms and multi-part roadwheels. The tracks are injection plastic, with separate links to go around the curves.

Moving to the upper hull, since this has no turret, assembly here is very simple. The main upper hull is split into a front and rear portion, with the gun mount having six pieces. The way the gun is engineered makes it very simple to replace the barrel with a turned aluminum one, should that be your thing. Details for the upper hull include separate exhaust shrouds, various railings, hatches, and photoetch grills.

The decal sheet has several options on it, although only two are depicted in the instructions. These are for a 5th Guards SU-100 in the Baltic during autumn, 1944, while the other is from the 1st Byelorussian Front, Berlin, in the spring of 1945. Both are finished in a dark green, with numbers on the upper hull sides. The latter option has a slogan on the side saying, I believe, "Forward to Berlin!" The decals look well printed and appear thin.

Conclusion

This is a nice little model of the SU-100, and other than the individual track links, this should be a quick build. With the widespread usage of the SU-100 throughout the world, there are undoubtedly some interesting markings out there for this vehicle. Hopefully some aftermarket decal companies will come out with some of these. My thanks to Squadron Mail Order for the review sample.