German (T-70) Artillery Tractor, Limber and Towed AT Gun
By Eric Christianson
Background
The T-70 Artillery Tractor (Munitions Schlepper) represented in this kit started out life as a light tank used by the Red Army during World War II, replacing both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light infantry tank for infantry support. The subject of this kit is a captured German livery that has had the original turret removed.
The 76-mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22) was a Soviet divisional semi-universal gun, adopted for Red Army service in 1936. This gun was used in conflicts between the USSR and Japan on the Far East, in the Winter War and in World War II. Many F-22s were captured by Wehrmacht, modernized by the Germans and used against Soviet forces.
This in-box review will soon be followed by a full build article of this kit.
The Kit
The kit contains 16 sprues of finely molded light-grey plastic. There is some minor flash on two parts that look like a large flat sack of flower, but otherwise the kit is flash-free. I could not find any ejection pin marks that would be visible on the finished assemblies. The detail is thin, very crisp and well molded. A small fret of photo-etch provides engine grille screens, grab handles and assorted other parts (42 pieces in all). A small sprue of clear plastic provides a single headlight and periscope mirrors. One full-size sprue contains five excellent figures with separate heads, arms, legs and weapons. Figures can be assembled with either helmets or soft field caps.
The individual track links are well molded on both sides and look like they should fit together well.
The plastic, two-piece gun barrel is split along the top.
The four tires are a masterpiece of engineering, provided in vertical cross-sections that, when assembled along the tread pattern, will result in seamless wheels for the limber and towed AT gun.
There are two ammo boxes that are exquisitely detailed. The first is a 14-piece affair that can hold five rounds of ammunition; the second is a six-piece empty wooden crate. The kit comes with what appears to be 16 HE Fragmentation rounds, 8 AP rounds and 8 empty shell casings, all are molded in finely detailed plastic. The shell casings are hollowed out at the ends.
There are six tool boxes, three for each side of the tractor. You have the option of removing the molded-on hinges and latches and using photo-etch replacements.
The kit comes with a small sheet of decals that contains two white Balkan crosses and a variety of stencils for the vehicles and ammunition boxes.
There are several optional parts provided to represent the early production or late production runs of the T-70.
In addition, there are about 70 unused parts in the box, including a turret, mantle and main armament – presumably the original Soviet 45mm weapon assembly.
The six page instruction sheet is surprisingly well illustrated, clear and complete for a box containing so many parts. Unfortunately, there is no illustration of the competed tractor, limber or towed gun. You will need to use the box top or a single side view on the side of the box to check your work. On the other hand, there is a very good set of drawings for the five figures included in the kit.
Paint call outs are made for the figures only and include Gunze Mr. Color (Lacquer), Model Master and Humbrol (Enamels), and Vallejo, Revell and Tamiya (Acrylics).
The color scheme suggested by the box top is the original Red Army green of the T-70.
Conclusion
I think this kit will be a lot of fun to build – there are a lot of parts and construction of the tires and ammo cases will be an interesting departure from the usual.
Fortunately, there is a lot of information on the internet about the T-70 and the towed 76mm gun so the modeler will have plenty of photographs to use in lieu of the two box-top drawings. With a good finish this kit should build up into a nice representation of common Russian equipment, albeit in uncommon hands!
I recommend this kit to anyone who likes to build and finish towed artillery and their prime movers, and who welcomes a challenge provided by a whole lot of parts.
I would like to thank Scale Model Kits for providing this kit for review, and to Internet Modeler for giving me the opportunity to build this kit – stay tuned for the full-build article to follow.
