#32545 Russian KV-1B w/ Appliqué Armor

As a natural follow-on to kit #32535, Tamiya has released this kit representing a KV-1 Model 1940 from late June 1941 with ehkrany spaced armor.  The kit provides parts for both the hull and turret ehkrany allowing you to build either variant of the ehkrany-equipped vehicles; one with the spaced armor on the turret and hull, or on the turret only.

This kit shares many parts with kit #32535, including the die-cast lower hull, pressed steel two-part resilient road wheels, pressed steel rubber-rimmed return rollers without reinforcing ribs and early pattern drive sprockets.  The road wheels are appropriate for an ehkrany-equipped vehicle manufactured in late June 1941, but later production examples from July typically carried pressed steel wheels without lightening holes, or cast wheels.

Fender stowage is identical to that provided in kit #32535 with three large rectangular stowage boxes of the type fitted from late January 1941 onwards, a cross-cut saw with its bracket and a cylindrical stowage tube for the gun barrel cleaning rods.  Photographs indicate that most if not all vehicles fitted with the revised stowage boxes carried the saw and its bracket inside the lid of the stowage box on the number 10 position, so this part should be omitted from your model.  The stowage tube for the gun cleaning rods was also frequently absent on vehicles manufactured from mid-June 1941 onward so check your references for the vehicle you intend to model.

The kit provides the correct bolt configuration for the engine deck, and late pattern radiator intake screens which are appropriate for a late June production example.  The radiator intake screens would benefit from replacement with aftermarket items.  Both Aber and Hauler provide suitable replacements.  The engine access hatch includes the inspection port in the center of the dome.  The port was not introduced until the end of 1941, so the port should be removed and the dome sanded smooth.

The parts for the early welded turret are identical to those included in kit #32535, with additional parts for the hull and turret appliqué plates.  Combining these parts with the appliqué armor for the hull front and driver’s front plate will allow you to build a vehicle with or without hull appliqué armor.  Note that the turret includes the ring-shaped weld marks characteristic of a ChTZ vehicle, whereas most ehkrany-equipped vehicles were manufactured by LKZ.  Sand the marks away from the turret roof to accurately depict an LKZ example, but leave the marks on the front and rear plates.

Careful selection of kit parts and addition of aftermarket parts will allow you to build a variety of different production examples.  You can build a vehicle with turret ehkrany only by omitting the hull ehkrany and appliqué armor.  Alternatively, you can build a 'hybrid' example by using the hull appliqué armor, fabricating your own appliqué plates for the upper hull sides and using the turret ehkrany from the kit.  You can also build a vehicle from early/mid-July by obtaining a set of cast two-part resilient wheels from a Hobby Boss kit.  Many individual variations existed so check your references for the vehicle you intend to model.