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UPDATED March 6, 2008
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MODEL PHOTO REVIEW
Difficulty Level : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Publisher: ThaiPaperwork http://agro-on.com/tppw/
Model Designer: NOBI
Model URL: http://agro-on.com/tppw/model/kv2.html
Cost: $3.95 (US)
Russian KV-II Tank
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Captured or knocked-out KV-II tanks.
The KV-2 series of heavy tank was a follow-up to the success of the KV-I. The goal was to combine the reliable KV-1 Hull/chassis with a much more powerful main gun. The new combination of KV-1 hull and the new huge turret and gun was designated as the KV-II.
The KV-2 was crewed by six personnel in cramped space. The wieght of the new tank with it's huge heavily armoured turret was immense, weighing in a about 6 tons more than the KV-1. This high weight contibuted to poor mobility and maneuvering and caused frequent breakdowns of the drive train and suspension-the KV-1 hull ws not upgraded to compensate for the additional weight. The turret was heavily armoured and could withstand much punishment, however it's tall height and straight slabe construction made the vehicle an attrtive target to enemy gunners. The size of the turret combined with the underpowered drive made for poor agility in the field. Even on packed roads, the KV-2's speed topped out around 16 miles per hour.
The KV-2 did have good points. The main armament was powerful and could fire high explosive or armour piercing rounds with ranges over 13,500 yards! It was a true support vehicle because of its power and weapons range. An ambitious design with great firepower and defensive armour, it was hampered by poor mobility and reliability.
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Preparation and Printing the Sheets
I purchased this from Thai Paperwork from thier online site. As opposed to many other tanks that are represented in many variations by various publishers, the KV-2 is not a common model. Thai Paperwork has brought many uncommon, but appreciated designs to the paper model market. The KV-2 has a distinctive appearance, almost primitive with its huge, slab turret.
The model cost is low, the drawing crisp and being a vector based PDF, perfect for scaling up or down and still retaining its deffinition-no jaggies here when enlarged.
The model is essentially 2 colors - black and medium green. There is some additional color added to the headlight. Detail is not high, but clearly the parts will buid up to a good representation of the KV-2.
Preparation and Printing the Sheets
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There were a couple of alterations I wanted to make before building. One was to scale the model up from its original 1:35 to 1:16. The second was to recolor the model. While gathering reference for the build, I found many variations in color and wear and tear on the actual tanks. I decided I wanted to do something along the lines of a winter camouflage look. Now, this pattern probably never appeared on a tank, and I don't care. It suggest what I want to convey and more importantly (to me at least), it looks good. There are many books and websites devoted to color schemes and accurate color representation. There's a lot of discussion about accurate color when printing paper model files. For the rivet counters, that's fine. But I'll never be convinced otherwie that in the field, especially the active battlefield, that anyone had time or inclination to pull into Home Depot and match a color chip. Whatever was at hand was what did the job.
A NOTE ABOUT RECOLORING MODELS: Without a thought, I did proceed to recolor this model as I wanted. I did not think to contact the designer and seek his input on doing this. Being a for-pay model and an unlocked PDF I just bowled ahead. Some designers are staunch in the idea their models not be changed from what they have published. As a coutesy, I should have contacted NOBI before the recoloring. My appologies and hope I have not offended him.
I imported the PDF a page at a time into Adobe Illustrator and scaled up. I created multiple layers and seperated the green, black and gray lettering each onto individual layers.
I expored the file as an Adobe Photoshop file, opened in Photoshop, and using a combination of "render clouds", "hue and saturation", "posterize" and layer filters, created the color and look I wanted. The files were saved and then placed in Illustrator so I could mask and gang the parts onto the larger page.
I used a page size of 11" x 17" as I used a Hammermill card stock available at that size. The pages were printed on an Epson Stylus Photo 2200 with pigment inks.
I laminated the parts I was starting with (the Turret) onto artist illustration board for strenght and stability. For this laminating I used 3M 77 Multipurpose Adhesive spray. A good coat of the spray glue, a couple of seconds to start to set-up and them laminated to the board using a plastic squeegee to form a solid bond.
The picture below gives an idea of the final scale. The ruler is 18".
Turret
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I started with the modt distinctive feature of this tank-the turret. Because of the thick illustration board, I cut out some of the thickness on the reverse side of the folds. This keep the size correct and the paper did not crack or split when formed. The parts fit was vry good. Before adding the top, I cut out the three spots for the periscopes. These periscopes are not shown or included in the kit. I used web reference for them. attached top, then added internal bracing for support and because of the size, I ant to make sure the sided do not bow in or out as time goes by. Added bottom pieces the created the bottom ring cut from artist illustration boeard to raise the turret as per reference-this is not part of the kit. Later on, I wol ad two more layers to the ring.
Using the reference I researched on the web, I added deatils and "texture" to the turret. Periscopes, vents, hatches, the "snail" eyes(?) and the ladder handles. The handles were fashioned from flooring staples I had handy as my wife and I were laying in a solid hardwood floor at the time. The details really add to the feel of the tank anf they'll be great "catching" places for the weathering to be done at the end of the build.
Gun Casement (?)
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This came next. Another easy part that fit well. The half-rounds of the sides were laminated to illustration board, the front piece waslaminated to poster board. I adden internal bracing to help hold the shape and for strength. I also added illustrtion board "pegs" as shown in the second photo so the attachment to the main turret would be more secure. I cut small slots in the turret to fit the pegs into. Glued up firmly.
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Next was this funky shape. Patience, patience. Does eventually work out though. This was the most difficult piece in the kit. Fit was fair to good. Of course since the parts generally fit great, it was a v
ery small problem. The gun barell itself I created by rolling an almost solid tube of paper. I had not intended to do this but I misjudged the diameter and had to work with it as I just didn't want to re-do it at the time I was building it. At the front end of the gun, I added the small raised portion seen in most photos. It's subtle, but there.
Hull
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Like the turret, the hull pieces were mounted to illustration board. Any folds on the thick illustration board were again aided by cutting out some of the material on the reverse side. On the small space at the rea of the hull that curves and then bends sharply (picture 4 above) was lef to thinner stock forease of curving. Parts fit was fine. Also added internal bracing, again for strength and shape holding. Build up nice and sturdy.
Wheels and Suspension
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The wheels supplied with the model did not seem to represent the wheels of the actual tank. Utilizing the parts supplied though, I built them in my own manner and believe they are much more representtive - still not prototype - but much improved. I used a foam-cor square with the corner cut off for the centers of each wheel (road and return rollers). On the road wheels, before printing out I added the small holes (in thise case represented as black circles) that ring the outer edge. Also added the star-like radiating ribs that seem prevalent on Russian vehicles including the KV-II.
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The foam center also added stength to the wheels when the hole was drilled for the wooden dowels I used for axles. This is not called for in the kit, but with the increased scale and weight of the materials, I do not want them to sag - ever! (I hope).
All wheels were attached using either wood dowels inserted through the hull, or in the case of the road wheels, small wood dowels iserted into small wood stanctions under the hull. This is NOT prototype but they are hidded and give the strength I want.
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Based on the reference there should be a "travel stop" bumper for the suspension arms. I fashione some simpple ones from scrap print-outs and attached.
These are not part of the kit but every little bit helps add to the illusion of reality.
Tracks
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"Strip" tracks are fine or many armour models, even at this scale (1:16), but the ones provided in the kit are too plain for use at most scales (picture on the left). I used Adobe Illustrator to draw new track treads with some sort of detail on them. These are not accurate treads, but afford more visual appeal. As I went along on the build, I came across more and more areas that needed revamping or additional detail that had to be fashioned from scratch. This is OK but I am not a master modeler, so my build became more of a "Sculpure" that a scale model. I detailed to please me and fool the less inititated.
At this point I figured the treads should be seperate, not strips of paper.
I made three passes at drawing and building a set of tracks until I was satisfied with the reults. With this large scale I'd have loved to cut out the little spaces in the treads, but my hands just coul
d not handle that much work as the prints were mounted to the illustration board. These are not the ultimate solution but again I feel they are quite an improvement.
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The track prints weer mounted to the illustration board and cut out. Each corner was trimmed at an angle. Strips to connect the treads together were made by mounting a long strip of unused track to one side of a sheet of 2-sided adhesive paper, then cut into thin strips as shown in picture 2. These adhesive sheets have a thin material coated on both sides with a powerful adhesive. Each side is covered with a release sheet. They are very useful for large areas or long, straight seams to be glued.
With paper mounted to one side of the thin strips, I peeled the release paper from the other side, then tacked the strips down, adhesive side up, to my work board, then had placed and pressed each tread in to place, pressing firmly. I left a small gap between each tread so the completed track would have some flex. After I had an appropriate lenght completed, it was sealed with aquick coat of craft matt clear-coat. Not the spray kind. I used the acrylic kind that comes in a bottle. This added strength the the thin strips and also added more adhesive stength by sealing the edges. Not as tedious a procedure as you might think.
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I also added the individual teeth to the treads. Teeth, teeth, and more teeth! After the glue had dried. I gave the track strip with the added teeth a good final coat of the acrylic sealer.
The center and right photo shoe two rough fittings of the tracks as they moved through construction. They look pretty darn good to me.
Air Intakes
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The air intake parts were simple but the "screen" part of them was represented by an ugle weave pattern. It was very easy to cut ot the printed screen and attach a fabric or metal screen piece to the back. It's hard to see, but I added a support to the inside middle of the part to help hold the shape and give more area to glue to. The black color is a little stark but will be toned down during weathering, also the tank itself will be quite dirty so they will not stand out so much.
Added Details
This model, as it comes, will build up into a basic and good representation of the Russian KV-II. However it lacks a lot of details that would make it stand out and are needed at larger scales. Even simple drawn-on details would add much to the model.
ITEMS ADDED |
ITEMS ALTERED |
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| Front Machine Gun Port and Deflector | Turret Top Vents | Complete New Tracks | Commanders Hatch | |
| Front Angle Armour Addition | Turret Top "Eyes" | Air Intakes | Road Wheels and Return Rollers | |
| Rear Exhaust Ports | Suport Brackets on Casement | Rear Deck Cover | Correct Front Hull Viewport | |
| Ladder Handles | Rings Under Turret | Gun Barrel | Reposition Front Headlight | |
| Periscopes | "V" Deflector Top of Hull | |||
| Suspension Stops | ||||
Final Impressions
Thai Paperwork has a fine model here at a very reasonable cost. Granted it does lack much detail but the PDF format allows you to easily add those you research. This research is also just plain interesting and this adds to the over-all pleasure of building this kit.
At first, I became frustrated at having to creat so much detail myself, however this was quickly tempered by the fun I had and the experience gained. Not everything I di worked out as I pplanned, but this also helps knowing what doesn't work as much as what does. Back in 2005 I started a 1:16 GPM Panzer with a couple of thousand parts. It was intimidating and I moved on to other models. Since then, and especially after this experience, I now look forward to taking that model up again (when the build schedule permits).
There are a couple of mistakes in the directions - looks like a drawing or two might have been flopped. Some of the general placement is a little off (turret should be moved forward a little), but these are minor, especially with the low cost of this kit. One thing I really would have like more of would be more complted build pictures from Thai Paperwork. There's only one on the web site an when you click it, you only get the same small picture you started with. Tanks are difficult and long builds. They are tedious because of the repetition of all the road wheels and rollers and this might be the reason for the lack of built-up pictures from Thai Paperwork on this subject.
I've also purchased his Japanese "Dinah" bomber model (not on the build list yet) and also the German "Puma" vehicle. This looks to be similar to the KV-II with basic detail, but with this KV experience, I'm ecited to build this one. Already studying it for changes and additions. Will also build at 1:16 and probably re-color if I can find decent reference.
If you like armour and want to build an interesting vehicle in the history of tanks I definitely recommend this kit. The price is right and you can take it as far as you want.
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