discussion Trumpeter KV "Big Turret"

[Mr Bowcat]

I found out today that there is a model shop near where I work, so I popped in on the way home. It seemed rude to leave without buying something so I picked this kit up for the bargain price of £17.

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[Guest]

Nice kit Bob, and for a great price mate

 

[papa 695]

Think I'll watch this one Bob.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Apparently it had been reduced because of the box damage, but the contents are fine.

 

[Guest]

Be prepared for a less than enjoyable time with that kit Bob. I've built it & the one I had was covered in ejection pin marks. I'd also recommend a replacement barrel from RB Models.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Patrick, I'll keep an eye out.

 

[monica]

great bargain,Bob,I have built a couple of these,s ,and unlike Patrick,did not get
the ejection pin marks,maybe there was a bad run of them at some stage,
you should enjoy this one,

 

[Gauge1TrainsDK]

Interesting model. Hoping for no ejection pin marks on this specimen!

 

[Mr Bowcat]

So far so good, got the hull built. There was a lot of flash and/or seams on almost every part. The suspension arms alone took almost 30 mi utes to clean up.

I will also need to do some filling.

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[Mr Bowcat]

great bargain,Bob,I have built a couple of these,s ,and unlike Patrick,did not get
the ejection pin marks,maybe there was a bad run of them at some stage,
you should enjoy this one,

After the part heavy Meng King Tiger I fancied a low part, easy build before I tackle the Meng Bradley.

 

[Gauge1TrainsDK]

So far so good, got the hull built. There was a lot of flash and/or seams on almost every part. The suspension arms alone took almost 30 mi utes to clean up.

Not what I would expect from a Trumpeter kit. I have yet to build one, but have bought about ten, and I havn't noticed any flash to speak of on those. Is it likely this was merely a bad batch, or is flash and mold lines to be expected on Trumpeter's kits?

 

[Mr Bowcat]

To be honest it's the first trumpeter kit I've bought, so not too sure. I think it dates back to 2005 so maybe they have improved a lot since then?? It's certainly a far cry from the kit I just finished (Meng) but the that's a lot newer.

 

[Guest]

Told you! wait till you get to the turret! The mantlet is a nasty piece of work

With regard to Monica's post, I'm fairly sure she built the other Trumpeter KV 2 kit which isn't so bad.

Keep going though Bob!

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Will do. If nothing else it will help me learn to pay attention to detail on every part, something I haven't always done on other builds.

Plus it's Russian and WW2 so I can practice getting it rusty.

 

[Guest]

Not what I would expect from a Trumpeter kit. I have yet to build one, but have bought about ten, and I havn't noticed any flash to speak of on those. Is it likely this was merely a bad batch, or is flash and mold lines to be expected on Trumpeter's kits?

Trumpeter are a company of extremes! Some kits are excellent & rival the best of Tamiya. Their T-62, E series of German tanks are all excellent from my personal experience.
But then their flagship kits, like the 1/16 King Tiger is an injection pin nightmare! Many parts are inaccurate & poorly fitting. Not what you'd expect after paying over £200!

Always best to check prior to purchase or be ready for a challenge

 

[Guest]

Will do. If nothing else it will help me learn to pay attention to detail on every part, something I haven't always done on other builds.

Plus it's Russian and WW2 so I can practice getting it rusty.

Haha you mean like my unfinished one?
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[Gauge1TrainsDK]

Sad to hear. As mentioned, I've yet to start building one, but the following kits I've bought and looked through, and really enjoyed what seemed like virtually flash free sprues:

02312
02324
01563
01587
00374
01514
01523
01524

All 1:35, spanning the years 2008 - 2013. So maybe this is a case of newer kits having less problems with this, unlike Dragon (and possibly Tamiya?) which does not seem to have had those problems for close to 20 years.

 

[monica]

nice progress on this one,so far,looking good,

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Yep, something along those lines.

Out of interest (if you remember) the part that sits to the side of the drivers periscope is shown in the instructions as sitting in a little slot. However there isn't a slot on the kit. Did you just glue it in the right position or did yours have the slot?

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[Guest]

Yep, something along those lines.

Out of interest (if you remember) the part that sits to the side of the drivers periscope is shown in the instructions as sitting in a little slot. However there isn't a slot on the kit. Did you just glue it in the right position or did yours have the slot?

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I don't think mine had the slot, so I trimmed the part & just glued it in place.