KV-1 model 1940 simplified welded turret (short bustle)

1
November 19, 2022
This is the tank I'm trying to replicate. As you can seen from the progress bar, it's a screenshot from a YT video.
2
November 15, 2022
New crew hatch surround from the MR conversion set.
3
November 5, 2022
This is the MR part viewed from below. Where the flattened part should be is outlined in the instructions.
4
November 5, 2022
The number of bolts on the cover for the drive sprocket had been reduced from 16 to 8 by the time the tank was produced: September 1941.

There is a resin part in the MR set, but I preferred to alter the Tamiya part instead, as it's fairly easy to to.
5
November 5, 2022
The hatch for the engine compartment was a flat instead of a domed one. Left is Tamiya (dark green), in the middle is a Trumpeter leftover from 00358 (light grey), and on the right is the MR part. Unfortunately, there are no fittings for the rope that was used to keep the hatch in the open position. So I'll remove the chevron-shaped deflector, which was only added in October, from the Trumpeter part and use that.
6
November 5, 2022
Both the tail light and the air deflector plate were commonly omitted at LKZ during this period. So I cut off the tail light and sanded away the support lip for the deflector plate. Both the hole and the groove will have to filled with putty.
7
November 15, 2022
The engine access hatch included in the MR conversion set lacks any fittings, so I took an unused one from Trumpeter 00358. After removing the hinges and the chevron-shaped armour fillet (from what I read in the KV book it only appeared in October), I shortened it a bit and added two small cutouts so that it matches the replaced Tamiya part. I still have to take the hinges from the Tamiya hatch and transfer it to this one.
8
November 19, 2022
The modified Trumpeter flat engine access hatch with the hinges from the Tamiya part.
9
November 19, 2022
For the engine deck grilles, I chose a different route this time. Instead of doing the frame from PE, I removed the solid grille from the kit part and kept the frame, which was much easier for me. The hole in the rear plate where I cut off the back light was plugged with a piece of sprue.
10
November 19, 2022
The PE grilles from ABER. I added a piece of 0.3mm copper wire to the frames.
11
November 19, 2022
This is the 1st grille on the model, dry-fitted.
12
November 19, 2022
As you can see through the grilles, I added the louvres, made from styrene sheet. Trumpeter is more user-friendly in this regard: even though they provide solid grilles as well, they nevertheless included the louvres for the those who wish to replace them with PE.
13
November 20, 2022
Slow progress today: only the RH louvres are added, and the lower rear plate is filled and sanded. On the RH grille I started the same process of removing one solid segment at a time.
14
December 6, 2022
Cutting off the resin parts from the casting blocks and cleaning up is tedious work, but the resin from MR is relatively pleasant to work with.
15
December 6, 2022
This is the base of the turret. The reinforcing fillet that was used on the first simplified turrets without interlocking plates was not forgotten by MR.
16
December 6, 2022
The metal gun barrel is part of the MR set, but the way the mantlet was designed it wont fit, i.e. it would protrude far too much. So I drilled through the mantlet so I could mount the barrel from the other side. Here you see the completed part put next to a 1:35 line drawing in Neil Stokes' book.
17
December 14, 2022
Of course, with that modification you also have to drill through the base of the mantlet, as shown on the RH of the picture. Out of curiosity, I also buil the Tamiya turret, which will be used for another project - you can see it in the background.
18
January 16, 2023
Progress has been slow - lots of tedious work and various small parts with little to show for. Fixed the mantlet in place and added the applique armour.
19
January 16, 2023
With the exception of the issue with the gun tube, the set is superbly engineered by MR and everything fits together nicely.
20
March 11, 2023
Long time no update. The Tamiya nose plate featured an earlier version with 11 bolt holes, so modified to show the correct 8 bolt holes.
21
March 22, 2023
Added the remaining weld lines to the applique armor and turret sides.
22
March 22, 2023
The weld seams near the turret bustle were a weak spot and were soon covered with yet another applique armor plate.
23
March 26, 2023
The turret from a Trumpeter 00356 kit, taken apart. It will be replaced by another by TMD anyway.
24
March 26, 2023
Some more destruction...
25
March 26, 2023
This was the reason: to get at the ring around the turret hatch. I couldn't use the part E10 from Tamiya, as I want to use that turret for yet another project.
26
March 26, 2023
The Tamiya part is a bit too small in diameter, so I had to enlarge the hole in the turret roof for the Trumpeter part to fit.
27
March 29, 2023
The turret almost finished: only the rear machine-gun to be added und the support for the anti-aircraft machine-gun to be finished. I know the latter is not on the original picture.
28
April 8, 2023
Added the L-shaped part below the MG on the turret rear. This prevented the gunner from firing into the engine deck.
29
April 8, 2023
Added the part where the AA-MG could be "parked".
30
April 8, 2023
I was not happy with the barrel length, my guess is that the line drawings in the KV book are not 100% correct here, as the barrel looks shorter in pictures. So I unglued it with debonder, took the length of the Aber barrel as a guide, and glued it in again.
31
April 8, 2023
Finally the turret is now finished, after I added the mount for the AA-MG built from scratch, and the handles on the upper turret sides.
32
April 12, 2023
Started painting on the upper hull. As you can see, the louvres are clearly visible beneath the grilles, so it's a good thing I added them.
33
April 12, 2023
This time I used a new brand of colour: AK Real Colors, diluted with the thinner of the same line. It's a lot lighter than the 4BO Vallejo Primer.
34
April 15, 2023
An unusual way of attaching a tow cable: to the retaining cable for the engine access hatch.
35
May 17, 2023
The number of bolts to attach the fender brackets was reduced from 6 to 4 by the time this particular vehicle went into production.
36
May 17, 2023
It's the first time I used my punch-n-die set: works well!
37
June 7, 2023
Added the aftermarkt towing eyes from Aber. The holes in the Tamiya parts have to be enlarged for them to fit. The towing cables are from FB 3D, a brand of Sockelshop in Germany. The cables are made from braided coper wire, but are thicker than the Trumpeter ones and I would say more correct. The pieces of braided string included in the Tamiya kit are a joke.
38
June 7, 2023
Construction-wise, I would call it a day for now, as I'll have to build the hilltop diorama next. Only after that will the running gear be glued on, with the torsion bars and road wheels conforming to the terrain.

Comments

25 5 November 2022, 17:52

Jan Peters
Cool subject, will follow this.

5 November 2022, 17:58

Jean-Christophe Zeus
Thanks Jan! I'll try to replicate a picture which shows one of these climbing over a hill, which features a two-tone camouflage (brown and green).

I'll probably use the Trumpeter vinyl tracks for that one, as the details are good enough IMHO and due to the position of the road wheels the top run of the tracks are perfectly straight.

5 November 2022, 18:43

Mathias Decommere
Great investigation 😉

20 November 2022, 18:53

Jean-Christophe Zeus
As can be seen on picture 22, the fenders are attached with 6 bolts each. This is incorrect for this version, as they were reduced to 4 by that time. I'm still wondering how to do that. Either I will carefully cut off the inner 4 and re-add 2 of them, or I'll drill some holes and replace them with a short bit of copper wire.

22 March 2023, 09:44

Jan Peters
When I look at the pictures of the gun and mantlet I can't but wonder if the barrel should have been slipped in from the back, is through the base and mantlet?

22 March 2023, 11:21

Jean-Christophe Zeus
Jan please have a look at picture #17: on the left you have the mantlet, which already had a hole, though slightly undersized. On the right hand size of the picture you see the base of the mantlet, which connects to the two trunnion cheeks left and right. This part only had the 2 grooves but no hole. So you couldn't slip the barrel through that part. That in turn would have resulted in the gun barrel sticking much too far out.

I adjusted the length of the F-32 gun to match the line drawings Neil Stokes' KV book, and it's still sligthly longer than the barrel in the Trumpeter kits 00356 and 00357. The Aber replacement barrel in turned aluminium matches the Trumpeter parts in length. In the top view line drawings the gun reaches the rear edge of the angled nose plate.

I hope that makes things a bit clearer and that I haven't misunderstood your question.

22 March 2023, 13:56

Jean-Christophe Zeus
This weekend I was busy completing the turret. To my horror, I realised that I couldn't use the Tamiya part E10 for the ring around the turret hatch, as I want to use the Tamiya turret on another project. So I had to extract the part from a Trumpeter turret, which therefore had to be sacrificed. I took one of my kits 00356 for that, as this one will be converted to a model 1939 later on, using a turret with L-11 gun from TMD.

26 March 2023, 11:42

Jean-Christophe Zeus
Finally the turret is now finished after having added all the small fittings. I was not happy with the barrel length, so I corrected that.

8 April 2023, 10:17

Guy Rump
Looking great. 👍

15 April 2023, 21:11

Jean-Christophe Zeus
Construction is finished for now. The rest of the running gear will be done after the hilltop base is finished. As I've written above, I'll try to use the vinyl tracks for once, because they're quite good for the medium and I don't need the top run to sag for this particular model.

7 June 2023, 07:32

Album info

Tamiya kit modified with conversion set from MR Models.

KV-1 model 1940 simplified welded turret (short bustle)

38 images

1:35

In progress

1:35 KV-1 turret simplified typ, Model 1941 (MR Modellbau MR-35593)

1:35 Grilles for KV I & KV II (Aber 35G39)

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