KV-2
Vol.1 - basic set
ABER 1:35 Set #35 191
Review by Terry Ashley
The set has two frets of finely etched parts in the usual ABER style with well defined details and engraved bend lines where applicable plus three small brass turret side pistol port plugs.
The main items in the sets are the engine intake screens which are made up of eight parts each with the lower frame and inner bracket supports as separate parts and the outer mesh covering. The lower frame has to be bent to form an outer U shape into which is fitted the three cross supports and you will need to use some form of bending tool as the two bends that make up the U shape are extremely fine. The mesh will have to be curved to fit over the inner frame supports but the end result will look very impressive and there are also the two styles of intakes provided in keeping with the kit intakes.
Below are progress images of the screens, the side bends in the U shape will
require care and due to the very small bends involved with the frame none of
the available bending tools would handle the job alone. I firstly bent the
outer edges and then used a small strip of etched fret frame to slip under
the bends and burnished the upper section down to form the U shape.
The inner brackets are then attached and the mesh which had the slight curve
added before hand and after attaching the mesh the 26 small bolts heads were
added to the frame using cyanoacrylate, I actually added these after attaching
the assembled intakes to the kit engine deck for easier handling.
The mesh screen and exhaust deflectors under the rear hull overhang are also provided and some careful bending will be required here also.
The hull and turret hatches have the inner latch mechanism replaced with about twelve very small etched parts much the same as with the hatch mechanisms included in set #35 143 for the Tamiya KV-1 kits with the only difference being you have to remove the inner moulded on latch detail from the Trumpeter hatches before replacing with the etched latches. This will need extreme care due to the raised lip around the kit hatches and you also have the leave the moulded on hatch hinges making the trimming even trickier.
The three turret side pistol port plugs are provided in turned brass and come complete with the inside supports and fine chain to use if you show the plugs out of the ports. You will need to drill out the pistol ports to fit the brass plugs but again the added detail looks very good.
Other details included the latches and mounting brackets for the fender storage boxes and small mounting brackets for the head light and horn at the front and rear exhaust brackets.
A simple two page instruction sheet is provided with exploded view drawings of the assemblies and even the most complicated are quite clear to follow but as with any set of this type careful study of the parts and instructions beforehand will be of benefit.
There is also the optional KV-2 metal barrel (ABER set# 35L-44) to add a little more detail to the Trumpeter kits.
Conclusion:
This is another excellent update set from ABER for the Trumpeter KV-2 kits
that will add all the obvious updates required to add that extra bit of detail.
Some of the sub-assemblies are quite intricate and will require care during assembly with experience using etched parts a distinct advantage with this set but the effort will be worth it for the added details.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to ABER for
the sample set.
Air
Connection carry the full range of ABER update and barrels sets.
Page Created May 10, 2006