SU-122 Self-Propelled Gun

Manufacturer: Eastern Express (Kit #72015)

This kit is an example of a model that takes a little extra work to complete, but the final result is fantastic. The model is fairly typical of kits coming out of Eastern Europe these days, in that it is a highly detailed model, but the engineering is not quite as good as that exibited by such companies as Hasegawa or Revell.

Some of the difficulties with the kit:

• The attachment tabs for each pair of wheels were off-center, so it was easiest to sand the backs of all the wheels completely smooth, and glue them together like that.
• There was a small gap on the hull side right above the forward idler wheel, which resulted from a space between the upper and lower hull pieces. It would be completely obvious on the finished model when looking beneath the fenders, so I had to fill it with a piece of styrene.
• It was difficult to sand smooth the seam from the two halves of the spare fuel cells without destroying the attachment straps, so I scratch-built replacement barrels. There were no handles on the end of the kit barrels, so I added them to my homemade barrels.
• The infantry handholds are extremely delicate, and I broke a couple while trying to remove them from the sprue, so I replaced them all with brass wire.
• The tracks were not long enough to fit around the length of the bogie wheels. Photos show that the T-34 series of tanks had a small amount of track sag, though not as extreme as on the IS or KV series of tanks. Even so, the tracks were about one link too short to make a perfectly straight and tight track-run. But the track links come in pairs: one with a guide tooth, one without. So to add two new track links, I used the spare tracks which were intended to be glued onto the hull. With the extra links, it was possible to introduce a little sag to the tracks. It was also very tedious cleaning up the individual links where they connect to each other.

Some highlights of the kit:

• It is extremely well detailed and accurate. The hull dimensions scale out very well compared to information from the T-34/76 book from Wyawnictwo Militaria. The hull may be a millimeter or two short, but I think that is an acceptable error.
• The hard plastic tracks, although difficult to work with, are wonderful to look at on the final product. Even though they take a long time to attach, I'll take them over vinyl tracks any day.
• Even considering the few hassles mentioned above, it was a very simple model to construct.

The model comes with the decal sheet intended for the SU-85 kit by the same company. Although they have abundant carrier film, they look very thin and well printed. The sheet contains a mix of slogans and numerals, but I'm not sure which, if any, are appropriate for this vehicle. I chose to model an unmarked vehicle from the battle of Kursk, and painted it with Acryl Soviet Green, which was very dark. Next time I use this color, I will try to lighten it up a bit first.

Considering the beautiful model that results from the little bit of extra work, as well as the fact that this is the only plastic SU-122 available in 1/72nd (Al.By makes a nice resin kit), I highly recommend this kit.

Please refer to the Modeling the T-34 article for additional information about this kit. A Preview of the unbuilt kit is also available for viewing.