Stalin's Landships

Zvezda have recently released their latest plastic 1/100th scale tanks, the fabled multi-turreted T-35 and I bought five from Plastic Soldier Company in one of their company deals. I've been awaiting this kit's release for some time, I love the ridiculousness of the multi-turreted Soviet tanks. In practise they were a complete disaster on the battlefield with more being lost to mechanical problems than falling prey to the German guns. That said, they will be a great and interesting supplement to my Soviet forces.

The build was easy and simple, as always with Zvezda kits, but there is a word of warning here. It is worth cutting the lug off that joins the front of the hull halves as a gap appears on the front glacis plate otherwise. But this minor problem (and it is minor) was the only issue during the build. When varnishing them, I had some problems with frosting on the tanks, but I managed to rescue them somewhat with a couple more layers of varnishing then leaving them to dry under a lightbulb and they haven't turned out too badly.

They are massive models and to give you an idea of how big they are, here is a T-26 for a size comparison. With two 45mm turrets and a 76.2mm howitzer they should give the Germans something to worry about (if they ever arrive on the battlefield...).

According to the Rapid Fire! Russian Tank Units 1941-42 supplement, the 68th Tank Regiment, 34th Tank Division consisted of  ten of these beasts! So, maybe, just maybe, I might double their number, although I'm not sure ten T-35s will even fit on my table!