Part 1: First Look

MSRP: $53.00 Review kit provided by Tamiya USA: www.tamiyausa.com Tamiya's new JS-2 represents the cast "straight" nose version produced by ChKZ in the summer of 1944. More info on the design, history, and construction can be found on The Russian Battlefield (www.battlefield.ru). So what's in the box? Well, 388 parts, plus 2 P/E screens, 2 rubber tracks, a bunch of poly caps, and some cord for the towing cables. It breaks down like this: · "A" sprue x 2 · "B" sprue x 1 · "C" sprue x 1 · "D" sprue x 2 · Lower Hull

Sprues "A"-"C" are molded in dark green styrene and add up to 268 parts including the lower hull. Two of these are jigs for aligning the suspension arms, but you will be using all the other 266 …… The "D" sprues are the link and length tracks and are molded in a brown color reminiscent of Model Kasten's product. These make up the other 120 parts of this kit. Again two of these parts are jigs, to shape the "sag" characteristic of these tracks. All of these parts are flash free, with very fine parting lines. Tamiya is using a new style of sprue attachment on this kit. In this case the sprue overlaps the edge of the part rather than "butting" into the side of it; surface detail is preserved this way. There are very few visible ejection pin marks that need to be dealt with except for the L&L tracks, which have two deep pin marks on each link, and many more spaced over the larger sections. While I am griping there is one other thing. The headlamp on the JS-2 is large; this kit should have included a clear headlamp lens. Clear parts seem to be pretty standard stuff in armor kits these days, so this seems like a step backward. Don't get me wrong, this is a great kit overall and the issue can be dealt with but with so many nice features, a clear sprue would have been a nice addition. Upper Hull:   Split into two parts, front and rear, this has caused some speculation that there will be other JS-2 based variants in the future. Let's hope so. The split is along a natural seam line (I think) so there is no need to fill it. Hull detail is very well done, with cast texture and weld beads that look very convincing. This is a matter of taste of course, and not everyone will agree. The cooling exhaust louvers on the rear deck are molded half in the hull and half separately, to be combined to make the complete assembly. This allows the louvers to be open and maintain good scale thickness. Parts are included to box in the intake side of the cooling system, and sponson fillers seal up the underside of the hull. This is finished off with a separate rear plate, again nicely detailed. It is however, missing the raised lip along the upper opening of the rear access panel seen on some of these vehicles.

Lower Hull:   The lower hull tub is molded with the lower rear and sides attached. Slide molding has clearly been employed here. The detail on the tub includes very nice weld seams, and suspension detail. The suspension detail is also present on the underside, along with access hatches. A separate glacis and rear plate are added to finish up the tub.

Suspension:   The suspension trailing arms are provided as separate parts. These are fitted into conical holes in the sides of the hull. Small pins and the jigs mentioned earlier line these arms up correctly. These arms have been designed to be easy to install and align, while at the same time set up to be simple to modify if you want to articulate the suspension. All you need do is snip off the pins. The idler arm is also free to move if you modify the adjuster behind it. This will allow you to make adjustments for after market tracks if needed. The final drive housings are separate parts as well, with nice bolt detail.

Tracks:   Two sets of tracks are provided. The link and length tracks mentioned above, and a set of rubber band tracks. These are very good, not quite as nice as the L&L tracks, but they will require far less work to use.

Turret:   The turret halves are separated along a natural seam line. Texture on the parts is well done, as are the weld beads. No turret interior or gun breech is provided. A complete Commander and partial loader figure are included.

Decals:   Four markings options are included. These consist of numbers and national markings only. The air recognition stripes required by two of the options will need to be painted by the modeler, as they are not included as decals. They were hand painted, roughly, on the real thing, so this is a sensible way to go.

Photo Etch screens:   I believe that these are stainless steel. They look good and have a nice dimensional effect between the frame work and mesh. All in all this is an impressive kit as seen in the box. But how is it going to build up? Well, that's what we are here to find out. Ed.Note: Please see also John's review of the MiniArt 1/35 Street Scene that he will be using with this model.

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