The success of the German Sturmgeschutz III inspired the Russians to create an assault gun by mounting a 122mm gun on the successful T-34 chassis.
This was my first Zvezda kit and I was impressed. The parts come in a sturdy cardboard box slipped inside a colorful outer box with sharp box art and photos of a finished model. Oddly the box describes the SU-122 as a “tank destroyer” but it was designed as mobile artillery.
The well-molded dark green and black (the link-and-length tracks) show sharp surface detail and little to no flash. The soft plastic is easily marred and Tamiya Extra Thin cement proved almost too aggressive, so take care. The kit also includes string for the tow cables, fine plastic mesh for the engine deck screen, and a small clear sprue for the headlight and vision blocks.
The decals and color diagrams, which feature Tamiya paint callouts, give markings for three vehicles.
The lower hull builds from flat pieces, which produces consistent detail. Take care when aligning the plates to prevent problems when fitting the upper hull. The suspension and wheels went together without drama. I tacked the wheels, sprockets, and idlers to the suspension arms before attaching the tracks, so I could remove the track and wheel assemblies for painting.
The one-piece 122mm gun barrel features a hollow muzzle and can be elevated and traversed in its mount. The gun housing is smooth and would benefit from your favorite method of creating a cast texture.
The thin front fenders of T-34-series vehicles were often bent or missing. To replicate this, I gently bent the fenders with my fingers; the soft plastic made this easy.
I was initially disappointed by the vinyl mesh supplied for the engine screen rather than photo-etched metal — seemed like a throwback. However, after installing it, I was impressed. It looked better than the PE screens I have seen. Cut the mesh a little bigger than instructed so it extends past the retainer inside, because it can unravel a bit.
Most T-34 kits have the external fuel tanks split in half front to back with a seam right on the top across strap detail that can be difficult to eliminate. Zvezda instead molded the tanks with the portion outside of the mounting strap as solid pieces and the area between in two pieces with the seam on the side. Plastic handles complete the fuel tanks.
A lot of thought went into the kit’s design to maximize details like welds and tie-downs with minimal parts and good fits. Assembly was smooth and simply following the instructions will give a good result.
After painting the model with Tamiya acrylics and using the hairspray technique to distress the winter whitewash, I was ready to apply decals.
Squadron/Signal’s
The Eastern Front: Armor Camouflage and Markings 1941 to 1945 (ISBN 978-1-85409-213-7) published in 1983 included a profile of an SU-122 with hull number 908 in winter white with an interesting “tree branch” camouflage and I always wanted to do this vehicle. So, I was overjoyed to have this as one of the marking options.
The decals went on smoothly — which was good considering there were 62 for red 908, including all of the tree branches. Zvezda color instructions made placement easy and layout allows you to start at one corner and work to the center of the sheet. The red circle air-recognition marking on top is barely visible in the marking instructions, but it is shown on the box art and in the wartime photo.
I spent only 13 hours building the SU-122, but another 26 hours painting, decaling, and weathering for the distressed whitewash and extensive decals.
The model matched photos and drawings.
As I said earlier, this is my first Zvezda kit but it won’t be my last. Thoughtful engineering and good instructions made for fun, quick build on which to try new painting and weathering techniques.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the September 2020 issue.