1:35 Soviet T-28 Medium Tank

Among the first medium tanks in the world

The prototype was finished in 1931 and series production got under way at the end of 1932. The Soviet army was then looking for a machine that could break through a fortified belt and still stay with the infantry; the answer was the multi-turret conception, in which the main turret carried a gun and the smaller turrets machine guns for close combat. The design shared a number of components with the heavier T-35 type, with which it was to form a pair for tasks of differing difficulty.

A test machine for a whole generation

The type recorded no great successes in combat, but its significance lay elsewhere. On the T-28 Soviet designers tried out a great many new ideas and solutions that later appeared on subsequent machines. That is precisely why it is interesting on a shelf as well: it shows an intermediate stage between the armored colossi of the 1920s and the classic tanks of the Second World War.

Building recommendation

A multi-turret vehicle calls for attention to fit; every turret has its own axis and any inaccuracy shows as soon as they are all set side by side. The riveted and welded surfaces will take a thorough wash, because the surface is broken up. Before the final coat it is a good idea to think through where the dust and mud will run, so that the large side skirts over the running gear do not look like clean sheet metal.

Box contents

Unassembled plastic parts are enclosed. Glue, paints and add-on sets are not supplied. Anyone who wants to go further than the basic build usually reaches for photo-etched radiator grilles or for tracks of individual links; both are sold separately and have nothing to do with this box.