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PST 1/72nd Soviet Heavy Tanks KV-85 & KV-122

By Matt Bittner

History

The KV-85 was a "stop-gap" measure taken when the KV series production was coming to a halt, but the IS series production wasn't up to speed yet. Basically they took the IS-1/2 turret and mated it to a KV-1S chassis. There were about 130 KV-85's made, and they all served well during the Great Patriotic War.

The KV-122 was basically an experiment mating the 122mm gun onto the KV-85. While there weren't many KV-122's made, those that were saw limited active service.

The Kit

The PST kit of the KV-85/122 consists of approximately 200 parts, all injected-molded plastic. Luckily there are no "rubber-band" tracks. Decal options consists of four schemes: three for the KV-85, and one for the KV-122.

While PST market the kits - KV-85 and KV-122 - separately, they include all parts for both versions in both kits. In fact, there are also parts from their IS series of tanks, as well.

Overall the KV kits are extremely well done. While there is some flash, it's not prevalent and is easy to remove. Surface detail is excellent and all small parts are separate. This means pioneer equipment (where supplied), guns, mantlets, etc. Plus the tracks are "link and length", which helps provide an accurate looking track.

The neat thing is all the extra parts that are left over after building a PST kit. This has actually come in handy for me, since one of the lower hull sides that came with the IS-1 kit I have was short molded. I took a replacement from the KV-85, since it resides on the "common" sprue between the IS and KV tanks.

Conclusion

I have been waiting a very long time for a decent kit of the KV-85. After seeing Kent Kirkpatrick's conversion of the ESCI KV-1, a KV-85 has been high on my wanted list. PST comes through and more.

Overall I think PST kits are a tad better than ESCI - plus they're readily available. With PST's announcement that they're producing all variants of the KV series (some 15 models) we are going to be supplied with KV kits for a long time. Personally I am happy with that since the KV series tank is a favorite.