Dear friends,

I recently just finished a Tamiya KV-1C in Russian green.

A quick internet search revealed some captured KV-1s with German crosses, but I am just wondering if that is the right KV-1C (it looks like KV-1 1941) which I am modelling....

See

http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/galleries/ruscaptured/KV1ab.htm

Are there any captured KV-1C? Will it be inaccurate to stick up a german cross on my Tamiya KV-C?

Tanks
Music

Well, Trumpeter's German KV-1 depicts the same variant as your Tamiya kit, a Model 1942 with heavy cast turret, with a German Panzer III cupola and the 75mm main gun of a German Panzer IV installed, so yes, the Germans did capture some 1942-vintage tanks (this rebuild may have been a one of a kind, though). By the way, KV-1C was a German intelligence designation not used by the Soviets, who mainly used the model year when they bothered to distinguish variants at all. When the Soviets did refer to a "KV-1C", it was actually the KV-1S (C being cyrillic for S), the lightened version introduced in late 1942.
Trumpeter's new KV kits are really much nicer than the 1970's Tamiya efforts, and are cheaper in most markets. They include two sets of tracks in each kit (one styrene and one vinyl), so you can use the spare set to improve a Tamiya or Eastern Express kit.

Maybe the third picture here

Beute

is your best bet (or 217) as the others seem to be the 1942 model with the straight upper hull rear plate.

David

Hi David,

Thanks for sharing the info ...great.

Btw Is the 2nd picture of 216 same as the 3rd 216 pic? the 3rd one has turret that seems a bit smaller

The German cross in the 2nd picture seems to be the earlier kind (white cross without black in centre)...

What do you think?

Music

The cross on the turret rear of 216 looks to me like it does have a black centre, the one on the turret side is a bit less definite.

217 has the remains of a larger cross under the turret number.

And are they Soviet green or German dark grey? At first I thought they would be grey, but 218 has what might be the remains of a Soviet diamond shaped tac mark visible at the top of the turret number.

David