Author David Doyle was recently awarded the coveted Bart Vanderveen Award by the Military Vehicle Preservation Association in recognition of his contributions to the preservation of military vehicles. He has written more than 100 books and has most recently applied his formidable talents to documenting the many vehicles used by US forces in the Vietnam War.

U.S. Vehicles & Heavy Weapons of the Vietnam is a handsome hardcover book, lavishly illustrated with over 250 color and black & white photographs. This work catalogs 36 types of American equipment: wheeled vehicles, tracked vehicles, towed artillery, and self-propelled guns.

Tamiya’s line of 1/48 armor kits continues to grow, and I for one am thankful. This is kit number 100 in the series, and it comes in their usual black trimmed box with nice artwork of a Nashorn in winter camo. For a relatively small kit, the parts count is almost 200. As one would expect, the parts are very cleanly molded and nicely detailed. The tracks are link and length, with a very realistic sag molded into the top run of tracks. There is also a nice figure included and according to the instructions he is only to be used for the winter camo scheme. Speaking of camo schemes, there are markings provided on a small decal sheet for two options – the winter scheme and a three-color vehicle in desert yellow, green and brown camo. Instructions are provided in the usual Tamiya style – black and white with clear diagrams and detailed information for any additional guidance on placement, etc.

Brief History

The most common all-wheel drive 6-wheel truck in the Soviet Army during the 1980s had a diesel engine and a cab-over-engine layout. Its serial production began in 1981 at a plant in Naberezhnye Chelny. The vehicle was distinguished by its high reliability and off-road capability. The basic model was intended, first of all, for the transportation of personnel or cargo up to 6 tons.

Since the mid-1980s, this truck for some time was the main transport base of the Soviet Army and the main middle-class vehicle for the installation of various types and purposes of superstructures. Variants with KUNGs are widespread – closed box bodies for the installation of special equipment and the transportation of personnel. One of these body types was the K4320D variant.

Tamiya has produced a new KV-2 kit based on the new tooled KV-1 from a couple of years ago with new tooled KV-2 Turret.

In the box is:

• 7 x dark green sprues
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 small decal sheet
• polycaps
• string for cables
• 1 instruction booklet
• 1 color guide booklet (in color)

The kit consists of 7 main sprues, the sprues are extremely well molded with great detail; the decals allow you to finish the tank with 2 markings to choose from.

Construction

First is the construction of the lower hull, suspension and road wheels etc. These are stages 1 through 10. The build, as with all Tamiya kits, is seamless and no issues. All the parts go together extremely well

When the words “Sherman tank” are uttered, the first thing that comes to mind for many of us in the US, is Patton’s 3rd Army fighting German Tiger tanks in Northern Africa or his columns of armor racing through Europe after D-Day. The Sherman tank played a role much broader than this and Samsonov has done a very good job explaining the Soviet introduction to, evaluation of, and eventual combat use of the Sherman.

Like any good book, this one gets you thinking beyond generalities. I, for one, was surprised that there was feedback and even some pushback from recipients of armor under the Lend Lease Act. Evidently more than a few people who were fighting back against Germany were not thinking that something is better than nothing. To my surprise, I discovered that the Sherman tank underwent significantly more extended trials by our allies than I had ever imagined, and rightfully so.