Kit Review: Miniart 1/35 scale Kit No. 35115; Soviet Limber 52-R-353M Mod.
1942; 121 parts; retail price US$27.99Advantages: very nicely done limber comes with parts for either mechanical or animal drayage; very nice wheels based on the GAZ-AA/AAA trucks
Disadvantages: no ammunition (see text); high price
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for all Soviet artillery fans and anyone needing a limber f or one of the new prime movers (e.g. Stalinets, STZ-5, etc.)
Soviet artillery was very old-fashioned at the beginning of the Second Wor ld War in that each gun usually had a horse-drawn limber for each weapon th at served both as a towing vehicle and ammunition carrier. But as motorizat ion crept in the Soviets adapted their limbers to vehicle towing.
This very common limber was one of the most widely used of the entire ?G reat Patriotic War? and served just about all light guns. There were eith er cases for light ammunition (e.g. 45mm antitank shells) or trays for the larger ones (57mm, 76mm of all types). The design was pretty spartan with a simple wooden slat seat on the top of the ammo chest and storage for only a few other items such as a hatchet and shovel. Photos show some units were able to get two or more for each gun and thus create quite an artillery ?train? with one vehicle towing two limbers and the gun they supported.
Years ago Maquette released a kit of this same limber, but it consisted of only 32 parts, was designed only for vehicle towing, and really wasn?t v ery detailed. Miniart has released this limber as part of other kits (such as their horsedrawn Soviet Divisional Artillery - Kit 35045) and other guns . They now offer it as a separate kit which offers the option of adding it to a tractor kit from another model firm or using it to add a second limber to one of Miniart?s kits.
The kit is excellent in most areas and does come with the complete set of
52-Ch-0331 and 52-Ch-0332 horsedrawn harnesses for use with any spare horse s the modeler may have. The directions cover the different means of assembl y for either towing or horsedrawn fittings.The wheels on this kit are based on those from the new GAZ-AA/AAA kits fro m Miniart and are very nicely done.
The ammo bin is unfortunately a sealed item and contains no trays, which i s a bit of a shame considering the detail on the rest of the kit is first-r ate. It does mean the modeler can use it with any light gun and tractor and also that there will not be a problem with various kits tailored for speci fic guns.
No decals are included and finishing directions (4BO green!) are on the ba ck of the box.
Overall this is a handy if expensive kit and one that will probably find u se behind items like the new STZ-5, Komsomolets and other tractors which ar e now on sale.
Cookie Sewell