Kit Review: Miniart 1/35 scale Kit No. 35079; Soviet 85-mm Shells w/ Ammo Boxes; 132 parts in grey styrene; retail price about US$17.25
Advantages: inexpensive way to =93bomb up=94 a T-34-85 or KV-85
Disadvantages: no major items noted
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for all Soviet modelers and diorama fans
Everybody can use ammo. In fact, some modelers used to strew it around profusely in their dioramas, even though in real life it would damage the rounds or in some cases prevent them from even being loaded. As a result, you need to have crated ammo being unloaded properly to have a diorama or vignette that makes sense.
This nice little kit from Miniart does just that. It consists of six identical sprues which all contain the same items: two BR-365K 85mm armor-piercing rounds; two BR-365P subcaliber (=93arrow=94) rounds; one empty 85mm casing; one six-piece ammo crate (labled for the 52-K 85mm antiaircraft gun) and 11 fitting blocks for stowing the rounds inside the crate. Four rounds go in each crate, and the kit offers a total of
12 BR-365K and 12 BR-365P rounds or three crates of each. The rounds cannot be mixed in the crates.The crates have convenient slats on the sides to permit proper fitting and stowage of the ammunition, so putting them into the crates once completed is a easy task.
A small sheet of decals is included which provides crate markings (BRUTTO is the Russian term for gross weight) with the K rounds weighing in at 82 kg and the P rounds at 79 kg. The rest of the markings are things like lot numbers, shell identifiers (stenciled on the casings), and factory proof markings.
Overall this is a nicely done set and once completed will look good in the back of a truck or set out next to a T-34-85 or KV-85 being reloaded and refueled after action.
Cookie Sewell