Thank you very kindly for the thorough rundown!
Alright, I think I’ll go with the Trumpeter 00356, the small turret version, I think that’s the infamous KV-1 I’m looking for!
I kind of wanted to avoid Trumpeter due to their lack of workable wheels, but, I’ll just bite the bullet, haha
Once again, thank you very much!
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There are no surviving tanks from this period.
Therefore, Tamiya didn’t copy anything; they simply did a poor job of studying the prototype.
The suspension arms they showed were from Leningrad. By the time Chelyabinsk began producing KV tanks with the ZIS-5 gun, production in Leningrad had already been stopped for a couple of months.
And of course, there was neither the possibility nor the desire to supply parts through the Siege.
And yes, there are no documentary photos to rely on when creating the model configuration Tamiya offers.
I simply know the hardware, and that’s why I can speak with confidence.
As for the ISU-152, it’s all so simple that there’s nothing to discuss. The unnatural muzzle brake position must be found in a front-line photo of a real vehicle in action—not with a punctured barrel (this SPG is from the 394th Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment; the barrel damage from a Faust round is recorded in the regiment’s documents) and not removed from combat service—a precedent will emerge.
Try to find it.
If you sit a pilot on a barrel of gunpowder and light the fuse, he will “fly”. However, this won’t be quite what we mean when we say a pilot flew.
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Why? We’ve got you. 
I help people with what I know so they don’t have to look stuff up either.
I’m simply modeling what I see - an ISU-152 with a turned muzzle brake and a Panzerfaust hit in the barrel. Why it was turned the way it was hasn’t been on the top of my priorities. But since you obviously know the history of this piece very well - what was the number painted on the side? Sources say it was 648. However, when I look at it, it sure looks like it might be 646 - especially when one looks at the number partially visible at the rear. It looks like a “6” and not an “8.” And here’s what makes it tough to choose 646 as the number - there’s already another ISU-152 in Berlin with the number 646 - clear as day.
Oh, and one other question - is that earth colored camo in the ISU with the damaged barrel? It looks like it very well could be. Perhaps you have inside knowledge from the Regiment’s documents.
TIA
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Is there any point to discussing this when there’s a real-life example? In my opinion, no.
You’re building a model from a photo, and for you, it shouldn’t matter (or rather, nothing else is required) how it turned out.
I apologize, I accidentally misled everyone with a typo. The self-propelled gun with the punctured barrel is a vehicle from the 396th Heavy self-propelled artillery regiment
There are major gaps in the regiment’s documentation. I myself would like to clarify the issue with these two self-propelled guns.
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If you find out please let me know. It seems veery unlikely that there would be two guns in the same vicinity with the same number.
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Neither the 396th Heavy self-propelled artillery regiment nor the neighboring units of the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps received orders for camouflage. Nor is there such an order in the documents of the commander of the tank forces of the 5th Shock Army.
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Okay. I’m planning to work in the archive this summer.
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