Ok, I have a Trumpeter PT-76B that’s been in the stash for years, dug it out but didn’t in the present climate want to build a Russian vehicle so found a set of Star Decals for NVA, namely this set;
Now not wanting to ‘waste’ the other decals I saw the T-34/85M and Su-100 and thought I’ll also do those, now the question is who does a decent kit of those two vehicles that doesn’t require a fortunes worth of AM thrown at it?
Oh not including Zvezda as I’ll not buy Russian either.
T-34/85M looks like Dragon/Cyber Hobby is your only choice.
SU-100 loos like Tamiya (1966 / new parts 2010), Dragon (1995 / new parts 2007 possibly from someone else). The Scalemates database doesn’t specify the origin of a lot of SU-100 kits.
The only decent T-35/85M OOP is Miniart 37089. But that is a 112 factory one and it already has the NVA insignia. Another option would be to use RFM 5059 to obtain a 183 vehicle with a lights obtained from a FC modeltrend T-55 set, late war smoke cannisters and adding the R-123 radio pot. That other upgrade pieces are already there in the kit. But you’ll have to modify the placing of the opening of the cylindrical fuel drum, from the center to the edges, correct the Polish style towing hooks.
And for both kits you need to provide a ribbed version of the box on the left of the vehicle.
Both options seem better that the Dragon one which is also very much incomplete.
In regards to the SU-100, probably you don’t have an easy out of box option. Zvezda is an early UZTM production vehicle, Dragon seem to be a late one. But in Vietnam there could have ended up 173 factory vehicle (not boxed by anybody). Also they probably had many of the T-34/85M upgrades…
