Trumpeter 1/35 BS-3 100mm Anti-Tank Gun M1944 Kit First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | April 2014 | Manufacturer | Trumpeter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | BS-3 100mm Anti-Tank Gun M1944 | Scale | 1/35 |
| Kit Number | 2331 | Primary Media | Styrene, Photo-Etch |
| Pros | New tool kit of this powerful weapon | Cons | See text |
| Skill Level | Intermediate | MSRP (USD) | $51.95 |
First Look
 |
 |
 |
The Soviet Army was never to be outclassed by the Wehrmacht on any level. When the Germans fielded the Tiger tank, the Soviets were already working on improvements to their T-34, as well as rolling out the Josef Stalin series of tanks. The Tigers never had a chance.
One of the mainstays of the German army was 88mm Flak 36/37. Not only was it an effective anti-aircraft gun, it proved to be a painfully accurate and effective anti-tank weapon as well. The Soviets responded with the BS-3 100mm field gun. It could perform as a standard artillery piece with a range of approximately 20 kilometers, and it could also punch through 160mm of armor plate at over a kilometer. While the BS-3 entered service in 1944, it is evidently still in use in today.
Trumpeter continues to produce kits of history's best artillery pieces and this latest installment covers the model 1944 100mm anti-tank weapon, the BS-3. This isn't the first kit of this formidable weapon as ICM produced a nice kit of the BS-3 around fifteen years ago. The level of detail is quite a bit different though as this kit has 203 parts including a few photo-etched details where the ICM kit is 158 parts (no photo-etch). This kit also includes rubber (vinyl) tires. In all, this kit consists of six parts trees plus the fret of photo-etch and four tires.
This kit does make good use of new technology as the slide molding produces four spend (hollow-end) 100mm shell casings as well as four complete rounds and two ammo cases. Among the features and options of this kit:
- Detailed breech block
- Detailed sight and controls
- Detailed shield and stowage
- Pioneering tools and cleaning poles included
- Gun can be moved in elevation
- Gun can be shifted from travel to fire position (and back)
- Four rounds, four spent rounds, and two ammo cases included
As with the previous artillery pieces previously released, this is a nice looking kit that will look nice behind one of the artillery tractors on the market.
My sincere thanks to Stevens International for this review sample!