Have not built any of the Russian tanks (yet). I have been completely enjoying the 1/16th builds I have been doing, and I believe Tim has been enjoying his builds as well.
I just bought a number of figures and packs of stuff to go on my builds.
Yeah the Trumpeter kits are a bit on the pricey side. Thing is this kit doesn't have an interior like some of the others. The most expensive 1/16th kit I have sprung for is the pre-order for the Trumpeter Nashorn which is a huge kit and also has a full interior for the drivers compartment. The pre-order (from Squadron) is a shade over $200 and that build will be quite large.
I am also eyeing the Trumpeter 1/16th Ferdinand/Elephant kit which will be even bigger.
I am looking at this from this point of view, if you take pains to detail out a kit and research it, consider the number of parts and how much build time you will spend on it. You get out of it what you put into it. I have probably way over 100 hours spent on my 251 halftrack and it is only maybe 60% done. I have enjoyed every bit of building on it, but needed a little break, so am building another 1/16th artillery piece to reset my head a little and then will go back to the 251.
Yes, I have a number of large expensive kits to build, but they are also going to be involved and give me a lot of build time on each of them.
If you are just interested in a 1/16th scale kit, there is a 113 that has a full interior from Andy's that could be a start. Or there are a couple of SdKfz 250 kits that have a full chassis and running gear that are under $90 with shipping here in the US.
Sorry for being a bit long winded. I know Tim has been enjoying his 1/16th builds and I really have enjoyed the builds I have been working on. Yeah they are bigger, but everything on them is bigger and easier to see and detail.