/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/boxart.jpg
History
In response to encounters with Tiger I's in 1942 which had amazing 3km firing ranges and were impervious to most, if not all, of the hits that Soviet armor could dish out- the JS-2 was born. Initially, the JS-85 was created- but despite having a hull optimized to deflect enemy hits with 120mm thick armor, it's 85mm gun still did not have the required penetrating power to effectively match up. Thus the JS-85 hull was fitted with a modified long barrel 47.9 caliber A-19 122mm gun, which was capable of firing a 25kg armor-piercing shell. Thus arose the JS-122. With this new gun, it could penetrate a Tiger's front armor at 1km and destroy the Panzer IV at 1.5km.
The tank's name was changed to the JS-2 as an anti-spy measure and production began in 1943. It first saw action in April 1944 against the Tigers of s.Pz.Abt.503 in the northern Ukraine, In June, four JS-2-equipped heavy tank regiments were involved in Operation Bagration. Further improvements included a new sloped front glacis and the left part of the mantlet was lengthened. These improved versions with distinctive cast hull were produced by the Chelyabinsk Kirov Factory and went on to lead the drive to Berlin in April 1945.
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The Kit
Tamiya does a pretty good job with the new kit. As has been the norm with the later kits, gone is the die-cast hull that used to give their armor kits a little heft- but many complained of the lack of detail. A new addition instead are 4 weighted cylinders to glue into the bottom of the hull to give it some weight. I would rather have some good interior detail but hopefully someone will create some aftermarket details. A length of string is provided for the tow cable...blech! There are a number of the A sprues included in the kit-- which covers link and length tracks, road wheels, handles, fuel tanks, etc. There is also a P sprue which adds more track pieces and the long gun in two halves...
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2a.jpg
Sprue B covers the top half of the hull, as well as the pieces for the turret. Weld detail is OK-- and the cast look is pretty nice...one might want to embellish it- but check your references!
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2b.jpg
Sprue C includes parts for the hatches, tools, exhausts, machine guns, and a few other mantlet pieces. A great addition is a full figure- as opposed to the half figures usually included. Detail on him is pretty nice...
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2c.jpg
Sprue D provides three pieces to create the lower hull...alignment is something you have to be careful on-- but the styrene does allow for better detailing than the older die-cast hulls....
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2d.jpg
In addition to the traditional instruction sheet is an additional sheet that provides the history I alluded to above as well as specifications and a diagram labeling all the parts of the JS-2. While most armor modelers might not need that sort of information, Tamiya seems to keep the inexperienced modeler in mind which is always a good thing.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2i.jpg
Decal schemes included are for 4 different JS-2s...
I am anxious to get this one started and add it to my growing coolection of 1/48 Soviet armor. Sure am looking forward to that Matilda as well-- come on Tamiya-- bring on a Chrchill!!
History
In response to encounters with Tiger I's in 1942 which had amazing 3km firing ranges and were impervious to most, if not all, of the hits that Soviet armor could dish out- the JS-2 was born. Initially, the JS-85 was created- but despite having a hull optimized to deflect enemy hits with 120mm thick armor, it's 85mm gun still did not have the required penetrating power to effectively match up. Thus the JS-85 hull was fitted with a modified long barrel 47.9 caliber A-19 122mm gun, which was capable of firing a 25kg armor-piercing shell. Thus arose the JS-122. With this new gun, it could penetrate a Tiger's front armor at 1km and destroy the Panzer IV at 1.5km.
The tank's name was changed to the JS-2 as an anti-spy measure and production began in 1943. It first saw action in April 1944 against the Tigers of s.Pz.Abt.503 in the northern Ukraine, In June, four JS-2-equipped heavy tank regiments were involved in Operation Bagration. Further improvements included a new sloped front glacis and the left part of the mantlet was lengthened. These improved versions with distinctive cast hull were produced by the Chelyabinsk Kirov Factory and went on to lead the drive to Berlin in April 1945.
------------------------------------
The Kit
Tamiya does a pretty good job with the new kit. As has been the norm with the later kits, gone is the die-cast hull that used to give their armor kits a little heft- but many complained of the lack of detail. A new addition instead are 4 weighted cylinders to glue into the bottom of the hull to give it some weight. I would rather have some good interior detail but hopefully someone will create some aftermarket details. A length of string is provided for the tow cable...blech! There are a number of the A sprues included in the kit-- which covers link and length tracks, road wheels, handles, fuel tanks, etc. There is also a P sprue which adds more track pieces and the long gun in two halves...
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2a.jpg
Sprue B covers the top half of the hull, as well as the pieces for the turret. Weld detail is OK-- and the cast look is pretty nice...one might want to embellish it- but check your references!
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2b.jpg
Sprue C includes parts for the hatches, tools, exhausts, machine guns, and a few other mantlet pieces. A great addition is a full figure- as opposed to the half figures usually included. Detail on him is pretty nice...
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2c.jpg
Sprue D provides three pieces to create the lower hull...alignment is something you have to be careful on-- but the styrene does allow for better detailing than the older die-cast hulls....
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2d.jpg
In addition to the traditional instruction sheet is an additional sheet that provides the history I alluded to above as well as specifications and a diagram labeling all the parts of the JS-2. While most armor modelers might not need that sort of information, Tamiya seems to keep the inexperienced modeler in mind which is always a good thing.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10783/js2i.jpg
Decal schemes included are for 4 different JS-2s...
- 7th Indepedent Guards Heavy Tank Brigade, April 1945, Berlin
- 88th Independent Guards Heavy Tank Regiment, April 1945, Berlin
- Czechoslovak 1st Tank Brigade, May 1945, Prague
- Polish 4th Heavy Tank Regiment, April 1945, Germany
I am anxious to get this one started and add it to my growing coolection of 1/48 Soviet armor. Sure am looking forward to that Matilda as well-- come on Tamiya-- bring on a Chrchill!!