A Weighty Adversary The Soviet KV-1 was officially adopted in 1939 and went through a number of variants. Model 1941 KV-1s employed the 76.2mm ZIS-5 gun, which could tear through the armor on contemporary German tanks; its early production variants had a welded turret with armor up to 75mm thick, and hung tough in fierce fighting with German armor following the Nazi German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, contributing to the Soviet resistance that would eventually turn the tables and push back the German advance. Soldiers were modelers, too? It is said that German front line troops were provided with wooden and paper models of the KV-1 in a scale of around 1/20, to help identify the tanks and formulate counter-strategies. This kit includes a version in miniature 1/35 scale on the painting guide to cut out and use in dioramas of tactical meetings and the like.
