Friday, June 22, 2012

1/144 Soviet T-100 by Panzer Depot


1/144 Soviet T-100 by Panzer Depot
Panzer Depot is not content with bringing us a range of unpainted resin kits, now returns to their mainsay of prepainted items of unusual subject. I love these multi-turreted item, I know they are not technically competent on the battlefield but it is the kind of crazy tank you might have also drawn as a child!


The T-100 was a twin-turreted Soviet heavy tank prototype, designed in 1938–39 as a possible replacement for the T-35. The T-100 was designed to by N. Barykov's OKMO design team at S.M. Kirov Factory No. 185 in Leningrad. It was in competition with a similar design - the SMK - but neither were adopted and instead a single turret version on the SMK was ordered as the KV-1.

The T-100 tank sported two turrets placed on a long chassis. The front turret, mounting a 45mm antitank gun, was placed at a lower elevation than the other, and as such had a limited area of fire. The top turret, mounting a 76.2mm gun, was able to turn a full 360 degrees. The multi-turret design concept had been common in the 1920s, with the British one-off Vickers A1E1 Independent influencing the Soviet T-35. The prototype T-100 tank was briefly tested alongside the other designs in the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939 without success. It was never put into production, due to the archaic design concept, poor mobility and the availability of a far superior alternative, the KV series. In an attempt to rush a tank armed with a large howitzer capable of dealing with Finnish bunkers into use, one of the T-100s was converted into the SU-100Y self-propelled gun. It did not go into production, although the prototype was used in the defence of Moscow in 1941.

Available: Now

Website: www.panzerdepot.com
Online shop: www.panzerdepot.com/eshop/catalog/
Ebay shop: http://stores.ebay.com/Panzer-Depot

other interesting multi-turret soviet designs are available here [ link ]

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