SDV Models

1/87 Vyprostovaci Tank VT-55A

Kit Number: 87042

First Look by  Kevin Gardner, IPMS# 44711

MSRP: xxxx To start this is a first for me. Well not really a first but close. I haven't worked with a tank this small in over 20 years. SDV Model is from the Czech Republic, they make a pretty vast range of 1:87th scale models. They have been around since 1989, they usually have limited production runs perhaps around a thousand of each kit and they are made of injection plastic. They appear to have some WW2 kits, but most of their line seems to be of more modern Soviet made vehicles. When my kit arrived the first thing I noticed was the box art. It looks like a interesting kit, it also shows many of their other kits on the sides of the box. After a look inside I found instructions, a small decal sheet, and a Ziploc bag of sprues. Inside the bag I found 10 sprues, a lower hull, and another Ziploc bag with some amber colored sprues parts and some individual pieces. The plastic seems of good quality and is of a dark green color. As I inspected each sprue I noticed some very nice details in these parts. The parts are very well molded with crisp details, there was some seam lines but it appears to be minimal, also some flash is present but it appears to mostly be on the back sides of the parts. All in all it appears to be around 60 parts in the kit. The tracks are complete and also attached to the inner road wheels, which is a nice feature for me as I have a devil of a time with these small intricate parts. Next I had a look at the instructions. The instructions appear to be photocopied onto standard printer paper. Not the best thing to have when building a kit you are unfamiliar with, but for the most part the diagrams are simple and easy to follow, which is a good thing as there is no English here. It appears to be written all in Czech. Although the parts weren't numbered on the sprue they did have a picture of all the sprues with the parts numbered there. There also are some photocopies of the real machine included but these do little for you as the detail is just not good. Also another thing I wish would be included is a paint chart or color codes. I guess I will have to research some Russian armor sites. Overall this seems to be a very nicely done kit; it appears very well engineered with some crisp casting and nice plastic. The instructions are adequate to build the model but it would benefit from a couple additions such as the color codes. I look forward to researching it further and doing the build review in the near future. Here is the link to their home page (www.sdvmodel.cz).

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