Zis-3 Divisional Gun

Manufacturer: Skif (Kit #208)

This is a really cute little model, and takes only a few hours to build. This gun, and it's close cousin the Zis-2, are Skif's first 1/72nd scale kits, and I hope they keep up the high quality for their upcoming T-26's. Quality of the plastic and molding is exceptional. The level of detail is superb for a kit this small, with so few parts. Assembly was very straightforward, with most of my time spent sanding off the mold seam along the cannon barrel. The muzzle brake was molded solid, so I spent some time drilling out the baffles, and opening up the end. Although it wouldn't be quite as effective, a heavy wash in the baffles would do pretty well instead of drilling.

For some reason, they molded the tires in a soft vinyl or rubber. The paint went on very well, so we'll see if there are any long-term adhesion problems.

Also included with the kit, though not pictured, are several shells and an ammo box. Unfortunately, Skif did not include any crew figures, which I think was a great oversight, as there are no aftermarket figures available either. It's possible that some white metal 20mm or 25mm wargaming figures might be useable. I can find no references for this gun which include dimensions, so I don't know how well it scales out. The instructions include a three-view drawing showing a three-color camouflage scheme. No markings are included, though I doubt any are needed anyway.