In Box Review of Eastern Express 1/35th Scale
Soviet Tank BT-7 Command Tank Mod 1935
Copyright 2000
Out of production
I paid $26.40 for my kit at tGreat Models store that went out of business at the mall years ago, when it was marked down from $29.98 on March 30, 2008.
It is available at two places in Europe for either 14.95 or 15.50 Euro.
Out of production
I paid $26.40 for my kit at tGreat Models store that went out of business at the mall years ago, when it was marked down from $29.98 on March 30, 2008.
It is available at two places in Europe for either 14.95 or 15.50 Euro.
HISTORY:
The BT-7 was the last of the BT series of Soviet cavalry tanks that were produced in large numbers between 1935 and 1940. It was lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for the time, and had much better mobility than other contemporary tank designs. The BT tanks were known by the nickname Betka from the acronym, or its diminutive, Betushka.
The BT-7's successor was the famous T-34 medium tank, introduced in 1940, which replaced all of the Soviet fast tanks, infantry tanks, and medium tanks then in service.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Light cavalry tank
Place of origin: Soviet Union
In service: 1935–45
Wars: Soviet–Japanese Border Wars, World War II, Winter War
Designer: Morozov
Designed: 1935
Manufacturer: KhPZ
Produced: 1935–40
No. built: 5753 (4821 BT-7, 779 BT-7M, 153 BT-7A)
Variants: BT-7-1, BT-7-1V, BT-7-2, BT-7A, BT-7M (BT-8), BT-IS
Specifications (variant BT-7-2)
Mass: 13.9 tonnes (13.7 long tons; 15.3 short tons)
Length: 5.66 m (18 ft 7 in)
Width: 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.42 m (7 ft 11 in)
Crew: 3 (commander, loader, driver)
Armour-Hull: 6-40 mm
Turret: 10-15 mm
Main armament: 45 mm anti-tank gun M1932/38 (20-K)
Secondary armament: 2 x 7.62 mm DT machine gun
Engine: Mikulin M-17T (V-12) gasoline of 450 hp (at 1,750 rpm)
Power/weight: 32.37 hp/tonne
Transmission: Chain drive (tracks: sliding gear)
Suspension: Christie
Ground clearance: 0.305 m (1 ft)
Fuel capacity: 620 litres (160 US gal)
Operational range: Road: 250 km (160 mi), Off-road: 120 km (75 mi)
Maximum speed: Road: 72–86 km/h (45–53 mph), Off-road: 50 km/h (31 mph)
Steering system: steering stick
The BT-7 was the last of the BT series of Soviet cavalry tanks that were produced in large numbers between 1935 and 1940. It was lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for the time, and had much better mobility than other contemporary tank designs. The BT tanks were known by the nickname Betka from the acronym, or its diminutive, Betushka.
The BT-7's successor was the famous T-34 medium tank, introduced in 1940, which replaced all of the Soviet fast tanks, infantry tanks, and medium tanks then in service.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Light cavalry tank
Place of origin: Soviet Union
In service: 1935–45
Wars: Soviet–Japanese Border Wars, World War II, Winter War
Designer: Morozov
Designed: 1935
Manufacturer: KhPZ
Produced: 1935–40
No. built: 5753 (4821 BT-7, 779 BT-7M, 153 BT-7A)
Variants: BT-7-1, BT-7-1V, BT-7-2, BT-7A, BT-7M (BT-8), BT-IS
Specifications (variant BT-7-2)
Mass: 13.9 tonnes (13.7 long tons; 15.3 short tons)
Length: 5.66 m (18 ft 7 in)
Width: 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.42 m (7 ft 11 in)
Crew: 3 (commander, loader, driver)
Armour-Hull: 6-40 mm
Turret: 10-15 mm
Main armament: 45 mm anti-tank gun M1932/38 (20-K)
Secondary armament: 2 x 7.62 mm DT machine gun
Engine: Mikulin M-17T (V-12) gasoline of 450 hp (at 1,750 rpm)
Power/weight: 32.37 hp/tonne
Transmission: Chain drive (tracks: sliding gear)
Suspension: Christie
Ground clearance: 0.305 m (1 ft)
Fuel capacity: 620 litres (160 US gal)
Operational range: Road: 250 km (160 mi), Off-road: 120 km (75 mi)
Maximum speed: Road: 72–86 km/h (45–53 mph), Off-road: 50 km/h (31 mph)
Steering system: steering stick
THE KIT:
Eastern Express is based in Moscow, Russia.
They manufacture all manner of plastic model kit subjects in the popular scales.
This kit came in a very blousy shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box is a whopping 4 ½” too long and 4” too wide.
The box art shows a BT-7A in a grassy field, near a woods.
The BT-7 is in a base of earth yellow, with dark-green bands camouflage. with no markings shown.
One side panel begins with saying the kit gives Eastern Expresses P.O. Box address in Moscow, Russia and kit was made there. In multiple languages, including English.
Followed by a color side view illustration of the BT-7 in overall green, with a small white circle on the sides of the turret.
Eastern Express is based in Moscow, Russia.
They manufacture all manner of plastic model kit subjects in the popular scales.
This kit came in a very blousy shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box is a whopping 4 ½” too long and 4” too wide.
The box art shows a BT-7A in a grassy field, near a woods.
The BT-7 is in a base of earth yellow, with dark-green bands camouflage. with no markings shown.
One side panel begins with saying the kit gives Eastern Expresses P.O. Box address in Moscow, Russia and kit was made there. In multiple languages, including English.
Followed by a color side view illustration of the BT-7 in overall green, with a small white circle on the sides of the turret.
The other side panel shows 4 color box arts of: a BA-6, a BT-7 (1937) and a BT-7A by Eastern Express: There are no kit numbers given for these.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
This kit holds 5 medium-grey parts trees in 3 oversized and unsealed cello bags, the decal sheet and the instructions.
The instructions consist of a single-sheet, folded in the center to create 4 pages in 8 ½” x 12” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the cover art, above a one-paragraph history and specifications for the BT-7, in English and Russian and international assembly symbol explanations in English and Russian and a repeat of Eastern Express’s P.O.Box address in Moscow, Russia.
Page 2 begins with ATTENTION USEFUL ADVICE about the kit, in 4 languages, including English.
The bottom of page 2 to the top of page 4 gives a grand total of 13 assembly steps.
The bottom of page 4 is a marking and painting guide, showing a repeat of the side view of the BT-7 shown on the side panel.
Trees are alphabetized, but not illustrated in the instructions.
Medium-grey tree letter A holds: the hull top, floor and double sides of the tank (6 parts)
This kit holds 5 medium-grey parts trees in 3 oversized and unsealed cello bags, the decal sheet and the instructions.
The instructions consist of a single-sheet, folded in the center to create 4 pages in 8 ½” x 12” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the cover art, above a one-paragraph history and specifications for the BT-7, in English and Russian and international assembly symbol explanations in English and Russian and a repeat of Eastern Express’s P.O.Box address in Moscow, Russia.
Page 2 begins with ATTENTION USEFUL ADVICE about the kit, in 4 languages, including English.
The bottom of page 2 to the top of page 4 gives a grand total of 13 assembly steps.
The bottom of page 4 is a marking and painting guide, showing a repeat of the side view of the BT-7 shown on the side panel.
Trees are alphabetized, but not illustrated in the instructions.
Medium-grey tree letter A holds: the hull top, floor and double sides of the tank (6 parts)
There are 2 identical medium-grey letter B trees. They hold: bogies, hub caps, road wheels, link and length type tracks, shovel a few loose parts in the box I put into a zip lock bag, etc. (86 parts each)
Medium-grey letter D tree contains the fenders, mud guards, steering gear, bow armor, etc. (29 parts)
Medium-grey letter L tree holds: the turret parts, main gun and a DP-1928/1944 machine gun etc. (22 parts)
The decal sheet holds white numbers, Soviet red stars and red stripes etc.
There are no clear parts or figures in the kit.
Great detail.
Recommended.
Recommended.