D-1 152mmHowitzer w/Zis-42 Half-track

Manufacturer:PST (Kit #72031)

I reallyenjoy this kit, since gun kits in 1/72nd scale plastic are fairlyuncommon. The addition of the prime-mover is an added bonus. PSTalso sells the Zis-42 half-track as a separate item, as well aswith a 37mm AA gun, but this kit is the only available source forthe D-1 howitzer.

Thehalf-track is based on the old AER Zis-5 truck kit, and includesthe complete truck:

Anadditional sprue is included that allows the construction of anall-wood driver's cab:

Anothersprue is included with the parts unique to the half-trackversion.

All ofthese parts are fairly well molded. While the detail is a littlevague in some areas, the overall quality of moldings is veryhigh. The truck in particular, could use more details, forexample in the driver's cab, which is very bare. Good references(which I do not have) will be very useful for detailing thismodel.

The D-1howitzer is included on a separate sprue of very dark greenplastic:

In thisinstance, the molding is a little less sophisticated, with somesinkholes and flash, but the level of detail is much higher thanon the vehicle parts. There are many very small parts, and I haveseen this kit built into a remarkably well-detailed model. Thereare several parts on this sprue that are not used, as they belongto the very similar M-30 122mm howitzer kit.

The decalsin the kit are common to all of PST's Zis kits. The scan below isof very poor quality, in order to show the white markings; theactual decals themselves look quite adequate, and typically,PST's decals are very high quality.