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Friday, April 24, 2020 - 11:48 AM UTC
Two new 3-in-1 kits from Dragon, a JS-2 Stalin II and a JSU-122 with German figures.
Dragon is releasing a sterling 1/35 scale set featuring the heavy Russian JS tanks, and the main feature is that it’s a 3-in-1 kit. In fact, modelers can choose to build a JS-1, a JS-2 or a JS-2m ChkZ Production Type. The necessary parts for all these variants are contained in the box, and modelers can choose one of them to produce. In addition to the Russian heavy armor versatility on display here, it even includes a set of associated Soviet Infantry Tank Riders, a classic 1/35 figure set from Dragon’s range.

The tank and infantrymen are a perfect match, as photos and wartime footage commonly show Soviet soldiers riding into battle in this way.

They are offering also another 3-in-1 set, where modelers can build any one of three Russian heavy self-propelled weapons in 1/35 scale: a JSU-122, JSU-122S or JSU-152.

The relevant parts for all these variants are contained in the one box, and modelers can choose which JSU variant they want to produce.
Each vehicle is accurately detailed and assembles easily with convenient Magic Track.

Another huge advantage of this kit is a special bonus set of figures, the 1/35 set featuring Panzerjägers (German tank hunters). Thus, straight from the box, modelers can build a dramatic diorama showing German soldiers attempting to stop one of these Russian steel behemoths late in WWII.
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Comments

Interesting. Dragon already had a 3-in-1 isu152 kit where you could build a 122 or a 152. And they had a 2-in-1 kit where you could build a IS-1 or IS-2. I think there were some complaints about the IS-1 turret in that kit. Is this just a different repackaging of those?
APR 24, 2020 - 12:22 PM
Pretty cool. That artwork by Ron Volstad is fantastic. I so wish that there were high res prints available for purchase of all his box art pieces. I have not built any of these vehicles, so I assume these are good models of them if dragon is reissuing with combo like this. I have built the German figure set and it’s a fantastic set to modify with good workable poses you can do a lot with.
APR 25, 2020 - 08:57 AM
The Stalin kit might be useful to have, depending on cost and if they're new versions and not merely repackaged reissues. I've already got the original issue of the JSU-122/152 and, while acceptable, the 152's barrel should be replaced as the actual gun barrel is a highly-detailed piece and the kit less so. I understand the Aber makes a -as usual- marvelous replacement metal barrel. The rest is adequate and while I haven't built mine yet I believe that they will produce reasonable models. Let's hope that these new kits (?) are a noticeable improvement over their twenty year old precursors.
APR 25, 2020 - 01:00 PM
I am not optimistic about this release. Dragon's original IS-2 and ISU-152 kits had dimensional problems--the lower hulls were too shallow, and the wheels were undersized, so the whole vehicle looked a bit squashed. They were in the process of redesigning the IS-2 molds when Tamiya released their all-new kit, which caused Dragon to pull the plug halfway through. They issued the partially revised kits to make back their investments, but reviews at the time said that while the kits had deeper lower hulls and now included Magic Tracks, they still had the undersized road wheels. One could use aftermarket resin wheels. or snag some from an old Eastern Express Stalin kit (very rough, but usable after a lot of clean-up), but really, with the very competent Tamiya kits available, what would be the point? The IS-1 option isn't really useful, unless Dragon has designed a new turret shell, as it was shaped differently than the 122 mm gun version. Since Dragon is using the original box art, I suspect nothing more has been done.
APR 25, 2020 - 09:53 PM
I would really like to have an IS-1. I'm working on the Bronco KV-85 for the Bronco campaign and it's nice. It just makes me want the IS-1 more. But the reviews on 4bo makes me think that if they haven't done anything but reissued previous stuff, this isn't going to help me get there.
APR 26, 2020 - 06:16 AM
You just reminded me that I have that JS-1 kit somewhere in the closet. I had tried to correct the hull issue on the JS-2 kit no 6012 and it was not much of a problem but I will not do that again. Trumpeter makes a JS-1 kit no 5587 and I think it has the correct symmetrical turret. Regarding the JS-2/JSU-122 combo, I dont think it will be more than a rebox of their previous kits, which were not that great to start with. I sure wish Trumpeter releases some more JS series vehicles.
APR 26, 2020 - 06:38 AM
You just reminded me that I have that JS-1 kit somewhere in the closet. I had tried to correct the hull issue on the JS-2 kit no 6012 and it was not much of a problem but I will not do that again. Trumpeter makes a JS-1 kit no 5587 and I think it has the correct symmetrical turret. Regarding the JS-2/JSU-122 combo, I dont think it will be more than a rebox of their previous kits, which were not that great to start with. I sure wish Trumpeter releases some more JS series vehicles.[/quote] Trumpeter did a great job early on when they tackled the KV series (with the proviso that they had no photo etch, to keep prices low). They started cutting corners on the KV-1S, when they included the early pattern wide tracks used on the earlier KV kits, rather than the narrower pattern, as seen on late war heavy tanks. However, their Stalin kits are reported to be sort of half-hearted efforts, so I have steered clear of them thus far. Reviews indicate that they all feature the postwar type of heavy tank wheels. For their IS-2M kit, that's fine, but an IS-1 will need replacements. I do not know which pattern of track Trumpeter includes on their Stalin kits.
APR 26, 2020 - 09:49 AM
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