Like a I need another project, here is Trumpeter's 1/35 KV-2. The high, ugly box shaped turret makes it "so bad looking it's cool" to my rather distorted eyes.
https://flic.kr/p/VUVmW7]
[/url]KV-2-01 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/VUVmNb]
[/url]KV-2-02 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr
This kit has been sitting on the sidelines for quite some time now, as I mucked up the road wheels. The hubs are separate, but lack any keyed tabs so alignment is DIY. I didn't pay proper attention and glued all of the hubs with the lightening holes aligned with the holes on the wheel, which is wrong. It has been really bugging me and I could not seem to let it go, so I finally bucked up and bought another kit to do the wheels right. (It's not a total waste, as the turret will go to another project that needs it.)
https://flic.kr/p/VVysrw]
[/url]KV-2-06 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr
The rest of the kit is pretty good, one of Trumpeter's better products. The only not so good bit was the separate gun muzzle, which was poorly shaped and lopsided. It was replaced with a turned aluminum barrel, which had internal rifling. The turret grab handles are finely molded, but I replaced them to avoid having to clean them up, and also to make them more resistant to getting knocked off. I glued blocks of plastic on the inside of the turret to provide secure anchor points for the grab handles.
https://flic.kr/p/WrANTW]
[/url]KV-2-03 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/VUVmxm]
[/url]KV-2-04 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr
The kit gives you the option of either belt type tracks or link and length plastic ones. The l&l tracks impart a nice sag on the upper runs, but every single track link has a pair of ejector pin marks. Being lazy, I replaced them with Sector 35 metal tracks. These look exactly like Friulmodelissimo tracks, but come largely pre-assembled.
https://flic.kr/p/C1CWcc]
[/url]Sector 35-KV-II-01 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr
Anyway, just fartng around trying to get back into the modeling groove.