Review #3: 1/35 Tamiya JS-3 Stalin Russian heavy tank

Subject: 122mm Russian heavy tank, 1945

MSRP: $44.00 USD

Pros: Very nice detail, nice cast texture on turret, glueable tracks, clever representation of tow cables

Cons: No sponsoons, so the tracks can be seen through the turret if the hatches are left open, seperate lens for the headlight is molded in olive instead of clear

I saw this kit on eBay and had to have it (What model don't I have to have!?)
When I first opened the box, I was impressed with the overall great quality of this kit. Tamiya has come a long way from the German Army Infantry set back in 1964!
I was surprised and disgusted to find that like many of the 70's and 80's vintage Tamiya kits, the JS-3 has no sponsoons, so the tracks can be seen if you leave the turret hatches open. The good news is that the shape isn't complicated, so you can easily fill the holes with sheet styrene. This was the low point of the kit for me - especially for what it cost, Tamiya could have done a more professional job here. The rest of the hull and suspension went together beautifully.
I started attaching the upper hull details, and found that the headlight is molded hollow, but the lens is molded right next to it on the sprue - in the same olive plastic! The inclusion of a clear lens is the kind of thing that makes Dragon better liked - sometimes Tamiya seems to not care about anything but producing a kit as cheaply as possible. The crosscut saw mounted under the smoke canisters (that's what the two rearmost tanks are) has no teeth, so I carefully cut them in with my knife. The turret was great, with the best representation of cast metal I've ever seen.
The tow cables are executed in an uncommon but very good way: You get the plastic ends, and glue polyester thread to them as the cable. This thread doesn't have the fuzz that makes the thread method usually unpopular, and since it's poly instead of the usually cotton, you can use plastic cement to attach it. I like this better than the metal tow cables Dragon provides, since the detail is just as good, and the thread is much easier to shape. The engine deck vents were molded to the upper hull and have great detail. Tamiya provided the mounts for the unditching beam, but didn't mold the beam intself, probably because it would have been more expensive. I made one from a carfully cut and painted twig.
I painted this model with Tamiya Japanese Army green, and after a dry-brushing with 50/50 Vallejo White and German Uniform, it looks like a good Russian armor green. There was no standardized color, though, so feel free to use anything from Dark Green to US Olive Drab.
As usual, Tamiya's decals are awful, so I painted the stars and aerial ID bands by hand, which looks fine, since that's how they were painted in real life. Since the JS-3 entered the war so late, they didn't have much chance to get beat up. I kept my weathering to a heavy coat of dust, but no rust or paint chips, since late-war Russian armor was painted with a much thicker, durable paint than was used earlier.

Overall, this project was a lot of fun. With a little extra work, it can be built into an attractive, unusual model. My only beef with it is the shortcuts Tamyia took to save themselves money. Still, it's a very nice model that's easy for modelers of all skill levels to build.