For today, I’m entering the unknown territory of no-mans-land, and will be making my first significant steps into starting Flames of War, and have started with these cheap little kits from the relatively unknown Zvezda.
The tanks I have here are in 1/100 scale, and are an ideal model for use in 15mm games such as Flames of War.
You usually get around nine components on a single sprue, including a flag/marker part for use in Zvezda’s own game, Art of Tactic. For other uses you can ignore it. The pieces are clip together, meaning glue is not needed. Though I still recommended that you still use some.
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| Scale shot with a Terminator and a £1 coin |
The plastic is very detailed for the price you pay. These models, a Stug III and a Panzer III, cost just £2.50 each, which is amazing value and probably the cheapest out there. You only get one tank per box, but this offers a great amount of flexibility in terms of unit sizes: you don’t have to buy a box of five for the sake of one of two models.
But there are a few issues. The gun barrels, particularly the tiny machine guns, are very weak and flimsy. Since they are not as strong as the metal barrels used, by say, Flames of War, it's advised to be very careful.
Another issue is that the plastic is very shiny and oily. Washing does remove most of this shine, and hopefully the undercoat will stick. The Stug wasn't as bad, but it did look like a completely different plastic. Kits from companies like Plastic Soldier tend to have a lot more consistency and quality.
In short, here are my main pros and cons:
Pros
-Great value. Cheapest alternative.
-To scale
-Easy to build
Cons
-Weak gun barrels
-Gap filling may be required
-Oily plastic of varying colour (and quality?)
-No optional parts/variants.
Whilst it's not the best range available to any 15mm modeller or gamer, it is ideal for those wanting to try out a small scale game, without first having to spend a good amount of money to start practising paint schemes.