Delving into the back of the cupboard I found a half complete Hobby Boss 1:48 model of a KV-2 Soviet heavy artillery tank with a 152mm howitzer in the turret. Some of the bits were missing and I had to kit-bash them but I am quite pleased with the finished result.

   The KV-2 was not a great success. It was unwieldy, had a high profile and was unable to rotate the turret unless the hull was completely flat. Eventually the SU-152 assault gun was developed in time for Kursk and turned out to be a better design all round, albeit on the same hull and with the same weapon.

   Hobby Boss are the cheap and cheerful end of plastic kit makers, which is not necessarily a bad thing for wargaming models. They produce a variety of Russian and American 1:48 WWII tanks.