1:35 KV-1 mesh

Photo-Etched Mesh for the KV-1 in 1:35 Scale (Eduard)

This set from Eduard is an accessory for a plastic kit, not a model. Photo-etching is a thin metal fret from which the finished parts are chemically etched; its thickness runs in tenths of a millimeter, so it can manage detail that injected plastic, because of its thickness, never captures. That is exactly the point here.

Where the main difference lies

Above the engine deck of the KV-1 tank there are protective grilles over the cooling openings. The plastic part from the kit is in practice a solid plate with the grille structure only suggested - close up it is immediately clear that you cannot see through it. The photo-etched mesh, by contrast, is genuinely pierced and see-through: you look through it into the engine bay. On a finished model this is one of the most striking differences of all, because the top surface of the hull is exactly what a viewer looks at first from above.

Use

• Cut the parts from the fret with a sharp scalpel or photo-etch shears, and never snap them off.
• Make the bends with a photo-etch bender or tweezers over a sharp edge - the thin fret bends easily and cleanly.
• Bond with super glue; plastic cement does not hold on metal, because it has no way of softening it.
• Paint and weather the mesh together with the hull; a wash flows nicely into the recesses of the mesh and dust settles in it.
• Before painting, degrease the metal and use a primer - paint holds poorly on bare metal.

Who the set is for

For modelers building the KV-1 in 1:35 scale who want to replace a blind plastic imitation of a grille with a genuinely see-through screen. Even a beginner with photo-etched parts can manage it - these are flat parts with no complicated shaping, and all you need is tweezers, patience and super glue.

Note: this is not a model. The plastic kit of the tank, glue and paints are not included in the package.