AER Moldovas 1/72 T-18 Soviet Tank

The T-18 is notable for being the very first Soviet designed and produced tank. (Up until the introduction of this tank, the RKKA - Red Army - had used only foreign designs, captured during the Civil War, like the Mk V, the FT-17 and the Whippet.) The story of the T-18 starts in 1926, when a high placed conference ordered the design of a small "Escort" tank, replacing the FT-17's and FT-17 clones (KS-1) in Soviet service.

There were many difficulties both in the design and not least the building of the new tank - which was done in the "Bolshevik" plant in Leningrad. The first design was called the T-16, but was soo problematic, that it was immediately redesigned - e.g. both the hull and the running gear was lengthened, at the same time that both the engine and transmission was modified. The result of this was the T-18 (also called MS-1).

The prototype T-18 was finished in late spring of 1927, and shipped to Moscow, where it underwent its first trials. In february 1928 an order was placed for 108 T-18 for the RKKA. The first production batch was delivered in time to participate in the in parades held in Moscow and Leningrad in November 1929. The production, however, went ahead at a slow pace, the bottleneck being the supply of engines, and up until the end of 1929 only 96 tanks had been delivered.

The T-18 was a disappointment, but until new designs could arrived, it was decided to try and improve the T-18, for instance by redesigning the track plates and idler wheels, increasing the engine power. Also the turret was given a rear rear boxlike bustle. This was called the "T-18 Model 1930", but it was just a small improvement. (Speed was still too slow.) Production was not halted until 1931, when the new T-26 was ready to take its place.

The T-18 was first used in combat during the border disputes with China in 1929. All in all 959 were manufactured, and at the outset of Operation Barbarossa some 160 T-18's were still in service.

To find out more on the T-18, including photos of a surviving tank, click here!

Contents of the kit:

Click on the pictures for the big version! 

The kit comes well packed in a small paper box, with all small parts in a zip-lock bag. It is supplied with a good set of instructions, which is helpful, especially since the suspension and track assembly is pretty complex, with a number of small wheels.  

The kit consists of some 60+ parts, the body - split in two - and the turret being the biggest ones. The kit is moulded in two types of resin: one hard, brittle light grey, plus some parts in a somewhat more forgiving light yellow resin. The moulding is acceptable, but not first rate: there is a LOT of mouding flash to be removed, especially around the smaller parts like the wheels. So you will have to do a lot of cleaning up. The moulding itself is fairly sharp, but some of the road wheel mounts are rather rough, and will probably lose some of the detail when cleaned up. A note on the bright side: there are no big hefty moulding stubs.

The model shows the Model 1930-variant, and does it quite well. The complex shape of the original vehicle is well captured. The detail is ok, but not great. The rivets are there - phew! - but they are small and rather indistinct. They will require som very careful drybrushing and washing to stand out.

In the kit there is also a MC, plus two figures - I'm afraid both these are quite badly done, and will be of very little use.

This is not the best of kits, and will take quite a lot of work, but I'm sure you will be rewarded with a nice model for all your efforts. However, AER are worth one extra star for having the guts to tackle such a rare subject.