KORA:s 1/72 Lebedenko Tank

The Russian Lebedenko or ”Tsar Tank”, is without doubt the most strange Armoured Fighting vehicle ever constructed. It must, however, be seen against the backdrop of the early tank development that was taking place at this time, and that in all countries was very experimental, and leading to many curious and non-functional designs.

The history of the Lebedenko starts in 1914 with the engineer N. Lebedenko, who came up with the idea of a motordriven battle machine, weighing some 40 tons, running on one small double-wheel, and two very large spoked wheels, almost 9 meter in diameter, in a tri-cycle arrangement. The designers hoped that this configuration would make it possible for the vehicle to cross practically all obstacles. The vehicle came to be known as the Lebedenko, after the designer. (Sometimes it was nicknamed "The Tsar", after tsar Nikolaj, who helped finance it.) 

It was thought that the Lebedenko should be able to reach a top speed of some 17 km/h – which was pretty impressive compared to other WW1 AFV:s. The hull of the vehicle would haveral several MG positions and one top-mounted placed turret, equipped with MG:s and/or light cannons, giving the Lebedenko a total height of some 12 meters. 

The construction progressed pretty quick and in August the test began in front of a high commission. It started well, but when the vehicle moved onto some soft ground the small double wheel got stuck in a ditch. It was obvious that the engines were to small, as they were unable to free the rear double wheel.

After this, the military decided against the project. So the tank stood there, bogged down, for the rest of the war. It was scrapped in 1923.

For more info on the Lebedenko, click here!

Click on the pictures for an enlarged version!

   

Already the box gives you a hint that this is not an average 1/72 Military kit! It is big, comparable in size to, say, Hasegawas kit of the Mörser Karl. And the contents within are all carefully packed in plastic sleeves or zip-lock bags.

Most of the numerous parts are made in a cream-coloured resin, quite hard. But as this is a true "multi-media kit" it also comes with some sheets of Photo Etch parts (most noticably the spokes of the giant wheel.) and a piece of aluminum tube, to serve as axle for the giant wheels. 

The moulding are fine, smooth and clean. There are some small amounts of flash on some of the more tricky parts, but this in general an exception. The details are sharp, as you can see on the detail photos. (The rivets - a test of quality for any WW1 kit - are very nice.) 

As always with KORA, the kit comes with a very good set of plans, outlining the whole building process: areal necessity in this case, as the vehicle itself is of a very unusual desig.

This is a first look only, and this review will be updated when I start building this wonderful kit.

The picture on the left of a Lebedenko-diorama is, alas, not mine but built by made by Pascal Danjou, editor of the excellent magazine Minitracks. The photos is a part of a forthcomin article on the Lebedenko.

This kit can be bought from Lfmodels or from Panzershop, both in the Czech republic. A supplier that intends to stock it is Tracks & Troops.

Who else but KORA have both the courage and the knowledge to make a kit as this, the fabulous, fantastic 1/72 Lebedenko? Get it while you can, because this beauty is going to become a rarity! And built it will be the given centerpiece of any 1/72 Military Model collection. Robert Koraba rules!