KORA:s 1/72 Mendelejev Tank

In most countries participating in the Great War there soon evolved, quite independently, ideas of breaking the rigid trench systems by using a tracked, armoured and gun equipped vehicle. But the idea was quite new, and the form of this new vehicle was not in any way given. In many countries there circulated ideas about true "Landships", huge, seemingly irresistible vehicles that seemed to be more inspired by, say, HG Wells or Jules Verne than by true reason. The Russian Mendelejev Tank was one of these.

The designer behind this design was a naval engineer named V.D. Mendelejev. From 1903 until 1906 he worked in the shipbuilding department of the Cronstadt Institute of Naval Engineering, and at shipyards in Petersburg until 1916. Mendelejevs background sure showed: the "Armoured Land Cruiser" he proposed in 1915 used heavy armoured plating, evidently of the kind used on war ships (150-100mm thick), an engine from a submarine (the whole thing had a vague submarine-ish look) and a 120mm Naval gun. (Note however, that this gun had not a rigid mount, as has been put forward by some, but a modern recoil system - the whole system was to be found inside the tank.) It was a VERY big thing, weighing some 170 tons, making it one of the biggest AFV:s ever proposed. (It would have been even heavier than the German 150 ton K-Wagen.) It would have been served by a crew of eight. 

The calculated speed of this monster was an impressive 22-24 km/h, which is quite good, if ever realized. An obvious drawback - that can be seen in many early tank designs - is the configuration of the front of the tracks, giving it a very poor climbing capacity. Had it ever been used, it would probably faced the same destiny as som many french S:t Chamonds: it would have got stuck very easily: the trench crossing capacity would have been nearly nil. Most possibly the most remarkable features of the design was that the running gear was retractable! The road-wheels were mounted on a pneumatic suspension system that could lower the hull to the ground, thus covering the running gear and converting the tank into a static blockhouse.

As far as we know, no vehicles of this type was ever built. (There are some speculation, that work might have started on a prototype.) A vehicle of similar configuration but of much more reasonable dimensions was however proposed.

More info (in russian, but containing good plans) on the Mendelejev tank can be found here. And even more info on this strange tank can be found here!

For more pictures, click on the thumnails below:

Contents of the kit:
(Click on the picture for an enlarged version)

A Closer look of the hull:
(Click on the picture for an enlarged version)

The kit comes packed in a sturdy card-board box, following the standard KORA pattern, i.e. illustrated with a full colour picture. It also comes with a simple but quite adequate set of plans. The kit itself contains some 60+ resin parts, most of which are used to portray the tracks and running gear. (The complete upper hull only takes some five parts to complete!) The resin is beige, and medium-hard, and quite easy to work with. The moulding is very good: I could find very few air-bubbles or other blemishes. Most of the details - where there any to find, that is - are sharp. The rivets are well done, not too big, and evenly spaced. Most parts come attached to their pouring stubs, and removing them IS a chore. So be prepared first to do a lot of Dremel-work, and then start trimming the wheels and the wheel-mounts... 

This being a kit of a vehicle that never was, it is somewhat tricky to fault. But judging from the sketches that has survived, the KORA kit will give you a faithful replica. (The size of the thing is quite daunting, but also logical, if you consider that is was to be heavier than the K-Wagen.) My only quibble is the calibre of the gun, which is overly big: it does not represent a 120mm gun, it's more like 210mm. But as it is easily replaced, I can't see the harm. One warning, though: the tracks need a lot of attention, as it is easy to get them misaligned, suddenly finding a big gap at the other end of the track link assembly.

One last reflection: with it's square, squat hull, this will probably be the ugliest tank by far in your collection!

You can get this kit from Lfmodels or from Panzershop, both Czech firms.

The Czech firm of KORA has often given us glad surprises with their choice of kit subjects. They are decidedly NOT mainstream, and their originality is to be applauded. (They are one of the few kit producers, beside EMHAR and Modelkrak, that take WW1 seriously.) And comparing to other KORA kits I've seen, I'd say that their quality is steadily improving. And I can't wait to build this ugly 170 ton duckling! Well done, Robert Koraba! Highly recommended!