While the T-34 was in service when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, supply was limited. Stalin decided to ramp up the easier and quicker to build T-60 tank to help fill out Soviet armored forces. The lightly armed and armored T-60 was no match for Germany's latest Panzer IIIs and IVs. Despite this, more than 6000 T-60's were built between 1941 and 1942. Later the T-60 would be relegated reconnaissance and pulling artillery. Some had their turrets replaced with Katyusha rocket launchers and the Romanians convert 35 captured T-60s into TACAM self-propelled guns.
Molded in tan plastic, HobbyBoss’ T-60 features fine detail with no sink marks or ejector-pin marks in visible areas. The main barrel is slide molded and the tracks are individual links. A small photo-etched metal (PE) fret includes fender brackets, screens for the engine cover and air intake, a headlight bracket, and the bullet splash rail in front of the drivers view port. Both the turret and driver's hatches are separate but lack detail inside. The Instructions comprise clear assembly diagrams without errors. Markings are provided for two vehicles.
I started by removing and cleaning up a runner of track links. I find that spreading this tedious job over the build makes it easier than doing it all in one go when it comes time to build the tracks.
Then I went to work on the hull. I added the front and rear plate to the tub followed by the detail parts for the sides including the suspension arms. I left the wheels, return rollers, and drive sprockets off to make painting and assembling the tracks easier.
The instructions would have you add all details to the hull top before installing it. I find it easier to glue top to the hull before adding detail parts. Although the fit of the upper plate was good, I noticed later a slight overhang at the right front side. Had I noticed this during test-fitting I would have glued scrap sprue inside to spread the hull slightly. Instead, scraping and sanding was needed to eliminate it.
The PE engine screens fit perfectly. The PE parts that needed to be bent have bend lines etched on the backside; I bent most with flat-tip pliers or tweezers and only the long, thin bullet splash rail required the use of dedicated bending tool. I added the headlight to its bracket but left off the gray plastic lens until I had painted and weathered the model.
The turret was a quick build consisting of just 16 parts. The mantlet is designed to elevate, but once installed, its movement is limited leaving the main gun in a slight barrel-up position. I added details to the fenders, but left them removable to aid track building and installation.
Extremely well-molded, the tiny individual track links feature open guide teeth and a tiny hole on each side of the shoe, without an ejector-pin mark in sight. They attach to the sprue in three locations making removal and clean up with a few swipes of a sanding stick. I built the tracks in sections that could be removed for painting. I used Tamiya Extra Thin cement to build the flat sections as well as the curved parts that fit around the drive sprockets and idlers. For the upper run, I used Testors Liquid Cement (No. 8872) with the needle dispenser; after 10-15 minutes drying time the track links will hold together but still be flexible enough to form the sag in the tracks.
After a coat of Hr. Hobby Mr. Primer Surfacer 1000, I painted my T-60 with Martin Kovac's (YouTube channel Night Shift) mix for Russian 4BO green. It's a 50-50 mix of Tamiya NATO Green (No. XF-67) and Sky (No. XF-21). I darkened the base color with the addition of a little more NATO green and sprayed the shadow areas and random mottling on the flat areas, before sealing it with Tamiya Clear (No. X-22).
I couldn't find references to support marking Option 1, but I found a profile of the second one online. It described it as a tank from the 30th Guards Tank Brigade 1943, but the drawing shows the vehicle with the later solid wheels. The decals went on perfectly using Microscale Micro Set and Micro Sol.
For weathering, I ran brown wash around the details, then I lightened base color with some Tamiya Desert Yellow (No. XF-59) and lightly dry-brushed raised details. The model then received a coat of Tamiya flat clear.
To grub up the tank, I added a rough coat of Flory Model's Mud Brown (No. FMW00) clay-based wash. The advantage of this wash is it is just clay and water with a little soap as a wetting agent, so any excess can be removed easily with a damp cotton swab after it dries.
I painted the tracks with a mix of 6 parts Tamiya Dark Iron (No. XF-84), 3 parts Red Brown (No. XF-64), and 1 part Dark Grey (No. XF-24). I dry-brushed wear areas with Vallejo oily steel then glued the tracks to the vehicle. Finally, the fenders were attached and the headlight lens, painted with a Molotow chrome pen, was installed.
I spent about 18 hours building my T-60. The finished model matches dimensions listed in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Military Vehicles by Ian Hogg and John Weeks (Prentice-Hall, ISBN 978-0-13-450817-7).
You'll definitely need experience with small parts and individual-link tracks to build this kit. My only complaint, and it's very minor, is the lack of interior detail on the hatches, and the lack of a clear lens for the headlight. I think the kit makes an excellent alternative to MiniArt’s T-60 if you don't need the full interior.