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Soviet PL-37 Light Artillery Wagon Trumpeter 1:35 History There is very little in the way of history that I can find on the PL-37, whether in my library or on the interweb. What is known is that the first Russian armoured train was built around 1915 with a number being captured after the revolution. The Soviets built up a fleet of armoured trains in the interwar years, used mostly by the Red Army, but the NKVD also used them in conjunction with their armoured cruisers. In the 1930’s this fleet was modernised with the introduction of the PR-35 and PL-37 wagons. Each train consisted of one BR-35 armoured engine, one PR-35 and two PL-37 wagons. During Operation Barbarossa, the Germans captured or destroyed most of these trains, usually through bombing as they were particularly vulnerable of this. During the war more heavily armoured trains and cruisers were built, with around 70 being available in 1945. The Model The kit comes in quite a large top opening box with an artistic impression of the wagon, strangely on its own without the rest of the train it should be attached to, firing its cannon at the enemy. As with the Panzertriebwagen No.16, reviewed HERE on opening the modeller is confronted with a box full of medium grey styrene, ten sprues in total, along with separate hull, in its own protective box, floor, turrets and five rail ballast sections. All the parts are beautifully moulded, particularly the single piece hull of the wagon, with no sign of flash and only a few moulding pips, so cleaning up after removal from the sprues should be a bit of a doddle. Being a fair bit smaller than the Panzertriebwagen there are far fewer steps in the construction, which begins with the construction of the rail tracks. The three sections that make up the majority of the track are joined together and fitted with the two end pieces, one of which needs to be modified to fit. The sleeper sections are then fitted from beneath, again with one section requiring modification to fit. The rails are then slid through the ties and joined together with two fishplates per rail. The wagon construction begins with the floor, the underside of which is fitted out with two longitudinal strengthening beams and two cross beams, on at each end. Toe plates, with added swivels are then attached to the underside in preparation for fitting the two bogies. Inside the main box structure there are four machine gun positions fitted. Each of these consists of the gun muzzle with the ball glued to the rear end. The ball is then placed in the socket of the mounting plate and covered with a semi-circular backing, allowing the muzzle to move. Each completed mounting plate is the glued into position, this is the limit of what’s in the interior. With the machine guns fitted, the floor assembly can be joined to the hull, along with the four two part buffers, two at each end. Each of the two bogies is built up from two side frames to which the two axle boxes are attached along with the parts that represent the spring suspension. Each axle is fitted with two wheels, with two axles sandwiched between the side frames, along with the bogie pivot block, which has been fitted with the four, three piece, brake shoes. The completed assemblies are then attached to the pivot mounts previously fitted to the underside of the wagon floor. The buffer plates are then attached, along with the ID plate to each end, whilst the wagon sides are fitted with the various hand rails and the access door. With the wagon the right side up, more hand and foot rails are fitted to the ends of the car, along with the five piece couplings and air line. On the side with the access door, three steps are added beneath the door and two long hand rails either side. The observation tower is made up of the single piece tower, to which the two top mounted hatches are fitted, along with the periscope cover, with the six viewing ports attached, one per side of the hexagon shaped tower. The completed tower is then fitted to the hole in the centre of the wagon roof. The two turrets are identical and consist of the single piece turret, a machine gun mount similar to those fitted to the wagon sides, a five piece main gun, made up of a two piece front barrel section, single piece rear barrel section, recuperator, and a figure of eight shaped joining piece. The machine gun, and main gun are fitted to the inside of the turret, before the turret base is attached. On the outside the turret is fitted with aiming port, periscope port, hatch hinge and an under-barrel plate. The hatch is then fitted with the other end of the hinge before being fitted into position, followed by a hinged mantlet plate, complete with two hinges. This can be posed closed up for low elevations or open for high. There are two protective plates fitted to each side of the barrel and these are attached along with the roof mounted radio aerial. Lastly the turret mounted rear hatch doors are fitted along with their hinges. The two completed turret assemblies are then fitted slotted into position and the railcar is completed with the addition of two armoured plates fitted either side of the couplings, each plate having previously been fitted with two hinges. The completed model can then be placed on the rail tracks. For improvements to the tracks, such as the rails, ties and ballast see the link in the Panzertriebwagen review. Conclusion I’m really loving the releases of these rail wagons. Having got all the German armoured train components, it’ll be great if Trumpeter continues with further releases of the Soviet trains. The build of this one isn’t at all complicated and would be a good first build or anyone interested in these trains, or those wanting something unusual in their collection. The camouflage possibilities are endless, with a fair few photos on the web showing how each individual unit painted their wagons differently. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for