Soviet 76.2mm M1936 (F22) Divisional Gun

[Mike]

Soviet 76.2mm M1936 (F22) Divisional Gun

1:35 Bronco Models

In association with

The Soviet Divisional Gun was chosen in 1936 as a general-purpose gun for both artillery use and for antiaircraft use. Only 2922 were produced before production was switched to the 1939 model, so this kit represents a bit of a niche in Soviet artillery history.

The kit arrives in a top opening box with a fetching painting of the gun deployed for use, with shells and shell cases scattered around. Inside the oversized box you will find five sprues of a sandy yellow styrene, a small photo etched fret, an equally diminutive decal sheet, and of course the instruction booklet.

The use of slide moulding technology is immediately evident in the larger sprue by the fact that the barrel is a one-piece hollow moulding, and two nearby parts have detail on their sides is usually not seen in traditional moulding. The same is also true of the sprue marked N, which holds the split carriage bars, which again have detail on all three sides.

The parts count is high for such a small kit, and there are lots of delicate parts that could be easily damaged by rough handling. Ejector pin marks are minimal, and had been cleverly placed in order to minimise cleanup, and there is no flash evident on any of the parts. Detail is good, and the moulding crisp, with the barrel only requiring a little cleanup due to the alignment of the moulds.

The instructions are concise and staple bound, printed on glossy paper, with plenty of iconised construction directions, paint callouts and even the occasional helpful callout to assist you in bending and placing the photo etched parts.

The rear page of the booklet contains a full painting guide, together with decal placement instructions. The decals are simply stencil data for the gun breach, stencils for the shell crates, and stencil data for the munitions contained therein. As usual with most Soviet equipment, the basic colour is a dark olive green.

Conclusion

Bronco continue to impress with this release, and long may it continue. The moulding is crisp and clean, the instructions are clear and concise. A somewhat leftfield subject, but welcome nonetheless and of straightforward construction, which enables me to recommended it to modellers of all standards.

Review sample courtesy of

[Paul A H]

Looks very nice! Would go well with some nice turned brass shells too.

[Mike]

Looks very nice! Would go well with some nice turned brass shells too.

You're right And some nicely sculpted Russki crew