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After the 1/48th kit (thread) Zvezda is to release a new tool 1/72nd Polikarpov I-16 Ishak Type 5 (early & late) kit - ref. 7330 Source: https://vk.com/zvezdamodels?w=wall-29859496_2890428 3D renders V.P.

Expected in 2025 - ref. 4837 - Yakovlev Yak-7B - late variant Source: https://vk.com/zvezdamodels?w=wall-29859496_2851458 V.P.

After the 1/48th kit in 2022 (thread & thread), coming in 2026 from Zvezda in 1/72nd - ref. 7312 - Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot" Source: https://vk.com/zvezdamodels?w=wall-29859496_2899550 V.P.

Zvezda revealed the cover of the 2026 catalog.

Coming in 2026 from Zvezda - ref. 7054 - Mil Mi-26 "Halo" Source: https://vk.com/zvezdamodels?w=wall-29859496_2899550 V.P.

Coming in 2026 from Zvezda - ref. 7049 - Tupolev Tu-214 "Mogul" Source: https://vk.com/zvezdamodels?w=wall-29859496_2899550 V.P.

Coming in 2026 from Zvezda - ref. 7334 - Lavochkin La-5 Source: https://vk.com/zvezdamodels?w=wall-29859496_2899550 V.P.

After the 1/48th kit (thread), coming in 2026 from Zvezda - ref. 7333 - Kamov Ka-52M Alligator/"Hokum-B" Source: https://vk.com/zvezdamodels?w=wall-29859496_2899550 V.P.

Soviet 203mm Howitzer M1931 B4 ‘Stalin’s Sledgehammer’ (5085) 1:72 Zvezda via The Hobby Company Work started on the howitzer that became the Sledgehammer in the mid-20s with a design for a 203mm howitzer of ‘long range’, in two variants with and without a muzzle-brake that would reduce recoil. The brake-less barrel was eventually settled upon, and it was mounted upon a tracked carriage that was common in Soviet military doctrine due to its prodigious weight. It was first tested on the firing range in 1931 to determine which shells it would be appropriate to use, and was accepted into service two years later, but retaining the date it was first fired in its name. Production was slow to start and fraught with problems, resulting in a cessation in 1938 that was also useful to facilitate production of the 122mm corps gun that was also needed. Production was shifted to another factory in Stalingrad, ramping up to reasonable numbers by October 1941 when it was ended at 1,101 units total. In true Soviet style, the individual plants built guns that were subtly different from each other, and they first saw action in the less-than-successful Winter War, although the B4s were adept at utterly demolishing Finnish pillboxes, gaining their first nickname “Karelia Sculptor”. During the initial advances by the Nazis in Operation Barbarossa, which Soviets call The Great Patriotic War, a large number of howitzers were lost or captured due to the speed of Soviet withdrawal, so production was re-started to make up the losses, evacuating the remaining regiments to the rear until they could be of use during the advances after the battle of Kursk, marking a significant reversal of Germany’s fortunes. Soviet forces occasionally encountered their own howitzers, as in their usual style, the Germans had pressed a few into service using captured bunker busting rounds, or their own compatible munitions. As Soviet forces went on the offensive, the B4 became a useful weapon that pulverised the enemy lines whenever they stopped to make a stand, which garnered the nickname ‘Stalin’s Sledgehammer’ from Germans who grudgingly respected the power and accuracy of this gun, which although it was intended as an indirect fire weapon, was occasionally used to good effect in direct fire situations. It was capable of firing a range of shells, all with a separate charge package that gave it variable range and muzzle velocity, firing high-explosive or heavy G-620 bunker-busting rounds, or post-war it was able to fire an atomic shell 18km, a shell that’s still in service today. Depending on the charge size, its muzzle-velocity topped out at over 600m/s, which was always used in the bunker-busting role and at maximum engagement ranges. After WWII an updated version was introduced, dropping the tracked carriage for a wheeled chassis that allowed the gun to be towed without removal of the barrel, a time-consuming task. The Kit This is a new tool from Zvezda in this scale, although there has been a kit from Zvezda in 1:35 for some years now. The kit arrives in an end-opening box, with a brown card tray inside that has its own captive lid, preventing the kit from being easily crushed when stacked with others. Inside the box are four sprues of grey styrene in various sizes, a black & white instruction booklet, and an A5 colour painting guide on glossy paper. Detail is good, with plenty of raised rivets and bolts, plus engraved and raised details where appropriate, and a set of well-detailed link-and-length tracks. Construction begins with the central portion of the axle, made from two parts and trapped between end-plates that is then glued into the lower chassis part, along with some details. The trunnions and side-walls are made from two layers each, fitting the right side to the lower chassis first, then adding a panel under the rear at an angle, and a bulkhead with rail at the rear of the central opening in the lower chassis. An inner bulkhead is fitted between the trunnions as the left side is joined, ensuring the rivet heads are facing aft, then fixing the fairing at the front of the chassis on tabs moulded into the inner faces of the trunnions, completing them with a heavily ribbed and riveted front part, plus a surround that hides the join between the inner and outer faces of the trunnions. Shovels are lashed to both trunnions, adding a toolbox to the left side, and suspending a pair of plates on a rack over the space between the two rails. A five-part self-entrenching spade is made and attached under the rear of the frame, adding a pair of retaining jacks, a panel to enclose the base, and grab-handles to the sides. A pair of cable drums are mounted on the front in a three-part holder, adding parts of the aiming and adjustment mechanism to the sides of the gun during the next few steps, the gunsight painted a contrasting black, with levers, wheels and other small parts essential to the gun’s operation. Over the page, the four-part breech block is assembled, then the gun and breech are built from two halves plus a hollow muzzle, and a rail running up the left side, adding recoil dampers and the elevation gear to the lower side, along with sliding blocks and an end-plate with copious rivets. The breech block is fitted, adding more small parts to the upper side, allowing the barrel assembly to be lowered into place and secured by a pair of inserts in the top of the trunnions that trap the pegs on the barrel in place. Additional rods and wheels are attached, then a pair of shell cradles are built from nine parts each, with the option of placing a shell into each one after they are fitted, with a choice of two, the larger one probably the bunker buster. A mount for one of the crew seats is fixed on the right trunnion, adding the two five-part seats later, facing away from the enemy, but with some armour behind them at least. Soviet manufacturing was well-versed in making farm machinery, including those based on caterpillar tracks, which are the main assembly still left to make. Two inner faces are detailed with mounts and adjusters initially, making up paired drive sprockets and idler wheels for each side, then making two short curved lengths of track from five individual links each side curled around the idler wheels. The running gear consists of four road-wheels each side of a central carrier, adding two return rollers to each side, repeating the process twice, then adding in the drive and idler wheels whilst closing the outer and inner faces around the wheel-sets. Once the glue has cured, the long track lengths are laid over the bogeys top and bottom, fitting the curved 5-link length at the front, and another five links over the drive sprocket, completing the run and leaving them to one side to cure, safe in the knowledge that the requisite sag is moulded into the top runs. To complete the model the two track units are brought in at the sides, mounting them on the axle ends, fitting the afore-mentioned rear-facing seats, and adding a pair of simple seat pads onto brackets further toward the rear of the gun, with a final adjustment wheel inserted into a socket on the right trunnion. Markings There are no decals in the box, and the main colour is given in Tamiya code XF61, which is Dark Green, although the translation shows it as “protective”. From the box you can build the following: Conclusion A very well-detailed kit in this scale of an important part of Stalin’s arsenal that helped them first push the Nazi menace back within their original borders, and eventually to the doors of Hitler’s bunker. Highly recommended. Available from all good model shops now. Review sample courtesy of via importers

Good day everyone, Finally finished this build, pricey model as I had to get it from and Estonian seller on eBay (no one sells it in Canada). The build was nice and fitted really well, only real problem was the front with the canopy, it was a very tight fit. The instructions are very clear and the decals fit nicely. The weapons were another issue especially fitting the Vikhr missiles, but all in all I really enjoyed it. Model was base coated in XF-1 flat black, then pre-shaded in XF-2 flat white, main colour is an XF-24 dark grey with a little bit of black added for a more darker tone, I made way too many mistakes and the canopy painting was not the best. I added some weathering and panel lining with Tamiya black panel liner. I picked the choice of Vikhr AGM missiels, Igla AAM and rocket pods, the other choice is switching the pods or Vikhrs with fuel tanks. Funny enough the kit doesn't come with Ataka missiles despite the helicopter being depicted in them on the box art. Hope you like it

Hello everyone, this is my Panther Ausf. D in 1/72 scale. The kit is from Zvezda (5010). The model was built straight out of the box, I only added the antenna, wire handles, and drilled the cannon barrel. I used Humbrol enamel paints for the coloring. The dark yellow was applied with a brush and the camouflage was sprayed with an airbrush. For the weathering, I used a mix of products from AK Interactive and Ammo by MIG. Cheers from Czech Republic, Tomas

I have to make a confession first, I never finished a scale model of the Bf 109 So time to change this. As I had the three new kits in my stash, why not to do a "comparative" build of them. They are from largest to smallest box - Eduard, Tamiya and Zvezda. Upon opening the boxes, the Eduard box looks rather empty. The Tamiya box looks to have more in it. And the Zvezda box is full up to the rim! But this is a bit misleading as several frames are from the older F model. There are plenty online reviews of the three kits and they are all reasonably favorable. According to them, the Zvezda kit which is based on their F model lacks in details and looks rushed. Eduards Mk.II kit is now in 1/48 at last, but still has some shape issues. And Tamiya with the latest addition looks to be another shake the box kit to build it. So lets start the comparison with the wings. As can be seen, there is a slight variation in wing span. The Zvezda wing is actually a bit shorter still as it isn't casted with the dihedral in place. Here a close-up of the two bulges and the difference in shapes And here the a picture how these two bulges do look. Lets move to the top of the wing. Here the length diffrence is now more visible, with the Zvezda wing about 1mm too short. And the comparison of the undercarriage bulge. To compare the fuselage is a bit tricky due to the construction of the engine covers. The Eduard fuselage is maybe placed a bit too forward. Considering this, they are equal in length. Also note the different shapes and sizes of the bulge under the horizontal stabilizers. And these bulges on the real aircraft. It looks there was a bit of variation on the real aircraft too. But there are differences in the representation of maintenance panels. The res circle show the missing panels. I believe Tamiya has one too many, Eduard is correct and Zvezda has some missing. The Tamiya instructions have this to say about the panels above and the bulges below. And here the other side. The two bulges are very noticable on the Tamiya kit, very tiny on the Eduard kit and none existent on the Zvezda kit. Here a close up. One known issue with the Eduard kit is the fuselage height. In comparison with the Zvezda kit, it is 0.6mm too high. Comparing the Zvezda and Tamiya fuselage results in a perfect match. I am sure that all three kits will result in very nice models of the Bf 109 G-6. The Tamiya kit looks to be the easiest build. Eduard has some nice details and Zvezda needs a bit of work. My goal is to have the three models built in similar finishes prior painting. That means that I will rivet the Zveda and Tamiya kit. I may use after market parts for the wheel and exhaust which would also correct the other problem on the Eduard kit, the too wide opening for the exhaust. My next update will be a comparison of the cockpits ready for painting. I won't use the Eduard PE parts in the cockpit to have a fairer comparison. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers, Peter

Zvezda catalogue 2025 is downloadable here (total 96 pages) : https://vk.com/doc6108131_682097510 The aviation pages are downloadable here : https://t.me/zvezdamodels/904 https://m.vk.com/doc582237887_682729881?hash=KyalVv2mlzXqiqspjVVSpCYeon3pXouHqHmMzU0gmZc New tool/parts aviation kits expected in 2025: Source: https://vk.com/zvezdamodels?w=wall-29859496_2851458 - ref. 4808 - 1/48 - Sukhoi Su-30SM "Flanker-H" (thread) - ref. 4835 - 1/48 - Mil Mi-171 "Hip-H" (thread) - ref. 4837 - 1/48 - Yakovlev Yak-7B - late variant (thread) - ref. 7045 - 1/144 - Tupolev Tu-144 "Charger" (thread) - ref. 7047 - 1/144 - Airbus A-330-200 (thread) - ref. 7429 - 1/144 - Kamov Ka-52 Alligator/"Hokum-B" - ref. 7435 - 1/144 - Lockheed-Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon - ref. 7436 - 1/144 - Sukhoi Su-30SM "Flanker-H" - ref. 7501 - 1/144 - Vostock-1 (thread) To be followed. V.P.

Zvezda is to release in 2024 a new tool 1/144th Airbus A-330-300 - kit ref. 7044 Source: https://vk.com/zvezdamodels?w=wall-29859496_2798054 V.P.

Probably not what most people would expect under this title 🙂 i dont't have a specific relationship to this aircraft, but to the airline and its country. One my good friends flew the last 737-200 in europe with for aviogenex and i m half yugoslav, so it was just a matter of time until the first yugos appear haha. It is the basic zvezda kit in 1/144 , which is quite ok, except for the missing flightdeck and clearpieces for lights. Still i found myself notching up the kit with smallstuff detail set, GA resin wheels and 26Decals. The build itself was more or less uneventful except for the horrible decals - i really like 26 stuff, and his support is awesome! But AFAIK these decals are made by BOA (i think 26's silkscreen prints are BOA and microscale). And they are really not the easiest to deal with, at least i had some trouble. First the cheatline is not aligned to the kit - kudos to Ray from 26 - he supplied me with another sheet to basically cut together the cheatline on the left side to match it to the windows - because i build clear cabin and cockpit windows only. I had some trouble with them , when i clear coated and masked them, several times i ve torn the decals off after demasking. either tamiya tape is too strong or the decals are not sticking to the surface - allthough chemically treated. Anyway, i had enough spares so i sorted it out. All paints are MRP, except Alclad metals, and tamiya translucent red and tyre black. Washes come from Abteilung 502 and tamiya. I scratched all lights in clear plastic, and i added static dischargers (too thick in my view, next time i will find a better solution). The landing gear from the kit is quite brittle and fragile - needs much attention. Clear coated with MRP super gloss, sanded down with tamiya sponges to even the surface and then polished it with micromesh until 6000 grid and then gave it a machine polish with tamiya paste. I didnt want a high gloss finish, cause i have never seen any Tupe like this. THe depicted aviogenex plane is from inbetween 1985-1986, where it got a new paintjob without faded red wingtips. hope, you maybe like it thanks for watching!

Thanks Luis Pacheco - link Worth a dedicated thread ! A strong rumour coming from Moscovia: Zvezda could release a 1/48th Kamov Ka-52 Alligator/"Hokum-B" kit at the end of 2023. To be followed Source: https://dzen.ru/a/ZM4FGUonYhvCyrvu?share_to=vk&utm_referer=away.vk.com V.P.

I'm building the Zvezda 1/144 A321NEO in BA livery. I have aftermarket decals from 26 Decals. I'm struggling to find the correct colours I need. I primarily use spray cans and brushing for smaller parts etc. I'm planning to buy a Tamiya gloss white spray or something similar from them. But I'm just not sure what colours I should use for the blue for the lower fuselage and greys for the wings.

Thanks Luis Pacheco - link . Worth a dedicated thread ! A strong rumour coming from Moscovia: Zvezda has a 1/48th Mil Mi-28 "Havoc" kit in design. Nonetheless Zvezda is reported having decided to give now the priority to its 1/48th Ka-52 project - thread link To be followed. Source: https://dzen.ru/a/ZM4FGUonYhvCyrvu?share_to=vk&utm_referer=away.vk.com V.P.

A very nice little kit that was supposed to help me over the wait for the Artemis kit in the same scale and be a bit of a replacement for a nice Soviet/Russian Rocket in 1/72, e.g. the Mach 2 Vostok (for those of us who prefer injection to resin kits!). The model comes either with a Soyuz MS crewed top or a Progress MS payload. I opted for the crewed version to go with my other rocket kits. It builds fine, although one probably could have thought of some cleverer ways to hide the seams on the rocket and booster parts. All the necessary details for this scale (IMHO) are there and the decals are very good. The painting instructions caused some trouble however. The instructions included a double sided colored page for the painting (who knows why on both sides of this sheet the exact same picture is printed). It shows a three sided view of the launcher in both configurations. I guess, the fourth side wasn't worth showing? But - and a big but in my view - there are errors. Error no 1.: the drawings on the instructions don't match the kit exactly. If you are (like me) using panel lines or hatches etc. to place decals, it doesn't work for you. In fact, putting the decals on for the "Soyuz MS" letters is a problem, as where they are supposed to go wrt the instructions are three protrusions on the body that prevent the decals. The kit or the real thing are also not symetrical, which makes it a bit tricky. I ended up placing the decals 90 degrees off their placing according to the instructions Eerror no2.: the white bands on the boosters are (according to the instructions) on the 5th band of panels from below. after painting it so and trying to put decals on, I realized that the 4th panel band should have been white. (actually, the picture of a build model on the carton shows it right as do original pictures. So I am willing to share the blame with Zvezda) I can easily live with these errors - sue me, Roskosmos In any case, the instructions don't give an exact date or launch number, and the rockets looked different on each picture ... I only added a few more simple details to the rocket body (everything in "remove before flight red, as I used those colors - including the inside of the nozzles to make it a bit more colorful). I had a bit of an issue with the larger nozzles of the boosters. Each of the four needs to be in its correct location (probably so they point straight down, despite the overall angle of the boosters). I missed that somehow and then they didn't really fit well into the holes in the kit (could be my fault or Zvezda?). So the bottom doesn't look too great and considering the way the Soyuz sits on the stand, I refrained from adding details to the bottom. ... and without the boosters, plus the Progress MS payload ... and together with the other 1/144 launch systems (well, Ariane 5 is 1/125) As always, thanks for looking, any comments welcome! Cheers Here are my otherr space related builds: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DLrnifbiBdBnwxfF7

Just got this model, it was an absolute hell to find it sold here in Canada and nobody has it, and I mean nobody at all. I searched in US stores but very few had it and the prices were really high, so I had to try on Ebay and found a decently (still pricey) one sold by a Latvian store. It got here today (took exactly 2 weeks, so really good). This is the second helicopter kit I got , the other one is an AH-64D by Hasegawa (1/48), I haven't started it either. Will be posting the progress here, Regards

Very well made model, the plastic quality is good, the parts fit no issues, the tracks were a bit of a challenge since I wasn't very used to segmented tracks back when I built it (this actually was my 6th finished model ever). The model was primed with Tamiya flat black and painted with AK real colors Russian Green Gray. All in all it was a great build, the only downside for me was the price as I had to get it from an international seller so the price was slightly higher than usual, Zvezda kits are really hard to get in Canada due to the import restrictions due to the ongoing conflict. Please let me know what you think and if you have any criticisms they are very welcome as well.

Zvezda is to release in 2020 a 1/48th Mil Mi-24 "Hind" kit. Probably the start of a family of Mi-24: D/V/P etc. Fingers crossed. Source: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235061306-zvezda-2020/ V.P.

Warning: Bandwidth-heavy thread! I documented this build with video again from start to finish. If you want to see it, here's the video: I actually completed this kit back in November 2024, but I only got the time to edit and upload the video now and then post it here. Background The Boeing 787-10 is the largest variant in the Dreamliner family, extended by 5.5 meters compared to the 787-9. It’s designed for high-capacity routes and can carry approximately 318 passengers in a standard two-class configuration. While it has slightly less range than its smaller siblings, the -10 is optimized for regional and medium-haul international routes for seat count. Like the rest of the 787 series, it features a new generation of composite construction and shares a common type rating across the family. The aircraft is finished in the livery of All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan’s largest airline by fleet size and one of the most prominent carriers in Asia. ANA was the global launch customer of the 787 program and operates a significant number of Dreamliners across both domestic and international routes. A trip I had at the end of 2023 wherein I was on JA901A for a flight to Tokyo gave me the impetus to build this particular aircraft in the iconic ANA "Triton Blue" scheme. This is one of I believe three 787-10s in ANA's fleet that are lower-density in seating and equipped with the RR Trent 1000 engines, as opposed to ANA's more densely configured 78Xs for domestic routes with GEnx engines. The Trent-powered 78Xs are often used for routes within Asia and configured for international flights. On to the build photos: Review My main challenge with this build was the extremely sparse decals, which will be an issue for anyone needing stencils. Some people go the route of buying aftermarket decals that include all the stencils and details. I tried to save money by designing them myself to print, but this turned out to be a much bigger challenge than I anticipated—the decal design process took almost as much time as the build itself. They were then printed through SetupDecal164 in Thailand. In the research I did for the build, and designers uploading airline decal assets for fellow modelers (https://shikichandao.wixsite.com/jetstream), which was hugely helpful. It was great to see how many resources they had for modeling these aircraft accurately, though it does make me wish I spoke Japanese, if only to thank them and learn from their incredible techniques and work. The build itself I was expecting to be a slog, turned out to be relatively breezy. A few hiccups here and there but it was thankfully relatively stress-free. It's definitely not perfect, but I'm quite satisfied with it. Thanks for reading!

My second attempt on the 1/72 Zvezda Hercules. This time the recent version of this iconic bird, the C-130J-30. The kit was built with only few after market sets, I used tires and the Litening pod from Eduard Brassin and masks from ResKit. Some details were improved by myself, for example the seats in the cargo bay, Satcom antenna, HUD or lots of structures around the fuselage. I used Gunze colors for the camo aswell as Tamiya and Alclad colors for the interior and some details. Regards Daniel

A change from my recent 1/48 fast jets, and this time a 1/72 heavy companion for the Victor and Vulcans. I love the two-tone brown scheme of the RAF’s early Hercs, especially with the white above the cockpit. I’m often slightly reticent to do these types of kits as there is so much detail to build and paint on the interior, but I’ve wanted to add a Herc for ages and have seen some brilliant builds on here. I’ve read good things about the Zvezda kit, so here we go … Obligatory aftermarket, including masks which I think will be invaluable with so many small windows. Slightly intimidating number of plastic components! Crud n’ custard ready … I’m actually thinking of doing it with the white cockpit but two-tone roundels. I’ve seen a few photos with this combination, so a mix of the two options below: Please can anyone help with what colours I’ll need for the cockpit and interior?