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Soviet Railway Wagon "Teplushka" (35300) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd Railway trucks/wagons have been a major way of getting goods, livestock and even people around the countryside, and as the Soviet Union was geographically huge the railway was a primary mode of transport for goods and materiel come wartime. During Operation Citadel and the Soviet push back, many battles over stations and marshalling yards took place, and such wagons (Teplushka means boxcar) were often part of the backdrop. This four-wheeled unit was capable of carrying 8 tonnes and had a sliding door on both sides, with a small stove against the back wall for when live cargo was carried. The Kit Arriving in a standard-sized shrink-wrapped MiniArt box, the first thing that strikes you is how heavy it is. There are 37 sprues of grey styrene inside which accounts for most of the weight, a card envelope with two sheets of Photo-Etch (PE) parts inside, a decal sheet and the instruction booklet with a glossy cover and first page carrying the painting guide and some interesting posters and placards to put on your model. Construction begins with the underpinnings, starting with the central brake assembly in an H-frame which later forms the middle cross-rails of the chassis. The two axles are next with their wheels each end and leaf-spring suspension prepped for when the chassis is ready for them. The H-frame is joined with four more cross-rails to the main chassis rails, then stiffened by four diagonal cross-braces and a pair of end beams that accept the buffers and shackles later on. Firstly, the sides of the body are widened with a row of stand-off brackets on each side with a finishing rail and doorstep added to the sides after those are set up. Now you can put the suspension assemblies on the chassis-rails and push them slightly apart to accept the axles, which spin freely in depressions within the suspension assembly on their conical ends. The flat bed is fitted next in two sections, while the side and end panels are stiffened up with bracing and windows that can be posed open or closed, leaving the doors in the centre of each side open at this time. Before the roof it made up, the inside is decorated with three simple wooden platforms at each end, the top one of which is half depth and tilted upwards, possibly for luggage. The stove is also made up from a single body part and additional doors, grilles, top and smoke stack, then it is put to one side while the rest of the wagon is built up. More stiffening braces are added to the top of the side panels and the outer corners, plus a rail for the doors to slide on later. The roof is a long assembly made up from two sections that have wooden planking moulded on the inside, and a panelled roof with raised edges externally, braced from the inside by seven curved cross-rails. There's a small pre-engraved circular cut-out in each panel but you only need to cut one out to accommodate the smoke stack, with the stove sitting on a PE plate with a small scoop to top it up with fuel. That and the roof go on together, as the position of the stove is determined by the roof panel. It's up to you whether you decide to fill the other engraved hole, as it's unlikely to be seen unless you have eyes on stalks. The doors on each side have two layers, the inner side having a planked lower section and a diagonal bracing across the top. The pulley-like wheels are fitted onto the door frame while it is being laminated, and PE furniture and styrene handles are made up to complete them. A PE drip-rail is also attached over the door and its slide rail after it has been folded to an L-profile, then the doors are popped into place top first with the bottom edge dropped into the lower guides. Then it's just a matter of making up four three-part buffers, the brake rods with hooks on the ends, and the couplings that attach to them. That's the truck done, but now you need something to sit it on. There are four sprues filled with rail parts including 20 track-ties/sleepers, four sections of rail, linking parts and number of track spikes. The spikes on the inner edges of the rails are moulded-in, so the inner flange on the rails are inserted there first and secured by the separate pin on the outer edge. Do this 40 times (2 per sleeper) and you have a decent length or rail to put your truck on, and the beginnings of a diorama or vignette. Finally, you need to acquire a short length of chain to attach the last two hooks to the ends of the boxcar. There are also a pair of triangular mounts in the box that act as braces for the patriotic posters if you are using them. Markings There are seven sets of markings on the decal sheet with green and shades of brown the background colour onto which you apply the decals and some of the 28 posters and patriotic slogans that are included in the colour pages of the instructions. South-Western Railway. The train car with demobilised soldiers of the Red Army, 1945 Kuibyshev Railroad. Railway carriage as part of a military train 1942 Orenburg Railroad. Railway carriage as part of a military train 1943 Sanitary railway carriage of unknown military train, 1943-44 Deutsche Reichsbahn (imperial Railway Administration) occupied territory of the Soviet Union, 1942-44 South Ural Railway. The train car with demobilised soldiers of the Red Army, 1945 Railway carriage of unknown military train, 1942-45 The decals are printed by DecoGraph and they are all either red or white with no registration to worry about, but good sharpness and colour density. You can also decorate your carriages with some of the posters by cutting them out and pasting them to the sides either as indicated on the examples, or by making up your own arrangement. Conclusion This detailed kit is perfect for either adding to a train/loco, or as a participant in a diorama using the included rails. The painted example from MiniArt's website above shows the truck with a bunch of demobilised soldiers aboard, as per one of the markings options, although you'd have to source those yourself. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of