ICM The Crew of Stugna-P Anti-Tank Complex (35750) 1:35

[Mike]

The Crew of Stugna-P Anti-Tank Complex (35750)

1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd

 

 

In Ukrainian, the Стугна-П or Stugna-P, or sometimes Stuhna-P, depending on the translation, is a highly adaptable anti-tank weapon that was originally designed in Belorussia, but after 2014 was fitted with a new control unit of Ukrainian design.  It is a capable platform that can attack targets from extremely close to medium range, attacking various types of target that can either be stationary or mobile.  Sometimes called Skif, it can penetrate standard or composite armour and Explosive Reactive Armour, and is also able to penetrate bunkers and other soft targets, including helicopters.  If there is no incoming fire or other impetus to vacate the area, the missile can be set up by its minimum crew of three and manually guided to target by its operator, but if stealth or absence is good for continued good health, it can be launched in fire-and-forget mode, with no external input required after initial targeting and launch.

 

The weapon is mounted on a tripod in a tubular launcher, and the guidance computer is akin to a ruggedised laptop with a screen and game controller-style joystick.  It can be operated remotely by a 50m cable in case there is a chance of the launch plume being spotted by the enemy, firing a HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) round with dual warheads that can penetrate thick armour after detonating appliqué armour with the first charge.  It was originally designed with the M1 Abrams in mind during the Cold War, but with a High Explosive fragmentation missile it can be used to create havoc with entrenched troop positions.

 

 

The Kit

This new set combines a Skif unit with a four-man crew, and arrives in a small top-opening box with the usual captive lid attached to the bottom tray.  Inside are two sprues, one containing the weapon, the other the parts for the crew.  The instruction sheet is printed on glossy paper on both sides of a folded sheet of A3, one side containing a sprue diagram and colour chart, the second page the build steps for the weapon, and the remaining two pages covered with detailed drawings of the figures.

 

 

 

Construction of the Stugna-P is a relatively short process, consisting of creating the tripod from three legs, one with the pedestal moulded-in, then making up the missile tube from two halves, building a box that the launch tube sits on from three parts with top and bottom pivots, making up the sighting assembly from six parts, including the lens in a tubular housing, then putting the elements together and joining the two halves of the control “box”, which has additional detailed painting instructions.  The weapon is painted either camouflage green or desert sand, then the instructions turn to the figures.

 

 

The crew are each broken down into torso, arms, legs and head that are moulded separately, plus modern MICH-style helmets, pouches and bags, four AK derivative rifles and a pistol in a holster.  The figures are crisply sculpted and are wearing modern combat gear, including MOLLE loop vests and pouches, covered helmets, combat boots and tactical gloves.  There are also four sets of goggles to strap to the helmets or over the crew’s eyes if you’re no good at faces, or think they need protecting from debris kicked up by a missile launch.  The figures are shown as drawings with arrows pointing out the part numbers and paint letter codes that correspond to the table on the front of the booklet in ICM, Revell and Tamiya systems.  To assist with painting the figures’ uniforms, a swatch of digital camouflage that is worn by many of the Ukrainian soldiers is printed with the figure drawings, although I’ll be looking for some camouflage decals to ease the task when I get around to building this set.

 

 

Conclusion

The Ukrainian flag swatch and slogan on the front of the box is good to see, the figures and launcher are finely moulded, and should build up into an excellent model either for display on your shelves or within a diorama.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd.

 

Review sample courtesy of