Airfix IS-3 Review

I picked up a IS-3 on ebay the other day - I had an idea of using it as a heavy support for my Polish Partizans (I just like the profile of the IS-3. It is an iconic piece of early cold war hardware, and wanted to incorporate it somehow.) 

During the late 40's/early 50's, the USSR supplied Poland with a pair of IS-3 tanks,  but they never saw any service. Instead, they were put on display, presumably as signs of 'Communist Union'. (Here's a picture of one of them in a museum somewhere in Poland...)

Anyway, the thought is that if one of these beasts is sitting on display somewhere, it wouldn't have been too hard for some partizans to 're-purpose' it - I had visions of it being trucked off somewhere for 're-painting', and never coming back, much to the chagrin of the policeman who had stood by and watched it. (This is also partly inspired by one of the factions in Arma II, who have a T-34 from a similar disreputable source...). 

I'm planning to keep the paint scheme similar to the one in the photo, but adding the Polish flag across the front (as opposed to the diamond shaped checks  used on Polish army vehicles) and the 'Solidarity' slogan along the track guards...

Anyway, enough of my plans - on to the review. The kit was fairly simple (67 pieces) and went together quickly and generally fairly easily. Detail was acceptable - infact, perfectly suited for gaming. What was strange was the lack of care in the moulding - the part ID numbers on the track sections were moulded on the visible side, rather than the reverse. It wasn't hard to remove them, but it was just a bit of hassle. The vents on the muzzle of the barrel were completely absent from one side, and there were very visible mould marks. Again, it wasn't too hard to remedy the fact, but it just seemed a pity. 

I'll put pictures up once I've got the paint job sorted...