http://www.FineScale.com 61M
odel companies are always
trying to find something no
one else has made, thus the
many so-called “paper pan-
zers” on the market. Now MiniArt rolls out
a Soviet ball tank or “Sharotank.” This vehi-
cle is fictional, but a captured German
ball tank is in Russia’s Kubinka Tank
Museum.
The plastic here was less brittle than
previous MiniArt kits I’ve built, and I only
broke one part removing it from the sprue.
The kit’s directions do a good job of calling
out the proper color for most small details
and give color recommendations for nine
paint brands.
The tank consists of an inner frame con-
taining an engine, crew seats, and track
rollers. This is sandwiched between two half
spheres that contain the armament, ammu-
nition, radiator, and fuel cells. Construction
starts with the detailed engine, but the oil
pan needs filing to sit flat.
There’s play in the placement of the
motor mounts (C13 and Ca17). If they are
not glued evenly the motor will not sit
properly on its frame. There’s not much sur-
face area to glue the engine to the frame, so
glue the drive wheel housing in place on
the frame before the engine.
Seats for the anti-tank guns are small
with their footrests hitting a 1/35 scale fig-
ure behind the knees. Once interior com-
ponents are painted, the two frame halves
are glued together.
The housings for the machine guns and
cannons are meant to be movable, but I
glued them in place for ease of painting. Becareful though, if
the guns are
mispositioned
they may inter-
fere with the
inner frame once
the spheres are in place. Also,
be sure to glue the shell racks tilting down
or the shells will not fit. The doors can be
posed open or closed.
Step 37 shows the headlight being
attached, but the part does not have the
base shown in the picture. I made one from
styrene strip. The clear lens was marred by a
bubble.
Separate slide-molded flash suppressors
allow the machine guns to slip through the
hull. I drilled a shallow hole in the suppres-
sor’s back to improve the bond.
After the outrigger wheels are glued
together, they are supposed to slide into the
fenders, but I had to sand the sides for fit.
The tracks are supplied in four solid sec-
tions that attach around the frame. Gapsshowed up between them that I filled with
scrap styrene. You’ll also need to sand the
tracks flat for the tank to sit properly, if not
on its base.
There are six marking
choices, four Russian, one
Polish, and
one for a
captured
German vehicle. I
chose markings for
a mobile checkpoint
of the Belorussian
front, 1944, painting
the camouflage with
Tamiya and Vallejo
acrylics.
The decals didn’t want to
come off the backing, so I let them soak
longer than usual. However, they are thin
and disappear under a flat coat. My decal
sheet was damaged, so I hand-painted
touch-ups to cover the mishaps.
This was an enjoyable build of an
unusual model. I spent 33.5 hours
on it, most of the time spent paint-
ing and weathering the interior.
The build was not complex.
Anyone with a few kits under
their belt should have little prob-
lem building it.- Mike Scharf
MiniArt Soviet Ball Tank
“Sharotank”
Kit: No. 40001 Scale: 1/35
Mfr.: MiniArt, miniart-models.com
Price: $77.99 Comments: Injection-
molded, 221 parts, decals Pros: Interior
included; easy assembly; detailed color
callouts for nine paint brands Cons:
Clear parts marred by bubbles; decals
difficult to work with; headlight mount-
ing bracket missing