Meng TS-018 1/35 Russian T-10M Heavy Tank

During the WWII, Soviet JS/JS-2 (Joseph Stalin) heavy tanks were the nightmare of German army. After the war, the Soviet Union still insisted that heavy tanks were most important in wars, and equipped its troops with JS-3 and JS-4 tanks. In 1948, the Object 730 started. The tank once was named JS-8, JS-9 and JS-10. In the late 1950s, the Soviet Union implemented the policy of de-Stalinization. Object 730, as the last version of Joseph Stalin heavy tank series, had to be renamed T-10. Between 1953 and 1965, about 1500 T-10 tanks were produced by the Soviet Union. The last version of T-10 tank and also the version with most modifications - T-10M, started its service in 1957. T-10M had a crew of 4. Its combat weight was 51t. It was powered by a 750hp V-12-6 supercharged diesel engine. It was fitted with a 122mm M-62-T2 (2A17) rifled gun; its secondary weapon was a 14.5mm KPVT coaxial machine gun and an anti-aircraft machine gun. The loader and commander were supplied with infrared night vision equipment. The tank was equipped with an NBC protection system.

MENG’s brand new TS-018 1/35 scale Soviet T-10M Heavy Tank plastic model kit is exactly a replica of this most feared Soviet heavy tank. This kit is 305mm long and 97mm wide. Its typical exteriors inherited from Joseph Stalin heavy tanks are realistically replicated. Many details of the real vehicle are perfectly represented, like the front hull structure, the "turtle shell" turret and the long barrel.

During the Cold War, T-10Ms pointed their barrels at the NATO AFVs on the other side of the Iron Curtain. However, they didn’t get any chance to fight with NATO tanks and finally retired from service in 1993. They only participated in the Operation Danube in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.