Object 279

with NBC Commando

Object 279 (Объект 279) was an experimental heavy breakthrough tank designed and developed by the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1959. Three prototypes were completed in 1959, and demonstrated to Soviet leadership in 1960.

The design featured a unique four-track running gear for good cross-country mobility, and a saucer-shaped hull that was intended to withstand the shock wave from a nuclear blast (though presumably not at close range). The hull also included spaced armor panels that provided additional protection from HEAT rounds. Its hydro-pneumatic suspension allowed the vehicle to lower itself almost to the ground. Object 279 was intended to fight on the nuclear battlefield envisaged at the time, and was equipped with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protection.

Design work began in 1957 at the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ). However, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was not a fan of heavy tanks and after a demonstration of new military technology on July 22, 1960, he forbade development of any tanks over 30 metric tons, thereby effectively canceling the entire Soviet heavy tank program. Khrushchev was also a supporter of missile-armed tanks such as the IT-1, which also weighed in his decision. Furthermore, the military had reservations about heavy tanks which were problematical to transport over long distances, and could not cross many bridges in the Soviet Union.

Object 279 had some specific problems, notably low mobility over marshy terrain (ironically, the vehicle was designed for high mobility across soft terrain), high production and maintenance costs, and excessive height which made it difficult to conceal when on the move. The hydro-pneumatic suspension was also complex and prone to mechanical problems. Development of the vehicle was abandoned in 1960 and no further examples were produced. The vehicle never entered service. One of the prototypes survives at the Kubinka Museum outside Moscow.

Object 279 weighed 60 metric tons. It was armed with an M65 130mm rifled gun with a barrel length of 60 calibers, stabilized in both axes, with an automatic loader. Secondary armament was a coaxial 14.5mm KPVT machine gun. Maximum armor protection was 330mm on the turret front, and 265mm on the hull. The vehicle was powered by a 1000hp 2DG-8M diesel engine giving it a maximum road speed of 55kph (34mph) and an operational range of 300km (186 miles) without refueling.

TAKOM originally released the Object 279 in 1/35 scale as kit #2001 in 2013. This kit #2188 is a rebox of the original kit, with a few changes which we will describe below.

The kit consists of 579 parts, of which 341 are the individual link, workable tracks. Most of the parts are molded in light grey styrene, except for the tracks which are molded in black. There is an additional clear sprue with 2 parts for the headlamps. There is a single photo-etched fret with 19 parts, a small length of braided brass wire for the tow cable, and a decal sheet with markings for the three painting options.

Surface detail is crisp, mold lines are fine and should be easily removable with a sharp blade or a sanding stick. The molds do not appear to have degraded over time, and flash is almost non-existent.

The upper and lower hull are supplied as separate parts, which fit together to form the saucer-shaped hull.

Sprue A contains the suspension, running gear and some hull parts. There are two of these sprues in the kit.

The suspension swing arms (parts A3/A9 and A10/A2) mount to the suspension beams (parts A1/A27) in one of two positions, allowing you to build your model in travel mode or 'lowered' mode. The instructions are a little unclear in this regard, but the suspension beams have two locating holes for the swing arms. They are marked as A B (travel mode) and C (lowered mode) on page 3 of the instructions, which relates to the three painting options given in the 2013 release of the kit, though not to the options given in this kit. Regardless of that, you can still depict your model with its suspension raised or lowered. Note that the surviving vehicle at Kubinka has the suspension lowered, and this was option C in the original release.

There are 31 un-lettered sprues that contain the individual link, workable tracks. Each sprue contains 11 links, for a total of 341 links. The links simply click together to form a continuous track run. Each track requires 82 links according to the instructions, so you have a number of spares in case you break some, or in case you decide to add a link or two to provide some additional track sag.

Sprue C contains turret parts. The kit includes parts for two variants: the standard Object 279 as built in 1959 and tested in 1960, and an 'Object 279M' armed with a shorter barreled 152mm gun, though the latter is not mentioned at all in the instructions. This reviewer has been unable to find any information on the Object 279M variant outside online gaming forums, which suggests that Object 279M is a fictitious variant. Unlike the original 2013 release which contained two complete turrets as well as the two different guns, the new release contains only a single sprue C, so you must choose which variant you wish to build.

This introduces a problem however, since you need two parts C10 to complete the kit. On the original release, you got one on each of the two sprues C. In this kit however, you only get one sprue C, and therefore only one part C10, so you will need to make the other one from styrene rod or thin tube.

Sprue D contains the gun barrels and other turret parts. There is only one of this sprue in the kit.

An 'NBC commando' figure, depicting a soldier in full NBC combat gear, is also included in the kit. Note that the figure's equipment does not match any references that the reviewer was able to find for Soviet NBC equipment in the 1950s/1960s, and appears to be a fictitious NBC suit. 27 styrene parts on Sprue L make up the figure and equipment.

Sprue F is a clear sprue with two parts for the headlamp lenses. There is one such sprue in the kit.

The kit includes a small photo-etch fret with parts for the engine intake grilles and various brackets.

There is also a length of braided brass wire for the tow cable.

The instructions are in the usual Takom booklet format, with 12 pages of exploded view diagrams in clearly printed black and white.

The instructions show three painting and marking options on 2 additional pages in color:

• Object 279 - Unidentified Guards Heavy Breakthrough Tank Unit, in three-color (sand/brown/green) camouflage
  
• Object 279 - '302' in overall green with a white turret stripe.
  
• Object 279 - 'SP-II' in snow camouflage over two-tone green camouflage
  

All three of these options are, of course, fictitious since Object 279 never saw service. The markings are provided on a small decal sheet.

A fourth option, not mentioned in the instructions but illustrated on the box top, is to use the 'SP-II' marking from option C in conjunction with the three-color camouflage scheme from option A.

The instructions do not include paint numbers but since the three painting options represent 'what if' vehicles, you are not particularly constrained by the need for accuracy.

The kit appears to be quite a simple build. The individual link tracks, with four sprue attachment points per link, will require some determined cleanup, but a few evenings' work on a tray while watching tv should take care of them.

A full build review will follow shortly.

Highly Recommended for Intermediate to Advanced builders.

Thanks goes out to TAKOM for this review kit.

Reviewed by Neil Stokes

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