I know I didn't NEED them...

 ... but I WANTED them. The 20mm Spearhead Russian forces for mid war eastern front are pretty much complete. But... I've always liked the look of the Russian T26 (despite it's less than stellar performance on the battlefield) and when I saw the S-Model boxes (theoretically 'quick build') how could I resist.

I applied perhaps slightly too much black wash (they both got two coats) but the look is suitably 'dirty' and used rather than fresh from the kitset box'ish. Many of the parts are beautifully finely cast, but I felt that this was a disadvantage. The suspension units were easily broken if care wasn't taken removing them from the sprue (I manage to break only one), and the antennae are so fine that they too are difficult to remove from the sprue. One of the two actually had two breaks in it 'in the box'. I may still go back and remove the antennae from around the turret as they are not essential, and perhaps mis-represent the Russian tank forces early war at least, when radios were few and far between.

The kits also came with brass etched parts, most of which I didn't use. . there was no way that they would survive wargames handling.

However when all is said and done, they are a nice model, and they will create some nice visual variety on the table alongside the BT7s and T34s.

Big 'thumbs up' to S-Models, it's just that these are possibly not as robust for my gammy fingers and thumbs as I'd prefer.