DeAgostini Diecast Military Vehicles

The Object 279 Kotin was a Soviet experimental heavy tank developed at the end of 1959. The tank was developed at the Kirov Plant in Leningrad by a group headed by the engineer L. Troyanov.

During 1938, the Soviet design bureau began working on a heavy tank intended to replace the T-35. All the designs were of the multi-turreted type except for one, which it's designers named after Kliment Voroshilov, the defense commissar then in power. Known as the KV-1, this design was far more mobile than the other submissions. It was eventually field tested in the Finnish Winter War of 1940 and was accepted for mass production that summer.

The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served tank divisions, while the T-62 supported infantry in motor rifle divisions. Although the T-62 and the famous T-72 would see much wider use and generally more development, it was the T-64 that formed the basis of more modern Soviet tank designs, such as the T-80.

Design on the KV-1 heavy tank began in 1938, with the intention that it should be the successor to the T-35 heavy tank. The first models of the KV-1 were field-tested during the Red Army's disastrous 1940 campaign in Finland.

The Iosif Vissarionovich tank (or IS tank, also known as the Joseph Stalin tank), was a heavy tank developed by the Soviet Union during World War II and first used in the Kursk area in September 1943. The tanks in the series are also sometimes called JS or ИС tanks.

The Iosif Vissarionovich tank (or IS tank, also known as the Joseph Stalin tank), was a heavy tank developed by the Soviet Union during World War II and first used in the Kursk area in September 1943. The tanks in the series are also sometimes called JS or ИС tanks.

The ISU-152 was the first of the Soviet heavy self-propelled artillery carriages of World War II, entering service in 1943, just in time to take part in the Battle of Kursk in July. It was intended for a dual role as an antitank weapon and heavy assault gun.

The first generation T-34 medium tank made its debut in combat during the summer of 1941, when the Wehrmacht launched its invasion of the Soviet Union. The T-34 easily outclassed the German PzKpfw III and IV models, thanks to its hard-hitting 76.2mm main gun, thick frontal armor, wide tracks, and overall superior mobility.

The Su-122 was an assault gun which used the hull of the T-34 tank and was the result of an April 1942 specification for assault guns aimed with guns of 122mm caliber or higher. The Su-122 was designed by the Uralsky Machine Building factory (UZTM). The first production SU-122s were built at the end of 1942, with a total of 25 vehicles being built.

The Su-122 was an assault gun which used the hull of the T-34 tank and was the result of an April 1942 specification for assault guns aimed with guns of 122mm caliber or higher. The Su-122 was designed by the Uralsky Machine Building factory (UZTM). The first production SU-122s were built at the end of 1942, with a total of 25 vehicles being built.

The Char B1 had its origins in the concept of a Char de Bataille conceived by General Jean-Baptiste Eugene Estienne in the twenties. On January 27th, 1926 it was decided to build three prototypes of a Char B, based on four earlier experimental vehicles (a FAMH-model, the FCM 21, the SRA and the SRB).

In 1941, the British were searching for a suitable armored vehicle to mount the standard British 25-pounder gun. The Canadians were producing the Ram tank, soon to be replaced by American M3s, and these were altered to accommodate the 25-pounder, becoming known as the Sexton.

The "Churchill" began life as a 1939 requirement that envisaged a return to trench-warfare, and was therefore slow and heavily armored like the Russian KV-1 series. That said, the final Churchill prototype was much lighter than had first been thought acceptable, although it still resembled a World War I tank in appearance.

The Cromwell tank was used by the British Army during the later stages of World War II. The Cromwell was ordered in 1941 and intended to replace the lightweight Crusader "cruiser" tank by being more heavily armoured, and, it was hoped, more survivable in battle.

By all accounts, the M4 Sherman medium tank was regarded as the workhorse of the US Army during World War II. In fact, virtually all of the Allied armies employed the Sherman in their armed forces, including the British, who developed an upgunned variant called the "Firefly".

Designed as a stopgap measure until the M4 Sherman tank could come on line, the M3 General Grant medium tank saw action in the North African campaign with both US and British forces battling the Afrika Korps. The M3 tank was unusual because it mounted two large caliber weapons in the body of the vehicle.

The ISU-152 was the first of the Soviet heavy self-propelled artillery carriages of World War II, entering service in 1943, just in time to take part in the Battle of Kursk in July. It was intended for a dual role as an antitank weapon and heavy assault gun.

The Char 2C, also known as the FCM 2C, is a French heavy tank, later also seen as a super-heavy tank, developed during World War I but not deployed until after the war. It was, in physical dimensions, the largest operational tank ever made.