The ASU-57 was developed from a prototype for an artillery prime mover in the late 1940s. The Soviets added a 57mm Ch-51 gun to the basic design, producing a lightweight vehicle consisting in many parts of aluminium and a thin armour that stopped nothing bigger than a bullet. The engine was placed in the front of the vehicle for maximum protection of the three crew members in the open fighting compartment, giving the ASU-57 an appearance similar to the German WW2 Sturmgeschütz.

Originally a Tu-4 bomber, a Soviet copy of the American B-29 Flying Fortress, carried two ASU-57s, one under each wing, in a special aluminium container to the LZ, but after the arrival of the An-12 transporter, parachute dropped palettes were used.

The vehicle was produced between 1950 and 1962. In the Warsaw Pact only Soviet VDV troops used the vehicle. A few were exported, however, to Yugoslavia, Eritrea, North Vietnam and Egypt. A few ASU-57s captured by the Australian Army in Vietnam saw short service as cargo carriers.

The Kit

The kit comes in a soft, grey styrene and is moulded flat, with sides etc. consisting of separate parts. The track comes in individual links. Since the 30 rounds for the 57mm gun were stored in the open, all the shells are provided in the kit, moulded in rows of two, three and six, connected by the storage racks. The kit gives a first impression to be soft in detail, but after painting it sharpens up.

The big problem with the kit is the instruction sheet. No numbers are moulded on the sprues (although the familiar squares for the numbers are there) and the three-stage instruction is too confused to be more than a general guide of how to glue the parts together.

To ease construction complete the first step, but leave the radio and instrument panels until later. I have no reference material, but it is much more plausible that they should be placed on the underside of the upper hull, where I put them. The long radio board was glued to the left inner edge of the fighting compartment.

After the lower hull is finished, add the tracks, since it will be easier to assemble them at this stage than later. The links have a rough texture that makes a very good impression once they are on the kit. Assemble the gun without the muzzle brake. Note that the breech block is upside down in the instructions. I suspect that the breech should be rotated 90 degrees either left or right, but my lack of reference makes it impossible to determine wether to and, if, what way. Glue the gun to the lower hull, not the upper as noted in the instructions.

In my kit, the upper hull was slightly twisted, so I glued it into place before adding the details like lamps, etc. The headlights are a bit rough and should be replaced.

The kit comes with markings for at least three alternatives, although the instructions show only two, one Soviet VDV vehicle in overall green from 1961and a Egypt vehicle in overall sand from the 1967 war. I have decided to make my kit represent an Egypt vehicle and paint it in an overall sand consisting of 1 part Humbrol 83 mixed with 1 part Humbrol 34, not H 88 as noted. The colour used for the Soviet version should be 79 or 114, not 30.

If it hadn't been for the extremely bad instructions, the kit would have received four dots, the fourth due to the charm of the kit. When finished it measures 14 cm. with gun and is a nice little extra in my collection of tanks from the Mid-East wars. But the lousy instructions force me to withdraw one whole dot -- and this gives the kit a rating that does not do justice to its subject.