BA-27 – the USSR armored car

The BA-27 was the first Soviet serial armored car, produced between 1928 and 1931, and at the beginning of World War II, it was used for reconnaissance and infantry fire support tasks. The BA-27 is a heavy armored car with the same turret and armament, as the first Soviet light tank T-18, produced at the same time: the main weapon was a modified copy of the French 37 mm "Puteaux" SA 18 cannon. The cannon is paired with a machine gun. The production of the first Soviet truck AMO-F-15 (copy of Fiat F-15) started in 1924. Using the chassis of this truck, the construction team of the Izhora factory created the BA-27 heavy armored car in 1927. Since 1918 Russia did not produce large heavy-duty trucks, and the domestic automobile industry at that time practically did not exist. After long tests, the new car in 1929 was accepted into the service of the Red Army of the USSR. 1928-1931 215 were produced. The last BA-27 batch was mounted on a Ford Model AA truck chassis. Both chassis were found to be unsuitable for heavy armored vehicles and about 20 were later refitted to the heavier, three-axle "Ford-Timken" truck chassis at Repair Base 2 (Rembaza No. 2), designated BA-27M. 193 BA-27 and BA-27M were still in service in 1941. June 1 just before the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In the early stages of the war, several units of these vehicles were captured by the Germans and their BA-27s and BA-27Ms were used in Wehrmacht service.

The model is richly detailed and well designed, but in such a way, that it "bites" even for modelers with little experience, working under the supervision of a more experienced colleague. The model, without engine and combat compartment detailing, reproduces the BA-27 heavy armored car from the second production series, painted for the May 1st 1932 parade on Moscow's Red Square. A car with the inscriptions "Commander of Moscow" and "10 years of the name of the city transport union".