Soviet armor finished at last

[reserve]

Thanks, gents

It's not how good ya are it's how good ya are at hiding yer mistakes, or so I've been told.

Bbrowniii-Thanks for having a look I'm gratified at the idea you like what you're seeing. Deer hunting has not been good, been too warm and they are not moving very much but perhaps later in the season this will change. Hate trying to root them out of the bushes, never can tell if you'll get a bear instead out here.

This post is on another computer as mine blew up and is currently in the warranty bin having the hard drive replaced. As such, posts will be limited until reanimation is achieved. For this reason I present the mostly done but not quite finished Trumpy T-54A



This will not be the cornerstone of the collection but it did not come out too badly to toss





This thread is now on hold anyway as I am out of Soviet tanks, the T-64 kit and T-80 aftermarket mess are somewhere on the road 'twixt here and the dealer. Will be back when items are in.

Regards,
Mark

[TRM]

She is pretty Mark!!! Some nice clean work....well done!!!

[wbill76]

The T54 looks good Mark and does its job of filling the slot in the production run! Sorry to hear of your supply chain troubles, hopefully you can get the plant back online soon once you're parts are delivered.

[bbd468]

Another fine job there Mark!! What your next victim?

Gary

[reserve]

Thanks, T and Nemo

Bill-Supply chain troubles were entirely my fault; did not think the 54 would go together as quickly as it did. As of yesterday, however, this has been solved. Thanks, glad ya like it.

Gary-Thanks, and the next victim? Read on...

Sometime in the dim, distant past a sage said "Careful what you wish for you just might get it." Sound advice, the T-80 UM conversion arrived yesterday.











Goregous stuff, very well done with not too much warpage noticable as of yet, no voids or bubbly areas, instructions not overly vauge. That being said, this one's going to take awhile. Might have to set up the bench belt/disc sander up for this one, gonna be lots of excess material grinding. I may have to acquire a Skif T-80 kit as I'm not sure I'm going to be able to adapt the Zvezda/Dragon whoever is responsible for it lower hull to this conversion. I probably failed to add that it was designed for Skif but since it was the only game in town that's what I ended up with. Now we'll see if I'm as good as I think I am, no?

Regards,
Mark

[reserve]

Hey Nemo

From what I understand the Zvezda or whoever kit was designed from photos taken clandestinley from a distance since the Soviets were not keen on sharing information on MBT's. Paranoid commies and all that. With that in mind the wonder is that it came out as well as it did.

Research has indicated that the Zvezda offering is completely unsuitable for this conversion so it looks like I'm about to be introduced to Skif. Rumor has it that it's not going to be a happy one but all I need is the lower hull, a fact that will no doubt reduce the pain. Guess I can finish the Zvezda and use it for painting practice, and, while waiting for the Skif kit, I can do the resin turret. This one's kind of making me work for it.

Regards,
Mark

[eastrock]

Mark, conversion looks great, detail looks crisp

[wbill76]

Conversion set looks great Mark, ought to keep you busy and the Skif base shouldn't be too hard to come by. Looking forward to seeing this one come to life.

[reserve]

Had a nice looking sunset today



Sorry for the off topic.

Began fooling with the resin







Fit's pretty good as resin sets go. The manufacturer did not see fit to include the reactive armor block mounts so I had to make my own. A bit labor intensive but they provide a much more solid mounting...I hate it when parts fall off my builds. The one problem I see so far is the smoke grenade launcher bases are at the wrong angle, they point in towards the gun barrel but a few wedges at the proper angle should solve this. More as progress is made

Regards,
Mark

[eastrock]

Nice view on the sunset Mark, practicing shots? lol

turret update looks good!

Cheers!
ER

[wing_nut]

We on the east coast are longing for a sunset like that. With round 2 on the way the photo will have to do. And that one is pretty spectacular.

[406 Silverado]

T54 came out nice Mark. Also that is a whole lot of resin for the T80 conversion. Love the turret tho.

[deafpanzer]

Beautiful pic of the sunset... thanks for sharing! Nice work on the turret too!

[wbill76]

Making good progress with that turret, got to love that sunset shot as well!

[reserve]

Thanks, guys

The sunset picture? I'd been in the cellar for the better part of four hours and while walking thru the kitchen happened to notice it. Ran back down, grabbed the camera, and pounded back up the stairs where I almost ran over my girl who'd just come in. I must have sounded like a herd of elephants coming up the stairs; the look I got was priceless, it said "Oh hell he's finally gone crazy hope I don't have to shoot him." Got laughing so hard I almost could not take the shots.

Anyhow the turret's as far as I can take it











Unwieldy looking beast. Now it's time to wait for the UPS man.

Regards,
Mark

[eastrock]

looks superb mark!!!

[wbill76]

Classic 'hurry-up-and-wait' conundrum Mark, you'll have to hound the UPS guy relentlessly! Looking good so far.

[reserve]

Awright

The deer are in the freezer, UPS showed up yesterday, and photobucket is not working tonite so no piccies.

The Skif T-80 is truly awful, very glad I'll only be using the lower hull which will really not be seen when done. It's still better, however, than the Zvezda offering. Perhaps someday someone will put out a decent T-80 kit.

The Trumpy T-64, however, is as gorgeous as gorgeous can be, easily as good if not better than I'd heard. Should be a fine kit to wrap this project up; it'll be the last slot need filling. Yes, all, the end is in sight no doubt much to the relief of all.

Soon's PB gets back up will get some shots up.

Regards,
Mark

[eastrock]

Hi Mark, speaking of the trumpy T-64 a good friend of mine made this one, he said the details is crisp with minimal issues and there's a lot of spare probably maybe another version will be out soon.

How's the hunting btw?

link
ipmsphilippines.com/forum/predemployment/sentinels-of-the-state-border/

Cheers!
ER

[TRM]

Almost glad PB is giving you some trouble....like a dope, I missed the last update on the 6th!! I get to catch up now and hopefully see the new one soon!! That turret looks superb Mark!!! Nice going!! Amazing detail to this!! WOW!

[bullardino]

Wow, awesome job. I'll wait impatiently for the UPS man, I want to see it finished

[reserve]

'Evening, guys

Eastrock-Thanks, and thanks for the link yer buddy did avery nice job on his 64. As for the hunt, it's over, a week ago today I managed to get two deer and now have about a hundred pounds of venison in the freezer much to my delight.

T-No worries, come by as you have time and thanks for looking.

Belair-I'm flattered by your assesment more than I can say. Thanks, and be aware that all Zvezda kits are not created equally. Having said that, I've not tangled with any of the softskins they offer, but if they are as nice as the T-90 offering you'll like 'em alot.

So a bit more fiddling, the Skif lower with some transplants



I'm not bothering with the return rollers or the upper track run, they'll not be seen as well as another issue to be addressed in a bit



No locating pins on the resin roadwheels so a centering head came in handy



Next, the resin wheels did not fit so well



So







Aftermarket kits are such fun, just full of surprises. The next surprise was the resin tracks



which are crooked as a dog's hind leg. I'm not impressed. I've heard that resin can be dipped in very hot water and straightened. I'll be trying this but if it does not work I'll be using the Skif tracks which are not too bad. On the strength of that the latter is probably what's going to happen, that's why I'm not doing a full run of tracks mostly. Lazy, ain't I?

Regards,
Mark

[reserve]

Luigi, I missed ya by four minutes. Yeah, UPS arrived and on I go, thanks for the positive vibes.

Regards,
Mark

[bullardino]

Nov 19, 2012 2:26:22 GMT -5 reserve said:

Luigi, I missed ya by four minutes. Yeah, UPS arrived and on I go, thanks for the positive vibes.

Regards,
Mark

Mark, looks like we missed each other by a couple of minutes, as I lost that nice instalment

Great job on those wheels, I like the result

Are the tracks so warped that are impossible to use?

[eastrock]

my buddy is a Russian Buff, anything about the Red Army his already glued... sounds like a good hunt, Mark

[reserve]

Hey Luigi

Not impossible but if left as is they would not look very good...they lay on a flat surface like a snake on uneven ground. The fact they have a sort of soft detail feature along with delicate hollow guide teeth makes me wonder what's going to happen when the hot water thing gets tried. Things like further softening of detail and melting guide teeth come to mind, neither of which excite me much. Guess I'll find out soon, and as said the Skif track is passable so I've an out if the resin goes south.

Regards,
Mark

[bbd468]

Congrats on the Class A CDL!!! Took that test several years ago - failed the inspection portion miserably. Has the test changed or still the same?

The build lookin' great Mark!

Gary

[reserve]

I keep crossing posts with guys, kind of funny. Yes, ER, it was a good day, about -2 degrees F in the morning, makes the critters move around which is good as long as you can stand to be out in it. The first was a heart/lung shot at about 300 yards with a 6.5 Grendel, animal took about five strides and died in mid leap. The second was a neck shot with the same rifle at perhaps 40 yards, went down int its tracks and never moved. Both of them had been hanging around the hay, wheat and cornfields all summer, they're going to be tasty.

Regards,
Mark

[deafpanzer]

Great work! Wheels are not exactly my favorite part... you are doing real good. Saw your comment earlier... glad you got a deer in the freezer!!!

[modelfreak72]

Hey Mark,

Beautiful sunset shot!

The T54 came out great! A clean build once and awhile is a nice change of pace!

Wow! That T80 turret has great detail! Nice work with the road wheels! She is a looking good!

Pete