Hi guys! Inspired by Jurjen's work, i started this kit wich i had for some time , waiting his turn. I tried to make some extra detail , despite the kit came with some nice PE parts. I also tried to improve the interior ( not ready yet, not seen in the pictures) because i want to show it with the rear doors open. For the exteriors i still have to do the handles and an air vent for the engine hatch and to reposition the headlights, as i seen in the pictures that it should be a little down. Also i will try to scratch the periscopes for both the driver and machine gunner. The howitzer ( 122 mm d-30) went pretty smooth, also a little more work to do. Hope you enjoy it and new photos after painting.

Looks good so far. Good job on it. I've built the D30 by itself. It came out pretty nicely.

Yeah!!

Great job on the MT-LB and the D-30! Maybe you can try to drill out the machinegun barrel? Also you may try to use less superglue because it seems like you've used to much.

Keep up the good work! I'm looking forward to your next update.

Jurjen

Thank you Gino! But i still have a lot of work with the d-30 ( for the mt-lb i`m not so sure because i didn`t find some good reference photos). For the d-30 i found some good walkarounds and i saw just how much work i have to do in the future: i want to scratch the break pipes, tail lights and their cables, some hinges for the shield, drill holes in the spades and the locks for them , the pedals for the jack, and some other small details. . Yes, i know, i`m very optimistic, but i think i can do it. If anyone has some pics with the mt-lb, please let me know. I will post here as soon as i wil progress with the build.

ps: yes jurjen, it`s on the "to do " list ; thank you for reply; as for the superglue.... i use a syringe needle , i try not to put too much, but....; i will try to do better in the future

Hi ! A small upadate: for the d-30 i`ve put a brake line and electric cable for the tail lights ( still missing ); i made a hinge and two bolts for the box on top of the barrel; i`ve put two locks ( from a Panther PE sheet) for the two boxes on the shield; i made the locks for the spades ; i made the pedals for operating the jack ( not seen in the pics); a little more work and it`s ready to paint



As for the mt-lb, i didn`t do too much : the cover for the exaust, the air vent for the engine hatch, i drilled the machine gun barrel ( turned out not so good , so i`ll try to make it better); i want to replace the periscopes with some clear ones ( from a Panther) and also another one for the back door ( right side) ; also for the back door (right side) i want to make a box ( under the periscope). The interior is finished ( except for the paint...).
Hope to post again with updates very soon.

One trick: when gluing on small pieces of PE (not grab handles through) you can use regular model cement rather than PE. This will leave you without the superglue mess, especially with larger flat pieces that usually ooze glue out one end.

Just apply some glue tot he plastic to start getting it "sticky". After a minute or so, add the pe piece, it will stick amazingly well. Be carefull not to knock any PE piece off after this stage, but one you prime the model, or start painting, the paint will add extra strength to the bond.

Nice work.

Thank you Jacques ! I tried to put as little glue as i could but at the end it was too much ; i will use your method in the future

Hello to everyone ! These days i didn`t had too much time but still i managed to advance with my build; for the d-30 i drilled the spades and added on the legs the pins that hold the spades in travel mode.


A little more work was done to the mt-lb ( more precisely the back doors), as i added one periscope for the right side door ( from a panther kit ) and a box for the same door. At the moment i will let for the left side door only the plate seen in the pics. Also i`m thinking to change the locking mechanism for the doors, i don`t like how it looks right now ( and it`s not accurate either). Next, it`s time for the periscopes for driver and machine gunner





Any comments or critics are welcome

Hi ! Sorry for the delay, a little busy; not too much to talk about.... the d-30 is almost ready; i put also the axles and the wheels, brake pipes, cleaning rod ; the shovel ? , although i didn`t see any actual proof of this being used i`ve put it for the looks... ; i`m still thinking about the taillights, it seems there were some guns with them, some without them.... i will see; apart from this, i`m preparing for the painting . The mt-lb is almost at the same level as before, small changes. Also i have to reposition the antena, as the instructions didn`t say exactly where to put it, and after i guessed the position, Jurjen sent me a link with some nice pics and i saw in them the real position for the antena. ; A big disappointment are the tracks, vinyl ones, but as i can`t afford right now some metal ones, i have to deal with them; Hope the next pics will be with the painting process.
Cheers!!

Hi! It's me again; this time no photos, i'm struggling with the painting for the d-30 and the periscopes for the mt-lb ; just one question: does anyone knows of a modern russian artillery crew? i didn't find anything and based on the pics i found i came to the conclusion that the best option is to try to modify some ICM figures from their Afghanistan sets; maybe it works

Hmm, as far as I know there are no russian artillery crew sets available. As you said, maybe modifying some other figures will help.

Cheers

Yes Jurjen, i will try this, although it will take some time... ; for the moment i`m painting the gun and wondering if i get the right paint, revell matt 68 enamel; it looks a little dark, but maybe i will light it with some filters, etc; as for the periscopes, boy ,would i need the eduard set... ; scratching them is a pain ; ok, too much talking, if anyone could help me with the paint, i wait for suggestions

ps: i saw on these forum that a good match was tamiya xf 61, but i couldn`t find out if this is close to revell 68

He, do you forgot the painting? A long time ago...

Andreas

Hi Dragos,
nice build so far.
Maybe it's a bit late but you could use the pictures of the interior in the following link page3

http://maquette-garden.forumactif.com/t17179-goose952-mtlb-zu-23-2#210488

Good luck and all the best
Olivier

Ok, I know it's been a while, how time flies.
Andreas, I didn't forget the painting but long story short, I moved to another city and this kit, plus other unfinished kits, is in my parents house. I hope I will bring them and try to finish them as soon as possible.
Merci Olivier! I have discovered maquette-garden 1 month ago and I really like it, vey nice and interesting, although I didn't had time to see too much of it. Thanks for pointing this thread too me, good photos and more work for me to make it accurate. But first I have to take the kit from my parents house.
Anyway, I will post here any future progress ( I hope it will be soon).

nice build here Kamikaze, great add on scrachbuilding

one point, wen cutting wire for hinges, cut it with a sharp blade ,rolling it on a hard surface, then you won't get thos sharp points from cutting them with cutting pliers.

seems to be brittle plastic skiff used,I saw some sprue attachments on one of the legs of the gun.
The exess superglue can be remove with a polyester pen.

greetz
Tha Pit

Hi there! Yes, you are right and your method is something i will try. I think it's really good for small size wire. For bigger sizes I grind the ends with a sharpening stone. But please consider that the photos are 2 years old and this was my first serious scratch build. Anyway I have to correct the interior ( in fact rebuild it), and I will also improve some of the exterior as well. I hope it will be very soon.

There's a tool in ship modeling I've found that takes the burr off the end of a wire. Don't know what it's called but it looks like a nail knocked into the end of a dowel. Works really well.

This is what you had in mind?
http://www.modelexpo-online.com/page.asp?lp=8001
http://www.modelexpo-online.com/product.asp?ITEMNO=PIN22505
It's interesting, but as it's also written in the specifications, it's good for big diameter. For smaller diameters I think that ThaPit's method is much better.