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Russian or Soviet vehicles/armor modeling forum.
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Zvezda vs Skif T-80 for conversion
blacksad
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Quebec, Canada
Joined: September 07, 2009
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Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 - 02:29 PM UTC
Hello!

I wanted to get info about wich T-80 kit is worth for a SP design conversion. SKIF seems to have innacurate tracks and wheels, what about zvezda? Does the SP design conversion will fit the lower hull of a zvezda kit?


Thanks for your help!
clay_cliff
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Lima, Peru
Joined: April 07, 2008
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Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 - 03:10 PM UTC
SP Designs conversion sets are intended for the Skif T-80. The Skif T-80 is more dimmensionally acurate than DML/Zvezda/RoG T-80. However you can update the Zvezda T-80 with replacement wheels and tracks from SP Designs, other conversion sets simply won't fit in the Zvezda hull, it is too narrow for the resin engine deck parts. Hope this helps. Best regards.

José.
blacksad
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Quebec, Canada
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Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 - 03:26 PM UTC
Hi, thanks for your answer!!

I was actually interested with the T-80U m92/95 conversion wich features a complete upper hull... so even if I take a zvezda for the lower hull and the wheels, it won't fit?? Buying a skif kit would mean I should definitly buy tracks+wheels that equals much more money investment to build a corect T-80.. This is why I was thinking about zvezda, wich seem to have a better wheel set and correct tracks (well there are surely not perfect, but better than the skif ones...well I think)
GeraldOwens
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Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 - 03:39 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi, thanks for your answer!!

I was actually interested with the T-80U m92/95 conversion wich features a complete upper hull... so even if I take a zvezda for the lower hull and the wheels, it won't fit?? Buying a skif kit would mean I should definitly buy tracks+wheels that equals much more money investment to build a corect T-80.. This is why I was thinking about zvezda, wich seem to have a better wheel set and correct tracks (well there are surely not perfect, but better than the skif ones...well I think)

The Zvezda kit is the old Dragon kit, designed when the Soviet empire was still in business, and main battle tanks were off limits to foreigners. The kit was designed using drawings derived from surveillance photos, and all dimensions are off. In this case, your resin upper hull won't match up with the styrene lower hull, and the kit tracks, while decently molded link and length styrene, are the wrong width.
Jacques
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Minnesota, United States
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Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 - 03:47 PM UTC
Not to put too fine a point on it ( I know you contacted me about getting the SP Designs kit) but you are really going to get frustrated fast using the DML/Zvezda/RoG/Italeri kit. It would be like putting the T-55 Enigma conversion from AA on the Lindberg T-55 kit. Really. Better to pop for the SKIF kit.

I am working, VERY SLOWLY, on mastering a lower hull and raodwheel arms for the T-80 series so the SKIF kit is un-necessary, but there are zero promises this will see the light of day.

And the non-SKIF T-80 kits need the tracks and roadwheels replaced anyhow...they are MORE inaccurate than the SKIF kit pieces, let alone the SP Designs parts.

Believe me, I have looked over the old DML kits to see if there is any saving grace...there isn't. They are best for practice or for a OOB build. But they have aged poorly.
blacksad
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Quebec, Canada
Joined: September 07, 2009
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Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 - 04:21 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Not to put too fine a point on it ( I know you contacted me about getting the SP Designs kit) but you are really going to get frustrated fast using the DML/Zvezda/RoG/Italeri kit. It would be like putting the T-55 Enigma conversion from AA on the Lindberg T-55 kit. Really. Better to pop for the SKIF kit.

I am working, VERY SLOWLY, on mastering a lower hull and raodwheel arms for the T-80 series so the SKIF kit is un-necessary, but there are zero promises this will see the light of day.

And the non-SKIF T-80 kits need the tracks and roadwheels replaced anyhow...they are MORE inaccurate than the SKIF kit pieces, let alone the SP Designs parts.

Believe me, I have looked over the old DML kits to see if there is any saving grace...there isn't. They are best for practice or for a OOB build. But they have aged poorly.



Damn, my identity have been discovered , thank you very much for the advice though,helped me to clarify a lot of interrogations.. it's get frustrating sometime that we have to deal with old 90's kits to make russian armour, just to keep 25% of the original kit ... wouldn't the world be a better place to live if model companies would get interested into modern russian armour and produce kits we could build right of the box?

Even if the tracks from skif are surely not the best on the market, does they still manage to do the job? I don't want to have a 200$ T-80 as I didn't won to the lottery yet , but if they are that much UGLY, I might give SP designs tracks a try, but considiring that I would like to make a snowy diorama base for that kit, maybe that this should not be obligatory?

I've read your post and your review about the masterclub resin tracks and the skif sprocket problem, could I use a T-72 sprocket to replace the skif ones? I'm not an expert a this, but they both look similar (speaking of the T-72/80 sprockets)

Thanks again for your advices!
Jacques
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Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 - 05:14 PM UTC
In my honest opinion, your best way to a good tank is this:

SKIF T-80 kit.
SP Designs kit #216 or #221
SP Designs #213 sprocket and final drive housing (I have some coming in very soon)
SP Designs #214 tracks (I prefer Masterclub, but SP Designs will work well)
SP Designs Roadwheels #195 (I have restock of them coming in soon too)

You could get by with the SKIF roadwheels, but you would have to fix their problems with scratchbuilding. The SKIF tracks really are THAT bad...not so much for the look of them, but for the horrible material they are made of. They do not hold any paint well, let alone snow or dirt. They really are best replaced.

That should put it at roughly US$85 plus the cost of the SKIF kit, and shipping. SKIF kits should only run you around US$20...keep an eye on eBay, etc. So for, say, $120 (including shipping to Canada) you could have a very nice T-80U. Not cheap, but not the end of the world either.
blacksad
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Quebec, Canada
Joined: September 07, 2009
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Posted: Sunday, December 06, 2009 - 04:42 AM UTC
Hello! I've got a question for you reguarding the t-80.

I've take a look on the photo references on prime portal this evening; the t-80 that was tooked in picture seems to be equipped with an air intake that enable him to cross river if I am right??



SP designs conversion kits do provides those pieces, but if you want to build it without, there is no protective grill molded on the air intake bay... now I still have some mesh that was coming from my tamiya T-72, but I can't find some picture that show how they are installed...

If you could help me with this...

Cheers,

Thomas
Jacques
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Posted: Sunday, December 06, 2009 - 08:06 AM UTC
Are you talking about the hull engine air intake mesh cover or the BROD-M wading trunk mesh?
blacksad
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Quebec, Canada
Joined: September 07, 2009
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Posted: Sunday, December 06, 2009 - 09:35 AM UTC
Hi!

Sorry for the confusion, I've made a mistake; I thought that the BROD-M was not a part of equipment attached to the turret, and that SP design would offer you to make the kit with or without the BROD-M. Now I know that it's already attached to the turret (even if a lot of T-80U don't seem to have it?).

Now, for my question I was wondering how is it possible to make the mesh for the air intake of the hull(This is why I thinked about the meshing that comes with the tamiya T-72 kit), as far as I know, the air intake mesh do not look to be already molded on the SP design hull ( I could be wrong, the pictures arn't big enough to view such small details).

Tom
Jacques
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Posted: Sunday, December 06, 2009 - 01:14 PM UTC
1. BROD-M is molded seperately from the turret. Here is the setup on my build based on a older kit 216 turret:





2. The T-80U upper hull comes molded with engine screens. I replaced mine with pieces from the Eduard PE set for the DML kit - it did not fit the best, but good enough for what I was doing at the time. I will not use that set again for the screens, they do not fit well enough.

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