Now that I'm on holiday in Belarus for the next month visiting relatives all my projects are on hold. I decided though to take a kit with me to build in my free time in the evenings and start a "travel" blog, building the tank up as a stand alone vehicle instead of a diorama (all though I imagine I'll add it to a scenic base when I get home ).

I've wanted to build a T-80 for a long time and have had the SP Designs kit number 221 sitting on my shelf for sometime now. So I decided to take the plunge and finally build it up. In the process I hope to share my experiences of building the SP Designs kit (this will be my first from them) and also compare it to other brands I've used (such as Miniarm and CMK). I've also wanted a project to use Mig's new KMT-7 Mineroller since I saw it released.

The SP Desgins kit gives the option of building three different variants, the m92/m95/m05. I've decided to build the m2005 model and fit it with Mig Productions KMT-7 mineroller. Following some research and some discussion with other modellers it seems that this is a safe bet and doing so doesn't raise any issues as both KMT-6 and KMT-7 can be fitted to T-80 models.

This image served as my inspiration:



I'm also waiting for numerous kits and AM parts to reach me in the mail in Minsk. I ordered a SKIF T-80UD to use as the basis of the conversion as well as parts from Blast models, Masterclub, and Modelpoint that I'm having shipped from Russia. Here's what I took with me The SP Designs kit, SP Designs Road Wheels, SP Designs Drive Sprockets, Eduard PE set for the SKIF T-80, and Zvezda's recent Modern Russian Tank Crew set (although I may or may not use the figures):



Sadly while I expected the SKIF kit to be in Minsk before I arrived (as I ordered it in advance from Jadar model Poland) it wasn't here. Furthermore 2 weeks later I'm still waiting. I'm hoping for delivery this week, but I must say I'm not impressed. Since I don't have the parts for the lower Hull I have had to work on the SP Designs Resin parts that I can build up without the donor kit. This has meant building up the turret first as I'm reluctant to start detailing the upper Hull without attaching it to the lower donor hull first.

Jon,

Can you tell me where you get your modelpoint things from? I can't seem to find a trust worthy place.

Needless to say I hope you get this kit soon!

Hey Jon, good luck with your build!!! Sorry to hear that your skif kit hasn't come in yet, don't you just hate the mail system. I'm still waiting on some track I order from a place in England that still hasn't arrived yet and it's been almost 3 weeks now, so I feel you pain. I'm going to be following your blog and taking some ideas and using them towards my kit. I haven't built anything by SP yet, but doesn't look too bad at all, just new some refinements in it, but a good solid kit compaired to what skif has made. Hopefully I should start mine soon, just got to finish the 62 first. Tnaks for the ideas about using the photo etch parts from eduard to make the scopes, I forgot all about them. But I finish making new ones out of plastic before you said anything, oh well I just have to remember that for next time. Have fun on you vacation.
Chris

Sean Thanks for posting, I get my modelpoint stuff direct from Russia from Armor35.ru. The service has always been great and they have a wide range of Model point products that are hard to find outside of Russia. I'm using Modelpoints co-axial MG, and a T-80 barrel on this build. I may also use a Modelpoint radio antena mast that I left at home (doh) when I get back to London.

Chris, as I mentioned earlier this is my first time to build a kit from SP, I've only used their fender set for the BMP-2 before. My initial thoughts are good (although they have some issues that I will discuss later)and I like how they developed things and listened to feedback from modellers. For example there are some changes from the feedback on Jim's Tracklink blog in newer kit releases. The thing about Jadar model is annoying. I specifically used them as they are in Poland which is right next to Belarus and I expected the post to be a few days tops, so I ordered from the UK to be shipped to Minsk. I was also charged a high postage fee for an "express" service. If the parcel doesnt arrive tomorow (I was told it shipped late last week) then I will have to contact them again.

Hey Jon, this is a little off the subject but the web sight you just post canyou give me the low down on it. I don't read russian and the translation part part of it is very little english. I started to learn russian while deployed to iraq, but just the basics. I just need to know is parts are instock or out of stock, if they ship to the US and if they take visa. They have alot of stuff I'm looking for. Thanks Chris

Hi Chris, heres my experience of Armor35, they dont take cards or paypal as payment, which really sucks! It's money transfer only, I use western union for this. At first I was really not sure about this, but I found them to be very trust worthy and helpful and the service is great. I've used them about 4 times now. Communication is good and shipping fast. I talk to them in Russian as my wife helps out, but they can send messages in English too. As for overseas shipping it shouldnt be an issue, they ship to the UK with no problems and also to Belarus, which while its a former Soviet country it still is "overseas" .

You can also use the new RB Models barrels that are coming out instead of Model Point. Well, for items they have made anyhow.

Thanks Jon, that does help alot They do have a pretty good selection and already spotted thing I've been trying to get. If I was still stationed in germany I would of had no problems with the websight since my roomate was from Belarus himself. But I think I've figured out the sight some, thanks for your help.
Chris

Okay so here are my initial thoughts on SP Designs kits:

1) The detail is generally good, however as Jacques pointed out in the T-80U walkaround thread they aren't "super detailed". Don't expect the same level of detail as Miniarm. I found that the turret was a lot more detailed than the hull parts, infact the turret of this kit was my favourite part. The detail is still better than some plastic kits and it gives a good base for further super detailing. Details like tie downs, hatch interiors, and vents/grills are a little crude and best replaced.

2) Casting is the biggest issue. Quality varies from part to part. I found that on my upper hull it was of a high quality with little visible miscasts or air bubbles. However the BROM-D wading trunk was rather bad, as was the turret in places. Air bubbles are a constant problem. Some parts looked like an aero chocolate bar. This can be solved with careful sanding and filler but its a real shame. It stops what is a great kit from being fantastic. Compared to Miniarm or CMK or Masterclub for example that have hardly any air bubbles it really knocks down the SP parts. However good news maybe on the horizon as Jacques points out that SP will be moving to new casting methods that may reduce or eliminate this problem.

Heres an example of the mesh detail on the BROM-D that was miscast:



Even if this was sharp all the way round however I would still saw it off and replace with Photo Etch mesh. Having said that the moulded on details are perfectly useable.

However the casting issues aside and the vague instructions , which are always a problem with AM kits which vary from totally incorrect (Miniarm T-90) to really hard to follow, I still think that SP Designs make some great kits that really fill a niche part of the market. They are after all the only company to provide T-80 Kits and a wide range as well.

Following Jim Wechsler's advice I replaced the mesh detail on the BROM-D. I don't have a Dremmel so I couldnt hollow the tube out like he did, but I was able to saw off the mesh and recreate it with spare PE mesh, I also curved the mesh to make the same dome shape as the mesh detail isnt flat. This took a little time but was worth it I think, I also added some PE supports made from spare PE parts and PE Sprue.

Let me know if you have any specific translation questions I can always ask my wife to help out.

I've really enjoyed building the Turret and it has some great detail. It also comes with a partial interior which is a really nice touch. Helpful for me as I planned to keep the hatches on the turret open anyway.





The hatch interior detail however is best replaced as its a bit basic. I cut out the kit handles and replaced them with PE.



I also replaced the kit details on the ammo boxes, and the small tie downs:







The Turret basket is a good example of SP Designs listening to feedback and updating the kits. In the Tracklink Blog Jim mentions that the boxes were moulded onto the basket as one part, however in this kit they are two seperate parts. I've heard people say that the tarp in the basket is too rigid to look realistic, however I've seen photos in the Osprey T-80 book that looks exactly the same. The basket was quite tricky to do, as the wire detail was cast solid, so you have to be very careful to cut the flash out. A nice little touch however is how the rods and beams on this kit are made from plastic rod thats cast into the part and not resin. This makes them much more durable.

As you can see I also added some loose straps to the tie downs and draped them over the basket tarp, following a photo I saw in the Osprey T-80 book.

Heres a closeup of the Modelpoint co-axial MG, its only a small part but I wanted to try and detail the kit as much as possible to really do it justice, also only having a turret to work on for now let me go detail crazy!:



Here's the turret in its current form with the Snorkel and BROM-D gear:

Thanks Jon I will trust them now. The whole western union thing kind of scared me. Anywho I'm thinking that since I can go through them now I may gather things for another build and build a captured T-72A used by the Chechen rebels. What do you think?

I know what you mean Sean, for me my first order was a real leap of faith. I'm glad it paid off though, for me it was a real necessity since I have a real hard time finding suppliers of Battalion figures. I just wish they would at least use paypal, they'd get a much bigger client base I think. As for the T-72 why not? Always good for a change, however I don't know if the Chechens used Tanks, I know that tanks were on both sides in Georgia of course, but I think most of the fighting in Chechnya was against militants. I guess they had little need for tanks as they proved very adept at killing Russian AFV's with RPG's and IED's.

Getting back to your build, nice progress on the turret. And there are two photos I have of a chechen T-72A. I'll post it once I get to a computer. And thanks again for the model point stuff. I'll order tonight

Great work so far Jon; I like how things are turning out. The screen mesh for the wading trunk looks really good. The inclusion of some sort of interior for the turret is a big plus. If anyone plans to open up the hatches so much can be seen without any figures in place. Have you run into any fit issues with any of the turret parts yet? Just curious since I’ve been looking min over and one of the frontal era is molded just a bit different from the other side. One shows a hollow bracket support and the other side is molded solid with a casting plug in the way and has to cut to shape. No big deal through, simple fix with a dremel. The kit you’re working on and the UE kit are defiantly next on my list to get. Are you using the nsvt from the blast kit as a replacement gun? I was thinking about using the one from Tank as a replacement. Any ways, great work, keep it coming.
Chris

Hi Chris, thnaks for the kind compliment, the mesh on the wading trunk was a bit fiddly but worked out okay in the end I think. It's funny being away you forget about all the little tools and materials that you take for granted. I tried to bring as many as I could but I was limited and I've had to improvise a little with what I have. Yes I'll be using Blast's NVST. I was really impressed with the detail on it, the SP designs one is okay but a bit basic, I wanted some more detail.

As far as fit goes I've had a few issues. In the track link Blog Jim highlights the two halves of the turret as a problem, the lower ring and the upper half don't fit together so well. I found on mine that they mate together quite well though, there are a few small gaps but nothing that a little sanding won't fix. The main issue was the gaps around the gun mantle and the lower ring. These will have to be filled with filler.

I also had all kinds of problems fitting the large ERA blocks on the turret. They really didn't fit well, even after sanding and numerous dry runs I will still have to add some filler to one of them to hide the small gaps. Aside from that though so far most parts have been okay. The gates on this kit though are in some tough places, a lot of them go directly to fine detail so you have to be very careful removing the casting blocks and pour gates. Sometimes you have no choice but to saw into detail parts to get them off. It would be easier if these were placed away from fine details like rivets or tie downs.

Hey Jon nice work !

I've got an SP / Miniarm T-64B to do so I'll be watching your SP designs build here with great interest.

Thanks for the Blog !

Cheers

Paul

Hi Paul, thanks for posting and good to see you again.

I really want to do a T-64 sometime as well actually, so I'll be following your blog when you start it.

Hello Jon, I know how you feel about not having all the stuff you need to work with while on vacation. When I deployed to Iraq I took a model with me and all the tools I could think of that I would need. Couple of the guys look at me kind of strange when I pulled three metal boxes out of my duffle bag. I was going to be there for a year and needed something to keep me busy. Anyways everything looks really good so far, I’ve very pleased with the SP kit. Yes it may not be up to quality as miniarm or cmk, but still a pretty good kit to work with and the price is not bad at all. The gun in the kit is not bad, just seems kind of crud in some places and I wanted to replace it like you are. The UDK kit I have is one of the earlier ones and doesn’t even come with the gun and calls for the skif parts to be used.
So far I s see the same fit issue you have, the turret halves fit fine, but seems to be a small gap in the mantle. But at this point in time I can’t really tell since the casting plugs haven’t been removed yet. I’ll defiantly be on the lookout for the era blocks, which happens to be my main concern as I don’t know how close they should fit against the turret. Nice thing is I haven’t seen any warped parts yet, bad thing about resin parts. Good luck with the rest of the kit.
Chris

Have a nice build Jon. I know what is SP Designs sets.
One note BROM-D is wrong. Right is BROD-M (ford or wade)underwater driving system.

Great build John, and good observations. All the points you have made so far are one Sergej and I have discussed. I HATE the screen setup on the BROD-M, but he says that it is the best he can do with gravity feed and does NOT have a way to do it properly. I am hoping that may change, though Sergej can be a bit stubborn sometimes...like me.

For the ERA bricks, remember that they are not meant to be mounted on the roof, but on the "rods" mounted in the roof: But, I also know what you mean...the blocks do not fit quite right. I am not sure if it is because the blocks are wrong, or if some other turret piece(s) dimensions are wrong. With all that is going on back there, even a 1mm screwup in size can be too much...

I will also be talking to Sergej again about pour block location, but with the new vacuum casting setup, it may be solved as the pour spouts and locations will inevitably have to change...

Thanks for the correction! I copied the spelling from the tracklink blog!

Hi Jacques thanks for posting. I figured most of my points would be things that you and sergej had thought about, and its nice to hear.

I don't think that the mesh detail on the BROD-M is too bad, I might have even used it if it wasn't miscast. I know what Sergej means though, I'm sure its a tough part to cast.

Moving some of the pour blocks might really help, on some parts it make removal real tricky. thankfully I didn't destroy any detail but I sure had my fingers crossed most of the time!

As for the ERA bricks I've never seen a kit with the actual correct detail in terms of them being mounted on supports. Even Miniarms moulded on ERA bricks are the same as Sergej's I think personally that the ERA is nicely done in terms of detail and design. I love the big blocks that go on the turret front also, the rubber sheets are very well cast.

As a side note I still don't have my SKIF kit yet... so I've hit a bit of a dead end till it arrives. Hopefully once it gets here I can crack into the lower hull.

Hey Jon

It'll be a little while before I do the T-64B, I'm finishing a Canadian C2 Mexas Leopard, and then need to complete a US Marine LVT-4 for the Pacific Campaign.

Believe it or not I also have an SP Designs T-80U to do (I have the Skif kit too ).

Keep up the good work on this great looking machine

Cheers

Paul