You're welcome Dave

Yesterday i opened the third hole on the left and everything went fine.
Now I have to open the last, the most difficult.

I think I'll do 2 or 3 small holes (0,3 mmm) just on the shorter sides. On the longer I'll use the blade. Hope it'll work

Thanks for the advice

Mauro,
yep, that's the feature I'm referring to, should've figured you'd already seen those photos and then some! As far as getting rid of that center periscope, have you got a motor tool such as a dremel? What I would do is grind the 'scope nearly flush with the turret surface then drill a series of holes inside the edges of the periscope position. Use a blade or fine saw to connect the holes and square out the corners with a file. Lacking the motor tool you could drill your holes from the underside where it's flat and then file the opening square.
It looks great! Keep up the good work!

Sean

I've done

Thanks a million for the advice Sean, but it was too late when I read it

Eventually I did 4 holes on the corners (and the 0.3 bit broke ...) then I cut with a new x-acto blade. I refined the hole with a file and passed a thin coat of Tamiya green cap glue to clean the cutting edges. I also enlarged the hole on the turret right
Anyway I had the dremel but I don't usually utilize for job such this. I'm worried of losing the tool control and doing a huge mess . I prefere hand tools.

Cheers

I admire your boldness Mauro with your cutting the episcopes ! The front has particularly been a tough step.
Keep on the good job. It's a true pleasure to see this one going on.

Olivier

Well Olivier. That's another pros to dealing with cheap kits. Probably with an expensive kit I would have been less brave

Anyway thanks a lot for your kind words, that really means a lot for me

Cheers

mauro glad that it came out ok it like you got what you were looking for i do have a quick question for you i was going thought the links that you sent i notice that on the right rear under the conduit for the marker light there is another under it what is this for and were dose the wire go ???
thanks dave can't wait to see more pics

Dave, do you have a picture of it?
I'm sorry but I can't uderstand what is the detail.

Let me know, I'll be glad to help you if i can

mauro here is the pic it is the pipe the runs under the pipe for the marker lights



thanks dave

Where does it go?
Well....To nowhere....





What is it for?

Well, I'm stlll looking for an answer to your question, but anyway, most than an electrical duct, it seems to me a fuel line. But tube is truncated





Some exemplar doesn't have the duct. Here a T-62 1968





Iraqui T-62




I hope i'll be able to give you the right answer soon. While you're waiting here you are another Syrian T-62 pic



Cheers

I believe that lower tube under the rear tail lights is to run a wire to a lane marking system that is part of the mine roll roller setup that the Russians used.

If you noticed in the photos there is a flat bracket (in-between the rear external fuel tanks) missing from those other T-62 shots that don't have it.

IIRC T-55's also had it

that's very interesting Scott

Do you have perhaps a pic of it?

always intresting to read your posts, and again i learned something, like what the heck is that lockthingy, and the meaning of the tube on the back of T55's

great stuff !

greetz

Thanks guys Mauro did not mean to jack you forum i guess I'm going to add it !!
dave

I'm glad that you like reading my posts Pit
Anyway we have to thank Scott and other guys who share their information. Me too I've learned something new

Dave, don't worry. It was interesting and fun speaking about the "beast's brother" ("The beast " for me is the T-55)

Hey Mauro, glad to see you got that cutting sorted out, nicely done.

Thanks Karl

I haven't finished yet... Yesterday I noticed that Skif have made a quite incorrect gun mantlet which looks totally invented

Moreover although the gun could be accettable it looks quite rough, so I'd like to scratch build it with some small metal tubes.

And of course I have to reproduce the weld seams on turret edges....

First of all I've made that little bulge on the rear of the turret





On the kit that bulge looked too flat and to large so I had to remove and rebuild it with plasticard

I hope you like it....and i hope to upgrade my model soon

Cheers

i guess this is a kit, you really like, having something to start with, but can be improved much with simple looking , but timeconsuming, modifications, reaaly enjoying your build M, great ref for me

greetz, ps, i guess your gonna have some questions on the gunmantle,how it looks, or in fact how it doesn't look right

Tha Pit

Yes, they are timeconsuming jobs and they are more than I could imagine, but they are quite fun, so everything has been going well so far


You can see the Skif gun in this pic





as you can notice, shape is quite correct but according to my references...







...it seems to me a little bit poor in details. To be honest I don't know if there are aftermarket items for it. I'll try to scratch build it or to improve the kit part

I really like when people say that my posts are useful. In my opinion, sharing references and knowledge and learning from others, is one of the most important things in this hobby

Cheers and thanks a lot for your interest

Mauro, you should write a book, "Modelling, the Italian school"

LOL, no kiddin, lots have watched your info, and improvements, some comment, most don't even bother saying hey, let us be the whip behind you , to make you continue these posts!

now stop reading my post and get on with the little bugger

Ps gun is rather fine, but the casting on the mantle is, well, poor

greetz

Any BMP-1 barrel (Model Point) would work as a replacement as the main gun is the same (2A28 Grom).

BMD-1 and BMP-1 turrets are the same as well...if that helps.

If anything else, keep us updated on how you rebuild the main gun. I look forward to seeing your work on it.

Well Pit, actually skif mantlet looks finer than the real one



Actual mantlet has a rough shape made on cast iron...Skif is a perfect half tube with gun and machine gun housing. As i told before I think I have to reproduce the whole part

Jacques, many thanks for the comment, I've read your review about the Model point gun barrel, and I know that BMP and BDM have the same turret (that's an example of the huge Russian ingenuity...). But I think it would be quite hard to me to get the Model point barrel so, I'll try to do my best to reproduce the gun
and I'll be glad to show you my work on it

Thanks again for your interest

Hi all.

It was more difficult than I expected and actually I haven't finished it yet (as you can notice I have to add some other details), but here you are my scratch built 2A28 Grom gun





Here you can see the differences beetween the part provided bt the kit and mine




To do my replacement part I've used some aluminium tubes (diameters 3,17mm and 4 mm).
The smallest tube is a part of a telescopical antenna



If you have some old radio transistor radio which doesn't work, I advise you to get the aerial antenna. That will be an easy way to obtain metal small tubes for free. Furthermore that tubes will be incredibly easy to cut

Gun muzzle is a brass ring (diameter 2,5 mm)

i'm quite satisfied with the results.
I think i'll use the same method to reproduce the gun of the zvezda Ba-10



Another kit that is in my (too big) stash


What do you think about?

Regards

nice tip, got some laying around will come in handy when I start, You know who

the comments on the mantle where based on the part from my Bmp1, I was in the assumption those where same molds, I'll have to check my Bmd for the Zvesda part,so skiff id better I guess



greetz,

Zvezda kit has a different mould. I've checked. Gun mantlet and gun are a far more correct than the Skif ones





I took the pics here

http://berkut916.blogspot.com/

What do you think about my gun Pit?

Should I improve it?