I'm going to be building a BMP 1 and a T-55A
Over the coming summer and heard that mr.surfacer is great for Russian armor

Hello Nick,
Mr Surfacer is a primer but due to its texture it's often used to depict the rough texture of cast steel turrets or the anti-slip coat you can find on modern vehicles.
That's the basics. I'm sure other members will give you more comprehensive explanations.

Olivier

Yes,just as Olivier says,it could be brushed on turrets and stippled with a brush before it completely dry.I also use it to add texture to mufflers and exhausts,also I use it as filler,just paint it into a seam,and sand it when it is dry.I read that you can also use alcohol on a swab to remove the excess also.

Mr Surfacer is great for so many things. It does make a rock hard primer but I admit to being lazy about cleaning my airbrush as thoroughly as it takes after it. However, think of it (the 500) as being a very dilute, easily workable putty. So great for casting/texture. More importantly, the 1000 and 1200 stuff is the best filler putty out there, bar none, for 1mm or less gaps. Self leveling, minimal shrinkage, and wipes away with 91% (note, not the standard 70%) isopropyl alcohol. Just trowel it on the seam, wipe excess away with a cotton swab dipped in the alcohol, and you're done. Dries quickly, sands well, is just lovely.

Matt

I really love that stuff!

You can use to replicate casting surfaces but you can also use it to obtain smooth and even sufaces. You have to paint your parts with it then , when product is completely cured you'll have just to sand them down.
You can also use it as common putty. The best thing is that you can smooth it passing on your filling a cotton swab damp with Tamiya lacquer thinner or Gunze mr color thinner. That avoids damaging the details!

Anyway mr Surfacer 500 could be useful for you to replicate the casting surfaces of t-55 turret...I think it would be less useful for a smoother BMP-1

cheers

Just to add- you can buy Mr. Surfacer spray cans as well as the small tubs- the spray cans are obviously easier if you want to use Mr. Surfacer as a primer.

Karl maybe it would rather better using the Mr Surfacer 1000 or 1200 as a primer. Mr 500 could be too dense. What do you mean about?

Mauro, but how do I spread it across the T-55 turret? Do I use a small spatula?

And also where can I find a decent BMP-1 1:35 kit?

You can use an old brush to spread the surfacer. You should use an old or a cheap one because mr surfacer tend to damage the brushes. Be careful because it dries incredibly fast. Before it is cured you have to stippling the part with a short bristled brush. When the product is well cured you'll have to sand it down a bit. I'm used to adopting an abrasive sponge to do it

Here you can see a tutorial (Min 4:11)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzVLBByP0Zc

The guy in the video uses Tamiya putty solved with lacquer thinner, but never mind the process is exactly the same

Regarding the BMP...well unfortunately there are no good kits of it yet. The best maybe is the Zvezda one, but is hugly indeed

I use an old paintbrush,cleans up with alcohol,then stipple with brush once it partially dries.

Thanks for all the help Mauro especially with the T-55 reference photos! And thanks to everyone else too for all the advice!

One thing I would add is that you might want to be a little careful in your selection of solvents. A lot of the thinners are fairly reactive with plastic and will start softening them if you use them liberally; i.e., soaking a brush or Q-Tip. 70% isopropyl alcohol doesn't quite cut through Mr Surfacer and it more tears it off instead of softening it. So either use 91% isopropyl alcohol or use a slightly to moderately dampened brush with the thinners.

I have found both those out the hard way. . .

Matt

Do the above mentioned solvents (91% isopropyl alcohol and lacquer thinner) thin Mr. Dissolved Putty as well?

Yeah, I would say 500 would be better from the tub, unless you need to quickly re-surface a large, rough area in which case the spray can may be a bit quicker.

As for thinning Mr. Hobby products, use their own thinner, its good stuff. They also now do Mr. Levelling Thinner which I have not used but have seen others use alongside Mr. Surfacer.

youtube has a number of videos of folks using Mr. Surfacer. I would suggest watching those to get a better 'feel' about how to use the product. A video is worth a lot of words.