¹⁄35

2S6M1

A couple of years ago Panda released a version of one of Russia’s newer air defense systems, the 2S6M which was designed and put into production some time ago to replace the aging ZSU-23-4. Panda did a pretty decent job of capturing the details of the actual vehicle. Some time ago while doing research to build this kit I came across some photos of the 2S6M1 and was impressed with the updated radar and other added systems for this air defense system. Since there is no update set available (for now), I decided to put my scratch building skills to the test.

To make the radar dish was the real challenge, so I came up with rolling a section of .015 inch sheet plastic to replicate the curvature in the actual dish. Once I was able to get the right effect, I used a deodorant freshness cap you find on a brand new bottle as a guide for the width and length of the dish.

The rest of the base for the radar was straight forward in construction; just a matter of reviewing the reference photos and making corrections and replicating as close as possible.

The newer variant has an added antenna and a raised vent on the turret and an upgraded optical dome located on the left side of the turret as well. The optical dome was constructed using a brass tube cut to size and in the center for the optics and sensor to peer through; while the dome was made with Miliput and sanded to the desired shape. The Russians removed the side skirt as seen on the older variants and added a shorter mud flap. To simulate this I used electrical tape. I used the lower hull from another kit and used the tape’s own adhesive to attach it to the hull, cut it to length and sprayed Testor’s dull coat on the exposed area to neutralize the adhesive allowing it to feel like a rubber flap.

The model was given a primer coat and paint with MIG’s Russian MIG-053 (PROTECTIVE NC). Gave the paint a day to dry and applied HAD’s 2S6M-1 decals which went on very well. The tracks are Panda’s Workable tracks for their 2S6M kit painted flat black and sprayed with a semi-gloss coat. They work fairly decently however, based on the tightness of the upper and lower hull the tolerance between the road wheels and the tracks may be troublesome if the tracks come apart while you are working to finish the model. I applied a light wash and finished the model with a Testors dull coat. MIG’s -053 was impressive without any type of wash or dull coat added to it, just like the HAD decals. Maybe in time, some company will make this variant in a kit or make an aftermarket update. But as all of us modelers know, why wait if you can build it yourself…Happy modeling!