To be honest I don't know what you mean, I built mine out of old set not the fancy hollowed new one; only took me ~17 months But yes, SP Designs constantly improve whenever all new kit comes out. Their TOS-1 is just as good as any other resin sets round and, noting this, I bet we are into a very pleasant surprise when SP Designs' Ob.640 turret along with upper T-80U hull come out.

Tracks are from hobbyeasy.com-that's probably the only store outside of Russia that sells considerable portion MC's products.

that t-80 is amazing i have the dml kit smt 1989 i would like to get the upgrade sets ,some guy sp designs is always out of production so i guess ill have to preorder keep up the good work on that tank ...where the hell is dragon that kit is screamin for a retool by a good company

That would be me. Sergej's stuff is VERY popular world-wide so I tend to sell off my restock as fast as get it. I have some of the kits in stock right now, but REMEMBER, they are intended for the SKIF kit, not the DML kit.

As for SP Designs improvment, you guys just don't remember/know about Sergej doing casting using fiberglass resin that was HORRIBLE and near impossible to use. I talked him into using polyeurethane and have been hounding him for years to help improve the product. I am currently sending him a vacuum system to de-air the rubber before he pours the molds. Next I will try to talk him into pressure casting...we will see.

He is also selling a LOT more kits locally than before...at least 4 shops in Moscow alone now carry his kits. They are keeping him so busy that my restocks are getting longer apart! But it also means he has the money to make new masters and kits, and apparently my ideas of the T-80U upper hull and "Black Eagle" turret have gained enough weight that they should be out in a few months. Phew! Now all I have to learn is how to do casting myself!

Get out!!!!!!!!! Does it mean he will also do de-airing while pouring resin in? Oh man, saliva starts to pour when I picture his all new hull and T-80B set ( is it still in plans?). On the other side... what the heck cards on the table, I was planning to launch Advance! Model Works toward summer 2008 with BMPT being first kit/conversion, except mine would be cast in ultra low viscosity odorless cream-sand resin, but I guess I'll have to scrap already existing molds now Seriously now, this build-log starts to spin completely off topic. Let me post shots of final build and from now on only talk about model and build here. Want to discuss SP Designs unique sets, create separate thread.

You're right George, we should stay on topic. I will create a SP Designs thread sometime this weekend...

As for your build, where are the pictures?

sweeeeeettttt did you say black eagle??????? anyway i did not mean to turn this model discussion another direction ,

Very, Very nice work George. You should do a feature article on it. That would be a great inspiration for people who love Red Armor.

Hy George!

Very impressive, you did an awsome job on the entire model! My hat is off!

What I personally like most, is the weathering on the sideskirts. Very impressive.

Keep it up, it just looks so real!

Best regards,

Andy T.

Excellent work !!
Your rendition is perfect and the look of the tracks is simply incredible. I wish I had them when I build SP ones. Yours are miles ahead even if SP ones are far better than the kit ones.

Congratulations.

Olivier

I would do a feature, but model still isn't perfect or even close to being so. There are some flaws I dont fix because they would drive me nuts and add another few months to the building process. Making asymmetrical wheel spacing and track alignment would be an example. I did spaced out torsion bars, but tracks still look as they are in the same plane. Also, as previously stated, I had some tremendous troubles painting it; base cammo alone was repainted 3 times! Shortly after that when I was going to spray gloss coat for oil was good old paasche died (Iwata gear is on its way). From then on, I was applying protective coats by...brush and over pigments; that's why there are some small streaks here and there.
Now let's review all the sets needed to put together a decent T-80UD :
-Skif kit (all you really need from that kit is dimensionally correct lower hull)
-One of the SP Designs' sets depending on what version of the tank you wish to build (Don't let pictures all other members fool you, these sets are very accurate shape and detail-wise, surface imperfections are mostly due to tearing stress of mould rubber and are common to all resin set manufacturers)
-Eduard PE set (this set will allow you to quickly add up some delicate detail like GPS cover and engine nets, locks hinges, etc)
-New set of main wheels and sprockets from SP Designs (I used older set for my build, but it's advisable to get upgraded set because of all the detail and accurate rim)
-Gun barrel, unless you want to carve original log from the Skif kit
-Track set (there is simply no way to improve upon kit ones, even covering them in mud won't help)
-Antenna and its mount (see if you can find modelpoint set)
-heavy machine gun (I'm still waiting for my copy by Blast Models. It would be great if SP designs would release spare NSVT and KORD HMGs)
Apart from that, there was fair amount of scratch building involved.

For all the faults you may find with the build, it is still far beyond what anyone could do with JUST a SKIF kit and some of the aftermarket. If not a build feature, maybe just take some really nice pictures of what was done to "show off" the model...or enter it in the DMOM contest.

Don't let the mistakes you may notice detract from the ffact that it is 99% accurate and worth a closer look. And it may inspire more Modern Red Army Modellers. (MRAM? )

Ok, I'll try to get a two-side lighting booth to take some pics. But for now I need to take a break for modeling for a while, besides I got mild concussion after Friday evening diving accident (never new there were rip tides like that in So Cal). BTW I finished reviewing Verlinden T-72 turret, it should pop up on front page anytime soon. Ask Chris if he still wants to do a in-box of their hull.

No rush and no hurry...I just thought it would be a good inspirational piece if nothing else.

Cracked your bean, eh? Hope it does not lead to WWII German Armor preferences!

And for the T-72 review, thanks. You up for the hull review Chris?

Count me inspired!!! Very nice end product George!

I still haven't forgotten about the Modelpoint Ural turret I have. I'm going to try to shoot it tom. night.
Chris

Time to appeal your part of the bargain . I cant review because it's already being assembled (here we go again).