Hi All

does any body have or has built the following kits:

Skif 213 - Artillery complex MT-LB tracked towing vehicle and 122mm D-30 Howitzer

or
skif 214 - MT-LB armoured personnel carrier

who can give me a opinion on these kits are they any good? do they include an interior? etc

cheers

Keith Forsyth

I have built one out of the box. It went togheter rather well, and it has a general interior and some PE parts. I'm pretty sure it can be made into a very nice model with some TLC. The tracks were rubbish so I changed them with a pair of Friuls. About accuracy: I really can't say how accurate they are since I built one just to see how the Skif kits went together. I bought a bunch of different Skif kits on sale with the intension of turning them into shot up OIF wrecks, so I did not do much research outside googeling some pics for a paint job. It looks like a MT-LB to me though (and they were very cheap)

Erik

They are barely okay. Arty complex is just standard MT-LB plus D-30 howitzer and some ammo crates. Mediocre molding quality and details. It has PE instrument panel for driver. Jurjen has done outstanding job improving his Strela-10 kit which is basically MT-LB with different mounting. You can refer here to get a sense of detail and fit for this kit.

Hi

A LOT of TLC will be needed to get them up to scratch BUT if you want something that looks like an MT-LB then this is it because I think the ARMO kits are OOP.

Be prepared to use etch, Fruil and lots of sprue.

Tom

To build one that will look nice enough, if you do not want to do all the scratchbuilding involved in making a true gem, then do the following:

Get the Eduard PE set for it.

Get a set of aftermarket tracks (Fruil, Masterclub, or Miniarm)

Go from there. SKIF kits may be basic, but they tend to be a accurate base to build on...except for their T-55's of course. Some need a lot more TLC than others...

Hi Keith,

I have been working on the Skif Strela which is based on the MT-LB. It is a good model to start from but really needs some AM on certain areas. Like the tracks and you may consider to replace the wheels as well.

I have a build-log on the Strela so I hope you will get a good impression of the kit.

Good Luck!

Jurjen

Build log

Hi all

thakd for the information, i want to build one as an abandoned Iraq one, so it looks like i will need to put some extra time aside for this.

Jurjen all the extra work you have put in certainly makes it stand out, i look forward to seeing it finished

cheers

Keith Forsyth