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Яusso-Soviэt Forum: Cold War Soviet Armor
For discussions related to cold war era Russo-Soviet armor.
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1/35 T-80U prod.1985
Reiter960
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Posted: Monday, March 17, 2008 - 07:20 PM UTC
SP Designs T-80U conversion along with some other goodies arrived today and needless to say all other modeling work is suspended indefinitely. The set is quite a pleaser especially newly cast parts, which have MUCH better surface quality than older solid pieces (see pics). In fact, my only complaint is the Kontakt-1/3 ERA blocks which are too bulky compared to the rest of the pieces; they are going to be replaced with Model Point ERA set anyway. I also consider to equip future model with KMT-7 mine trawl once I find it Shortage of Skif kits and availability of factory drawings along with recent publications about the subject have forced me to opt for scratch built lower hull, suspension and glasics.

Contents (Prowler not included)


Turret


Gunner's hatch has interior detail, but it needs to be enhanced

Turret fits Skif's hull very well:

chefchris
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Posted: Monday, March 17, 2008 - 11:08 PM UTC
George,
Very nice! You mentioned the Modepoint ERA. I have some of it but have been looking for more - who has any left? Or will the new Tankworkshop shop be able to source it?

Can't wait to see more on this build.

Chris
Reiter960
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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 04:52 AM UTC

Quoted Text

George,
Very nice! You mentioned the Modepoint ERA. I have some of it but have been looking for more - who has any left? Or will the new Tankworkshop shop be able to source it?

Can't wait to see more on this build.

Chris

Hi, Chris.
Yes, I was hoping Model-Master NA will carry type A, B and C Contact sets. If not, I will try getting Miniarm T-72B and and use ERA pieces supplied.
Jacques
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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 08:24 AM UTC
Thanks for the notes George. I look forward to seeing this built up as well, you will do a great job with it. Some points:

- the poor surfaces on the kit you recieved were due to some bad resin. Sergej did not notice that one of the two main jugs was contaminated until he had done a fair amount of casting. No, he was not covering losses, he just screwed up. He also says that the buyers in Russia are a lot less picky than those of us westerners! However, our grumpiness to puch him hard has given us a hollow turret and better casts, so I do not feel too badly about it.

- what source do you have for better lower hull measurements? I am looking for easy resources so that SP Designs could do a accurate lower hull if they wanted. What is the problem with the lower hull that you especially want improved?

- I just finished up some T-80 Roadwheel innner wheel masters to make them EASIER to use. I will be sending them to Sergej shortly so he can start casting them up...I will post a shot in the SP Designs thread. They are not perfect by a long shot, but much easier to use and much better detailed than what the kits (DML or SKIF) offer.

So now I await your long list of building notes and improvements!
Reiter960
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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 09:06 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Thanks for the notes George. I look forward to seeing this built up as well, you will do a great job with it. Some points:

- the poor surfaces on the kit you recieved were due to some bad resin. Sergej did not notice that one of the two main jugs was contaminated until he had done a fair amount of casting. No, he was not covering losses, he just screwed up. He also says that the buyers in Russia are a lot less picky than those of us westerners! However, our grumpiness to puch him hard has given us a hollow turret and better casts, so I do not feel too badly about it.

- what source do you have for better lower hull measurements? I am looking for easy resources so that SP Designs could do a accurate lower hull if they wanted. What is the problem with the lower hull that you especially want improved?

- I just finished up some T-80 Roadwheel innner wheel masters to make them EASIER to use. I will be sending them to Sergej shortly so he can start casting them up...I will post a shot in the SP Designs thread. They are not perfect by a long shot, but much easier to use and much better detailed than what the kits (DML or SKIF) offer.

So now I await your long list of building notes and improvements!

Well first look impression has come and gone..... there is just not as much work to do compared to my UD build My primary sources are some factory blue prints and illustrations, PDF copies of M-hobby magazines (bought them legally, I swear) and FrontLine Illustration Diesel T-80s. PDF files contain comprehensive scale drawings of T-80B and T-80UD(early) by V. Malginov. I have never seen his work before but he seems to do good job on chassis and suspension and equally terrible job on turret and some minor details (especially UD's turret). Well, it still beats doing guess work from scarce photos from the Internet. My only dislike for Skif's lower hull is its absence on the shelves of LHS and e-stores I trust. OMG lying again, there is one near, but it is a Profipack and costs $42.99 I have no interest in this green nightmare even if it comes with Eduard set, which is useless in this build anyway. I also got road wheels (reworked for Skif only) from SP designs and they seem okay to me, though ribs on rubber sections would be nice touch. Off topic advance notice to all of you: no more questions about crew set, I'm waiting for Zvezda Modern Russian Tankers set to hit shelves first. Also drawings I use are DFG vector surfaces collection, so the can be gutted with AutoCAD to show only specific parts and systems by themselves like suspension arm or hull sides otherwise hidden by the skirts.
smciver121
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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 09:09 AM UTC
Cant wait to see the build up. I am afraid to touch this, as my skills are not yet up to par. Looks like a challenging build!
Jacques
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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 09:43 AM UTC
Sounds like you have a good "bead" on the lower hull. If you can, point out hte problems with the SKIF kit as you come across them and I will keep notes. I know about the extreem detail challenge of the lower hull, but I do not have ANY definative measurments for the lower hull, just photos of what details should be there. So I could detail the lower hull and still have a angle or dimension wrong and not know it. So any help is appreciated, if need be.

I bet you are just drooling for that T-80U upper hull though, aren't you... Once I get that, the new Sprockets, and the new roadwheels, I am so going to build a T-80U. Then i can put it on the back of my MAZ.
Jacques
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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 09:47 AM UTC
As for a SKIF T-80, try E-Bay or talk to Andrew at Historica Books. They are not that hard to find.
Reiter960
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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 09:51 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Sounds like you have a good "bead" on the lower hull. If you can, point out hte problems with the SKIF kit as you come across them and I will keep notes. I know about the extreem detail challenge of the lower hull, but I do not have ANY definative measurments for the lower hull, just photos of what details should be there. So I could detail the lower hull and still have a angle or dimension wrong and not know it. So any help is appreciated, if need be.

I bet you are just drooling for that T-80U upper hull though, aren't you... Once I get that, the new Sprockets, and the new roadwheels, I am so going to build a T-80U. Then i can put it on the back of my MAZ.

No I'm slapping my head for not getting T-80U Omsk when they were still around. But yes, I will definitely get 'democritized' T-80 conversion.... and turn it into T-80UK. You got MAZ already? That kit looks like a crowd catcher but is way outside my hobby expenditures especially with gas prices hitting 4.25 point around here. Maybe I should stop yaking and actually do some work.
Jacques
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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 10:22 AM UTC
Yeah, I got a MAZ. I have been waiting for one for so long, I just went ahead and got it. So thre will be fewer of other kits for me later. But it is a big, beautiful beastie! I will let Steve finsih up his build review before I start in on mine...partly to show him respect for his hard work and partly to let him "lead the way" for any troubles.

I am not sure what Sergej is actually going to put "in the box' at this point, he just requested a few more bits and piees from me for the conversion. If it comes out looking real good, i may be able to get him to do a back date of the new kit back to a m85 Omsk/Leningrad duo-kit. Maybe. And the new conversion MAY come with interior bits...this all is in flux right now, but things are trending good for the moment. I do hate to tease about this, but that is all I know at the moment.
Reiter960
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Posted: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 08:00 AM UTC
Work begins. As usual I've started withe turret first.
Incoming photo-etch in 48 hours




Reiter960
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Posted: Friday, March 21, 2008 - 08:57 PM UTC
Some detailing as of today. I used Mr.Surfacer 500 and a thick old brush to simulate cast texture on the turret body. As I advanced to work on stowage detail, I discovered rather unpleasant fact, there are only 3 ammo boxes for heavy MG while at least five are needed. There is also only one ammo rack provided in PE set. While adding another section for the ammo racks from sheet aluminum was relatively easy task, ammo boxes didn't come up as even and crisp as PE ones by using this method. I've decided to use one of the PE boxes as master and cast remaining two in resin. Hopefully, they will turn out better.




bison126
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Posted: Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 03:04 AM UTC
Very nice start George as usual.
It looks like Sergej has done a great job and made lots of progress in the mastering and the cast processes.
This is quite good for the future. If only he could get any interest in a correct T-90 or a T-84 while keeping in his prices range !

Olivier
PanzerEd
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Posted: Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 11:29 AM UTC
The weathering on you original kit looks superb

Des
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Posted: Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 05:09 PM UTC
This looks great so far.

Sweet Prowler in the background!
Reiter960
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Posted: Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 07:43 PM UTC
Thanks for comments, guys The hull you saw above is a part of T-80UD Build
I'd completed last year.
Olivier, I doubt SP Designs will attempt to do T-90 conversion since there are two very comprehensive sets by Miniarm already on the market, but T-84 is something many people really want to see in scale. Who knows, maybe after new T-80U conversion is out there will be a T-84 or T-84M set following. EagleSmack, that Prowler was not so sweet when I first opened the box, whole kit has been scale proving ground for chisels and various rivet wheels for four months already:-X
Back to the red armor. I didn't have time to do some serious work today, but I managed to get cross wind sensor and rear light-height indicator mast done. Well rear light lamp still needs to receive four clamps on its movable part, but it should not be difficult task to complete.



Reiter960
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Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 08:17 AM UTC
Attempt to cast two remaining ammo boxes was also a failure- rubber shelf life was maxed out. I just kept cut them out of .005 aluminum foil until they looked acceptable I have also done some work on commander's cupola, MG mounts and IR projector.




chefchris
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Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 08:26 AM UTC
George,
Excellent work!!!

I always enjoy looking at your builds, very inspiring.

Chris
Reiter960
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Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 03:41 PM UTC
Well then, here is something to keep you inspired

Commander's independent day/night sight lens and its reinforced window frame



Built up commander's sight and windshield wiper. Likely, CA fog had accumulated on its outter surrface



Current overall progress on turret



Schematic view of commander's cupola I did from scarce photographs (didn't help at all)

CombatKrieg
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Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 04:45 PM UTC
Hey there George, how did you make that crease on the tank barrel cloth?
Jacques
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Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 05:39 PM UTC
George, Beautiful work. You are a total maniac on doing detail work. Excellent job.
Reiter960
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Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 06:01 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hey there George, how did you make that crease on the tank barrel cloth?

Simple, that's milliput putty rolled into thin sheet and extra softened with rubbing alcohol. All you need to do is to rolled thin enough and let alcohol evaporate a little and just lay it over the surface. It will usually fold easily under its own weight, given that you can determine the moment when it's already tear resistant, but remaining alcohol keeps it soft enough, forming convincing looking folds and vaults. Finer detail like rectangular upper armor plate and seam lines are done with new, fine exacto blade.
Reiter960
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Posted: Thursday, March 27, 2008 - 08:59 PM UTC
I think I'm almost done with turret . There are still things missing like PKT machine gun barrel, 2A46 barrel and ERA which I can't scratch build, but still hope to get from Model Master NA (we need you guys!). Commander cupola still needs some fine tuning and it looks like I lost one of the retaining clams on Luna projector cover today, but I've decided to leave these be until aftermarket emerges.

Today's work:

Luna positioning arm:



Extra detail on deep wading equipment:



Reiter960
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Posted: Friday, March 28, 2008 - 01:38 PM UTC
Scaled drawings I'm going to use. The ones with T-80UD on them turned out to be complete mess, so I'm going to use much more accurate T-80B version and compensate for model U slightly larger dimensions. According to the drawings and factory graphics, SP designs powerpack roof is quite accurate. It comes only some 0.336 millimeters less to true 1/35 scale reading in width and being only 0.21mm longer than ideal (all measurements adjusted to match T-80U parameters)
Jacques
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Posted: Friday, March 28, 2008 - 03:39 PM UTC
Hey George, where did you get your scale drawings? They look darn good.

And glad to hear the engine deck is a accurate as I thought...without really good measurements it is hard for me pass accurate judgement. And I hate that.
 _GOTOTOP