I'm making the Zvezda BT-5 for Barbarossa. I want to display it on its wheels without tracks and I have a few questions about the suspension:

1. Do I need to put a chain connecting the drive sprocket to the rear road wheel? I've seen what looks like a chain housing connecting the two but I'm not sure of its purpose.

2. Does anyone have closeup pics of the steering mechanism for the front road wheels? I'd like to pose the front wheels at an angle as if it's turning.

Thanks!

Hello, John
I'm building the same kit. Tell me, is your hull bottom warped? Are you building OOB?

I've been looking around the web, but I haven't found any good sites on pre-war Russian armor. Let me know if you find anything.
Good luck,

Hi Ron! The front of the hull bottom was a little warped and required filler at the pointy end. It didn't help that I dropped if from the table last night. I had trouble fitting the triangular side panels too but a little pressure stuck them together with an acceptable gap between plates. I'm not sure whether I need to fill all of the gaps since these cute beasts were just riveted together. I'll post some good pics and sites in a few.

This site is a very nice source of pics and history. Made me fall in love with Soviet armor.

http://www.battlefield.ru/map.html

This URl shows the interior profile of the BT-7. It looks like there is a chain that runs from the drive sprocket to the rear road wheel.
http://www.battlefield.ru/bt7_2.html

Here are several links to a web site that has numerous pictures (some very close up) of a 1935 and 1938 model BT-7. There are over a hundred photos on these tanks. I hope this helps.

http://www.thetankmaster.com/english/afv/bt7-1935_01.asp
http://www.thetankmaster.com/english/afv/bt-7-1938_01.asp
http://www.thetankmaster.com/english/afv/bt7-1938_01.asp

This site has lots of photos of other Russian AFVs.

http://www.thetankmaster.com/tanks.asp

Enjoy

John -- If there is a chain that runs from the drive sprocket to the rear road wheel I think it would be inside the two parts of the side hull where the springs are. I will take a look at my references tonight for pictures of the steering mechanism for you.

BTW, if either or you (John or Ron) need any pictures of a particular spot of the BT please let me know ([email protected]). I have a ton of references on the BT as it is my all-time favorite AFV. It is good to see so many people paying attention to this little known, but wonderful little vehicle. Hopefully I can get back to work on my currently stalled super-detailed BT-5 that I started in January.

Adam,
Thanks for the offer. This one will be built OOB. I have another along with the Commanders conversion to a BT7A. That one is for when I want to mess with resin. LOL
Actually the Italeri/Zvezda isn't that bad. You just have to remember that with eastern european kits to always dry fit first.

I need photos of the BT-7 with the early conical turret if you've got some - interior wise. Glad to see that more of you guys are working on BT's too!

Thanks for posting some links!

Gunnie

Gunnie -- I'll take a look at my references tonight and shoot you an email with some scans in it.

BT lovers unite! I started liking the BT when I first read about its history. Christie was way ahead of his time and that may be the reason why the US military ignored him. I liked what the Soviets did to the chassis and how a lot of their tanks during and after the war were influenced by it. The wheel-track flexibility is an added bonus too.

I'd like more pics of the exterior steering mechanism Adam. I'll try angling the front wheels to call attention to the fact that this tank can travel both on wheels and tracks. There is a housing between the inner and outer side plates that looked like a chain drive but I had to be sure since some early Christie based tanks had drive chains on the sprocket itself. My email address is [email protected]

Thanks for the links kingcrt. I see a lot of detail that can be easily added to my current project.

Ran into this pic on the battlefield.ru site:



Helpful drawing but I crave more

Additional questions:
1. How are the Zvezda BT-5 front idler arms attached? Sink mark side up?
2. What are the 6 circular protrusions on top of the hull for (2 at the front corners, 2 in the middle, and 2 at the rear corners)? I hollowed them out because I think they are ventilation pipes.
3. Does a hole have to drilled into the periscope to simulate a glass lens?

John -- I couldn't find too much showing the steering mechanism, but here are a couple:





These are both out of the Armada book. In regards to your other questions:

1) Yes, the front idler arms are attached sink mark side up (see picture below).

2) I have no idea what those cylindrical things are (my references are in Russian, Polish, and Japanese none of which can I read or speak, but there are no references in English), but they definately should be drilled out as they were hollow on the real vehicle. The most likely are ventilation pipes though because they don't go down into the fighting compartment, but rather down into the area between the double hull where the springs are. Take a look at the drawing below and you will see what I mean. The two rear ones actually had little boxes built up around them that the Zvezda/Italeri kit only provides one of the 4 sides for. The others need to be scratched. They also weren't perfect cylinders on the rear as the kit depicts, but rather a stair step sort of cylinder (I have no idea how else to describe it just look at the drawing below.

3) The periscope on the turret is actually shown with its armored cover in place. If you wanted to show the periscope open you would need to build it from scratch. Let me know if you are up to this task as I have some great closeup picutres and drawings of how the armored cover came off and what the periscope looked like.

Here is a shot of the work I did on the front of my no stalled BT-5 project that I now have an intense desire to pick back up thanks to you guys.

Gunnie -- I sent you some shots via email, but unfortunately I could not locate any pictures or drawings of the interior of the conical turret. Here is a build-up of a spectacular BT-7 by Kunihito that may provide some inspiration to everyone: http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~fwge2272/

Also here is an old issue of Panzergruppe where Jim Hensley puts an interior into a BT-7 with a conical turret. It may be of some assistance: http://www.clandavidsonusa.com/wac/panzergruppe/feb98/feb-apr98.htm

Adam,
Good pictures, thanks.

Great pics Adam! Cleared up a lot of things. One thing I can deduce from these, although I'm not sure if my deduction is correct, is that the cylindrical thingies actually house the ends of the suspension springs. I knew the springs were huge but I didn't realize they were that long.

Please post the pics of the periscope Adam. I'll see if I can scratch one if it's not too difficult. I also have to redo the rivets at the front because they got sanded off during the filling and sanding process.

Your BT looks great! I was wondering where it went because I read your in-progress threads and I picked up a lot of tips from them.

I will scan the periscope shots tonight and get them up.

It looks as though I'm going to have to pick this project back up now. Actually, the only reason I put it down in the first place was because I promised Dave (SS-74) that I would build the T-35 with him (which still isn't done due to mishaps during the painting stage ). My BT-5 is actually quite a bit further along than the pictures of it. I will have to work on it along with the KV-2 I'm doing for the Barbarossa build.

My BT is coming along nicely. Looks like only minimal surgery will be required for the front wheels since the steering angle is not that big. The front fenders hide most of the detail anyway.