Hi Folks,

After a few times spent tweaking the features on how to post photos directly on a post, here we go!

This are photos of a Zvesda T-26. The kit as a whole is quite a snugg fit exept for a few parts which have to - either way be thinned using PE, rebuilt, or in the case of the tracks... Well no comment! They are too short to properly fit onto the model, so I ordered some from FriulModel which I shall receive shortly.

I still have to create the bulb on the head lamp, create weld seams at the base of the rail turret posts before painting the whole model.

The rail is scratchbuilt from copper/ brass. Only a shame I do not have an soldering iron! The job would have been easier!

Now the interesting thing is that I made a mistake assembling this kit! Can anyone find it where?
Well after nearly 20 years stopping modeling and only 5 kits so far under the belt... What would you expect?

Please leave me your comments :-)

can I win anything if I guess?

It looks so good, the only issue it THAT mistake, the rearmost bogies are in the wrong place, the left bogie is at the right and vice-versa. Maybe you can fix it, using liquid cement to loose the joint maybe you can remove the bogies and switch places. Best regards.

José.

Hi Jose,

Yep, you are the winner! I stupidly inverted the rear boggies... Now I do not really feel confident in cutting them to reglue them in the correct position. I think - coz' I am at work now - that they are glued to the side of the hull. This might be a problem as I do not think I have the right micro saw to do that. I will check and let you know.

he he he I like this one, next time I put a draw prize for each question I ask promise :-)

With boggies repositionned. I had to cut them with a razor saw, and then glue them back into place. The sagging on the tracks also needs adjusting.



Another view of the amended tracks and the Friulmodel tracks too. Although I like the realistic sagging effect of the tracks from Friulmodel, I still cannot help thinking they have been casted slightly too thick compared to the plastic ones... Can the manufactured do any thinner?

As you can see, the tracks supplied by Zvesda are too short for the kit. You actually need another 4/ 5 links to make sure you can seal the tracks and have a decent sagging. The Friul Model track link Kit supply you with a good lot more links than needed! Best to keep them for spare when building another kit...

It takes quite a loooong afternoon to assemble the tracks FriulModel Tracks... The links are really tiny, they need sanding a bit, ajusting, drilling and put into correct position. The effect is interesting once completed!





Next post will be about extra detailing + painting.
If you have any idea for painting... Let me know. I personaly like Tamiya/ French Pebeo colours which are the dog bollocks and inexpensive. I do not use Humbrol any longer.

The metal track elevate the kit from -ho-hum to excellent.
Nice job so far, nice recovery from the boggie mistake.

Chris

Your build looks awesome!! I've always wanted to build a T-26 but I have been told that ever kit out there has accuracy issues associated with it. Do you know of any accuracy issues with your Zvesda T-26?? After looking at your build pictures I may have to pick up that kit and save your build log for future reference.

Also can you list the improvements you done besides the turret ring? What PE set are you using??

Keep up the great work! Look forward to following your progress! Cheers mate!

Carmen

Hi Carmen, many thanks for your nice comment about my building. In fact there are a few mistakes in the build itself which I shall not correct for this kit. When I have more time, hopefully tonight, I shall point them out using painter and circling them in red for you to see.

I used a PE set which is very basic: Eduard T-26 - 35208.

The rail around the turret is entirely scratchbuild but is not 100% accurate. To build it, I took a thick piece of polystyrene and put the original rail turret on it. I secured it with cellotape, then used a thin marker pen to draw the shape.
Once done, I used a cutter to cut a tongue groove into it and inserted a large strip (1 inch) of plastic card so as to make a jig. Once this was completed, I took some copper wire, the thickest one I could find. I used in fact some from Aber. www.aber.net.pl and used the 1,2 mm size. Put it into shape so that it exactly match that of the initial plastic rail.

I then had to cut very tiny brass rods so as to make the attachments on the rails and on the rail posts. They were sanded using a Dremel power tool.
Copper rods would do for the posts. They are the same 1,2 mm as for the rail turret.

Well... I shall try to take photos and add comments... It should be much simpler than writting a novel :-)