Hello guys,

Here is a quick side project I have going on along side some other commitments.

May I present the 1/35 Skif 122 SpH 74 Self Propelled Gun...


Nice box top, note they acually used the real model, kudos to Skif

It's plastic army man green!



Road wheels are nice but the rim is missing.

Tracks are also OK, and pretty pliable, but heated pin construction...ugh.

New nicest part of the kit, hope they fit!

Ryan Harden

Thanks for sharing the build-log!
I also have an 2S1 in my stash, but the standard-one.
I look forward to see the next steps.

greetings...
Soeren

Interesting, never knew Skif re-boxed it as a Finnish version. There's a few reference photos here: http://www.pienoismallit.net/galleria/referenssi_6020/ , and a good article on Missing Lynx if you're looking.

Jim

Thanks Soeren, More progress below!

Jim, once again you are the man! I've found some shots here and there, but not a good walk around like that.

This morning's update surrounds the lower hull. The 8 pc. hull fit pretty well and leveled up nicely once bonded together. The only area of extra work was the rear plate , it was slightly proud of the hull. Strips of styrene filled the step left over. It is wise to true up the hull before adding any of the fixture, hatches etc.


The sides and top of the Ferrari F40 like headlight openings were way over scale and needed thinning down. One look at Jim's link will show just how thick these parts are. In this shot I have opened up the light box on the left. The right is kit standard. After thinning it was still slightly over scale, but looks better than before.


Ryan

Here´s a finnish buildblog from the same site, which Jim had a link for reference pics. Builder used earlier Skif kit with some DIY detailing. Sorry, it´s in finnish only but maybe pics give you some help:
Finnish 122 SpH 74

Kimmo, WOW that is some great work, thanks for the link.


Juan, Thanks for the support. The kit is not all that bad, I think it's good value for the money.

Ryan

Did I mention the real thing is welded together!

As I researched this AFV, I quickly realized that the entire hull is covered with a patch work quilt of welds. Some welds are present from the box, but I wanted to emphasize those as well as add others that were missing. My new welds are prob. a little over scale, but I like the look of them. 3M blue tape was cut into strips and placed parallel to each other at the required width.

The putty was applied into the tape groove, then stippled with a chisel shaped tooth pick. Tamiya liquid cement was brushed over the weld to soften the bead and blend it into the surface.



Ryan

Small project update today....

I tossed the kits road wheels for some Master Club units, what a change for the better! The supplied wheels in the kit where lacking rim detail among other things.



I shot some Tamiya primer to get a better feel of how the welds would look after a coat of paint...not bad, but still a little oversized. Oh well must press on!



A nice PE grill came with the kit, it looks great and in scale with the exhaust port sticking out of the hull. The port was enhanced with Tamiya putty to give a solid cast steel look.



My final update today is on the tracks...I splurged and went ahead and purchased the Master Club tracks in addition to the wheels. The pic speaks for itself, the detail is fantastic....well worth the extra dollars!



Thanks
Ryan

Very good Ryan or as they say in Finland Oikein Hyva! the welds are excellent.

Thanks Pat, next time I think I'll try those Archer resin welds.

I was going to use them at first, but was worried the masking job for this scheme might lift them. probably a non issue on second thought.

Ryan

Ugh...a year later.

Made some progress on the 122.

I just completed one side of the Master Club resin tracks, a exhaustive proceedure! Using micro surgery skill I have assembled some 123 (I think) links on this side. The detail is superb, but the links themselves are very fragile.

The kit sprocket was used, although it was thinned out on the inside and between the teeth to work. The white paint seen on the end of a few connectors allowed me to know were to glue the tracks and were to allow them to pivot. I found the best way to work these was to glue them straight and true on my work bench. The long runs were as straight as a board when I offered them up to the running gear.

Without glued, level runs the tracks would "inch worm" upward and not hang realistically, not to mention inpossible to assemble. Even the top run was first glued perfectly straight on my bench....the sag was introduced after the run was in place with a couple drops of super glue on the tops of the road wheels. The only other trick was to glue the sprocket to the track and them to the hull. (ala 1/48 scale armor)

I must say I'm really pleased with the final look, now to the other side!





Ryan

Almost forgot...

I short tutorial on how to deal with these small tracks.

As stated above I did manage to break a few guide horns before I figured this technique out.

It was pretty simple, first I used a balsa wood block to hold down the female end of the track. The male end of the track was then slid into place using a small file. The balsa block prevents your fingers from applying pressure on the guide horns, and giving the track even pressure while holding it down.



Ryan

These pictures may help you.











They scans of film negatives taken at Bovington Tank Museum about a year after Gulf War 1.

I know they are not of the same vehicle as the model but the running gear is.

Pete

Hi Pete,

Thanks for posting those.

You can see the different track tension on that running gear....even from left to right hand sides!

One pic shows slack below the sprocket, while another shows them to be tighter.

Not sure if you could get away with to much slack using (1) Master Club set, you only get (250) links. I'm worried I won't have enough for the other side.

Ryan