Hi all,

While still experimenting with cammo netting and loose snow on my Strv 103B, might as well started work on the Strv 122.

The kit comes with a PE part for the light guard, IMHO which is way off. The light guard of the Strv 122 are made of round bars, which I scratch built here with Plastruct 0.6 mm Styr. round rod bend to shape.


Will keep you up to date on the progress,

Best regards,

Li

Interesting to read you managed to bend your styrene rods to build the light guards. I never succeeded in doing so. Could you please share your tip ?

TIA
Olivier

Thanks Olivier for the positive feedback.

Bending styr. rods I usually dip it in some really hot water to soften it up before bending or else it might break in the process, a flat plier comes in handy though tweezers can also do the trick depending on the thickness of the rod.

I leave the end longer so it would go into the hull and also serves to adjust the height of the frame.



Cheers,

Li

Thanks a lot Li,
I definitely have to try this.

Good tip. I'm with Oliver. It's hard to get bent styrene to stay bent. Looks comparable to the same thing done with metal rod.

Paul

Hi all,

The trick in heat treatment of the styrene rod is each time you bent it, you have to hold it in the desired position till it cools off to set, or else it will rebound a little if you let loose too early.

So, its heat and cool, heat and cool, try it, its fun,

and practice makes perfect.

Cheers,

Li

Hi all,

Assembly is virtually complete saves the side skirts which will be assembled latter.


since this is an early HB kit, assembly takes patience and watch out for parts D21 & D3, mine end up with a big gap and have to be refitted again.


Comments and suggestions are welcome,

Cheers,

Li

Hi all,

The 122 is now painted light green and masked, preparing to receive the coat of dark green or Nato green.

Hope you enjoy the built so far,


Cheers,

Li

Nice build but, HB has made a mistake.
The strv 122 don't have the APU in the right rear corner of the hull.
Also, the commanders cupola tarp cover is the one rolled up in front of the hatch, the one to the rear, similar to the loaders tarp, should not be there.
http://www.primeportal.net/tanks/thord_wedman/strv_122/

/Thord

Thank you Thord for the heads-up,

Didn't know that HB has made the mistake, just thought that its a new config.

The kit comes with the other parts for the rear, so its an easy switch, removing the tarp is easy too.

Best regards,

Li

As Thord said.
The commander’s folded tarpaulin (part no G1) is not used, only the roll up in front (part no G25), but the APC unit you can actually leave it as it is, if you want.

Hi all,

Just finished the basic cammo pattern of the Strv 122, the light green looks a bit yellowish now, but my experience is that it will lean more on the green once washing and weathering has started.


Hope you enjoy this !

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Best regards,

Li

And here is a comparison with a Swedish M90 uniform.


the white patch is the white putty over the tarp area.

Cheers,

Li

Great build and great painting job also! I'll be following your work since I plan to do one also. Keep up the good work and thanks for posting.

Thanks James for the positive feedback, except for a few minor flaws this is a reasonably good kit.

Modern tanks are huge, the Leo is nearly one and a half length of the Tiger I, so its well worth the money!

Cheers,

Li

I like to commemorate you on your paint job, it looks smashing! I tried my hands on this before but did not get it as close as you have done. Please tell about the paints, which brand, which mixes and so on.



One little point though. The box at the back on the right side of the hull is an APU box only found on Danish versions. I have the same kit as you have made this from and it does tell you to apply it, however it is a mistake. To my knowledge it is not found on the Swedish version

Hi Keo,

Thank you for your kind words, much appreciated.

For this built, I use only Tamiya Acrylic paint as follows;

Black is Nato Black(XF-69),

Light Green I mix Olive Green(XF-58) with Yellow(XF-3) at 1:1

Dark Green I mix Olive Green(XF-58) with Dark Green(XF-61) at 8:1,

To achieve your desired tone you add the darker color little by little or the other way round.

Hope this helps,

Best regards,

Li

Hi all,

Here's an update for the Strv 122,

The road wheels are all in place and weathered, the upper hull are all done and ready for the final touches, hope you enjoy the built so far,







Comments and suggestions are welcome,

Best regards,

Li

very nice i like this ....

Pierric

Nice. Good job on the shading.

Paul

Thank you Boudehen and Paul for the positive feedbacks,

Best regards,

Li

Hi Li,
nice job on the camo and the removal of the APU ! This must not have been an easy step.

Olivier

really cool looking vehicle and the camo paint makes it an interesting piece when finished. fun to see the tank sitting on the camouflage jacket for a comparison. the bending of the styrene rods worked really well and the how-to explanation is much appreciated. cheers for sharing, bd.

Looks super after the corrections!
Especially the camo colours are impressing.

I wonder that you all can build such a vehicle so quickly.

Simply great! I'm lookinjg forward to the weathered cat.

Harald

Superb job! Your finished product looks great!! You really nailed the painting job.