Here is the latest one to start production

Trumpeter's AS90
I haven't done one of their kits before and it seems to be really good value for money, so as it didn't break the bank I have bought the Eduard PE set and JB barrel set (the corrugated recoil cover in the kit didn't have the characteristic sag)

As can be seen still at the early stages with the tracks just on loosely , haven't set the rear adjusters in place, the tracks although pretty good did have a lot of distortion from lying in the box so am leaving them on for few days to see if they will straighten out a bit. have started the PE details around the rear door with the fire extinguisher holder and what I think is a loudspeaker ? up in the top left corner, the Eduard set is really comprehensive and as I haven't a lot of experience with PE this is going to be challenging for my 52 year old eyeballs and fingers like bananas ! Petty Trumpeter didn't include a basic interior for this as the inside of the rear door has lots of detail and it would be great to have the door open as it would give a good view of the inside, most of the pics I have seen of the guns firing have the door open. Half thinking of trying to scratch something together as there is lots of reference pics out there, don't know yet.

As you progress with this build there are some simple corrections you can make to parts such as the gun cradle needs shortening and the placement of the drivers periscope housing needs placing just in front of the drivers hatch and not where the kit tells you to place it. this might be of help to you, and this walk around on the site may also be of help.

Thanks for the links Darren, I had already read your articles on this one and have had both the reviews and the walkround bookmarked since choosing to do this one. Is the round thing above the rear door a loudspeaker for crew on the ground?
Cheers Paul

The honest answer is I don't know but I will take a look at the real AS90 tomorrow in the workshops and ask.

Got this and the AA 'correction set'

Please bear in mind that the "braveheart" long barrel isn't in service (sfaik), & is a Demo vehicle only.

I'm looking forward to this. What does the AA set correct?

follow this link as I believe it shows best what is included in the set. It is difficult to tell but I don't think the smoke discharger mount is correct.

read Perths' Review here : http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/aa/aa_ao60.htm

Bear in mind that it's an EARLY Trumpy, & some details are welll ... off

A Lot cheaper than the AA Full Kit, but I got mine for less than RRP, your call.

Thanks for all the comments, haven't managed to get much further with it, have spent a bit of time tidying up the rear panels.

When attaching the rear door in the closed position the number plate above the rear door ended up needing some surgery to allow the door to open as the centre lamp/bolt thing(?) was far too low also the loudspeaker(?) now appeared too low and needed moved up a shade. Wish I'd put the door on before these parts and saved a lot of buggering about !

Nice start to what looks like a challenging kit.

If you feel that working with PE parts at a youthful 52 is a handful. Just wait till you get to 63. Not only do the fingers have a mind of their own, but the eyes sure aren't what they once were. Between the two, I spend almost as much time looking for dropped parts, then I do building.

Here's a couple of pics of some progress




Doing the PE stuff is taking me ages and you need the patience of a saint, three of the wee grab handles along the side have disappeared just as I was about to attach them, one second it's on the end of the tweezers next it's gone, vanished into another dimension, think there is a parallel universe somewhere with lot's of wee bits of plastic floating about !
Have noticed with this kit that the styrene seems soft in comparison to other manufacturers and am having to be careful with sanding and filing.

Good progress so far,

I know what you mean about the eyes going....
I'm considering an investment in electron microscope or optivisor before I try any more PE

I have a pair of tweezers that you squeeze to open, but parts still get fed to the CM.... & I got laminate floors,

& yes, the earlier Trumpy kits are very soft, not much you can do about that though...

Great progress. I'm always interested in how others deal with PE parts. I find them extremely hard to work with as well. What I don't understand is how I can loose that many of those little buggers since they're basically flat, while the usual parts I launch from tweezers have some kind of shape.

Being 63 years old, and having terrible eyes (retina disease in both. Modeling actually helps me by working on focusing with both eyes), I use a Optivisor for just about everything related to modeling. I'm actually thinking about getting a 2nd pair with stronger magnification for really small parts.

If my lovely wife didn't object, I'd rip up the carpet in my model/computer room just around my work area, and lay in a solid floor. Just the time it would save me in my usual useless efforts to find lost parts would me it worth while to me. Of course my wife thinks it's another dumb idea from yours truly.

Really nice progress Paul. I like the detail you are putting into this build but I have noticed a very minor inaccuracy on the tow rope bracket, there is no chain used as the bolt that holds the tow rope is hinged and so cannot fall off.

Thanks for comments and pic, darren will correct tow cable mounts later on have moved onto the turret now;


Couldn't resist putting the turret on to see how it looks, this is one big lump of metal ! The fit on the generator housing at the rear RHS wasn't great and needed a bit of work and the turret stowage bins took a while because of the PE lids,hinges and catches they also had to have the mounting lugs extended slightly so they stand off the turret walls. The build is moving along slowly and I am enjoying it although the molding quality isn't brilliant and the parts need a fair bit of cleaning up but as long as I don't have any disasters at the paint stages it should finnish up being quite an imposing partner for the Warrior and Chally II.

Coming out great. Can't resist taking a sneak peak either to get a sense of what the project will eventually look like.

I'm having the same issues with PE parts shifting the location of parts. I'm working on a M3A1, and I added the Eduard PE parts where ever I could. I fashioned the bottom trays for the rear fender stowage boxes and glued them on. When I went to glue them to the fenders and the bottom braces to level them out. I found that the back lip of the tray prevented the stowage boxes from butting up to the hull as in real life. Lesson learned, is to test fit everything twice, adjust as needed, then glue.

I was maintaining one of these at the weekend. I took some pics. If you want them for reference pm me your email addy.

Here are a couple of shots just to show I've not abandoned this one. As I mentioned earlier the PE stuff is taking me ages, by the time I do a couple of tool clamps and straps it's time for a lie down in a darkened room with soft music to calm down !


The stowage basket affair on the roof was a complete b_______d and will need
lots of tarps and stuff to hide the joins.


I've tried to use as much of the PE as I can (got to get my moneys worth !) but some of it has been beyond me but on the whole think it should improve the overall look. Really just the gun barrel and mantlet to do and it'll be time for some paint, I couldn't find many reference pics for one of these serving in Bosnia and have ordered a book off the net so it should come this week and I will no doubt find that I have made lots of errors in the placement of accessories.

This is coming on a treat Paul and I look forward to seeing what the finished item looks like.

looking good there , im not quite as far on but im using broncos workable track set and also have an ali barrel which really dose look the part , keep up the good work

looking good Paul. I have heard bad things about this kit but I think you are assuaging some of my fears. Cheers.

Some real progress at last;



Gun in place, tracks painted and placed,side skirts and mudguards built up, was dreading this as the flaps are etch and looked complicated to fold but they went together really easily, tyres painted and.......... finally some paint on. Still trying to get to grips with the AB and doing the black camo is going to be interesting this will be the first time I will have a done a camo scheme as all the others have been monotone.The reference book arrived and is excellent although the translation from Czech to English is a bit creaky but there again my Czech isn't brilliant ! Pictures are first class with production to match, printing on a really nice semi matt paper with no reflection. Anybody wanting to make one of these kits serving in Bosnia will find this book (AS-90 Braveheart in Detail) very useful.

It sure is a mean looking beast!

Great work so far, looking forward to seeing it finished!

paul,

Very nice build. Love the colour choice you selected for this SPG.

Keep up the good work.

David.

hey paul
loving the AS90 i built this a while ago
did you have any problems with the turret??
i had problems there...

what colour have you used for the green?
are you going to do it green and black or green and sand?

tony