Hi guys!

Nice works! John, your BTR looks amazing. Sean, again, good luck with your Stryker, but so far the building looks fast and really clean.

Here another update on my Boxer:

Suspention - I'll show you just one side, because they are mirrored:

Front details and front and rear springs:









First and last axes :





Second axis:







Third axis:







So far, so good. The model is very easy to build, no major problems.

More later.

Cheers!

Marco

Hey All,

Back on page 7 I said I'd build the Trumpeter BTR 70 early version. I've had a rethink and will build the smaller part count Zvezda BTR 70 instead. Here is the start up pic...



My plan is to finish it in Soviet colours of the Afghanistan campaign.

Cheers

Matthew

Matthew: Are there decals Afghan decals included or only Russian/Soviet ones? I've been eying this one over the Trumpeter version myself but I'm not sure about how well the detailing compares. Do you happen to have both versions so you can show some side-by-side?

Thanks!
Cristian

Hi Christian,

I can't do any side by side pics because the Trumpy BTR 70 is in the flat in Sarajevo and the Zvezda BTR 70 is in the house in Belgrade. I can tell you though that the Zvezda kit comes with only soviet markings. The detail is okay, but bear in mind that the kit - so I hear - is actually from a 1989 Dragon mould. This was in the days when Dragon stuff was apparently just so so. Also I have read some reviews online that say the wheels are not right, but I don't have the knowledge to comment on that. That said, I mated upper and lower hull last night and the fit was pretty good. Also the suspension (only fitted the front two sets) seem quite nice and a good fit. If you want a quick build then go for the Zvezda, but if you want more detail and greater accuracy I guess the Trumpy is the way forward. If cost is a consideration then go for the Zvezda.

Cheers

Matthew

Thanks so much Matthew! I'll probably go with Trumpeter then.

Finally got the upper & lower hulls sprayed as well as the rear, basket and marker holders and wheels. Need to work on the vison blocks next before I can seal her up.



Also started on the plow components. This is an awful lot of plastic!

Hi Gents, some great looking wheels in here!

I know "what-ifs" are ok as per the regs, still thought I'd better check before pulling kits out of the stash ....
I'd like to do one, maybe more of these for the campaign. Are they ok to enter?

Brent

@Brent

Yes, they look amazing by the way... 1:35 's conversions ?
Looking forward to see them on the bench !!

@Sean

Great job so far !! watch out for those tiny plastic bits !


@Marco
Thanks for the kind words my friend !!
That Boxer is BIG.. looks great so far, very nice detailing !


Almost forgot .. my update, searchlight is on.
This one is finished !!!

Good to see you've knocked another one over John, great BTR!

And my 8rads are 1/72nd, although if I could afford the kits I'd love to do them in 1/35th. The original SPW conversion was done back in 2006 and I mocked up the art for a family of vehicles from that. I've got three Hasegawa Puma donor kits here so could possibly complete the "family" , with a lot of luck and a fair wind ....

Brent

Thanks John, I'll be safe-guarding those tiny parts from the carpet monster....there are no spares!

Brent, hard to believe they are only 1/72....so cool!

More work on the plow and just took this photo to show how fine and detailed the kit is.
This part is the main “holder” to which the actual plow segments attach. On the real thing the outer portions are able to fold up when not in use so it’s not wider than the vehicle. This feature is perfectly replicated in working order! The plates and pins are fiddly to get alligned (more my thick fingers & eye-sight I think) but really very finely engineered.


Having said all that I’m going to put it in the deployed position and put a 2nd optional pin in place for support which will mean it’s not movable. If I left it I’m sure I’d manage to break it before the end plus with the springs & chains it will be easier attach them in the deployed position.

The more I do on this kit the more I love it!

Alright, some progress to report from my side:



The so called "Kovriki armor" isn´t that hard to do, it just takes some time to figure measurements and angles out (esp. the first plate is a nightmare). I´ve used 0,5mm sheet and sharpened the edges, all glued on small pices of plastic to create the gap.
The black dots indicate where all the nuts have to go... about 80 in total.



Pretty nice kit so far... guess I´ll buy a few more BTRs from Trumpeter...

made some more progress tonight, slowly but steadily on this one, there is alot flash, and alot of parts that just don't have that good of a fit, so it's been a battle.













until next time cheers and happy building!

After several more building sessions and some broken antennas (one should really leave these off until everything is ready for painting), the body is finally finished. I’ll have to go through the steps and sprues once again to make sure nothing has been forgot but the main part should be glued in place.

Some smaller parts like the tools or the machine gun are left off to be painted separately.






Cheers,
Cristian

Two LAVely builds there gents!

Hi guys!

Great works, hope mine get togheter as good as yours.

So, let's show some update.

Is time to complete the suspension:

Front:





Rear pieces:



Everething togheter:



Wheels and tires:



And the beast can rest on its own feet:



Looks even bigger, doesn't it?

More latter.

Cheers!

Marco

Looking really nice, Marco!

Got the chance to spend a few hours with modeling today. here is how far I got.

Some PE priming which also serves as a preshading for the sandy yellow and the sandy yellow layer itself as the first camo color.








Cheers,
Cristian

OK, have finished the suspension for the 232. Moving on...

BTR 70 progress...









Cheers

Matthew

My first time using Uhu Patafix (same as Blue Tac) for masking and I must say I'm impressed how easy it was!




The green color is a 2/3 - 1/3 mix of Revell 39 Dark Green and Revell 45 Light Olive.



Feedback and critique is more than welcome!
Cristian

Some really nice 8 wheelers in various stages guys.

As for my M1132 I'm happy with how the vision blocks came out. Can seal it all up now and start detailing...



Have also being working on the plow. Talk about intricate and detailed but slow and steady got me through it. Still some clean-up to do and the actual blade segments have yet to go on but the amazing thing is it actually raises and lowers....probably won't after a coat of paint but it just shows how well engineered the kit is if even I managed to do it in working order. There was 1 disaster of my own making (read instructions and check orientation of parts carefully) but i did recover it with just a bit of cutting and excess glue

Sweet looking builds!

I am in with a BTR-60 variant, the R-145BM-1 command vehicle using the Trumpeter BTR-60PU kit and the SP Designs conversion kit.

This will be my first conversion effort, fortunately Trumpeter's lower hull and the SP Designs upper hull fit almost perfectly. I'm debating what to do about the wheels. The kit instructions recommend using BTR-80A hubs and wheels. I have tried to buy SP Designs wheel set from HobbyEasy twice, both times it was out of stock. I included the miniarm wheels in the start photo, but they are for the BTR-82, and the hubs are not right. I have Trumpy's BTR-80A kit too, so I might use the wheels from that kit.

-Nate

Hello Fabian,
did you notice how the firing port covers have also been up armored http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/BTR-70#/media/File:BTR-70,_museum,_Togliatti-1.JPG
not the best shot of it, I may have a link to better ones someplace else.

Sean

Nathan I did the NTR-60 Upgraded and I was amazed with the detailing on those kits.
Will follow your build closely since I want to tackle one of those conversions in the near future...

Good luck with your build !!!

here's more http://photo.qip.ru/users/coorsah/96517473/120274059/#mainImageLink

Sean