As the topic says, I am in the final stages of assembly on my first "proper" scale model, a 1/35 Revell BMP-2. This particular kit has *not* aged gracefully, and although it has certainly been an experience full of learned lessons, after the fight with poor fitting parts and wrapped hulls, I would like to build something with a better fit.

My major candidates include the Zvezda T-90, which is found rather cheaply, and which apparently is a nice fitting kit. However, I am a bit unsure about the amount of small fiddly bits (especially on the somewhat crowded turret), would you recommend having more experience before attempting something like this?

A second strong candidate is Trumpeter's BMP-3, in particular the 'F'-version of the Naval Infantry. This is sligthly more expensive, but still no bank-breaking project. It seems less fiddly on the outside, and while the interior might be complex, any issues there should be rather well hidden away even if the hatches are left open...

The BTR-series of the same company have more or less the same pros and cons in my book, although doing something on wheels as opposed to tracks has its charm.

Another idea would in turn be to get the Tamiya Nashorn (not Cold War-Soviet, I know), which is yet a bit more expensive, but as I understand it, is easier for beginners(?) due to being well-enginered and having a really good fit.

All opinions expressed are based on reviews and forum rants I've read, so now I ask: is my opinion on the merits of these kits accurate? Which one would you recommend for an aspiring scale modeller?

Trumpeter's BMP-3's are not that busy and are near Tamiya shake and bake reputation. I can understand wanting a change, from tracks and the BTR's are an excellent way to go. Tamiya is the king of shake and bake. I would recommend the BMP. It is not too complex and builds up well. Best I remember, the BMP includes a small fret of photo-etch. It's a nice introduction to metal media.

The zvezda t-90 is inaccurate in many ways, but not particularly difficult to build. If you do not care about having a spot-on kit just go for it. There are many threads about it in our soviet forum detailing its errors and fixes for it.

Another very relaxing set of builds can be made from Trumpeters KV-1 and -2 series.

Hi;

The Revell BMP-2 is Not 1/35' but closer too 1/32nd and is A Re-box of the Old Dragon kit ! And I would not consider it for Worthy Attention. The T-90 or the BMP-3 are Two of the Better kit that came out A couple of years back. IMHO the T-90 was A Pure Joy of A kit and well Worth the Purchase Price.

CHEERS; MIKE.

Thanks for all the fast responses! Think I will be getting the BMP-3F to begin with.

I got the BMP-2 a couple of years ago when I was thinking about getting into scale modelling, as the BMP-2 is one of the more important post-war vehicles in Finnish service. It has sat on the shelf since, until I finally started to assemble it last year. As it for quite some time was one of the few BMP-2's on the market in 1/35-ish scale, the "How to make it accurate"-threads are common on Finnish scale modelling sites. They usually end up with references to some obscure resin upper hull from some now-defunct company that sometimes appear on ebay, and in the end nothing but a 'sligthly' remodelled lower hull remains of the original box...

Trumpeter's new BMP-2 is VERY nice.

I have Trump's BMP-3 MICV, an excellent kit really enjoy building it so far

I've built a BMP-3 of Trumpeter with great satisfaction on last summer. I was pleased for the good detail and fit.
Only two warnings:
each track link is made in one piece plus a separate tooth; for a better realism, the track links have to be bended manually where the tracks are curved on the wheels (a problem condivided with nearly all many kits that have not-working track-by-track links, where the ones of the real tanks are divided into more articulated pieces); the good news is that bending their hinges is less difficult than it could appear;
the internal details are scarcely accurate, they are good to leave the hatches open without seeing a void, but without expecting a good accuracy.
Regards
Massimo

I'm doing the Zvedza T-90 as my first move into 1/35 from 1/72. There are a LOT of bits on that turret to be sure, and frankly I didn't find the instructions all that clear as to exactly what goes where. But the high parts count doesn't make it any harder to build I think (you do have tweezers and good eyesight, right? ).