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Polikarpov I-16 Type 24 Eduard 1/48 I don't often post in the aircraft section, as I'm usually an armour and SF builder, but I've been sorting through the photos of some of my older builds on Flickr, and came across this I-16 I built back in 2015. I didn't get around to posting it at the time, so I thought I may as well do so now. It's a strait OOB build of Eduard's excellent Polikarpov, and the third one I've built over the years, painted with Gunze Aqueous and weathered with various AK pigments and washes. Thanks for looking Andy

Evening Guys Am really taken by the resin figures from the manufacturer 'Tank'. Does anyone know of a UK supplier? Thanks Andrew

Today I've had some help from a friend - Stew Dapple has been the first person to sample our brand new, up to date and fully corrected WW2 Russian / VVS colours, meaning that the old WEM ACS range based on Eric Pilawskii's book is consigned to the past. The new Sovereign Hobbies Colourcoats ACS range is based on the latest understanding of the Russian colours and we trust our customers will be very pleased with them. The revamped Russian colours bring the camouflage range to: ACS01 - A.11 Blue ACS02 - AMT7 Blue ACS03 - A.11 Green ACS04 - A.11 / AMT Black ACS08 - AMT4 Olive Green ACS11 - AMT11 Blue Grey ACS12 - AMT12 Dark Grey ACS14 - AE9 Grey ACS15 - A.11 Light Brown ACS17 - 4BO Army Green ACS19 - MK7 White ACS20 - Yellow Grey ACS21 - A14 Steel Grey ACS22 - K.11 KR Red BUT WAIT! THAT'S NOT ALL! We have also revised our Japanese colour ACJ16 - the ash-grey shade used on Mitsubishi built A6M2 Zekes (Zeros). This has been matched to the research of Nick Millman, probably the most respected authority on Japanese WW2 colours in the world. ACJ16 - Mitsubishi Zero Grey-Green

So after lurking on the forums for a while looking at everyones work I thought I should contribute with an attempt of my own. Normally I'm a fan of things with propellers on them but when I was a kid there was one jet that I loved and that was the Mig-25 Foxbat. So when I saw that AMK were going to be releasing one I made the error of looking at the Mig-31 As they say a fool and his money are easily parted..... Sooo. I'm hoping you guys will give me some hints along the way as this is a new subject area for me and I will be needing guidance, not least with photo etch which I optimistically purchased. Any feedback will be appreciated. In case I forget I'm a very slow builder

Hi, I built this for the NATO GB so thought I'd post it in the RFI WIP is HERE if you are interested Hope you like her Cheers

Dear Colleagues I recently got hold of the new Zvezda 1/35 GAZ M-1 staff car. Does anyone know or have any evidence if any of them were ever painted camouflage green? I believe the standard cars were usually black. As they were taken up by officers and driven to the front might some of them been given a green camo job? Looking at wartime photos I really cannot tell. Thanks for any advice Andrew

WW2 Russian Field Weapons & Equipment Helion Company Data File It’s surprising how much equipment the Soviet forces had during WWII and this book brings them into sharp detail. Most people know about the sheer numbers of tanks and men involved in the Great Patriotic War, but there as so many other pieces of equipment used by the soldiers in the field. Much like the book on German Field Equipment reviewed HERE, this book combines interesting facts alongside the very nicely rendered 3D drawings of each piece of kit. I’m sure that not every piece of equipment used is in this book, but there is an awful lot that is. Every from pistols, weapons case, rifles, and sniper rifles, machine guns right the way up to the big guns and tanks. All the drawings on the one hundred and fifty three pages are in full colour giving the modeller good research material for their models and dioramas. Whilst there are the familiar pieces of kit shown, there are also quite a few unusual pieces that I certainly didn’t know about, such as the concrete tanks and the various mobile pill boxes. The In Enemy Hands section is interesting in that it shows what modifications the Germans carried out to their captured Soviet equipment, usually involving the venerable T-34. Conclusion This is another great and very interesting book. Not only are the rendering superb, but the information they and the notes provide will prove very useful to the modeller who wants to get everything just right. Review sample courtesy of

Hi folks, Well, it's a matter of some embarrassment that having been a member of this great forum for nearly a year now, and I've only managed one WIP thread. Truth is, I've not actually built much during this period, mainly due to a lack of spare time! Further, even those few things I have managed to put together have been pretty ordinary by the standards being shown on here by others, so I guess you could say I've spared you! So, in thinking about what I could contribute, I've been trawling my stash looking for a not-too-complicated (for my benefit), but unusual (for yours) subject. In this particular model I believe I have something. Having made extensive use of the forum search facility, I have found no other references to this particular aircraft! Please, please, don't now tell me that there is but I missed it! OK, so the traditional opening pics, external box-art, sprueage, destructions etc. Box front: The rear of the box shows the available options for livery/insignia/markings, including 2 Russian, one Belgian, one Swiss: From a modest bit of research it transpires that one could, with appropriate third-party decals, also add French, British, Spanish and indeed German to those options. Finally, given the aircraft's civilian, pre-WW1 origins, a completely insignia-free option would be entirely feasible. For me, I am going for the option as depicted on the box front: the mount of Captain Pjotr Nesterov of the Imperial Russian Air Service. Nesterov distinguished himself, in the days before aircraft with mounted weapons, when in August 1914 he became the first airman to bring down an enemy aircraft - by ramming it. Sadly this encounter proved to be his own undoing, as he and the 2 occupants of the German aircraft he rammed, crashed to earth and died from the resulting injuries. The parts inventory is fairly compact - one sprue: As seems to be typical for AZmodel, the instructions and parts list diagram are brief! It appears, from the instructions and indeed the parts supplied, that it is possible to make a Type G or a Type H as is one's fancy. For me, it's got to be 'G'! I am hoping to add as much detail as I can to an out-of-the-box build, but it will of course be within the confines of my own limited abilities, so it's not likely to be much. So that's where I will leave it for now. Hopefully this will be of modest interest to someone in the days/weeks/months/millennia to come!

I cant find the thread on modern Russian equipment since the change over ??Did we lose it ??

T-18 Light Tank Model 1927 "But Comrade, you told me to paint it, not to clean it" * This is the newly released T-18 from Hobbyboss. It's a nice kit, albeit with a few inaccuracies and a few simplified parts. It was originally going to be a quick out of the box build, but somewhere along the way it acquired a base, some figures, and somehow became an allegory on communist Russia in the '30's. The base is a vacform one from MiniArt, and the two figures are from Evolution Miniatures. The full build can be found here * Dio name courtesy of Andy, aka Sgt. Squarehead Thanks for looking Andy

looks like a beautiful kit, the level of detail is insane compared to the Eastern Express IL-96 kit I have just done. I think you can get more detailed resin engines for this kit but at the moment I don't know if it is worth it - the engines look satisfactory to me fuselage is a similar size to the IL96-400/ IL96T + IL96M. note the curved fuselage at the rear for the civil IL86 (above) a snippet of the colour scheme i intend to do. decals are not available but they are available for the 767 the fuselage is obviously larger on the IL-86 but I still think the 767 decals will be suitable for the logo on the tail and the red stripes separating the blue and green (painted areas) from the white fuselage.

1/144 Ilyushin IL-96T Aeroflot Russian Airlines RA-96101 The IL-96T is freighter version of the IL-96-400 with Pratt and Whitney Engines rather than the Aviadvigatel. The kit is by Eastern Express and is based on the IL-96M. The aeroflot colours and Pratt and Whitney engines were short lived, the airframe now operates for Polet Flight. the new and the old (below)

T-18 Light Tank Model 1927 Hobbyboss 1/35 It occurred to me recently that, what with all the Bandai Star Wars kits I've been doing recently, it's been a while since I've done an armour build on here. In fact I think the last one was the SS-23 and that was over a year ago. Time to change that then, and something Soviet and inter-war seems like a good idea. This is the new Hobbyboss T-18, which was the first all Russian tank, albeit heavily based on the French FT. It's a pretty standard Hobbyboss kit, moulded in sand coloured styrene with non-working indi links and a splash of PE. This isn't meant to be an in-box review (I'm sure Mike will be doing a proper one soon), but I'll post some sprue shots so you've got something to look at until I start cutting plastic. It all comes in a smallish box (12" x 8" if you're curious) with just four sprues for the tank and another 2 for the tracks. There's a separate lower hull, upper hull and turret, and a small sheet of PE. Sprue A's got some of the hull panels and the fenders, along with a few details including, annoyingly, a solid moulded headlight. It's not even moulded with a separate solid lens, which would at least have made swapping it for a clear replacement easier. Rather it's got the housing and lens as a single solid piece, so to replace it I'll have to drill it out. Not much on sprue B. Just the turret base and main hatch. It looks like the sprue's been designed to be modifiable to take alternate part for future releases. I seem to recall Hobbyboss having more than one version listed in the 2016 catalogue. Two sprue D's carrying duplicate parts for the running gear. Two sprue T's (T for track, get it... oh, ever mind). Indi links aren't everyone's cup of char, nor mine for that matter, but these don't look too bad. No separate guide horns or pads to add, and the runs are only 51 links long. The single piece lower hull... ... and the upper hull and turret. Last up there's the small PE sheet. Mainly the perforated shroud that will need bending to a curved profile. There's no jig provided for that, so I'll probably end up doing it round a knife handle or pencil. I don't like the look of the tiny individual bolt heads. Don't know where they go yet, but I'll more than likely substitute some Meng bolt heads for them. And that's it. No decals as there's only one scheme provided, and it carries no markings. From a cursory glance everything looks well moulded. I've not really started checking references regarding accuracy, but I'll get on to that in the build. It looks like a T-18 which is the main thing. And, just so you know, this is a tiny tank. How tiny... this tiny More soon Andy

T-15 Armata Object 149 1:35 Panda First seen at the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade, with some of its detail shrouded for secrecy, the Armata range of vehicles have now emerged from the shadows, although some aspects of their performance are necessarily unclear at this time. It is based upon the Armata chassis that is to be a common base for Russian armour, which simplifies maintenance, spares and familiarity of the crew, as well as saving on development costs. It does however differ from the norm in that it has its engine mounted in the front unlike the T-14 MBT, to provide extra protection for the crew and passengers. The Epoch turret is remotely operated and loaded, which reduces the vehicle's height, as the crew are salted away in an armoured compartment in the forward hull. They are connected electronically to the auto-loading 30mm cannon, sighting equipment and even a pair of Kornet anti-tank missiles on each side of the turret. It is in early service, so likely to undergo many changes before it reaches the definitive variant, but it is expected to replace the existing stock of Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicles (HIFV) such as the BMP-2 in due course. The Kit This landed on my doormat a couple of days ago and was unexpected, as I hadn't heard of it until now (or forgot, as is likely). It is a new tooling by KittyHawk's sister company, and arrives in white themed box with a painting of a T-15 firing its cannon at an unseen adversary. Inside the initial impression looks a bit cheap and nasty due firstly to the low quality bags that have been used to protect the sprues. They are so thin as to be a waste of time, and a large proportion aren't sealed either. Secondly, the colour of styrene used gives the parts a toy-like appearance, but if you look past this, the parts are of good quality. With that out of the way, there are eight sprues of track links in brown styrene, two large hull halves and seven sprues in that olive green styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) parts, decals, a length of braided copper wire, an instruction booklet, plus a colour print of the boxtop artwork on the opposite side of the paint and markings guide, which is in full colour. The hull is big at 25cm long (almost 10"), and both parts are still attached to a moulding runner that needs removing before you can test fit them together (I did that, as you can/can't see from the photos). There is no introductory information about the vehicle at the front of the booklet, but it dives straight into the build, beginning with the wheels. Fourteen pairs of roads wheels are made up with a styrene sleeve inside giving the potential for moving wheels if you are VERY careful with the glue. You are advised to add the swing-arm stub axle at this point, which might make painting tricky, but that's up to you. The idler wheels build up in the same way, but have no rubber tyres, and the drive sprockets are three parts with no sleeve inside. The lower hull is decorated with various suspension related parts, including the return rollers, which are placed at irregular intervals with four per side. The keyed axle ends are inserted into matching holes in the sides of the hull, and the drive sprocket has a final drive housing installed before it is inserted at the front of the hull. A tow rope is built up from a length of the copper wire, with styrene eyes at each end, and two clips holding it in place, which is shown in a scrap diagram to help you get the right shape. The tracks are individual link as already hinted at, and you'll be pleased to hear that there are no ejector pins to deal with on any of the parts. They are quite complex and time-consuming to build though, but you have a long jig on the sprues to help you in this respect. The twin track pads are first attached to the links, with a hollow guide horn added after. The track-pads fit too snugly in their depressions on the links, but will press down level with the addition of glue, links are quite weak around their centre pivot-point, which the glue used in adding the horns weakens further before they have set up, so take care. The jig part is also quite narrow and light, so moves around under the links when putting them together, so taping it down at the ends might be an idea. While the links are weakened by the glue, take additional care to keep them straight, as any curvature will cause problems when it comes to attaching them together in runs of 95 links per side. There are two sprue gates per link, two per track pad pair, and another for the horn, so you'll be quite busy tidying up before assembly. More liquid glue will be needed to attach the links together, so again be careful with the quantity used as you don't really want to glue them to the jig! I would consider joining the majority of links without their horns, and adding them once joined, at which point it will be easier to line them up so they don't end up looking like they need braces, and they will be straighter. Don't be fooled by the slight curve on the link inner edges though – they are supposed to be like that as you might be able to see on the sprue shot if you look closely. Attention then shifts to the upper hull, which is detailed with clear vision blocks, vents, light clusters and copious stowage, including some nicely moulded tubular framed baskets at the rear of the sponsons. Spare track links, crew hatches with more vision blocks, chaff & flare boxes on the rear with PE shrouds and some dinky little PE tie-down handles are added, plus some larger smoke grenade launchers , sensors and boxes at the mid-point of the hull. PE grilles cover the engine compartment louvers, and a PE grate is inserted into the exhaust outlet at the front of each sponson, resulting in a busy deck. Although I would mount the deck early in the build it is shown being attached after the detail is added, but that's instructions for you. The sideskirts with their ERA blocks and supports are added next, as is the rear hatch that has a small section of stand-off slat armour, nicely moulded in styrene, applied to protect the door from damage. The hull has a sloped "nose cone" that contains a number of shaped ERA blocks top and bottom, plus attachment points for a mine-roller or self-entrenching tool. Some of the mechanism for this is attached lower on the hull in readiness. The turret is a modest size due to the fact that it is bereft of crew, and it builds up from two main halves split top and bottom, to which the details are added such as antennae, grilles, the twin Kornet launchers on the sides, both of which have PE shrouds, and of course the main 30mm cannon, which in this case just glues in place in a fixed position pointing straight forward. If you wanted to elevate it, you'll need to do some research and adjust the kit parts to suit. The various optical sensors are mounted in boxes on the top of the turret, but don't have any clear lenses, so you will have to fake it with paint effects using your references. The finished turret just drops into place on the hull, so remember that when you're handling it. Markings As it's early days for the T-15, only the display scheme that was used for the May Day parade has been included in the box, resulting in a small sheet with only two decals, which are the new stylised design with a red outlined star over a striped yellow and black ribbon. The vehicle is painted a dull green with colour call outs given in Gunze Sangyo shades. Registration is a little out, and you can see this most prominently at the diagonal ends of the ribbon, but because you can cut that neatly, it's not a major problem. The sharpness is sub-optimal, but won't worry the casual observer, especially if you are applying any weathering. Colour density is affected where the white under-printing is missing right at the ends, but cut that off and it won't be seen. Conclusion The model itself is quite well moulded with some good detail, but the complex, weak tracks and relatively simple decals let it down a bit. The fact that you also can't raise or lower the gun is also a little disappointing for anyone wishing to add some variety to the finish. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of and available soon from major hobby shops

So I've been rather tied up recently with a number of things including exams, coursework and fencing, but I've managed to get a bit of time to myself- I've done some more work on the B52 but fancied giving armour a go, so I give you my first ever 1/35 build! It's the Tamiya T-72M1 in Soviet colours- generally a great kit, not really got any complaints and hope to do more 1/35 in the future. Painted with Army Painter colours (fancied giving them a go) and weathered with Citadel acrylic washes and humbrol powders. (also pictured with a Russian hat I bought in Berlin about a month ago) Hope its not too bad for a first effort! -Flash

Hello again! I'd like to show you my latest build - T-90A. As usual first of all, few words about the kit and the process. That was my first try for Meng kit and I'm absolutely in love. The details are amazing, instructions straight forward (few flaws maybe) and fit of the kit is nice. The only thing I didn't like is lack of paint schemes. Kit gives you choice of 5 different variant, but four of them are parade ones. I went for the only one that wasn't clean and easy - Russian Motorised Brigade from North Caucasus. I love the tracks. They seem to be complicated, but after few made they turned out to be an easy and rewarding job. There was a bit of a challenge to do the camouflage. I used white tack to mask. It was a real surprise when I put second colour, which according to the instructions - should be Vallejo Duck Egg Green. It turned out to be totally different from the printed one - quite pale green as you notice. I've managed to find a real photo in similiar colours, more yellowish, but I guess that it might be something wrong with the photograph, then I just thought to myself, that kit is branded my Gur Khan, so I guess he knows what the real colour should be and wouldn't be happy if Meng will put wrong paint reference in the kit. After this, there was the usual - glossy coat, wash, streaking, rusting and scratching, then matt coat and dust. For the tracks, I painted them Vallejo's Gun Metal and washed it with AK's Rust streaking. Then dust it with Mig pigments. Enjoy: Thanks for your attention:) Now working on something flying again. See you soon!

G`day Gals and Lads: Su-27 1/48 Hobbyboss Begemot decals, Dream Model pitot tube, QuickBoost seat and LittleCars landing gear lights. Vallejo and Akan paints. I hope you like it. C&C welcome. Adrian

9A52-2 SMERCH-M 1/35th scale Trumpeter 01020 Hmmmm! Now, here is the dilema??? Two at Once? This is a dilema many of us come across, especially these days with competition as it is - MENG or Trumpeter, Trumpeter or MENG - which one shall I build? Well, the £20 difference in basic costs does make a certain statement and as I already have the Trumpeter Scud-B on the back burner I decided on economy. A lot fewer sprues but much larger and, without sitting down for several hours to count them, the number of parts would look to be similar quantity. Costs in at £79.99 RRP Section 1 and 49 parts. Construction of the main chassis - right side At 322mm long and 20mm/35mm across this is the most important part of the chassis All jigged up on my Picador Blocks, the chassis is square and true. Section 2 and a further 25 parts complete phase 2 of the main chassis At this point, everything fits in extremely well with no surprises. So far, all parts are well engineered. The left side-member is not yet glued but is held in place with tape to ensure the cross-members dry correctly. A few more bits still to add. Next Time: Remaining Chassis & Engine

BTR-60PB Upgraded Trumpeter 1/35 First finished model of 2016. It's a nice kit apart from the rather fiddly headlights, which put up a bit of a fight. I've had the kit hanging around for over a year so I'm glad to finally get it built. I've got a long term plan to build a collection of some of the various 8 wheeled APCs and related vehicles that operate around the world, so this makes a good start to that collection. The wip is here Thanks for looking Andy

Having only built one kit last year, due to major back problems and the onset of depression I was determined to build more this year. Well, here's the first build, the Hobbyboss Russian T-28 medium tank. I still have some weathering to do, once I've decided what base she is to go on, but it certainly helped get some of my mojo back. I did use Friulmodel tracks, as didn't like th ekit links.

BTR-60PB Upgraded Trumpeter 1/35 I thought it was about time I got a new year project started and, since this has been sitting in the stash for over a year, I thought I should get it done. I actually picked it up at the time, simply to use a couple of the decals that came with it on my Akatsiya build, to enable me to put a rather obscure reference on the model that, to this day, nobody has ever noticed. Yes, I am that sad. Fortunately, I love these big 8 wheel APCs so I knew I'd build it eventually and now seems as good a time as any. Not much progress so far. Just a few brackets and suspension mounts on the lower hull The kit comes with a full interior but, even with all the hatches open, you can't see that much, so I'll be leaving the internal details out and building it with everything buttoned up. I did think about getting some weighted resin wheels but decided against it. I want this to be a simple, out the box build to ease into the year. I'll probably try the screw through the bottom of the tyre method to give them a bit of a pressure bulge. The only slight mod I'll be doing is to put some turn on the front wheels which will require a bit of modification to the wheel mounts, but doesn't look to daunting. At least the two hull halves are a good fit, which isn't always the case with moulded sections of this size More soon Andy

Happy new year to all! So, I've already completed my first build of the year! Well, technically I completed it about 2 days ago. And I've been building it since September. And it's 1/72 Airfix MiG-15 consisting of about 7 parts, so not exactly a speed-build record... I've been building it for a group build on another forum. I haven't shelved the Lancaster, 727 or Gnats, I'm just very busy at the mo doing uni work around actual work, so i just chucked this little kit together to keep the mojo going. It's an excellent kit, the fit is superb, not a touch of filler has gone near this model. People will criticise this model for the trench-like panel lines, basic detailing and odd dimensions, and this is all entirely justifiable, but I'm sure no one can deny the enjoyment and fun of this kit. On with the pics: Kit manufacture: Airfix Scale: 1/72 Type: MiG-15 Extras used: Brass tubes for the guns, tape for the belts. Paints and colours used: Tamiya light blue for the cockpit and wheel wells, Tamiya flat red for the red bits, Model Master Aluminium buffable for the main colour over Vallejo poly-primer, MM Stainless steel buffable for the air-brakes, Flory Grime Wash, Tamiya smoke post-shading, Xtracylix satin varnish, water-based oils for streaking. The only things I changed were the gun barrels to brass tubes, simply because I kept snapping the plastic parts, and I didn't fit the activators on the air brakes because I couldn't see how they fitted. So, there you go, thanks for looking, happy new year, and I hope your hangovers are as big as mine is!! Val

G`day Gals and Lads Trying to get something finish before the year ends. Here is my take on the VVA-14 from Modelsvit. The floats were scratch, using a solid plastic rod, plastic strips around them and resin cones for the ends, trying to present a different configuration of this fascinating machine. All the painting was done with Vallejo, from primer to clear coats. When the clear coat was drying somebody I love left a window open in the stash (aka the garage). A possum got in and the model fell from a shelf to almost a complete destruction... I spent a couple of days tidying up the garage and put the build aside for 3 months. Over the last week I have worked to recover the kit... I was more like building a puzzle than a kit... Anyways, I put it together and when it was time to put the decals on, they disintegrated! Bugger! I did what I could to save them. Lost only a couple of them in the end. As you can imagine, I just wanted to call it done. May work later to fix the silvering in the decals. I hope you like it. C&C welcome and appreciated. Adrian

Just finished another project. Polikarpov I-152 (I-15bis) from Special Hobby in 1/48 scale. Building process and more pictures you can see here: https://goo.gl/photos/EWb28Anj2Hx8CUZ77 The model is not for beginners. There were some difficulties, but overall positive experience. The result - one box became less Hope you like it Regards Ivan.

Trumpeter have released 4 exciting new 1/35 Scale Soviet/Russian Military Ground Vehicles this month. This release includes: a 9K58 Smerch-M on a 9A52-2 Launch Vehicle, a T-62 Mod 1962 (Iraq Modification), a Late Production NBC Vehicle and a 2S7 Self-Propelled Gun. For more information please see our Newsletter Here.