Matt182 Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Hi all, I've decided to have a little break from my Tiger II project and build something a little less demanding. I was looking around a couple of weeks ago for inspiration and came across the Zvezda T-90. The kit looks like quite an interesting subject, had good reviews and retails for only £23 so I thought, why not! I must say I'm quite impressed with this kit. Apart from the odd bit of flash the parts are crisply moulded with plenty of detail. This is certainly a kit that will lend itself well to the weathing process. As I'm using this a break from the Tiger II I want to keep it as simple as possible. I will be building it OOB bar maybe an AM barrel. I'm also not well versed on modern armour or any Russian armour in general so it will all be new to me. So, I got stuck in this evening. The instructions start off with the turret so I followed suit. Step 1 has you build the (loaders?) hatch and add a few small details to the turret roof Steps 2 to 5 concentrate on building the commanders copula and associated hardware. If you are careful with the glue the copula can rotate after construction. Both hatches come with nice internal detail but as I've decided to have the hatches closed I didn't add it. There is also quite a few clear parts which adds some nice detail. The turret is then built up out of six parts. Unlike most modern kits the turret comes with seperate top, sides and bottom. It goes together quite well but needs a little filler at some of the joins. There is also a couple of pin marks which may need filling but I think they may be covered with additional parts. Step 6 concentrates on adding the canvas mantlet cover and some more details to the roof. Thats all I managed to get done tonight. Hopefully I will get some more done tomorrow night Cheers Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 Hi all, Got some more done this evening. Step 7 involves adding some more ERA to the turret roof and building part of the mounting brackets for the Shtora laser guided weapon defense system. Steps 8 & 9 deals with the Shtora IR 'dazzler' boxes. They are very nicely detailed and come with clear lenses. I've painted the inside of the boxes red to give the impression they are active. Step 10 involves adding some more ERA panels and one of the side boxes. The IR dazzlers are also added at this point. Well thats all for this evening. As you maybe able to tell, I've been doing a little research Cheers Matt 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Ayrey Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Looks a great build Matt, looking forward to seeing how this one turns out, but please don't get carried away with this one eh!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 This is going well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 will be watching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Looks a great build Matt, looking forward to seeing how this one turns out, but please don't get carried away with this one eh!?! Thanks Paul. I will be trying my hardest to keep this one simple. Although I may just have to replace the barrel. I must say I'm rather enjoying this build so far. It makes a nice change of pace. One thing to note is that the plastic Zvezda have used is very soft. On the plus side it makes it easy to clean up the parts but the downside is that it reacts with liquid cement rather quickly. It's not a problem if you dry fit first but you have to be careful not to melt some of the smaller parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossy Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Great start mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman2 Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) Nice work, the red lens is just propaganda, it makes no sense as it would make the tank an easy target looks, OK on the models. The real lens on the T-90 Net Photo Edited February 25, 2014 by magman2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Nice work, the red lens is just propaganda, it makes no sense as it would make the tank an easy target looks, OK on the models. The real lens on the T-90 Net Photo Thanks for the info. From the picture you posted they look dark grey / black to me. I might paint the lenses later in the build. Also, thanks for pointing me in the direction of the new RBM barrel. I'll certainly get one if the kit barrel isn't up to scratch. Cheers Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredben Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Like all the detail already on this kit, and that's only the turret. looking forward to the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Shumsky Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Very neat build so far, and the kit looks like it has a lot of detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 Hi guys, I've got some more work done. The turret is pretty much complete. The only things left are the aerial and commanders machine gun. I also decided to use the kit barrel as it cleans up quite well with a little care. This is when I encounter a problem with the kit. In the picture below you can see a notch in the ring on the mantlet cover. This helps align the barrel. Left as it is the barrel is rotated to the left To fix it, simply shave off the notch and manually align the barrel. Finally, a picture of the completed turret, minus MG and aerial. Cheers Matt 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngloSaxon Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 That looks like an incredibly crisp, and detailed, model. Well worth the money it seems; looking forward to seeing it progress Mike D. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 There's some beautiful detail there, think I may get one on those, seems a bargain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 So much junk, er, details on the turret! Maybe park it next to a JS-III as a comparison? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim B Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 This is funny...I'm just about finished on my Tiger II and about to start a build thread on the same kit. Yours is looking great so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim B Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 (edited) Btw the Barrel is correct. They rotated it about 6 degrees I think to add something to the breech. Usually the soviet barrels have the fins upright. just incase any1 is confused why the barrel is wonky (sorry if i'm to late and u glued it) Edited February 6, 2014 by Tim B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim B Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 but not to worry I will be building mine with an RB T-72 barrel which is wrong aswell hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Thanks for the comments guys. I can certainly say you won't regret dropping £23-25 on this one. This kit has even got me thinking about the Meng kit. That one looks like a real beauty, very tempted indeed! Btw the Barrel is correct. They rotated it about 6 degrees I think to add something to the breech. Usually the soviet barrels have the fins upright. just incase any1 is confused why the barrel is wonky (sorry if i'm to late and u glued it) Thanks for the info Tim. I must note that the pictures above don't show just how rotated the barrel is. I would say it is more like a 20 degree rotation. I think if you were building this kit for accuracy it would still need some adjustment. I went ahead and glued the barrel in place last night. Oh well, thankfully i'm giving accuracy a miss on this one! but not to worry I will be building mine with an RB T-72 barrel which is wrong aswell hehe Magman2 informed me that RB have just released a new barrel for the T-90. So if you haven't already purchased your barrel you might want to get that one Cheers Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 great work on the turret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Shumsky Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Looking very nice indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 I managed to get started on the hull this evening. The upper hull is a one large single piece and the lower hull is built up of 4 pieces. The fit of the parts is generally good but the upper hull was slightly warped. Added to the upper hull are the fuel cells, ZIP boxes, exhaust, drivers hatch and mesh screens. For the screens Zvezda provides a couple of sheets of plastic mesh instead of PE. You have to cut these to shape yourself and are glued in from underneath. PE would of been a better choice here but the mesh is ok Here is a close up of the exhaust which is nicely detailed. Finally, when I test fit the turret I noticed the it didn't sit straight on the hull. The right side of the turret is slightly higher than the left which is quite noticable. This is due to a small lip that is present on both sides of the turret ring. The lip on the right side is set too far inboard The result is this I think it I will just be a simple case of removing the lip to allow the turret to sit properly. Not a huge issue but one to keep in mind. Cheers Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim B Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) Looking great and thanks for the info. I already bought the RB T-72 barrel...oh well I'll just have to buy a T-72 now...what a shame If the turret fouls the deck after you remove the ring. Compass cutter and plasticard maybe... make a new ring? Cheers Tim Edited February 7, 2014 by Tim B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossy Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Looking good so far mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_W Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I'm working my way through the Trumpeter cast turret version, and it seems seriously over engineered compared to the Zveda, with PE parts just for the sake of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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