Sgt.Squarehead

Nice build of a very 'ACE' kit. You should keep those instructions, they'll be a rarity one day! The corrected instructions are here: http://acemodel.com.ua/en/model/742

It's a beast isn't it. I keep hoping someone would make a 1/72 kit of a crane on the MAZ-543: The 1/35 model looks amazing: But I just don't have the skills for scratchbuilding a whole crane. However, on a brighter note (in more ways than one), I did manage to get my paws on these: I'm compiling quite a portfolio of reference pictures & I have enough spare MAZ-543 etch to properly go to town on at least one of them.....I even bought myself a MiG (as a little accessory to set off the proper models)!

Nope.....The lazy blighters have only moulded the front half of the wheels properly, the backs of all of them are hollow! Problem with me & projects like this, I can always find something that I suddenly 'need' to make them better.....I'm becoming very tempted by this (seems like a natural really): & this could quite well end up joining the pile too (one can't have a convoy without outriders, after all): But then they might release this (just look at those figures): Guys.....I need your help! Don't let me do it!

Nothing quite so technical fella, suspect I'll fill them with Milliput, paint them and hope for the best. Ha! You should see the sheer number of MAZ & KAMAZ trucks I have in the stash now (including three tank transporters and enough ballistic missiles to lay waste to a continent) It's an OK kit TBH, but compared to equivalent Modelcollect or Takom kits it's pretty basic (& even slightly half-hearted).....You'll see once I get those wheels out! Slowly getting myself organised.....So many of my paints, glues and other essentials have dried up, it's heartbreaking, probably only used most of them once or twice.

@bootneck.....Gotta build 'em some time (but like I said elsewhere, bear with me, it's been a while). Probably a couple of others. The wheels of these kits are singularly horrible IIRC, but given the sheer number of them that I have, resin replacements are not really an option.....Gonna have to get creative.

Honestly, it's not.....Revell just send you off in the wrong direction and make it seem that way. Follow the sequence above (letting common sense over-rule me if I'm a single link out here or there), take your time, working in sections and allowing things to firm up (think of each track-run as a mini-kit).....You'll be fine. And even if you're not, still don't worry.....I have more spares for this kit than you can shake a s****y stick at and they are at your disposal ('cos like I said, they're spares). If it's the Revell kit, I've got loads of spares for that too. PS - I should probably warn you that if it is the Revell Tiger I, the L&L is quite a bit trickier than it is in this kit, it doesn't fit together quite as well and IIRC the track runs go in opposite directions on each side of the tank (they certainly did on the Ausf. H that I built around the same time as my Kingtiger).

@echen You have started exactly right! Now work around the sprocket with single links (alternating types obviously) and prepare the short length to the first roadwheel by very gently bending it to give a little sag. IIRC you then need a single link at the first roadwheel to get a smooth transition into the long length the tank sits on. Once this bit is done let it harden while you do the same section of the other side. Returning to the track runs, IIRC it should be another three alternating single links at the end of the bottom run, but TBH here I would return to the top and the idler wheel, reversing the direction of construction so that you finish the run with those three single links.....Same deal as earler, gently bend the length from idler to final roadwheel for sag and to smooth the transitions with the single links and you should be done. Here's a set I made about two decades ago, ironically to demo the correct build sequence as Revell described it wrongly in all of their instructions and have continued to do so ever since: Tracks by squarehead666, on Flickr Sadly the WIP photos with the correct build sequence fell by the wayside.....Never did finish the kit either! PS - Definitely clean up the joints, TBH I don't recommend painting L&L tracks prior to assembly. With unpainted parts you can actually pre-assemble the sections of single link for the Sprocket and idler, let them firm up so they won't fall apart, then gently wrap them around the wheels. With pre-painted parts they will usually fall apart before you can wrap them around the sprocket or idler, it's easier to add them one at a time, giving each a little time to firm up before adding the next.

Can't see that page at all.

Blimey! I'm beginning to suspect this is not your first kit!

Gutted about that resin! However it seems clear a 'little' thing like that ain't going to stop you.....Kudos!

There are just no adequate words.....

**** Me! Couldn't you find anything bigger? Gobsmacked that such a kit even exists, fascinated to see what you do with it.

"Oi! Yer little scrote! If you've c*****d in our milk I'm going to drive this carrier straight over you, wall or no wall!"

You've done a fine job there sir, very fine indeed.

Moo?

Dan Taylor (& his Modelworks) have done some really great stuff (as you've seen) but they aren't as well known as they should be IMHO (you had to ask, after all).....So anything that might point braillers in their direction is a good thing if you ask me!

Has anyone even seen their MT-LB yet? I'm well aware of Modelcollect's issues, hence the qualifier to my suggestion (I really do hate their paper-panzers, what a waste of plastic with the T-62 still unmade). However I diasgree about preferring a poor kit now rather than waiting for a decent one.....My current stash has its own gravity well, so it surely won't be gone before some decent braille SPAAGs turn up! BTW - Have you noticed some of the stuff Scalemates are showing for Trumpeter/Hobbyboss in 1/72.....I've spotted both 9K52 Luna-M & BM-27 Uragan, which are right up there with these SPAAGs amongst my most wanted. That said, the recent SS-23 Spider kit looks a ****-poor showing compared to simlar stuff in the Modelcollect range, for that matter even Revell's (ex-Toxso) Scud looks like a better kit.

B****r the figures.....Your paintwork on that M10 is amazing! Just beautiful. PS - Apologies to the figures, I'm more of a metal sorta dude!

Swearing removed

The 1/48 Warrior is one of the nicest AFV kits that Airfix have ever made for themselves, marred only by the bloody awful slat-armour.....How come no aftermarket manufacturer has gone for this, surely it would be a decent seller? I know I've whinged about this many times before, but I've just bought an equivalent set for a BTR-70 in 1/72.....So I've got the hump about it again at the moment. Who should we nag to get a set made?

They make some great stuff.....Absolute kitbasher's wet-dream: However if I were to make any of those they'd have to go in my 'proper thread' for 'proper modelling'.....TBH I ain't up to that just yet!

I'd second the recommendation for Tracks & Troops, they can get pretty much anything, no matter how obscure, but it can sometimes take a while to arrive.....My personal record was 11 months (IIRC) However you are not charged until the order is actually dispatched to you.

I had a look in all my usual spots for their Scorpion, no joy.....No suprise either TBH, once these kits are gone they tend to stay gone until Alexey decides to re-pop them.....Your best bet at getting a Scorpion might be to contact him directly at ACE.

I don't have the tanker version, but I could give you basic measurements for the chassis & cab (once I dig it out).

Superb work, I have a couple of these in the stash, for the same reason you bought yours, it's one of those kits I have always wanted to build, but still haven't for various reasons. These days it's mostly the lack of aftermarket replacements like those you have fashioned.....I envy your talent with metal! PS - Blimey I've necroed this thread! But it was still showing up on page 2 for me and I've not been around for a while!