alexclark

Thanks John!

Hi all This is a 1/72nd scale scratch-built turret of the first production version of the Ukrainian T-84. I've co-authored a new book on scratch-building techniques, my contribution covers building this in detail from start to finish. https://www.insidethearmour.com/product-page/more-scratchbuilding-masterclass regards Alex

Those look great, excellent detailing on them! I look forward to seeing them finished. regards Alex

Thanks Andrew. A few parts were cast in resin but much of it is just one off parts for the model. Plus I would have to have approached it a bit differently if I'd wanted to make it a full master and design the parts specifically from the start. The way I make and cast them requires a lot of further work after to assemble. I might work on something for commercial purposes soon, I'm looking at a few ideas (T-80 related).

Thanks everyone for your comments, I'm glad you like it! regards Alex

Thanks Keith, I made the stowage from thinly rolled MagicSculp putty. regards Alex Thanks John. I'm working on something that should be published before the end of the year.

Hi all This is a homemade conversion of the Modelcollect T-80BV kit, converted to one of the recent T-80BVM configurations. I painted it with Tamiya acrylics and weathered it with Humbrol enamels. regards Alex

It looks to be offset to the right (from the crew perspective) which fits with most more recent photos of T-72 / 80 / 90.

These were taken on 9th Sep in Murmansk during the 'Tankman's Day' celebrations. Probably my favourite version of the T-80! (Photos source is the Russian MOD).

Hi-res versions and other vehicles are here: https://www.vitalykuzmin.net/Military/ARMY-2018-Demonstration-part-1/

That's all fine for this version.

Yes, the vehicle in the photo has one of the old style and one of the new mudguards whereas the kit piece you've shown has both as the newer type. Regarding the anti-radiation cladding, you need to leave the single piece on the right side of the photo next to the driver hatch (i.e. to the left of the driver from his perspective)

As Simon says, the real vehicle is a mix of features. You need to use the 'non wavy' part which is for T-72B mod 1989 onwards and T-90/A (i.e. this is for the K5 ERA fitted vehicles). Unfortunately MC missed off the wavy aspect as I think they copied the Zvezda T-90A kit here. Both types of skirt are semi-flexible. Also the top portion above the fender line is sheet metal on this later style but this vehicle appears to have some flexible sections too (an earlier feature). The front mudguards are a mix of early (all metal) and late (mix of metal / flexible portion). These are completely interchangeable, like putting different types of tyre on your car. So you need to do a bit of surgery here. Unlike the T-64BV, the K1 ERA is bolted either directly to the skirt (I believe there is a fixture behind the skirt itself) or to a partial frame (usually vertical metal strips). That's why the bricks can often be seen hanging all over the place whereas the T-64 style tends to either stay all on or come of in big chunks as it has much larger frames. It's hard to tell on this example how they were fitted. One other thing to note, that glacis is for a T-90 and early build T-90A. You need to remove the anti radiation cladding from the glacis part and to the right of the driver hatch (from the viewpoint of the driver himself when looking forwards. regards Alex

Some new photos of the T-80BVM in Murmansk: https://rg.ru/2018/07/31/reg-szfo/rossijskie-tankisty-sravnili-modernizirovannyj-t-80bvm-i-t-72.html

The article is a bit woolly. There's no mention of the special builds used in the Biathlons becoming production ready, but I guess we'll have to wait and see!