JeroenS Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Hi all, the bulk of our house move is behind us so I'm finally able to sit down (in a huge room, all for myself ) and start a thread, which I was very much looking forward to. I don't know when I'll be able to actually start building but this is a start! In the past weeks, I've been following other builds as much as I could and it only made me want to start more! So let's see what we have. The Kirovets is a huge Russian tractor. A while ago as I was going down the Youtube rabbit hole I came across this clip: And I knew I wanted to build one! I didn't know if there was a kit but as it happens Balaton Modell produce one, in 2 scales actually. My kit is the 1/35 version but there's a smaller one in 1/72. I've never built a full resin kit before (but did work with AM resin parts) so it'll be fun doing something new. The first thing you'll notice when you open the box are the wheels. They're quite big! They are very nicely cast. I've used Balaton resin wheels before, on my ZiL 131 build and they were very good, much much better than the kit wheels. Let's try one on for size. To spice things up a little more I also got the twin wheels! This will be a monster when it's done. Having never built a kit like this I can't compare the castings to other kits but I think the quality is very good. Nice detail and not much cleanup required. There's also a baggie with lots of smaller parts. And a sheet of PE. Instructions look good on first glance. There's a parts list. And a step by step instruction which looks comprehensible enough. I'm afraid this is all I have time for now, but I'm sure I'll be starting the actual build in the next couple of weeks! 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Looks like a really nice kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 If I'd known there were going to be two tractors in the Gb I'd have given them their own category on the mystic spreadsheet rather than putting them in road vehicles. But look at those tyres, lovely details. It's pretty obvious why you'll need a room to yourself for this build, it's going to be big! A parts list? Always handy as a comfort blanket though sometimes I think it's really a menu for the carpet monster to make its choice from 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Looks like a beautifully moulded and straightforward kit. That's always a plus with resin... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 11, 2021 Author Share Posted April 11, 2021 After we went out for an early walk I decided I could spend a little time on the Kirovets before returning to the aftermath of our house move. My new bench is still a way from how I'd like it but I've cleared a space and laid out my new A2 cutting mat which is a big step up from A4 🙂 I spent a while going through the parts and the instructions. Then had to go and find out where my box of tools hung out! But I quickly found it and have started removing the larger parts from their casting blocks. They will require some further cleanup but it's not bad at all, the castings are very good. And I've even managed to get some parts stuck together! That's it for now but at least I've made a start and I'm enjoying the space I have. Now, back to 1:1 work, and maybe spend some more time on the tractor this evening. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 That's looking great; a proper sized cutting mat like A2 really belongs to a good work bench setup 😎. The resin looks really nice too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 talk about over compensating!!! You just couldn't go just big could you, you had to go HUGE!!! Gosh she is a beast! From the photos the resin casting looks really nice, and the model looks to be very nicely detailed!! And yes you just had to get the extra wheels. Though in that clip the outside wheels look to be a wee bit smaller in diameter than the mains...... I wonder in that case whether it's a home addition job! Good luck with her. You know you could do a nice dio with her, a "tractor pull", her again all those other 1/35th trucks you've built....and I bet she'd win as well! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 12, 2021 Author Share Posted April 12, 2021 5 hours ago, trickyrich said: talk about over compensating!!! If you're gonna do it, do it right 🎶 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 I was wondering how this tractor was. A lot of model there. Really have to get one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 12, 2021 Author Share Posted April 12, 2021 46 minutes ago, busnproplinerfan said: I was wondering how this tractor was. A lot of model there. Really have to get one. Certainly recommended. Lots of very nice trucks on Balaton website by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 It looks like you've pick a good 'un Jeroen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 8 hours ago, JeroenS said: Certainly recommended. Lots of very nice trucks on Balaton website by the way. If i get the chance, I want to scratchbuild a couple of 4wd tractors in 1/25, have thought of making this one. Realistically I'll get this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 23 hours ago, Bengalensis said: a proper sized cutting mat like A2 really belongs to a good work bench setup Cutting board envy? What would Freud make of that one 🤔 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 38 minutes ago, Mjwomack said: Cutting board envy? What would Freud make of that one 🤔 I'm well beyond any help from Freud, I might even get him scared, I went A2 many years ago and am into the fourth or fifth now... 😎 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 18 minutes ago, Bengalensis said: I went A2 many years ago and am into the fourth or fifth now... 😎 Me, too. Oddly, despite a large bench and large cutting mat, I always end up working in a just corner or thin strip right at the front of the bench. It must be a law of modelmaking or something regarding compulsory feeding of carpet monsters or something. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 12, 2021 Author Share Posted April 12, 2021 Well, I love my A2 mat, and also the fact that I now have separate desks for work and play 🙂 ... I don't have to put away my modelling stuff each night anymore! Of course, the down side to that is that my bench will become a proper mess really quickly Anyway, it's nice to be able to spend time on modelling again! I did some work on the engine. The engine is a solid block which receives intakes, exhausts and mounts. This is it, except for the front mounts and the PE radiator fan (which I'll be adding as late as possible for obvious reasons). There are no pulley belts and the intakes and exhausts are not connected to anything and never will be if you don't do something about it yourself. I'll be adding some detail but don't know yet whether I'll go that far. Mainly because indeed, the rear side of the engine will never be seen. You can see the side(s) if you leave the access panel out which I'll probably do, on one side at least. My modelling time will still be limited for the time being so I'm not going all out. A nice, finished model is what I'm aiming for. I've been looking for reference pics and most of these tractors were painted yellow. However, I did find some in red with a white, grey or yellow cab so I'll be going for something like that. I like it if things are just a little bit different. A question to the more experienced resin workers... you can see that the chassis is a little wonky: Can you do the hot water thing with resin parts? What is my best hope to get it a little straighter? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 2 hours ago, Heather Kay said: Me, too. Oddly, despite a large bench and large cutting mat, I always end up working in a just corner or thin strip right at the front of the bench. It must be a law of modelmaking or something regarding compulsory feeding of carpet monsters or something. Oh, I know that so well, often I'm down to an A4 or A5 working square at the left bottom, but I'm not telling anyone... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 This is looking very nice, beautiful resin castings on that engine. Good to see you back in action. 2 hours ago, JeroenS said: Can you do the hot water thing with resin parts? What is my best hope to get it a little straighter? Yes you can, just take it slowly as different resins answer to different temperatures. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 I have some reference pics of the engine and I thought I'd start by adding belts to the front of the engine. Two belts should do the trick, one high, one low. I flattened .15 lead wire and glued it around the top pulleys and then I started on the lower one. As I was doing that I remembered I still needed to add the front engine mounts which is sort of a rail with a connection point at the front of the engine. It needs to go behind the lower belt, judging from my reference. Like this. But there's a snag as you can see here. This belt will not run nice and smooth. The pulleys are exactly in line with the rail. It does seem strange to add pulleys like this. It figures that some people are going to want to add belts.... Anyway, now I want my belts, so I amputated the pulleys. I rebuilt them using card and punch, and then glued the lower belt in place. Maybe, just maybe, you can see it through the PE mesh. If not, I think an engine should have belts anyway. I guess I'm crossing my fingers a little bit that the engine will still fit under the bonnet with the extra mm's at the front! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 As I predicted, my bench is on its way to becoming a right mess, as it should be 🙂 As you can see, more parts have been taken off the blocks. This was done in an effort to try and locate the correct position of the engine. According to the instructions, the engine should be mounted like this: There are small blocks for the front mounts to rest on, so this makes sense. However, when trying to dry-fit the bonnet... I thought that the engine's position must be wrong. So I set about trying to find a part which I was sure was in the correct location, so I could determine the position of other parts and could eventually end up with a correctly placed engine. I only found that this should be the engine's position. As you can see, part 12 is clearly shown with connecting crossbar in the instructions. In my first post I mentioned the instructions looked comprehensible enough. I now think they could be improved. While the intended positions of the parts are more or less indicated with the arrows, what the instructions lack is a good drawing of the parts actually in place. It's not always very clear where the parts should eventually end up. Just a thought. Anyway, back to that engine placement. Luckily I found @elmarriachi's very, VERY nice build of this tractor on this very forum. It was listed as "Kirowez" which is why I didn't find it at first. In case you're interested, this is the build: I'll be very happy if mine ends up halfway looking like this. By following the link to World in Scale, where the build is described in somewhat more detail, I was able to figure out that he eventually cut out the crossbar on this bonnet part. I now believe this crossbar is part of the cast but does not belong on the part itself and that the instructions inadvertedly show it with the crossbar in place. It is simply impossible to get the bonnet in place like that. So I'm cutting it out too. Now I'm going to try and fix the slight warping of the chassis, and of the top part of the bonnet. As you can see this part is not entirely straight either. Since this is a rather large part with thick walls the warping must be fixed or it will probably pull the rest of the bonnet out of wack. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 For the warping, I took Jörgens advice and started with water that was not very hot. I'm glad I did because the resin responded quite well and the warping was easily fixed. I glued the bonnet parts together. While the warped part was cooling I added a little bit more detail to the engine. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 15, 2021 Author Share Posted April 15, 2021 I think an engine looks silly with just 8 little blobs sticking out of the fuel pump. There should be fuel lines over the top, going into the engine. I think kit makers should just take a little more effort and mold / cast these little blobs on top of the fuel pump as hexagonal stubs that you can drill into with, say, a 0.5 drill . This would make for a far more realistic view. What I do now is cut off the blobs, drill holes and use alu tube for the connectors. In this case 0.6 tube, with 0.3 brass wire for the fuel lines. First I make a batch of more or less evenly sized pieces of tube. I pick out 8 of equal length for use on the pump. This is where I always fall into the same trap... I should make at least 12 because inevitably you lose some of them, they just ping away or they will find another place to be all on their own. One minute they're on your bench and the next they're just gone. Anyway, then I start bending it like Beckham, one wire at a time. Just make some interesting looking shapes so they're not all straight. It takes a good while though. It takes 2 or 3 attempts to make one wire. When the wire has the right shape, slide pieces of tube over the ends so the wire sticks out, add a drop of CA and stick the wire ends into the pre-drilled holes. Then slide the tube down over the wire ends, locking them. I don't know yet whether I'll stop here or add a hint of turbo. Those 2 loose pipes at the bottom of the picture look kind of strange like this. I don't know yet if there is enough room in the engine bay, so I'll have to check first. This will all never be seen but it's good to get some practice in isn't it 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 16, 2021 Author Share Posted April 16, 2021 Not much of an update but after fiddling with that engine I thought it was time to move to bigger stuff and glue some big blocks of resin to the chassis. I did manage to get the chassis a little straighter with the hot water but it's not entirely square so there's only so much you can do. I could have cut loose the crossbeam at the front and corrected it like that but I'm sure this would have cause other issues. So I tried to correct the problems some more by using the power of CA and the size of those parts. And it worked, you can see that I forced the chassis into shape and it's now as good as straight. I had a small tube of Tamiya CA which was open so I'm finishing that before it's too late. It sure sticks mighty fine. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 On 4/15/2021 at 6:24 AM, JeroenS said: inevitably you lose some of them, they just ping away or they will find another place to be all on their own. One minute they're on your bench and the next they're just gone. This has never happened to me! There again, don't believe everything you read on the internet😜 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted April 16, 2021 Author Share Posted April 16, 2021 Before I started sanding and glueing stuff this evening I spend a little time on an idea I had for my photo's. I don't like to take my (WIP) shots on a dirty cutting mat and in our old place I had a small corner set up with curved paper and lamps. But the setup was kind of in the way so I had to remove it every now and then. Well, often. So now, in my new and improved hobby room I have the space for a more permanent solution. Let me show you. It's a simple IKEA cupboard, to the back of which I screwed a piece of white laminated board. I can clamp my A2 sized paper on it (thick stuff, not cardboard but close), creating a nice curve. The rest of my photo stuff (including a piece of black A2 paper) is in the cupboard. I can move it around easily as I've put felt under the supports. It sliiiiides... The setup of the lamps is not ideal yet, I'm going to make supports for them on the sides, basically a piece of rod stuck to the sides of the cupboard so that I don't have to use the tripods which take up too much space now. I like this a lot. For WIP shots I just use my phone's camera, for RFI I have a reasonably decent camera with more depth of field. Anyway, after this work on the tractor continued. I've prepared the chassis for the big mud guards which will be the next step. The rear part of the chassis, with the connector, doesn't need glue so I'll just leave it like this, for now at least. The separate parts make for easier handling. The casting of the chassis' rear part is very good but I wasn't particularly happy with that wire. Difficult to clean up and make something of. So, I cut it off and drilled the supports. And replaced it with styrene tube with, again, lead wire. I love that stuff. Finally, I ran a piece of rod through the tube and the supports. There, much better 🙂 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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