BM-21 Grad.

[outrunner]

Another bit of armour arrived today, albeit the soft-skinned variety.
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A fair bit of plastic in the box, I think it said 457 parts.
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Nice tyres, although weighted resin ones would be better, and clear instructions with a couple of colour schemes to choose from but I am sure I have seen pictures of this vehicle in a winter camo somewhere.
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I also like the way they give you the Tamiya colours to use on the model which is a help as I like Tamiya. This model should take care of some of the time spent indoors because of the restrictions now in force.

Andy.

[Guest]

I wonder if that’s the same kit as the old ICM one …

[ICODE]/me does some research[/ICODE]

Apparently not. Not that that was a bad kit, but if this is modern Zvezda it should be a lot easier to build

[Dave Ward]

It's based on their own Ural 4320 - 2017 moulds. I have the Trumpeter version, which is based on a different chassis. The Trumpeter model has PE, but costs a lot more than the Zvezda ( £40+ ). Given the vast improvements made by Zvezda, this looks very nice.
I'll be watching with interest-
Dave

[Steve Jones]

Looks a nice kit Andy with plenty to keep you busy. Good luck

[outrunner]

Looks a nice kit Andy with plenty to keep you busy. Good luck

Yes it is a very nice kit, I have never built a Zvezda kit before but I am impressed with the quality and detail. Busy working through it to see how much I can assemble so that I can paint big lumps instead of little fiddly bits.

Andy.

[Dave Ward]

Andy,
it's always difficult to decide when to paint! The Russian softskins do have one pretty common feature - the chassis & running gear are black - in most cases, this includes the wheel hubs, so you should be able to build up to a rolling chassis, before cranking the compressor up.
Dave

[outrunner]

I made a start on the chassis which is quite complex with a lot of parts, some of them are very small so best removed from the sprue and fixed to the model before sanding to reduce the risk of breakage. The engine is actually painted silver but does not show up against the grey chassis and it is only laid in to check the fit. Also built some of the rocket launcher as well.


Andy.

[Dave Ward]

Andy,
any fit problems so far? Are the instructions clear enough? - I always find the Zvezda instructions a bit on the small side...............
Dave

[Steve Jones]

Nice update Andy. All heading in the right direction.

[outrunner]

Andy,
any fit problems so far? Are the instructions clear enough? - I always find the Zvezda instructions a bit on the small side...............
Dave

No fit problems so far Dave but you do have to really study the instructions properly to get the right parts in the right sequence. Another thing I notice is that quite often the parts that make up a section like an axle for example, can come from as many as 4 different sprues. Having said that I am really enjoying this kit and my first experience of Zvezda is a good one.

Andy.

[Dave Ward]

The first decent Zvezda model I made was the L-4500R Maultier - I'd made models from them before, but they were clunky & basic models.
Since then I've made a lot of Zvezda moidels & have a fair few in the stash - I'm eyeing the 1/35 T90MS at the moment - they don't have PE, but the level of detail is good enough that you don't need it. I think a lot of modellers are put off by the bad reputation of the old models, and they would be surprised if they tried one of the newer generation products. The later models are just as good as the major Far East manufacturers, albeit with a Russian subject bias!
Dave

[outrunner]

I'm eyeing the 1/35 T90MS at the moment
Dave

Funny you should say that, I ordered one the other day which should be here tomorrow and will go in the small stash I am building up.

Andy.

[Dave Ward]

Andy,
459 parts - and it doesn't even have individual track links! There are some really fine mouldings, a lot of care will be needed to get the parts off the sprues cleanly!
Dave

[outrunner]

Moving along nicely, almost a rolling chassis.
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There are rather a lot of small parts in there, some of them very small indeed but it all adds to the interest, I wonder if Zvesda translates to fiddly in english. Looking at the pictures the rear axles seem to be out of alignment, but I can assure you they are not, must be the camera angle or something.


Andy.

[Dave Ward]

Andy,
looking good - the acid test will be when you add the wheels - do they all touch the ground at the same time? Better to check now, rather than have to attempt a fix with the bodywork on!
Dave
( ps Zvezda means 'star' )