Dave Ward's Zvezda 1/35 MSTA-S 152mm SPH

[Dave Ward]

Taking a short break from applying rib tapes to my SSW D.III I'm lining up for my next build......................
I'll put up some detail shots:
Suspension mount
Final Drive mount
Upper Hull edging
Drivers' hatch

Side hatch - moulded in place
Top of the turret - non-slip & hatch opening
As you can see, all parts are crisply moulded, and no flash anywhere
Road wheel & drive sprocket
Tracks are link & length, with the hollow guide horns in strips - track sag is built in on the top runs

There are some very fine parts - these are the front fender mounts/springs

One of the weakest points is the barrel & muzzle brake - split into multiple parts - a lot of careful assembly & clean-up

Decals are generally generic, but then the Russians don't go for a lot of identification.
I think I'm going for a camo scheme, so I got this AK set...........................


Construction will start as soon as the SSW D.III is completed
Dave

 

[stillp]

Looks like a very nice kit Dave.

Pete

 

[Dave Ward]

One of Zvezda's later models - no slide moulding, or PE, but excellent details - I'll have to wait to comment on the fit.
The MSTA-S ( also 2S19) has a whacking great turret on a T-80 chassis, with a T-72 diesel powerpack, so based on tried, tested, and available parts.
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

Construction underway! There are 451 parts in this, so.........................
Zvezda would have you start with the upper hull, but I want to get the lower hull & tracks etc finished first. There is no problem here with fit, all very good, some of the part ingates are a bit large & need careful removal. There are a lot of 'handed' parts, and similar looking parts, so care has to be taken to get the right bits in the right places.
The way that Zvezda have engineered this, you add all the inner roadwheels, the inner sprocket & idler halves. You add the track - then finally add all the outer wheel bits.
Dave

 

[col68]

Nice start Dave. It looks like a detailed kit if the hull is anything to go by.

 

[Mickc1440]

Plenty of nice crisp detail, will watch this one progress Dave

 

[Mr Bowcat]

That's a beast, the size of the turret!

 

[Dave Ward]

I've been looking at camo schemes for this monster - Most, but not all seem to have the basic green on the running gear/hull side/wheels, so I'm going to go with that, the camo only appearing on the skirts/upper hull/turret ( internet pictures for discussion purposes only)
There seems to be considerable variation in the camo patterns....................
Dave

 

[Jakko]

Strange that they give you such a well-detailed lower hull, and then have you fix a big square plate in it for no reason that’s apparent from these photos.

 

[Dave Ward]

Jakko,
All I can think is that this is for a variant - maybe a gun tank?
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

Lower hull primed and basecoated - same for the roadwheels................................

The tracks, the lengths have their guide horns added, and some links that go round the the idler are assembled

Then all the track bits are primed/basecoated

I need to detail paint the hull, and roadwheels, and then will be ready to add the tracks - all going together nicely, so far
Dave

 

[stillp]

Jakko,
All I can think is that this is for a variant - maybe a gun tank?
Dave

Maybe a battery compartment lid for a motorised version?

Pete

 

[Dave Ward]

Pete,
the way the model is engineered, it's purely a static model.
No benchtime today, life gets in the way of the important things occasionally!
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

After a few days without benchtime, I've done the tracks. No real problems. The sprockets are keyed to the hull, so that is the starting point. I found that adding the sprocket & idler first helped alignment
In this side, I added the track lengths anti-clockwise. This means that any problems with spacing will be on the top run, which will be hidden by the skirts!
In the end, there wasn't any problem............

Both sides completed - a bit of touching up here and there, but running gear sorted
Next will be the upper hull, by way of sorting out how well the bits for the gun barrel fit together. It's visually important, and I want to get any filing/filling done early.
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

The barrel is in halves...................

You have to decide whether you are going to have the barrel in the travel clamp - a lovely moulding - travel (L) or firing. It goes between the barrel sections.

Mine will be in the travel position. It's quite a long tube, and it needs attention on the seams

Muzzle brake dry fitted, it needs a bit of work on the baffles..
The upper hull has the exhaust, and 9 multi part storage boxes, as well as other plates

Some of the parts have large sprue gates, but careful removal and trimming, and they all fit very well together.
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

The upper hull is complete, apart from the skirts, and the clear parts......................
The tiny parts for the headlamp guards etc need a fair deal of care in removal from the sprue, but fit well. The barrel stay is moveable

I'm going to treat the MSTA_S as two separate kits for the present - the hull & chassis as one, and the massive turret as the other - for priming and camo painting
Dave

 

[Jakko]

Looking at those photos, I’m wondering how the driver can see anything useful out of the two side periscopes when the travel lock is in use.

 

[Dave Ward]

Jakko,
I assume that when the travel lock is in use, the driver will be 'heads out'. Folded forward, it's out of view
I bet a real problem is the length of the barrel, keeping it clear of obstacles, especially on narrow roads!
Dave

 

[JR]

Dave.
Dam you always make tracks look easy !
Very nice progress, looking fwd to see how you get on with those seams in the barrels, I find it hard to get rid of the smallest seam line.
John .

 

[Dave Ward]

John,
the way Zvezda have engineered the suspension and roadwheels make this an easy track build. The sprockets are keyed, so you have a fixed starting point, and the precise track links/runs follow on round from there - of course, if you wanted to show the suspension going over bumpy ground, you'd be in a real mess - but what percentage of modellers want 'working' suspension and tracks? ( You won't see the top runs anyway, they're hidden by the skirts ).
The barrel looks to be pretty good - I was afraid that it wouldn't dry straight - but it is.
I think that a metal barrel & muzzle brake would cause problems with weight, anyway, I don't think there is one available!
Dave