zvedza 1/35 Pantsir

[Steve Brodie]

There appears to be 4 kits of the Pantsir; In the UK the Meng one cost's over £100.00, The Trumpeter kit is over £80.00, Zvedza around £50.00 and a Tiger Model version which does not seem to be available at the time of my order. The Meng, Trumpeter and Tiger versions are available on eBay from China, and i originally ordered the TM model, but 10 days later the seller cancelled the order as he stated "Due to COVID parcels are stacked up in warehouses and delivery of 180 days plus", yet 5 days later thew kit is back on sale. I saw the Zvedza version on Amazon for £43 plus p&P, however i found the model store it would be coming from and it was £10 cheaper, so ordered it from there.

Its a Big box packed full of plastic sprues, you can see where the price difference is, as a lot of the parts are already fixed together, i.e the ladder frame is made up of the long beams and I beams on the Meng and TM kit, but it comes as a one piece slide molded piece, the missile tubes are built up from lots of bits on the Meng and TM kits, but are as two side pieces, with the tubes molded in place. Doors to the control room are molded in place on Zvedza's kit, but separate on the other kits, but why ? there is no interiors for the control rooms. The Zvedza scores higher as the cab doors can be glued open showing the cab details, which is more detailed than the Meng version.
Details are superb looking at the sprues, with small sprue gate attachment points;



A decal sheet, and silver 'Mirrors';




A very detailed manual with 82 main steps, main as some steps also have additional sub assemblies;




Looks fun

 

[Steve Brodie]

Going to go with a Syrian scheme like this, no masking as it would appear the blocks of colour have been applied by a big brush ;

 

[Dave Ward]

Steve,
this is in my stash, and I've opened the box a few times, there's a lot of parts there, and it needs a fair amount of space & commitment to start. I've got the space, but my modelling mojo has deserted me.
I'll follow along, and see what pitfalls you uncover!
Dave

 

[Deleted member 7181]

I'll follow along too as this kit is on my radar after I've finished their 5350

 

[outrunner]

Also one for me in the future, having built 3 Zvezda kits I rate them very highly.

Andy.

 

[Steve Brodie]

So the first stages (1-4) complete, no fit issues and the plastic is sturdy, sands well and sticks together nicely. Only oddity came with the fitting of the engine fan in step 3 - its just there, but no reference to its part number at all, and even more bizarrely in step 2 , you can clearly see its already shown as fitted.



The other thing was the fitting of part H46 - its just floating over the drive case (?) and you really have to look for the guidance arrows as they look like part of the engine drawing at first. That all said It all builds up into a nice replica of the engine.

 

[Steve Brodie]

Started work on the cab today, another couple of instruction mistakes;

Step 5-b calls out for Parts A31 and A30 - support brackets;



But those parts on the sprues are for the gear lever (step 7 A31 ) and the Cab roof (A30);




Took a bit of head scratching but deduced that the other cab parts so far used have come from sprue H and there they were;

 

[Deleted member 7181]

I've called Zvezda out on this, both on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

The only thing (in my humble newbie opinion) stopping them from being right up there with the best kit manufacturers is the quality of their instructions. Sometimes misleading, occasionally just down right wrong, on all of the kits I've built so far.

A good proof read would help, and the people doing the test builds ought to notice as well!

 

[Steve Brodie]

Steps 5 - 11 completed, no major issues - instructions okay for these steps, bit of a heart in mouth moment getting both sides back panel and bottom all glued together. Test fitted the roof and front to ensure it's all square and it was. So nice engineering work from Zvedza ;

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

I've called Zvezda out on this, both on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

The only thing (in my humble newbie opinion) stopping them from being right up there with the best kit manufacturers is the quality of their instructions. Sometimes misleading, occasionally just down right wrong, on all of the kits I've built so far.

A good proof read would help, and the people doing the test builds ought to notice as well!

Maybe they use the same proofreader used by Dragon.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Looking good Steve, I like the well used, dusty look.

 

[scottie3158]

Steve,
The cab looks nicely lived in.

 

[Steve Brodie]

Looking good Steve, I like the well used, dusty look.

Steve,
The cab looks nicely lived in.

Many thanks chaps, as it will be a Syrian machine , it's the look I was after. So glad it has given that impression

 

[Steve Brodie]

This little box of goodies has arrived, took ages to find some as everywhere seems to be out of stock;



DEF models 1/35 cooler set. thought a red cooler would add some colour to the drab interior, with a couple of crushed bottles on the cab floor and a fresh one on the seat or dashboard.

Kit comes with 6 'full' bottles which can be tinted, 10 crushed bottles and even 10 ice cubes;



Plus 3 different types of coolers, one closed and one open box cooler and a round one;



And finally a sheet of decals to use on the coolers and bottles;