Zvezda 1/35 T-28 Medium Tank

[Mickc1440]

Slow the build down Andy if we're in for beer and brownies definitely looking more tank like now.

 

[Jakko]

And in a flash, all that hard work scraping, sanding, adjusting & gluing around 80 parts is hidden forever

Yep, the other bane of the armour modeller: big side skirts that hide all your work. After a while you learn to recognise what parts probably won’t be visible, so, as Richard implies, you stop bothering to put them on, or if they do need to go on, to at least not clean all the seams up anymore

I double, triple, quadruple checked that the roadwheels still go on with these covers in place, and they do, just!

On many tanks they don’t, in which case the only two options are to fit the wheels and the skirts, then paint the wheels in place, or (my preferred one) to leave both wheels and skirts off, then attach both after painting.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

As I mentioned earlier, the instructions make it quite clear that most of those parts don't need fitting if you are building the skirted version. I chose to fit them anyway.

 

[Jakko]

That alone makes this kit’s instructions better than most — they almost invariably tell you to fit everything even if it will be completely covered.

 

[rtfoe]

Andy, it's always a miracle to have good instruction sheets thats why with love we call them destruction sheets. Doesn't matter if you have cleaned and fitted everything behind the shield as long as you know it and are happy about it. I would too unless press for time.

Evening Andy,

You're gonna be fine and master this big mother. Whatever paint scheme you decide on, it will be a cracker too!!! I'll sit behind the tea drinkers and enjoy your work. Where I come from we are fond of something a bit stronger and at my work, we have our own beer,
View attachment 350882
I work for Quadix and It's a .25 liter bottle which is a nice thirst quencher at lunch (unless I have to make a delivery). It does beat the heck out of tea and I like tea with milk! I can't wait to see how you work your magic on this one Scratchy……….

Prost
Allen

On the other hand Allen, I'd think you'd like this fixture next to your bed...



Sorry Andy...back to regular channel...

Cheers,
Richard

 

[JR]

Coming on well Andy, I see the Malaysian branch of the Rabble have arrived, not to out done by the Bamberg .

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks John. The more the merrier as they say

 

[BigGreg]

really interesting build and i really love the evolution of the hull and all the details.... well as l always say...More more MOOOOORE

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Greg.

I think just a few more parts and I'll be at the point where I need to start splashing some colour(s) on it.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Braving the heat I've got a few more bits done.

Three turrets assembled. Antenna was as fiddly as I'd feared, especially since 6 of the sprue gates were on the thinnest section. Cleaned up as much as I dare. If they are still visible when painted I'll throw something over them like an impromptu washing line!



Made up some other subs too. The rolled tarp has a whacking great seam line in the most visible part. I'm sure they could have done it better, hiding it in the shadow of the open edge or something. I fitted one of the machine guns into one of the small turrets already, until I noticed that I could just about squeeze them in afterwards to make painting easier (the fitted one has been bent even before I start!). Following the instructions has pretty much gone out of the window at this point. To paraphrase Eric Morcambe: I'm fitting all the right parts, but not necessarily in the right order.



And this little thing looks like an air horn. It was a solid lump so it got drilled out as much as I could then opened out with a round file.



I'm also pretty sure I can fit the track guards before the tracks (again, out of sequence with the instructions) which would mean I can pretty much assemble everything else that goes on top of those and paint it all in one go, except for the wheels & tracks of course. Will have another dry fit with it all taped in place before I commit to glue. Don't want to make a serious rookie error on my first tank!

 

[scottie3158]

Andy,
Coming on very nicely, kudos for getting the antenna off in one piece.

 

[Dave Ward]

Andy,
the main turret, and the mg turrets are the same as the T-35 - they can just differ by the length of the main gun ( & some seem to have the star cast onto the roof, others not! ).
Going nicely - if you can manage to top coat before putting the tracks on, go for it, it saves a lot of messing around. If you have the mg turret hatches closed, then, cut off the mg action bits. and you can add the mg barrels from outside, no-one the wiser ( also works if you forgot to fit them.......)
Dave

 

[Jakko]

Antenna was as fiddly as I'd feared, especially since 6 of the sprue gates were on the thinnest section. Cleaned up as much as I dare. If they are still visible when painted I'll throw something over them like an impromptu washing line!

It’s probably more solid now that it’s glued to the turret, so you may be able to clean it up more with a sharp blade if you’re careful. I often do this with things like hatch handles, which are often too small to easily get all of the attachment point off if the part is loose.

And this little thing looks like an air horn. It was a solid lump so it got drilled out as much as I could then opened out with a round file.

It’s the horn, yes. You can also insert the tip of a knife and ream it out with that, but you have to be careful not to cut into the side or to leave a ragged edge inside the hollowed-out bit.

Will have another dry fit with it all taped in place before I commit to glue.

Good plan.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Cheers Paul, it wasn't just the heat that was making me sweat whilst doing that.

Ha, hadn't thought about that Dave. I've been test-jiggling with two pairs of tweezers to feed them from the inside. Your suggestion is much better!

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Yes Jakko, once the glue has hardened up a bit I'll have another go at cleaning it up. As you say, it's already much more stable.

 

[Allen Dewire]

Evening Scratchy,

Bang up job so far and I feel you with the parts that no one will see!!! I always add them because I am afraid the destructions come back and bite you in the ass 6 steps later if you don't. Cool that Zvezda tells it like it is. Dave has a good tip for the MGs too.

A tip for the antenna if I may. With it glued solid to the turret, you might want to steal borrow an emery nail board from the Missus and very gently whisk away the rest of the sprue gate on it. The key word is "gently"!!!! But then again, I'm sure you have some sanding materials you could also use. Just a thought…………..

Prost
Allen

 

[Si Benson]

Rolling along nicely Andy

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Si.

Allen, funny you should say that. I bought a few "proper" skinny sanding sticks, and have many that I've made myself, but my favourite by far is one I pilfered from my wife!

 

[JR]

But does she know ? send £ 20 or we the Rabble will sp!it on you !

Andy good move to get that antenna ring off the sprue and on to the model with out breaking. There's enough points where it could snap.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

A couple of things I forgot to mention earlier.

I had some more shenanigans with the instructions. Parts D7 and E8 are marked up the wrong way around here. It's pretty obvious as they are such vastly different parts, but still...



Also, to anyone else building this - don't use the cutting template on that page to cut the mesh for the engine intakes. It's wrong and your mesh will be far too small to fit. Maybe that's why the box art model doesn't have it fitted.

Thankfully I double checked before cutting and ended up with a correct fit. The centre one is sized correctly on the template but the outer two ( marked I ) need to be much wider.




And I also had a play with the exhaust silencer. Much of it will be hidden by a shield but I drilled and widened the tailpipes, stippled on Mr Surfacer 500 for some texture, then mixed a couple of Vallejo rust shades to give a non-uniform colour.





John - was typing as you posted. Thanks, I'm glad to get it out of the way. The only 2 I've seen built look like they had a fight on their hands as the antenna swoops up and down like a roller coaster. Can't blame them as it's not the easiest of things to work with.