HobbyBoss 1/35 Soviet Cold War ASU-57 Assault Gun

[Dave Ward]

The plating on this thing is so thin it scarcely qualifies as armour, but here it is:

No figures included - it was only used in the Soviet Union by Airborne/Parachute units, so the uniforms would probably be difficult to source...............
The Sprue shots - all crisp and flash free:


Next up a few detail shots..................................

[Dave Ward]

This thing was small 3-4 tonnes, and had a crew of 3 ( refs say 3+6, but that must be wrong.........)


Really dainty parts, but some of the sprue attachments look a little large.

The gun parts - single piece barrel, racked ammunition & a severely lightened gun mounting. Good to see the shrink holes on the sprues, not the parts!
And what will be the the most difficult/tedious parts, those track links ( 80 a side............ )


I've got the dithers at the moment, so any benchtime is limited.
The instructions are standard HobbyBoss, pretty clear. The colour variants are an all green Soviet Union version, or an all sand Arab ( Egyptian? ) model. I'm going for the Green version, as being more representative of it's use.
Dave

[dave]

Looking forward to this, according to Zaloga it was only used by the Soviet and Egyptian armies and it was paper thin just 6mm of armour on the front and sides. The crew was just 3 although it was also used as an impromtu troop carrier on occasions but from the photos I have probably only 2 or 3 rather precariously perched. There was also a gunless command version used by the Soviet Airborne, the space gained being filled with radios.

[KarlW]

Didn't the airbourne troops wear the same as the regular troops but just had blue shoulderboards? Going off my shakey memory. Would make sourcing figures a bit easier.

[Dave Ward]

Don't think I'd care to be part of the crew, it only had a 50hp engine, and must have been underpowered, the armour was only proof against small arms fire - it was called a 'tank destroyer', but the 57mm gun must have been pretty useless against an M60, or a Centurion even with fancy ammo. It was open topped, so shrapnel, or a hand grenade would have been devastating. Self defence would have been by the crew's personal weapons, it wouldn't be long lived on the battlefield! The fact that it could be air dropped by parachute must be the only reason this curiosity was in service - the West didn't have any real equivalent ( unless you count the Ontos! )
Dave

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
I'm in, especially as I voted for it to be built. Looks a nice kit. It certainly is tiny. All the best with the track links.
Jim

[KarlW]

Jeep mounted 106mm M60 recoiless rifle would of probably been closest in the Nato arsenal.

[Dave Ward]

Searching for crew pictures on the internet - the 3 crew seemed to wear the distinctive Soviet tankers helmet


And I found the inspiration for the HobbyBoss boxart...............

Dave

[Guest]

it wouldn't be long lived on the battlefield!

I suspect the intended deployment would have been much the same as other SP tank destroyers: wait in ambush for the enemy, open fire before you’re detected (but at as close a range as possible) and then … well, either hope you’ve killed everything that can put serious firepower on you or pull out ASAP and hope you survive.

[Dave Ward]

Propaganda video..................

Dave

[BattleshipBob]

Interesting vehicle Dave, but not much use it seems?

Bob

[Guest]

It was really only useful to countries who had a sizeable paratrooper arm and big enough aircraft to carry vehicles for them — plus, of course, deep enough pockets to pay for all that. Anyone else who needs a tank destroyer probably isn’t looking for one that won’t even stand up to GPMG fire.

[Steve Jones]

You certainly have a challenge there Dave with all those fidley bits. Will look on with eagerness to the progress of this lovely AFV.

[Dave Ward]

Been struggling with one of those intermittent computer problems, my internet connection kept on dropping out - I couldn't keep on line for more than 10 minutes a time. After several hours of messing around, rebooting the computer, changing the router, filters, telephone cable, I finally discovered that the RJ45 cable ( from the router to the computer ) was faulty. Why? that cable hasn't been unplugged since the day I bought this computer, and the router is older! A quick search in my cupboard produced a brand new cable, fitted in less than 2 minutes - problem sorted!
.........................Anyway, finally got to joining plastic on the ASU!

The suspension arms are keyed to fit at the correct angle, but are very spindly - I might add a drop or two of CA to strengthen them up.
Some of the parts are tiny, and you discover that the wheel mounts are slightly asymmetric from side to side ( torsion bars ). Which is why the instructions tell you not to glue some parts, until thay are on the model.


Some of the suspension levers are a tight fit, and I had to use a sanding stick to ease things up, it would be too easy to snap them off, trying to force them into position.
I'm going to prime & basecoat the hull sides, wheels etc, before moving onto the elephant in the room........................those tracks!
Dave

[Dave Ward]

The chassis is complete, primed, basecoated & tyres painted....................

Trying to work out the best way to assemble the tracks - I'm going to assemble them in pairs, using the sprue to hold them, then in 4's, 8's etc - It's going to take some time, I think!! Paint will have to wait until after gluing, the cement areas are pretty small............
Dave