Zvezda 1/35 T-90MS

[Dave Ward]

Lower chassis complete..............................

As Andy said, you can take a short cut & not bother with the top runs - the skirts etc come down and cover about 1/3 the roadwheel depth. I just added them to show how simple it can be........
The main point on the Zvezda tracks is the keying of the drive sprocket, it only fits one way, and this is the fixed datum for the way all the tracks fit & connect. All it needs is a little care in actually selecting the right bits, there are a few that are very similar, and if you fit the wrong one, then you'll have trouble further down the line...............
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Moving onto the uppers the two mudguards/fenders have been assembled - quite complex assemblies. I've started putting the major parts onto the top decking

The top decking & 2 fenders are just dryfitted, the fit is really excellent, they just click together. I'll add a few more parts to the upper deck, leaving the small delicate bits off. Hopefully this will allow me to use the masks. I'll have to see if I can add the skirts to the fenders without complicating things too much, mask wise.
I'm enjoying this, the fit of parts is excellent - Zvezda don't seem to embrace slide moulds, so this can complicate assemblies, but the fit is so good, it's not an issue.
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Now we're getting to the potentially disastrous stage - the masking....................

A really bad day here, been hammering down with rain - had the lights on all the time - I had to use flash to take the piccies ( that's why they look a little bleached out ). The uppers were primed & basecoated. This will now be left until tomorrow, when I can start putting the first mask on. ( It doesn't help that the mask is pretty much the same colour as the basecoat! The next colour to be sprayed will be "ochre" - I've sorted through my paints, and the best match I can find is Hataka Khaki Brown, or Vallejo Flat Earth. I'll do a patch test & see which looks best in daylight ( providing we get some tomorrow )
Dave

[Dave Ward]

First mask applied - and major visible trenches sealed with masking fluid Card to prevent overspray onto the wheels/tracks.


I used Hataka Khaki Brown - it sprayed from the bottle nicely


I'll leave that overnight before applying the second mask. The black patches are all pretty small, so I'll brush paint those. I'm still dubious about whether this is going to work properly, but I'll see tomorrow....
Dave

[Dave Ward]

2nd mask applied & the black patches brush painted ( Hataka Night Black ).......................


After a 1/4 hour, the moment of truth - the masks peeled off................................

Well, there has been a fair amount of bleed, there are too many depressions etc to expect any different. The worst being the black - despite this being the only brush painted part. The really good part is that was no paint lifting - the priming & overnight drying has given good paint adhesion.
I now have to add all the other details, like the bar armour around the sprockets, and the auxiliary fuel tanks, & all the other bits that would have really interfered with the mask. Then, I'll touch up all the paint bleeds......
The jury's still out on the paper masks - I'll wait until I've done the turret before passing my verdict.
Dave

[adt70hk]

Coming on very nicely indeed Dave.

That camo looks the business.

ATB.

Andrew

[minitnkr]

Looks very effective.

[Richard48]

Thats some great looking camo work Dave.Very impressive.Dentist!!!,Arghhhh.Not my favourite place ever.Keep up the great work.
Richard

[JR]

Impressed with those tracks, although tricky from what you said I think I could manage those at a push. Lets hope others take this up, well I can dream:smiling3:
That camo is very neat and sharp, nice.

[David Lovell]

Big thumbs-up Dave ,doesn't seem to be too much to touch up plus the more you have a go with these masks the more you learn the better it gets both application and paint job its that learning curve thing but hey this whole hobby is just that . As we both know its nothing to do with the brand name its whats in the box this is a prime example what a cracking looking kit. Bring on the turret then these modern day monsters have loads to go at washes filters, weathering etc looking forward to your next move. Dave.

[Dave Ward]

Just keep on adding the bits............................

Sometimes Zvezda take things a bit too much to scale - the supports for the bar armour, in real life hefty steel 'H' sections scale down to rather thin plastic. I CA'd the bars on, but they won't take much clumsy handling.
Next up is the rear plate, with the auxy. fuel tanks & associated piping - it looks very complicated, but the fit up to now has been so good, I'm confident I can get the hull finished tomorrow
Dave

[Tim Marlow]

Looking really fine Dave. Love the Camo

[Dave Ward]

Thought I was going to finish the hull today - then I came across the fuel tanks, then the headlamp brush guards..................

Pipes to the auxy tanks - a bit of a bugger to get off the sprue - and took CA to persuade it to stay on the tanks

Then came the brush guards - each in two pieces - I struggled with these for a long time, this is the state of play at the moment.....................
I'll have to wait for everything to dry, and my hands to steady down ( probably tomorrow ), then see if I can get those bars to line up. First time on this model that I wish there was PE.....................
Dave

[Tim Marlow]

Thought I was going to finish the hull today - then I came across the fuel tanks, then the headlamp brush guards..................
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1161095[/ATTACH]
Pipes to the auxy tanks - a bit of a bugger to get off the sprue - and took CA to persuade it to stay on the tanks
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1161096[/ATTACH]
Then came the brush guards - each in two pieces - I struggled with these for a long time, this is the state of play at the moment.....................[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1161097[/ATTACH]
I'll have to wait for everything to dry, and my hands to steady down ( probably tomorrow ), then see if I can get those bars to line up. First time on this model that I wish there was PE.....................
Dave

Yes, but PE would be flat, and look wrong, whereas those are round so really look the part Dave.

[adt70hk]

Coming on nicely Dave despite the issues you're currently encountering. Not an expert by any means but I think Tim is right about the PE being too flat.