BTR- 80A zvezda 1/35(jumbo scale)

[David Lovell]

I havent had any enthusiasm for the hobby for ages but lack of anything worth sleeping through on TV made me drag this from the stash ,now not my favoured scale it was a flea Bay snatch for twelve quid so wasn't bothered if i built it and put it back in the cupboard. Now thoes of you with your own space/man cave dont know how lucky you are ,some of us have to sit up to the dining room/kitchen table wich involves pulling it all out and the worst part packing away again ,but still dragged it out and started to use some glue.
The boring bits

The box

The contents

The build.
No problems there pretty much standard fare ,some of the grab handles were replaced with some brass rod soley because I kept breaking them as fast as I glued them on other wise a nice little kit. I also built a couple of 72nder's in tandem with this one.
If you've seen the product review of the gray mr hobby aqueous surfacer 1000 your have seen the next pict

That was Saturday morning in the afternoon I gave it some tamiya nato black pre shade kind of thing

So this morning(Sunday) threw some green at it ,putting a paleish green coat down trying not to obscure the pre shading to much.

So flushed the AB through and tried to put a darker green lightly over the top but wether i put it down to heavy or the pigmentation was stronger/heavier/ thicker it òbscured most of the hard work so far



So dumped what was left in the AB and added some of the pale green to the dregs and tried to sort of regain some tonal definition ,I think I rescued it and kind of got back what I had in mind.
Well back to that work bench/dining room table


As you can see needs a tidy usually if I keep it half respectful the good lady will only mumble and I can get away with it for a few weeks before the threats start.
I wasn't going to put this up didn't want to put any pressure on myself what with the lack of mojo if you know what I mean ,started and you know so I feel committed to finish but have enjoyed it so far so here it is.
Big thanks to my friend the one and only John Race for his help and encouragement ive been sharing this with him behind the scenes. Well that's it just the tyres to prime up then all the AB stuff can be packed away and on with the part I enjoy the most detail and weathering. Dave

[Jim R]

Well I reckon that is looking good. That's a nice paint job. Zvezda kits don't have the best reputation but I've heard that a lot of their recent kits are pretty good. Is this a newish kit?
Glad this has helped your mojo and I look forward to the weathering.

[langy71]

Love the colour Dave, the tonal highlights have come out brilliantly, subtle but there nonetheless.

[Guest]

Zvezda kits don't have the best reputation but I've heard that a lot of their recent kits are pretty good. Is this a newish kit?

It looks to me like the old Dragon BTR-80 with a new turret — though I base this largely on the toylike working hinges But Scalemates confirms my suspicions, it turns out.

[Jim R]

Thanks Jakko.

[scottie3158]

Dave,
Good to see you back at the bench. The paint work is spot on.

[David Lovell]

Well I reckon that is looking good. That's a nice paint job. Zvezda kits don't have the best reputation but I've heard that a lot of their recent kits are pretty good. Is this a newish kit?
Glad this has helped your mojo and I look forward to the weathering.

Thanks Jim , no its really old as jakko says part old dragon mouldings but that aside it went together like any other kit .As I said it was a flea Bay winner so for about twelve quid my expectations weren't all that but it builds a treat ,their recent stuff is as good as anybody else's ,their recent 72nd armour is the best out there the way they do the tracks in one piece hard plastic is fool proof absolutely outstanding ,unfortunately the name carries no kudos people don't want to be seen if you know what I mean shame they've come a long way. Due I suppose to the Ukraine situation the prices of zvezda kits has risen considerably . I've another of theirs a old one and a recentish one in the stash both ebay winners worth bidding on because of that kudos thing you win em well cheap. Shhhhh ive got a few of their wingy things as well. I get quite annoyed when people say that manufacturers kits are rubbish or don't touch that ,no such thing as a bad kit just that some are better than others no one makes you build what you don't want to I just hate these sites that think they've got the right to condem someone's hard built company. Still moan over and to get back on the subject its a plastic kit oldie but a goodie see em cheap snap um up. As you kindly say looking good its totally OOB I dont care for rivet counters the only thing I used filler on was where I had to drill the handles out that I broke ,I'm with you Jim on this one(a rare occasion ) I think it's looking good as well cheers Jim. Dave

[David Lovell]

Dave,
Good to see you back at the bench. The paint work is spot on.

Thanks Paul as I told you your work is inspirational.

[scottie3158]

Thanks Paul as I told you your work is inspirational.

Dave,
That is very kind of you to say, but I am just an average modeller who enjoys the hobby.

[Guest]

part old dragon mouldings but that aside it went together like any other kit .

I built the original BTR-70 and -80 kits not long after they came out, and I recall they were quite good to build — aside from the overly thin hand rails you also mentioned earlier, but those are easily replaced anyway.

[JR]

I love it Dave Glad you have the Mo Jo back.
To be fair you've given me a lot of tips and encouragement too.
Certainly over paint, pressures and primers.
Hence the advancement into MR Hobby aquarius primer .

Looking fwd to the next post .:thumb2:

[David Lovell]

Yay no work to day (weds) ,job not ready Thursday and too much climbing about for my arthritic knees on Friday so declined the offer to go in. So got up to the work bench/dining table and got some primer on the tyres

Don't know what their made from but there rock hard ,dont think much will stay on them but hey ho I did prime them ,whilst that was picking up I squirted some olive drab at the little sherman thats been hanging around in the back ground ,a story for a different day I know but whilst I've got it all set up and the primer was drying seemed a shame not to ,kinda semi filled it in with olive drab hilight thats what the bottle called it

Flushed the airbrush through and fired some olive base straight over


Using the leftovers up on the poor little whippet but all good practice havent used the airbrush for ages

Sorry for going off piste a bit but whilst the irons hot etc etc.

Then cleaned out the AB and chancing the primer was dry squirted some dark grey at the tyres and cleaned the air brush yet again and tidied up ,dry enough I fitted the wheel rims and called it a day



Speedway tonight poole v Oxford so evening out with my brother should be back at the bench tomorrow. Dave

[Jim R]

You've been busy Dave. All the models look good. I hope the paint stays on the tyres. I like the look of the Whippet.

[David Lovell]

---

Whizzed through alloted chores by about half nine this morning watched a bit of telly till fed up then got up to the bench/dining room table ,gave the whole thing a filter coat(sorry forgot to take pics) mig filters green for olive drab ,I really thin it down at least 75 white spirit to 25 filter dont bother with all that clear coat gubbins I want it to work with the paint. When dry ,took as long as it took me to make the bolognese for tonight's tea ,I started to do my thing on the rear panel and back half of the engine deck have so far been keeping it to a couple of products ,usually I start using this and that then wander of and try something else all well and good but I forget what I started with so will go round with what I'm using then I know what I'm doing so this is the story so far





Sorry if its a bit pic heave but I do like taking a pic ,I'll leave off for a while till there's a bit more to see ,no jobs tomorrow only take other half into work and walk the dog . Dave
Must get my other lamp out makes for a more even light rather than one bright spot.

[scottie3158]

Dave,
Love the paint work.