A few 1/35 IFV's and AFV's

[Ramba]

I was originally going to load a ZU-23-2 in the bed but everyone and their grandmother has done that before so I changed it up a bit.


I saw this image of a Unimog with a ZPU-4 and thought this would be a better fit for the GAZ-66 I am building.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ZPU-4-Unimog-batey-haosef-3.jpg

Here is my GAZ-66 with the Meng ZPU-4 in the bed.

[Gingie]

yeah, that looks better and is more original to boot.

[Ramba]

yeah, that looks better and is more original to boot.

Thanks! Still working on the GAZ truck. I only got about 1/2 the stuff I need to do. Lots of stuff to scratch build. 

[Ramba]

Finally got around to trying out the reusable Hinodewashi Oyumaru mold making compound. I am making molds of the Eastern Express 1/35 GAZ-66 gas tanks and a 1/35 head.

Here is my attempt at making the molds. You drop the Oyumaru cubes in hot water to make them soft/pliable then press the part into it. Wait for the first half to harden then you can apply the top part. Wait for that to harden as well then you can remove both halves and fill with self hardening putty. The last photo shows the two halves where you can see the impressions I made from the gas tank. I didn't fill mine with the putty yet. Will do that another day.






It is the same as Blue Stuff as shown in the Youtube video below by Plasmo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVZLXLaidjQ

[GTX_Admin]

 

[raafif]

If you have another Gaz-66 kit ...

[Ramba]

If you have another Gaz-66 kit ...

A hot rod GAZ-66 would be cool. 

[Kerick]

Where can I find that molding material? It looks very useful.

[Ramba]

Where can I find that molding material? It looks very useful.

I am located in the USA and got mine from Amazon. Ebay also has it and the Blue Stuff as well.

Here is the Amazon page for the Oyumaru mold making compound that I have.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GXV4ONO/?coliid=I209ZJ5QRKYEKA&colid=39MPF2T0XF9MD&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[Ramba]

I finally got to put some putty in that Oyumaru reusable mold. I used JB Weld two part plastic weld. It is supposed to be used for plumbing. I got it because it was a few dollars cheaper than Milliput as I am on an extremely tight budget.


I started it around 9am this morning and I let it cure for about 13 hours. I should have left it overnight but I was impatient. After 13 hours, it was mostly hard but there were still some slightly soft areas but not too bad. Next time I will know better. My molded ones aren't as nice as I thought they would be but it was my first time trying this. I won't be redoing them so they will stay as is even though they are a bit crappy. If I ever use the reusable molds again, I will still use the JB Weld putty but make sure I make better molds and let the putty cure a lot longer. One thing to note about the JB Weld putty is that it is really stinky so make sure you have good ventilation. It also sticks to your fingers so wearing gloves probably won't be a good idea as it will more than likely stick to the gloves and make a mess. While it made a mess of my hands, it wasn't that hard to wash off though. With some light scrubbing, it washed off fairly easily.



Here it is next to the original. The putty gas tank does have detail but it is hard to see in the photos. Once I prime and paint them the detail might show a little better. Lots of excess putty to trim off.



Original gas tanks shown in place.


Putty gas tanks shown in place.


Even with the bed in place, the gas tanks will be seen so my crappy molded ones will be seen.

[Old Wombat]

Certainly look good enough for government work.

[Ramba]

Certainly look good enough for government work.

Thanks! Good thing I don't work for the government though. I wouldn't be employed with them much longer. 

[Ramba]

I bought this Dragon 1/35 BMP-2E Afghanistan kit off Ebay from an individual seller sometime back in 2018 for real cheap. I didn't open the box until January 2019 though when these photos were taken and to my surprise, the box was filled with extras. I had packed it away back in the garage after the photos were taken and almost four years later, just now took it back out again from the garage.


Here you can see the box stuffed with all sorts of goodies.


These were the extras packed in there. SP Designs corrected resin upper hull. Accurate Armour wheel set. Model Point set. Armour Track Individual track links.


These are the parts that were in the Model Point box. New resin turret. Brass gun barrel. Brass smoke grenade launchers. Brass antenna base mounts and brass ATGM launcher. You have to use some of the kit plastic parts on the resin turret.


Unfortunately though, the Model Point resin turret came with the grenade launcher mounts broken.


The SP Designs upper hull is filled with pin holes everywhere. They had corrected the rear hatches as Dragon had them at the wrong angle. Looks Like I will be filling pin holes for the next month or more.

[Story]

I bought this Dragon 1/35 BMP-2E Afghanistan kit off Ebay 

Any idea where you'll be going with the end product?

[Ramba]

I bought this Dragon 1/35 BMP-2E Afghanistan kit off Ebay 

Any idea where you'll be going with the end product?

I know Dragon calls it an E but I will be building it as a BMP-2D with the full armor kit. It will more than likely end up as a what if though for some kind of made up break away region that absorbed the equipment left behind.

I like the sand/green/black camo they used in Afghanistan though so will probably be in that same camo scheme.

[raafif]

I have this kit too, its passable as I'm not too finicky.  Those track sets would be a windfall as the kit ones, while OK are a real pain to do.  I would prefer the resin wheels too but I've found that the kit ones were a true variant - I may replace them with ones from a Skif MTLB of which I have several.

[Ramba]

I have this kit too, its passable as I'm not too finicky.  Those track sets would be a windfall as the kit ones, while OK are a real pain to do.  I would prefer the resin wheels too but I've found that the kit ones were a true variant - I may replace them with ones from a Skif MTLB of which I have several.

Very nice! Looking forward to seeing yours.

I am not that finicky either. All those extras came with the kit that I was unaware of. Unfortunately I can't use the SP Designs upper hull. It is badly warped and the left side has a bad kink in it so even if I tried to straighten it out the warpage, the kink would still be messed up. The kink raises the left rear up too high and no way to straighten it out.

I built the Skif Strela and 2S1 recently and on both of mine, the rubber tracks were way too short. I am hoping I can use the spare Dragon BMP-2 tracks on either the Strela or the 2S1. I have no idea if they use the same tracks or not but I am not worried about accuracy. I don't do shows/contests so as long as the tracks fit I am good with that. If the Dragon tracks are too short, I could possibly use the Armour Track links instead. I have to measure the kits and count the links to see which one is the better fit.

[Old Wombat]

Pity Model Point's QC wasn't up to scratch, that would have been a good upgrade of the kit. Now it just looks like too much hard work.

[Frank3k]

You can use "pool putty", plumber's putty or A+B putty - they're all two part epoxy putties very much like (if not identical to) Milliput and cheaper.

For the resin upper hull - rather than start by filling each pinhole, spray the hull with primer first and only fill the pinholes not covered by the primer.

[Story]

It will more than likely end up as a what if though for some kind of made up break away region that absorbed the equipment left behind. 

Neat.

If you haven't seen it before, this thread provides a narrative for that situation. You could even work out what unit it belonged to.
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=10099.0

My opening spin on that -
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=10488.0

[Ramba]

Pity Model Point's QC wasn't up to scratch, that would have been a good upgrade of the kit. Now it just looks like too much hard work.

The Model Point resin turret is actually really nice except for the broken smoke grenade mounts. It was the SP Designs resin upper hull quality that is really bad. I can't use the upper hull at all. The warped hull itself wasn't the main problem, the main problem is that there is a kink on the left side of the upper hull and even if you straighten out the hull, the kink is still there and the upper hull still sits uneven on the lower hull. The kink was molded into the resin upper hull and no way to fix it. I will just use the Dragon upper hull and put the Model Point turret on it. I don't care about the wrong hatches on the Dragon kit as I will probably cover them with ammo crates or some other kind of stowage.

[Ramba]

You can use "pool putty", plumber's putty or A+B putty - they're all two part epoxy putties very much like (if not identical to) Milliput and cheaper.

For the resin upper hull - rather than start by filling each pinhole, spray the hull with primer first and only fill the pinholes not covered by the primer.

Thanks for the tips. I did use JB Weld plastic putty for plumbing. It wasn't the putty that failed, it was me. I didn't make the molds properly. I will have to practice some more with that Oyumaru mold.

Most of the pin holes on the side of the hull won't be seen as I am going to put the side armor on but the gun port covers will still be seen. I am not using the SP Designs resin upper hull anyway. The resin upper hull is warped but that wasn't the main problem, the main problem is that there is a kink on the left side of the upper hull and even if you straighten out the hull, the kink is still there and the upper hull still sits uneven on the lower hull. The kink was molded into the resin upper hull and no way to fix it. I will just use the Dragon upper hull and put the Model Point turret on it. I don't care about the wrong hatches on the Dragon kit as I will probably cover them with ammo crates or some other kind of stowage.

[Ramba]

It will more than likely end up as a what if though for some kind of made up break away region that absorbed the equipment left behind. 

Neat.

If you haven't seen it before, this thread provides a narrative for that situation. You could even work out what unit it belonged to.
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=10099.0

My opening spin on that -
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=10488.0

Thanks for the links. I haven't read through them yet but will take a look later tonight.

I plan to do a dio with the BMP-2D along with the Eastern Express GAZ-66 I am still working on. Something similar to this image but where some troops are unloading the GAZ-66 next to the BMP-2D. I know the truck shown isn't a GAZ-66.


I have some of these Tank figures shown here. They will be unloading the GAZ-66 instead though as I said above. I am going to try to make more backpacks and ammo crates myself with that Oyumaru reusable mold material. I need to practice using that Oyumaru stuff though. I mostly need more ammo crates than backpacks and I know they sell them separately but more than I want to spend on them just for ammo crates. Anyway, I want to load up the GAZ-66 and the crew will be unloading it.

[Old Wombat]

Pity Model Point's QC wasn't up to scratch, that would have been a good upgrade of the kit. Now it just looks like too much hard work.

The Model Point resin turret is actually really nice except for the broken smoke grenade mounts. It was the SP Designs resin upper hull quality that is really bad. I can't use the upper hull at all. The warped hull itself wasn't the main problem, the main problem is that there is a kink on the left side of the upper hull and even if you straighten out the hull, the kink is still there and the upper hull still sits uneven on the lower hull. The kink was molded into the resin upper hull and no way to fix it. I will just use the Dragon upper hull and put the Model Point turret on it. I don't care about the wrong hatches on the Dragon kit as I will probably cover them with ammo crates or some other kind of stowage.

Ah! My bad! I misread the caption above the photo ... Oops!

Sorry, Model Point!

[Ramba]

Ah! My bad! I misread the caption above the photo ... Oops!

Sorry, Model Point!

I tend to ramble on so it was probably more likely my ramblings were confusing.