1/35 Trumpeter BTR-70 Late Version

[adampolo13]

Hello everybody,

Since reviewing this Kit for inscale.org I've been having difficulty not cracking open the box and getting started. You can check out the review here http://inscale.org/public/?p=5223.

The good news is I was able to get a good start on the kit today. Since the hull is the same as prior releases, the instructions start by having you remove and fill in two area's of raised detail. You will see the result of my removal, filling, and sanding here.



The instructions go on to have you install a number of different parts to the suspension. There are 5 pieces of photo etc to add and 45 pieces of plastic to add in the first two pages of instruction. As is standard with Trumpeter's newer releases there are almost to ejector pin marks and where they are present they are hidden.













One thing to make note of, The instructions do call to attach the main doors on the side of the hull. I have left them off for now because I'd like to display this with the doors open.

I will take some more pictures at the completion of the next assembly.

 

[adampolo13]

Thanks again for checking out my build. I was able to get some more work done last night and this morning. The next two pages of instructions complete the suspension.





What I would suggest to anybody building this, don't glue any of these assemblies in place until you have a chance to make sure all the wheels line up strait.

Here is what the suspense looks like after you complete the two first suspension sub assemblies.






Here is what it looks like when you've got the next page of instructions done.






One thing I've found so far that will need attention is the area just inside the main doors. These are the location holes for the suspension parts below. I'll get in here with some CA and sanding sticks.



Again, once you get to this point you can go ahead and glue everything. It's a good idea to have the wheels and tires put together so you can verify that everything lines up the way it's supposed to.

Here are a couple of profile pictures, I couldn't resist getting a feel for this vehicle.





Thanks again for checking this out!

 

[Jimi]

this kit is coming along nicely, are you having any issues with it?

 

[adampolo13]

Hi Jimi, no issues at all. So far that is, I expect there to be some at some point but I'm not too worried, Trumpeter has been good to us Modelers lately. ;D

 

[Jimi]

Hi Jimi, no issues at all. So far that is, I expect there to be some at some point but I'm not too worried, Trumpeter has been good to us Modelers lately. ;D

it sounds like they have upped their game. i built one of their earlier kits the T-55 and there were gaps big enough to drive a truck through.... on the plus side they did supply a free tube of glue and enough spares to almost build the kit for a second time

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Hi Jimi, no issues at all. So far that is, I expect there to be some at some point but I'm not too worried, Trumpeter has been good to us Modelers lately. ;D

it sounds like they have upped their game. i built one of their earlier kits the T-55 and there were gaps big enough to drive a truck through.... on the plus side they did supply a free tube of glue and enough spares to almost build the kit for a second time

The Trumpeter T-55 is a really, really early kit, long before they became a mainstream company. Both Trumpeter and Hobby Boss are near the top of the pile now as far as quality kits go. There is no comparison between their toy like kits from the T-55 era of kits to the ones they have been producing the last 4-5 yrs.

 

[adampolo13]

I agree, Trumpeter has risen the bar. I cannot say anything bad about this kit, that's for sure. I was able to do some more work on the BTR-70. I completed building the interior.
Here are pictures of the instructions.



Here is how it looks all built up.






Here it is all primed in flat black.






As a note, one thing I would suggest is leaving the sub assemblies unglued to aid in painting.

Thanks again for looking!

 

[longlance67]

real nice build so far looks alot of fun ;D

 

[adampolo13]

Hi everyone,

I have to apologize, I haven't done a very good job at documenting all the paint stages and weathering etc but I did take a few pictures of where it is at now. Basically, for the green I used AK Interactive's RAL 6011 RESEDAGRÄ'Å›N (715) which came out of their late German war set. I didn't have the suggested Tamiya color and this looked close enough for me. In terms of weathering I gave everything a nice dry brush with steel and then I used AK's enamel weathering products, basically a filter and a few different types of washes.






I still have to weather the bench and paint the rear tanks but other than that I'm getting close to attaching the top and bottom together. In preparation for that I'm going to skip around a little bit in the instructions and glue down all the hatches I plan on leaving closed. I should have another update in the next few days.

Thanks again for following along!

 

[letsgobrowns82]

Thats looking awesome Adam!!

 

[adampolo13]

Hey guys,

So I'm back again with another update. If I had to rate this kit on a scale of 1-10 just on how much fun it is, well I'd give this thing an 11. So far no fit issues, no flash, no visible ejector marks. This thing really is a blast. One small note on the instructions though, when it references part "D-14" they really mean "C-14" there is no D sprue, but again that was not a tough issue to solve.

So, last time I left you with pictures of most of the interior cabin weathered, well I finished her up. I added some dry brushing to the bench and some washes, then I gave it a light dusting of AK's dark earth pigment. I'm happy with it.





Next I went on to the upper hull. I jumped around a lot on the next few pages of instructions. You will see from the pictures I closed in all the small ports etc. I also added the fans and vision blocks which I masked off.





After that was dry I applied the same weathering to the upper hull as the lower. I have to apologize because I forgot to take a picture and have since glued the upper and lower together. In fact it is curing as I type...

I did manage to take a few pictures of everything with the top and bottom just dry fit.







Tomorrow I'm on to assembling the rest of the upper hull. Thanks again for checking this out!

 

[bdr65]

Nice job on that interior. Cool too hear you're havin a blast with this build 8)

 

[chukw]

Fantastic build, Adam- cheers! It's great that you'll be able to have the hatches open and see that beautiful interior. What a great kit that is!

 

[adampolo13]

Thanks again guys!

So I can't stay away from this kit, it is going together so smooth.

I meant to show you a picture of the instructions where the part was labeled incorrectly.



Here is where I was at after this page, the only thing I haven't done is put the glass and the larger hatches on. You will also notice that this is where the kit starts to utilize the PE.



Next up, page 11 pictures.








Thank again for checking it out!

 

[adampolo13]

I was able to get a bit more work done on it last night but just managed to take a few pictures. Here are the instructions pages I was able to get done. For ease of painting I left the side mirrors off. Although I am thinking about putting the frames on and then attaching the mirrors themselves.

Enough talk... Picture time.








So that's where I'm at now. I really don't have too much more before painting, pretty much just the Turret.

Thanks for checking it out!

 

[adampolo13]

Hey guys, it's update time!

I woke up extra early to get a jump on this and I got quite a bit done. First thing I did was go ahead and add the clear parts with masking. Then I added the metal guard on the front which according to my research is only deployed when crossing a large body of water. Then I hit it with a coat of primer. next up I painted the the wheels and the area around the lower doors. I'm going to display these open but for ease of painting as well as insuring a uniform paint job I have them taped in place. While that stuff was drying I started working on the turret. I got the interior almost completely put together and weathered. Lastly I went ahead and started weathering one of the wheels. Sorry I didn't take pictures during the process but I was having too much fun and totally forgot to grab the camera. Oh ya, I also painted the mirrors...

Here's pictures of how it sits now!








Thanks for following!

 

[letsgobrowns82]

Looking pretty awesome so far Adam!

 

[adampolo13]

Hey Guys,

I got some more work done this morning. Basically I got this thing under paint! ;D

I have to apologize again, my camera did not want to behave and the pictures I did take during the process came out very bad. Long story short I hit everything with pre-shading, then a light coat of AK 715. After that I hit it with AK 716.

Here's the pictures that came out.










Thanks for checking this out!

 

[adampolo13]

Hey guys, just a quick update with a few pictures. I was able to get some decals and future on this beast!







Since these pictures I did some drybrushing, gave it a filter, and started in with a wash. I also painted the vision blocks and started getting some of the other fiddly stuff ready. I still need to attach the lower hatches in the closed position and then give this a quick spray of dust. I'm going for a fairly grimy look. Not covered in dirt, but grimy. Hopefully my weathering will pull it off.

Thanks again for following along!

 

[model maker jnr]

Looks great Adam ;D