Chinese ZTZ 99B (Almost) Complete

Here's the 99B now almost done. The only thing left to do is the tracks which I'm still waiting on. I'm also going to fit a couple of fuel drums to the rear racks courtesy of Craig over on the Modelworx forum who has a couple he's generously donated.

As you can see only a few additions have been made and most of these are on the turret. Chains for the smoke dischargers, a few bits of plastic card and brass and a couple of magic sculpt canvas covers for the wind sensor and that "thing" behind the commanders hatch. Oh and a spares box ammo can for the AA gun.

I'm really liking the look of this one, you can really see the Russian influences as well as ideas from other nations tanks incorporated into this one. And that massive gun really is impressive. It's a big model and packed with some nice details and sensible construction sequence. The build up has been totally trouble free and an absolute joy to make, top marks to Hobbyboss.

ZTZ 99 Turret

Onto the turret and again swift progress with excellent details and an easy build. I've deepened the amour panels with a scraper and just added some chains to the smoke dischargers. A bolt head here and there plus a couple of bits of etch and it's almost done.

ZTZ 99B Swift Building

More swift progress on the ZTZ now and as you can see the hull is almost complete. The details are crisp and the parts need very little clean up. The etched engine deck screens are very nicely done as well. The turret is now starting to take shape and here as well as on the hull I've used a seam scraper to slightly deepen the lines between each panel on what I assume is some kind of reactive armour.  

I've also had a go at building up the Bronco tracks but after some time spent cleaning each tiny part up, then trying to glue them without losing the ability to move each link and scratching my head in frustration I've given up on them.

Life's too short to be getting stressed over silly things like fiddly tracks so yes you've guessed it! Spade ace tracks come to the rescue yet again. A set is winging it's way from Hong Kong as I type. A bit extravagant you may think but really I've always found tracks my achilles heel and although I've built the Bronco type tracks in the past with great success these days I'm all for the fun and enjoyment of building models and a lot less about as much accuracy as I can manage.
And anyway who really notices the finer details of tracks on a model anyway? especially one with side skirts where you only really see a small portion of the track faces. Everything else is hidden away behind the skirts!

Hobbyboss 1/35th ZTZ 99B MBT

After a spot of man cave cleaning and a sort through the stash I've come up with this rather smashing kit for my next project. It's been a while since I built a PLA vehicle so this fits the bill nicely. I've got some Bronco tracks, some brass smoke dischargers and a set of figures to chuck into the mix.

The model is cast in a nice light grey plastic and it's really nice to work with. There are some nice details present in the kit as well. Oh and before anyone asks it's definitely NOT going to be finished in the digital paint scheme. That's far too clean for my tastes!

Here's the current progress,

 

A New Review!

I've just finished posting a review of Revell's new kit in 1/35th of the M48 A2 GA2. Check out the reviews pages on the sidebar for my thoughts on the kit.

AFV Club M109 Belgian Army All Finished

Here is the completed model on it's base. This was a simple affair with just a few grass clumps, some carved weeds and a small tree added. It sets off the shear size of the vehicle nicely and I'm very pleased with how the whole project turned out.

Looking forwards to displaying this at the IPMS Belgium show in a couple of weeks time.

IPMS Farnborough Show Saturday 20th September

Another outing for Stonehenge Modellers today at the IPMS Farnborough show. Just up the road so no early start which is always nice. As usual a nice quick set up for us and a good look around before the public came in. Visitors seemed a little thin on the ground at times, maybe as it's euro militaire this weekend as well.
However we had plenty of visitors to our tables and were kept busy chatting for a good portion of the day. I managed to get the M109 base done last night so that had it's debut today and Brian had his work in progress charioteer diorama on show too.

A good mix of traders and clubs were present and a good day I would say was had by all. Thanks to the Farnborough chaps for the invite.