Kurganets 25 APC

[Bryan Krueger]

I've been wanting to build modern armor for some time. I also wanted to build something OOB for a change. The online reviews for the Panda Kurganets APC were very positive for this kit so I picked it up at the LHS when they had a sale. It was a pretty straightforward build with only a tiny bit of putty needed. They missed a few weld beads which I added with Archer resin welds and missed a few panel lines which I scribed in. The tracks were a tedious chore to trim off the sprue and clean up the burrs but snapped together quickly.

There is a molded in rear hatch that instead of having a panel line has a weld seam. I didn't notice this until too late so I'm just going to have to live with it.

Something to watch out for if you tackle this kit are the front tow hooks. The kit parts have a prominent block on the back that raises the parts over the front armor plates. I could not get this to line up properly. I checked what images I could find to see where I went wrong only to find out the large block should not be there. The tow hook plate should sit flush on the front armor plate. I trimmed the chunk of plastic off and it finally matched the reference photos.







I kinda like how it looks without the spaced armor panels and may finish it this way.





The remote turret has a lot going on.

[Philipp Gross]

Looking good Bryan

The post-2000s modern stuff is slowly growing on me. Probably because it all looks like it's straight out of 80's sci-fi movies

Philipp

[Bryan Krueger]

It totally does! Would be easy to remove the wheels and tracks, blank it off and make a hover tank! Almost too easy!

[Peter Smith]

Actually there was a "third world war" type book donkeys years ago that had hovercraft tanks. I remember the cover artwork showed something with rubber hovercraft skirts like an SRN 4/5/6, BH7, VT2 etc.

I can see this with the side armour and a hovercraft skirt. But also with some sort of magnetic repulsor system like the hover ships in The Matrix.

One wonders how many will be built fitted for but not with (FFBNW) the side armour and how many armour pack sets will be available.

Noting the similarity of the "undressed" vehicle to some of the recent Chinese IFVs, I wonder how long it will be before we see these sporting clones of the Kurganets' side armour too.

[Bryan Krueger]

I read the side armor boxes aid with flotation. Would suck if they get shot to hell. Maybe they don't get fitted if water obstacles aren't an issue. I could see slat armor replacing the large spaced armor.

[Bryan Krueger]

I believe this is the prototype.

[Olivier Carneau]

Nice build Bryan and thanks for sharing your build experience.
If you intend to depict it without the spaced armor, I suggest you fix the track tension on the right side.

I personnally prefer the version with the large turret and the 30 mm automatic cannon.
Enjoy the painting!

[Bryan Krueger]

Thanks Olivier. I agree on the track tension. It's odd because the two track lengths are the same length. The idler is fixed but I should be able to adjust it.

I like the 30mm version too. Watch out though - there appears to be hull warping issues with the 30mm IFV release. I had no problems here.

[Adam Durrant]

I’ve got the 30mm version in the stash, someone in the “Abrams Squad” mag did a build and the hull had some serious warpage and sink marks but came together nicely with glue and major clampage!

[Peter Smith]

On the track tension front, it may be different because of the offset on the roadwheels from the torsion bars. One side will have a longer run from the sprocket to the 1st roadwheel, but shorter from last wheel to idler. I wouldn't be surprised if one side was a link shorter.

The side boxes look very much like those on the new Ajax scout, which are definitely part of the protection package. Think how many hydraulic crane equipped trucks would be needed in the logistic tail to carry all the flotation aids which, as you say, probably wouldn't be fitted when not needed because of the risk of damage (although probably foam-filled anyway). And the preparation time for swimming plus the juicy target it would make. The Russians have always been hot on swimming or deep fording with minimal preparation in order to keep the momentum of the advance.