PlasticPanzers.com Forum

Hi Folks,

Once again I got that well-known itch and so I pieced this together over two evenings:




This is the Hobby Boss kit I reviewed a while ago: Hobby Boss 84514 Soviet BT-2 Tank (early)

So far everything went together very well, but as you can see a few minor spots needed filling and sanding. I had to fill in the big holes in the front because these tanks originally had no forward fenders. These were retrofitted later but I wanted to build a very early model. The side plates and rear fenders/track shelves are obviously still missing, among with some minor parts. Note that these tanks also didn't yet have any mesh over the huge air vents, so you'd gaze into a gaping void if you were to pose them open. These tanks were powered by the Liberty engine of WW1 vintage, maybe some other kit could be cannibalized for one...

The Christie suspension is included in full detail but isn't workable. However you could pose the suspension a bit with some modifications if you want to place the tank on some rough terrain.


There's no interior whatsoever and it's not really adviseable to leave the hatches open. The turret wall is far too thickand sanding it down would take some effort. The same goes for the driver's hatch, which also lacks all interior details.


The front wheels can be built at an angle if you choose to leave the tracks off (which I intend to do). The steering gear needs to be adjusted however. It's a horribly flimsy affair.

Apologies for the lousy photos, the evening sun messed up my camera settings

Philipp

That looks like a good start. It’s nice to see one of these without the tracks.

Thank you Bryan!

The tank itself is now complete and I started on the tracks. One side complete, the PE straps are from an old Eduard Sherman set:



The tracks are a bit of a letdown. The sprue attachments are really weird and difficult to clean up. Assembly is fiddly (a piece of upside down duct tape helps enormously) and the connections aren't symmetrical so you'll have to figure out which side connects to the other for each link. Link&lenght would be easier, but this way you have at least the option to mount the tracks on the fenders like I did.

That being said, I'm still very happy with this kit. The side panels were about 0.5mm too long, but that's the only fit issue I've encountered on the whole kit. I'm really tempted to get the later version as well....

Philipp

That's nice Philipp. I have a soft spot for these early tank designs. Sounds like you had a good time putting this one together.

Vincent

Looks great Philipp, I have this one in the stash too, looks like a nice weekender!

Thanks gents!

Except for the tracks (and some self-inflicted complications like the steering gear) it was highly enjoyable so far. I'll definitely get the "late" model as well, I already got an interesting subject for that...


This is a Model 1933 with twin DT armament due to the lack of 37mm guns. It has later wheels and fenders retrofitted but not much else.

Philipp

All done:







I noticed the kit is missing a tail light, so I added one from the spares box. They also forgot the handle of the driver's hatch, which I already added before.

Per instructions there are 48 track links per side, broken down into four segments of 12 each. Naturally I couldn't verifiy if this is correct for a mounted track run. In any case there are 12 extra links included, so you have some reserve.

I really enjoyed this build - not quite perfect like the Tamyia BT-7 but actually very close. The minor issues mentioned before are unfortunate but nothing too dramatic. I'd score it at 8/10 and really want to get another soon.

Philipp

That looks really nice! Good clean build. Do you know which wheels are the drive wheels in this mode?

Thank you Bryan!

There was a chain drive from the sprocket wheel to the last roadwheel. The whole housing could swing up and down.



Philipp

Interesting. Thanks.