Hobby Boss BA-10

[Mark Aldrich]

I do not think it is just HobbyBoss. The days of a one piece frame (Old School Tamiya and Italeri) are gone. I would prefer that over a 20-40 piece frame (including PE) any day! I mean it is not going to be seen 90% of the time. Oh, Looking real nice!!!! Can't wait to see it finished.

[Philipp Gross]

Thanks gents

It would be enough to slightly reduce the amount of structurally essential parts, especially when these are often 2-3 mm small. Better instructions wouldn't hurt either. In fact these are by far the worst aspect of this kit.

Philipp

[Philipp Gross]

Looks like I found the first "real" problem with this kit: Hobby Boss wants us to mount the spare wheels the wrong way around. Nothing a little improvisation won't fix:



Philipp

[Shawn Ramsey]

You will be ready for paint in no time.

Shawn

[Philipp Gross]

Don't worry Shawn, there's still a ton of photoetch left to add

In the meantime, here's the turret:



The worst part was drilling out the gun sleeve to fit the metal barrel, but for once I can't blame Hobby Boss for that

Philipp

[Philipp Gross]

I had saved most of the photoetch parts for the end, well aware that it might prove a little frustrating. There are a bunch of brackets and braces underneath the fenders, but the brass sheet appeared to be brass-coated face-hardened Mithril forged by the proud Dwarves of Middle-Earth. I managed to bend one into shape and then decided that using Evergreen was a lot easier:



But now everything is in place and here's the end result:




Concerning the paint, I made up my mind and ordered this:



The base colour of Emil isn't exactly obvious, but most likely I'll paint it green. There are lots of other interesting options and I really want to build another BA-10....but not this kit. No Sir. Thankyou.

Maybe Miniart will take pity on us and release their own BA-10 based on their GAZ kits.

. . . . *deep breath* . . . .

Alright. Let's have a quick summary of what I think of this thing:

+Lots and lots of fine details
+Affordable
+Huge improvement over older kits of the BA-10
+One piece barrel with hollow muzzle
+Interesting decal options

-No interior besides the engine and cab
-Lousy instructions
-Chassis and hull really don't want to go together
-Ludicrously small parts carrying weight in important areas
-Spare wheels mounted the wrong way around
-Bad photoetch
-Vinyl tires (I'd prefer plastic)

Final rating: 6/10 - definitely not for beginners or the faint of heart.

Recommended audio: Iron Maiden - Can I Play With Madness ( )

Philipp

[Steve Hutchinson]

well done Philipp

You have beaten her into submission, and she does look good even with the issues

Looking forward to the paint & decals and another GB finish

Very nice one

Steve H

[Philipp Gross]

Thank you Steve!

As soon as time and weather permit I'll give it a primer coat and thwn slap on some green. I'm not sure if I want to make a diorama for it, most likely just a tiny piece of dirt road. Not really in the mood for a huge partisan ambush scene

Philipp

[Vincent Power]

You've made a good job of that kit Philipp. Even with all the hassles it still looks good, even better when it has a coat of paint I bet. What a shame it was so difficult. Guess we have to wait for Miniart to do one as you said. Fingers crossed.

I like the build summary at the end too. It's a nice touch.

Vincent

[Philipp Gross]

Thanks Vincent

I guess if I were to build a 2nd kit it would be much easier now that I know the problems, but still......there's too much else left to build

Well...I could do that summary for every kit I finish

Philipp