Dragon 1/35 - SU-85M Tank Destroyer

[caSSius]

First WIP contribution to the site...please be gentle...lol

I started the kit about a month ago, but took a few photos from the 2-3 days I've able to work on it since then.

The kit:


Being as this is only my third armour kit, there's a lot "firsts" for me with this kit:
- My first Dragon kit - gorgeous kit...instructions not so much...lol
- My first Magic Tracks - tricky but look great
- My first photoetch - vocabulary expanded...that's all I'm gonna say...lol

I tackled the Magic Tracks early to get their assembly out of the way. I had a bear of a time getting them to sit still, so I employed a technique I read about on the forum; Tamiya tape, sticky side up. Worked well. I've set them aside unglued until ready to do fit-up.


And, what I completed today: Progress has been slow as I pay my dues with the PE: most of the PE parts on the kit so far have been installed twice; the first time, each piece seemed to dry out of alignment ... then, removed with CA debonder ... then, reinstalled...lol. (Debonder is my new favorite tool of all time - this week)...lol




Disclaimer: due to work commitments taking up a lot of my time for the foreseeable future, I will be progressing this thread slowly, but it's my hope that having this WIP thread going will help keep me motivated...even if it may take several months to complete.

Comments & suggestions appreciated
Cheers,

[Yevgeny]

Serious tank, looks neat and clean.
Looking forward seeing more

[ForbesHutton]

Perhaps a slower CA? I use the extra-thick that takes 20 seconds to set.

[Tiger131]

Love this kig built it my self...look forwad to seeing how you go

[caSSius]

Thanks for looking in folks.

Thanks for the suggestion Forbes. I did in fact discover that my initial problems were related to the viscosity of the CA used. However, in my case, my problems were solved when I went to a thinner, faster-setting CA. (I came to understand that the PE was shifting when I was lifting my fingers/tweezers away from the part before the CA was cured, even though I was holding it for 30+ seconds). I bought new medium-viscosity CA and that worked much better. Thanks for putting thought into it for me though

[JayCub]

What is a time limit? You can take as long as you like and have made incredible strides so far considering some of the work is new
Tom

[Tarasdad]

Magic Tracks rock. DS Tracks suck.

[PaulAyrey]

Great start, will look forward to your future posts.

[gustavlekstal]

Its a very nice looking tank! Great work and looking forward to the progress!