Trumpeter 2S1 Gvozdika Self-Propelled Howitzer

[grimjim]

I am just starting work on this new kit from Trumpeter:


I've always liked the look of the 2S1. It looks like something out of Thunderbirds. Well, it does to me, anyway. There have been a couple of ropy kits of this vehicle in the past, but this one should be vastly better.

This is what you get in the box:


The kit includes two etched frets (more about that later), as well as a sprue of transparent parts and some link-and-length tracks. The tracks look like being a PITA, because the track teeth (two per link) are separate.

The first real problem, though, was the etch. Trumpeter supplies a fret for the two swim vanes that fit behind the tracks for amphibious operation. To give you an idea of what is needed to assemble them, here is the instruction step for the vanes:


As you can probably see, there are a lot of parts for just these two elements. What you can't tell very easily from the instructions is that all of those little vane parts need to be curved lengthwise in order to fit, and that unless they are all curved by just the right amount, the vane won't fit together properly.

At first this didn't look too difficult: I decided to anneal the brass parts and solder the vanes together for strength. Unfortunately, the parts are so close together, and there are so many of them, that I couldn't figure out a way of getting heat sinks between them to stop the parts I'd already soldered from falling out. So I unsoldered what I had and cleaned it up and tried to glue it. This was even worse. I couldn't get the parts to stay together properly, and the glue joints were so small that the assembly had no strength, and just collapsed whenever I moved it. So I have bought the Eduard set for one of the older kits, which has swim vanes that are a more sensible design, and I will be trying that instead.

So, not a great start, but it keeps me off the streets.

[Paul]

Looks a nice it jim, look forward to seeing it built. Sorry to hear of your PE trouble hopefully your eduard set will work better

[T3hGuppy]

Nice looking kit I don't envy you having to do those PE assemblies though,

[Gav0909]

Thanks for the heads up on the PE bits, I am aiming to collect all modern SPGs, so this, or the 2S3 are on my list to get at somepoint.

[grimjim]

Thanks for the heads up on the PE bits, I am aiming to collect all modern SPGs, so this, or the 2S3 are on my list to get at somepoint.

I was thinking of doing a set of modern SPGs, too. There are some cool models to be made there: the Dana, the AUF1 (there's a new kit of that, coming from Hobby Boss), and the Msta, and the new AFV Club M109s look good. Hopefully, Riich will release their new Paladin soon, too.

[Gav0909]

Yeah my current list stands at

Trumpeter AS90 (done)
Meng AUF1 (building just now)
Academy ROK K9
Tamiya M109A6 Paladin
Tamiya JGSDF Type 99
Revell PzH2000 (if I can get hold of one)
Academy MLRS
Trumpeter MSTA (when it gets released)
Trumpeter 2S3

Lots lol!

[grimjim]

Slow progress, but at least it's progress...

I fitted the the torsion bar swing arms. The arms are tabbed to ensure that they go in the right way up, but the fit is sloppy enough that there is no obvious 'right' position for them.
So, I fitted the front- and rearmost arms first. These have snubbers, and do fit solidly in one position. I then added the other arms and balanced the whole setup on a couple of plastic tubs, so that the weight was taken by the front and rear arms. The other arms were then adjusted so that they touched the rims of the tubs as well. So hopefully, when the glue is all set, all of the arms, and therefore the wheels, will line up. I had to use the tubs because the front and rear arms have protrusions which hang below the level of the axles, meaning that I couldn't simply line up the arms on my bench. So, not much to show for a couple of hours' work.

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

Coming along nicely!

[grimjim]

A quick update...

I have fitted the front light assemblies to the lower hull. They needed a bit of trimming and filling to fit properly, but nothing too major:


I also finished off the rear hull plate. Some nice detail here, with a few bits of etch.


And I started work on the turret. This needed a bit of attention too. The turret ring had tabs to lock it into place in the hull, and the holes for these were visible, so they needed filling. The bustle floor plate was a bit too large, too, and had to be trimmed to size and some gaps filled.


The front of the turret didn't fit against the turret ring once I had fitted the gun, so it needed a bit of filling. I have a feeling that this is down to me rather than the kit, but I can't see anywhere I went wrong. Oh well.


And finally, the two-piece muzzle brake is still getting a bit of TLC to remove the seam.


That's it for now. I'm just trying to put off the terrible moment when I have to build... the tracks!

[Gav0909]

Wow, seems like this kit is overall good, but requires a good bit of minor fettling. That is almost the most annoying type of kit. The fit is *almost* there, but needs a bit of work. You would rather it just fit, or it didn't and needed lots of work lol. The minor fettling in my eyes is really annoying.

Your doing a good job though and I look forward to seeing it come together! I intend to get one of these kits in the future, probably the 2S3, or the 2S19 MSTA when its released.

[Coen]

It looks pretty good so far Jim. All kits have their issues... some bit some small.
These look pretty basic so far. We all have the "User Error" issues too haha.
I suffer from user error all the time.
This will build up into a really cool kit.
Two piece tracks aren't so bad. Three, four and 5 piece.. well that's a different matter haha.
Any more than two pieces on a track and I start shopping for after markets.

[schweinhund227]

Looking mighty nice

KUTGW

[grimjim]

Thanks, guys!

Gav: Yes, minor fettling sums it up. I don't mind a bit of filling here and there, to be honest. It makes it feel like there's some actual craftsmanship involved. That's not to say that I would rather not have a kit that fits together properly, though! And yes, the 2S19 is on my wish-list too.

Coen: I think the problem was that I was a bit too zealous at fitting the gun trunnion assembly really snugly into the turret shell, which seemed to work really well, but it forced the turret shell sides apart very slightly. If I did it again, I think I would sand the gun aperture in the turret shell to enlarge it very slightly, so that the trunnion assembly wasn't such a force-fit. But hey, a couple of minutes of filling and sanding isn't a biggie. As for the tracks... well, they have separate guide horns. There are two per link, so they're 3-piece tracks. And with 500+ guide horns to de-sprue, clean up and glue on neatly, it's going to be pretty tedious. Fruil makes a set for this vehicle, but I don't much like Fruil tracks. But if these tracks just prove too much for my already tenuous hold on sanity, I might have to spring for them, even though they will cost me more than the kit itself!

Norm: Thanks! I've been following your Doobi build on YouTube. Great stuff!